IKAR

Rabbi Sharon Brous – Saturday, May 20, 2017 Do Not Become a Hideous Beast Eugène Ionesco’s “Rhinoceros” opened to standing ovations in Germany in 1959; audiences recognized it as a fair portrayal of the ways that authoritarianism (fascism, Nazism, Communism) seeps into the popular culture and turns regular people into unrecognizable beasts. Shmita (and other ancient prescriptions) call us back to the margins to remind us that we must resist the temptation, refuse to capitulate. Behar 24th of Iyyar, 5777 Subscribe to IKAR Sermons via iTunes Not on iTunes? Subscribe here

Rabbi Sharon Brous – Saturday, May 13, 2017 Yes, But Are You DECENT? For our Rabbis, the only difference between one who desecrates and one who sanctifies God’s name is a person’s willingness to engage others with decency. An important lesson for us today, as our Jewish community and our society descend into a black hole of cruelty and indecency. Parashat Emor 17th of Iyyar, 5777 Subscribe to IKAR Sermons via iTunes Not on iTunes? Subscribe here

Rabbi Ronit Tsadok – Saturday, April 15, 2017 The Dayenu Dilemma Would it really have been enough? A different take on the classic Seder song. Pesah V 19th of Nisan, 5777 Subscribe to IKAR Sermons via iTunes Not on iTunes? Subscribe here

Rabbi Sharon Brous – Saturday, April 8, 2016 What Do I Stand For? The Exodus from Egypt was the realization of a great, audacious, impossible dream, a radical vision to counter the ancient world’s obsession with wealth and power and glory. This was a dream of justice, dignity, equality for all people. At some point it’s not enough to know what you’re resisting– you have to know what you’re fighting for. What is the shared dream driving us today? Shabbat HaGadol Parashat Tzav 12th of Nisan, 5777 Subscribe to IKAR Sermons via iTunes Not on iTunes? Subscribe here

Rabbi Sharon Brous – Saturday, April 1, 2017 Careful Now, The Children are Watching We’ve always known that power corrupts. That’s why now more than ever before our homes and our communities must become oases of love and justice. Parashat Vayikra 5th of Nisan, 5777 Subscribe to IKAR Sermons via iTunes Not on iTunes? Subscribe here

Rabbi Sharon Brous – Saturday, March 25, 2017 (Don’t) Just Let Go Some ancient wisdom for staying healthy– spiritually, emotionally and physically– in a time of upheaval, when every news alert challenges your sense of what is just and right in the world. Parashat Vayakhel-Pekudei 27th of Adar, 577 Subscribe to IKAR Sermons via iTunes Not on iTunes? Subscribe here

Rabbi Sharon Brous – Saturday, March 18, 2017 We Who Stand in the Breach For those who hold feminism, Zionism and a commitment to the realization of not some but all of our greatest aspirations. Ki Tissa 20th of Adar, 5777 Subscribe to IKAR Sermons via iTunes Not on iTunes? Subscribe here

Rabbi Sharon Brous – Saturday, March 11, 2017 PURIM 5777: We Have A Togetherness Problem Are Jews eternal outsiders—am levadad yishkon—or do we, as Heschel argued, stand on the brink of the abyss together? This story is as old as Purim, and couldn’t be more relevant today. Parashat Tetzaveh 13th of Adar, 5777 Subscribe to IKAR Sermons via iTunes Not on iTunes? Subscribe here

Rabbi Sharon Brous – Saturday, March 4, 2017 Justice is the Air We Breathe Some dominant voices in our community have chosen to ignore or forgive anti-Semitism– not to mention threats to other vulnerable communities– for the sake of currying favor with those in power. But history has taught us that in times of challenge, we are called to be even more committed to our core Jewish values. (Sermon followed a study of Brakhot 61b: Rabbi Akiva explains that Jews must continue to learn and teach Torah even under threat of death, because even despite the danger that nets pose […]

Rabbi Sharon Brous – Saturday, February 25, 2017 The Bug in the Software of the West Will We Ever Be Free of The World’s Oldest Hatred? The Torah warns of an unwillingness to accept new circumstances that call for a shift in consciousness. The surge of anti-Semitism in the US awakens us to two new realities: many of us have rejected a Jewish identity predicated on fear of anti-Semitism, and must now admit that this is real and it’s dangerous. Others can’t believe that Muslim-Americans can be our allies in the fight against anti-Semitism, and yet they’ve been the first […]

Rabbi Sharon Brous – Saturday, February 18, 2017 Drive a Spoke In The Wheel of Injustice The Exodus from Egypt was a revolution that overturned the foundational theological and political assumptions of the ancient world. It’s greatest lesson for those living through times of moral crisis: we must engage in sacred resistance to protect and love the vulnerable, the stranger, the other. #sanctuary Parashat Yitro 22nd of Sh’vat, 5777 Subscribe to IKAR Sermons via iTunes Not on iTunes? Subscribe here

Rabbi Sharon Brous – Saturday, February 11, 2017 Crossing the Rubicon The time is now for religious leaders to lead. This is not about taking sides between right and left, it is about taking moral action on basis of right and wrong. Parashat B’shalakh 15th of Sh’vat, 5777 Subscribe to IKAR Sermons via iTunes Not on iTunes? Subscribe here

Rabbi Sharon Brous – Saturday, January arch 28, 2017 We Venerate Righteous Gentiles. Let Us Be Righteous Jews. What do we do when we face an executive order that is unconstitutional, illogical and immoral? We must step up and live our deepest commitments. Parashat Vaera 1st of Sh’vat, 5777 Subscribe to IKAR Sermons via iTunes Not on iTunes? Subscribe here

Rabbi Ronit Tsadok – Saturday, January 21, 2017 Holy Intolerance After nearly 200 years in slavery, the Israelites finally cry out and spark their redemption. What changed? And how can we tap into the holy intolerance that fuels us in our fight against injustice? Parashat Shemot 23rd of Tevet, 5777 Subscribe to IKAR Sermons via iTunes Not on iTunes? Subscribe here

Rabbi Sharon Brous – Saturday, January 21, 2017 Remarks at Women’s March on Washington 2017 Subscribe to IKAR Sermons via iTunes Not on iTunes? Subscribe here