Watch, Listen, Learn

This week’s parashah is the fourth in a row to remind us that Abraham and Sarah are old. Imagine them in Los Angeles, 2025 – how would they age? And how can that help us imagine a new approach to aging for ourselves?

The Rabbis warn of a society defined by its cruelty toward the most vulnerable. We must not become Sodom.

Come together for our tech-free (off-mic) Kabbalat Shabbat Services with a focus on lifting our voices in song as a community. Don’t go to Shalhevet. Rather, enter through our alleyway and down the ramp into our event space. For those with accessibility needs, you can be dropped off and enter through the front door.  After Services, there will be two dinner options following services:  -Everyone is invited to stay for community dinner at the IKAR Event Space.  -TRIBE will gather for Shabbat dinner at the Office Patio for people in their 20s and 30s.  We never want cost to be a barrier in attendance. If you need assistance, please email [email protected].

*Please note, we understand the underlying audio was compromised and that folks may need to turn the volume up. Get Involved with New Israel Fund Join The West Bank at Boiling Point call on 11/10 at 9am PT Bring NIF to Your Network: Contact Joe Goldman at [email protected] to explore bringing NIF to your communities so we can empower our partners on the ground in Israel, as well as follow/share NIF on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Visit Israel and Palestine With NIF: We invite you to join NIF to stand alongside Jewish and Palestinian activists in their struggle for justice and democracy, an end to the occupation in the West Bank and Gaza, and the paving of a different path forward: one that guarantees equality, security, and prosperity for Palestinians, Israelis, and everyone who calls this land home. March 8, 2026-March 12, 2026 and October 11, 2026-October 16, 2026. Support NIF:  One-time, monthly, join the NIF Legacy Society, via DAFs, IRA qualified charitable contributions, or even open one’s own DAF at NIF’s Progressive Jewish Fund Dr. Yasmeen Abu Fraiha is a medical doctor with a specialty in internal medicine, currently completing a clinical fellowship in critical care at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, combined with a research fellowship at the Middle East Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School. Her research focuses on healthcare policy and politics that create inequality in health services and outcomes for underserved communities.  She formerly served as the Health Policy Director at the Task Force for Health Promotion and Equity in the Arab Society at the Israeli Ministry of Health, leading major efforts and interventions to deal with health disparities between Jews and Arabs in Israel. She co-founded two NGOs that promote socio-economic development of the Bedouin community in Israel, while focusing on health, education, women’s employment, housing and community empowerment. She has won several awards, including the 2007 Ramon Award for quality, leadership, and excellence and was chosen to be part of Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list. In 2023, she was named one of Israel’s 50 most influential women by Globes Magazine. Yasmeen holds a BSc and MD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School.

The case for the medium tent.

Hidden in the dry details of genealogy and geography is the actual beginning of Avraham’s story– a beginning that fundamentally changes how we understand the call he receives, the family he leaves, and the journey he undertakes.

Opening our hearts and our doors to people of all abilities backgrounds and talents. As a part of disability Shabbat, IKAR member Matan Koch explores the ideas of openness, welcoming and access in the context of embracing each person’s unique reflection of the divine. He takes us on a journey from Talmudic thought to present-day actions, exhorting us to be the kind of community where all of the reflections of the divine are known, and seen.

Featuring the stories, perspectives, and wisdom of folks in our own community.

A lighthearted and serious look at the shared strengths of the most majestic of trees and the ancient resilient Children of Israel.

After two years and two days of devastating war, Israel and Hamas agree to a ceasefire, the return of hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and an increase in humanitarian aid in Gaza. Los Angeles Rabbi Sharon Brous shares thoughts on moral integrity and moving forward.

A powerful conversation in recognition of October 7th with Alana Zeitchik, an Israeli-American peace advocate, whose cousins David and Ariel Cunio were just released today, 10/13, after 737 days in captivity and whose five other family members, two other cousins and their three young daughters -were among the first hostages released as part of a temporary ceasefire in November 2023.

