Training Our Hearts in Spaciousness

– Rabbi Sharon Brous

Click here to watch and listen.
April 20, 2024 – Pesah
The free person, awake and humble, can acknowledge the truth that emerges from various even contradictory perspectives. This is not a sign of weakness, but of spiritual liberation. Perhaps that the very essence of freedom is growing in spaciousness.
Influential L.A. rabbi Sharon Brous wants to heal a ‘world on fire’
Influential L.A. rabbi Sharon Brous wants to heal a ‘world on fire’

Los Angeles Times – April 16, 2024

Los Angeles Times – April 16, 2024

Click here to read the entire piece.

 

“This is a time of crisis,” she said, “because we’re living in an epidemic of loneliness and isolation. It is not only a crisis for our bodies, it is a crisis for our democracy.” She later added: “Can we find our way to one another before the 2024 election?”

 

Brous then widened the moral lens, urging her followers to understand the breadth of the tragedy. She spoke of the “shattering” loss of Palestinian lives in Gaza. “As a mother, as a daughter, as a human being, as a Jew, I am heartsick because we don’t have to choose. You either believe that every single person is an image of God or you don’t actually care about human life.” She invoked Abraham, the meaning of being a Jew, and peace with the enemy. A Jew, she said, will “hold the humanity of the Palestinians at the forefront of our hearts and minds.”

 

“How do we choose to see each other’s humanity?” she said. “Are we willing to go on a path of sacred accompaniment with one another?”

Click here to read the entire piece.

 

“This is a time of crisis,” she said, “because we’re living in an epidemic of loneliness and isolation. It is not only a crisis for our bodies, it is a crisis for our democracy.” She later added: “Can we find our way to one another before the 2024 election?”

 

Brous then widened the moral lens, urging her followers to understand the breadth of the tragedy. She spoke of the “shattering” loss of Palestinian lives in Gaza. “As a mother, as a daughter, as a human being, as a Jew, I am heartsick because we don’t have to choose. You either believe that every single person is an image of God or you don’t actually care about human life.” She invoked Abraham, the meaning of being a Jew, and peace with the enemy. A Jew, she said, will “hold the humanity of the Palestinians at the forefront of our hearts and minds.”

 

“How do we choose to see each other’s humanity?” she said. “Are we willing to go on a path of sacred accompaniment with one another?”

Responding to the crisis in Israel and Gaza

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IKAR’s mission is to reanimate Jewish life and develop a spiritual and moral foundation for a just and equitable society. Fusing piety and hutzpah, obligation, and inspiration, IKAR is a dynamic, multi-generational community that fosters a yearning for personal, purposeful, creative engagement in Jewish life, particularly among young and disaffected Jews. Rooted in Los Angeles and reaching globally, we strive to actively and intentionally celebrate the vibrancy and diversity of the Jewish people.

April 22, 2024
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Hag Sameah!

Our clergy have prepared a supplement to help guide you through these brave and loving conversations this Passover. Please download it here or you can find it on Haggadot.com.

Click here for all other Passover Resources

Our office will be closed and our phones will be off on Tuesday, 4/23 & Wednesday, 4/24 in observance of Passover.

Join us for:
Passover 2nd Day Services
Wednesday, 4/24, 10am PT, Shalhevet (inside Rooftop Beit Midrash) & Zoom