Ha’azinu 5786 / 10.4.2025 As we move from the peak experiences of the High Holy Days into Sukkot, how will we gather in our joy? What practices can we adopt for Sukkot, whether or not we are able to build a Sukkah? And what role does this joy have to play in our experience of Sukkot and beyond?

I turned to King David and the Prophet Natan to learn how to fight fascism. I learned something much deeper and more sustaining for our time. Thumbnail background credit: Painting by Carole Silverstein Detail of “in the incense is tangled a cool moon” 58 x 42.5 inches framed), Acrylic Ink on Mylar, 2024 www.carolesilverstein.com

As we shared on the morning of Rosh Hashanah, Marta Kauffman, our beloved Board Vice Chair, has made a capital campaign gift of $25 million to IKAR. This stunning act of generosity has come at a pivotal moment in our campaign. Thanks to this gift, we are now very close to realizing our vision for our home– a center for Jewish life that is infused with creativity, belonging, and sacred purpose. A space rooted in love, justice, and defiant hope… and a powerful, tangible countertestimony to the divisive and dispiriting tides of our time. Our friend, the visionary Rabbi Uri Herscher, once said of IKAR: “You have written the most beautiful love letter—now you need an envelope to deliver it to the world.” Marta’s transformational gift – together with the generosity of so many of you – will allow us to build that envelope, ensuring that the spirit and values of our remarkable community will endure for generations. We are deeply moved that Marta will dedicate the campus to the memory of her beloved parents, Dorothy and Herman, who cared deeply about the Jewish people and the Jewish future. Marta built her career bringing laughter and joy to millions through storytelling. Her stories are always rooted in love, in friendship, in the possibility and hilarity of ordinary life. The IKAR Center will be imbued with that same humanity and generosity of spirit. In a time of such pain and uncertainty, building our home is a sacred act of resistance: putting a stake in the ground for joy, for community, and for Jewish life that is vibrant, loving, hopeful, and just. We’re gearing up now for the community phase of our campaign which we will begin in earnest next year and we hope to have each and every one of you involved. In the meantime please visit our website to learn more: https://ikar.org/the-ikar-center/. With profound thanks and abundant joy– Rabbi Sharon Brous & Melissa Balaban

We cannot bypass the pain in pursuit of the promise. Only by confronting the trauma of our past, both individual and collective, can we build a future of expansive possibility. Thumbnail background art credit: Carole Silverstein Detail of “the velvety surfaces of dream” Acrylic Ink on Mylar, 48” x 36” 58 x 42.5 inches framed), Acrylic Ink on Mylar, 2024 https://www.carolesilverstein.com/

At a time when so many horrible things are happening, some might wonder, “Why bother to be a decent person?” At such a time, we need to focus on the words of Hillel, “In a place where people are being inhumane, seek to be a mensch.”

Lori Gottlieb and Rabbi Brous in a sermon-dialogue on the intersection of Jewish and therapeutic wisdom on issues of deep concern for us today: how to stay in relationship with people whose ideas break your heart, confirmation bias and how minds are changed (can they be?), how to overcome psychic numbing and stay centered and empathic, even when we’re hurting, how to hold hope and grow resiliency, and more. Dr. Gottlieb is a psychotherapist and New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, which has sold over one million copies and has been translated into over 30 languages. In addition to her clinical practice, she writes The New York Times “Ask the Therapist” advice column and is co-host of the popular “Dear Therapists” podcast and the advice podcast Since You Asked. A contributing writer for The Atlantic, she also wrote The Atlantic’s “Dear Therapist” advice column for six years. She is a sought-after expert appearing on Oprah, The Today Show, The Daily Show, Good Morning America, CBS Mornings, CNN, and NPR’s “Fresh Air” and her TED Talk was one of the Top 10 Most Watched of the Year. She is also an IKAR member, and mother of the wonderful Zachary Gottlieb, IKAR teen extraordinaire.