Watch, Listen, Learn

After lunch, join us in conversation with Clean Shelter, an organization that provides immediate relief to displaced communities in Gaza by offering essential sanitation and shelter solutions, including tents, toilets, community structures, and access to clean water. Learn more at https://www.cleanshelter.org/aboutus

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.

The Jewish community is being offered a false choice between countering antisemitism and protecting democracy and civil rights. But there is no inclusive democracy without Jewish safety — and no Jewish safety without inclusive democracy. Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) and a nationally recognized leader on countering antisemitism and extremism and protecting democracy — who previously led the successful lawsuit against the Charlottesville neo-Nazis — joined Rabbi Sharon Brous for a conversation on how we can reject the false binaries of this moment and advance a more just and inclusive world for Jews and all communities. Helpful Links: Sign up to receive JCPA updates Jewish communal statement led by JCPA, rejecting the false choice between Jewish safety and democracy Civil rights coalition statement organized by JCPA and the Leadership Conference on recent antisemitic violence June 2024 webinar with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Antisemitism x Democracy report Op-ed by Amy Spitalnick and Randi Weingarten – To Fight Antisemitism and Preserve Democracy, Educators and the Jewish Community Must Partner Closely

After Services, join us for a conversation with Jeremy Ben-Ami, President of J Street. Jeremy Ben-Ami is an American lawyer and activist who is the founder and president of J Street, a liberal advocacy organization dedicated to promoting American leadership to end the Arab-Israeli and Israel-Palestinian conflicts peacefully and diplomatically

After services, authors Jeff Hobbs (Seeking Shelter) and Alexis Madrigal (The Pacific Circuit) will be in conversation about homelessness and the shaping of urban America.

CLICK HERE TO PLAY VIDEO “What’s happening in these attacks is a painful irony because people are conflating and holding every jew responsible for the actions or decisions of the Israeli government, which most American Jews actually oppose. And that is purely and simply racism. Antisemitism is a form of racism. And if you cannot condemn unequivocally attacks against Jews because you hold them collectively responsible for the decisions of Benjamin Netanyahu or Bezalel Smotrich or Itamar Ben-Gvir, the most hard-right ministers in Israel’s history, then you are not anti-war, anti-racist, or anti-genocide, you are just an antisemite. And it’s important for us to get really clear on that before more people are even harmed or God forbid killed.”

Shavuot Tikkun All-Night Study Session with Rabbi Sharon Brous, at Temple Beth Am, Los Angeles, June 1, 2025. How does the messenger impact the message? Join us for a close reading of a Talmudic story that explores the boundaries between blessings and curses, speakers and listeners, parents and children.

How does the messenger impact the message? Join us for a close reading of a Talmudic story that explores the boundaries between blessings and curses, speakers and listeners, parents and children.

In a time of loneliness and isolation, social rupture and alienation, what will it take to mend our broken hearts and rebuild our society? Sharon Brous—a leading American rabbi—makes the case that the spiritual work of our time, as instinctual as it is counter-cultural, is to find our way to one other in celebration, in sorrow, and in solidarity. To show up for each other in moments of joy and pain, vulnerability and possibility, to invest in relationships of shared purpose and build communities of care. Sharon Brous is the founding and senior rabbi of IKAR, a trail-blazing Jewish community based in Los Angeles. A leading voice at the intersection of faith and justice in America, she has been named #1 Most Influential Rabbi in the U.S. by Newsweek/The Daily Beast. She blessed both President Obama and President Biden at their National Inaugural Prayer Services, and her TED Talk “Reclaiming Religion” has been viewed 1.5 million times. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Washington Post. She lives with her husband, David Light, and their children in California. In our conversation, Rabbi Brous shares what it took for her to carve out a place for herself in a community that didn’t always feel welcoming. We’ll also discuss the power of foundational stories, the idea that religion begins with asking the right questions, and how to stay in conversation even when it’s difficult. Rabbi Sharon Brous’ Five Books: 1. Deborah, Golda, and Me: Being Female and Jewish in America by Letty Cottin Pogrebin 2. The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel and The Prophets by Abraham Joshua Heschel 3. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi 4. The Postcard by Ann Berest 5. The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Mend Our Broken Hearts and World by Sharon Brous Other Books Mentioned: Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays by Rabbi Irving Greenberg  The Book And The Sword: A Life Of Learning In The Shadow Of Destruction by  David Weiss Halivni  The Five Books is a podcast that celebrates the role of books in Jewish culture. Through author interviews, we delve into Jewish identity and discover each author’s favorite novels. Join us every week for new Jewish book recommendations! Some of our episodes have included conversations with Yehuda Kurtzer (host of Identity/Crisis), Yael Van Der Wouden (author of The Safekeep), and Dara Horn (author of People Love Dead Jews.)

This episode is the first in the 2nd half of our Hard Conversations series. Kelly speaks with Rabbi Sharon Brous, who she discovered at the Aspen Ideas Festival and was so captivated by that she waited backstage to invite her onto the podcast. Together they explore forgiveness through ancient and modern perspectives, examining a powerful ritual where those with broken hearts walked against the crowd at the Temple Mount and were asked simply, “What happened to you?” Rabbi Sharon unpacks the Jewish process of teshuvah (repentance), shares why sitting beside someone in their darkness can mean more than offering solutions, and reveals how truly seeing one another might help us bridge our deepest divides. Their exchange offers fresh insights for anyone seeking to repair relationships or create meaningful connections after harm. Check out Rabbi Sharon’s book: The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Mend our Broken Hearts and World.

Watch Sharon Brous’s talks at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference 2025 centered on the power of ideas. There is a paywall, but the videos can be seen for free after signing up for a password or you can listen to the author talk on our podcast feed. “What Faith Means to Me” In a world roiled by seemingly unprecedented division and doubt, the longing for spiritual meaning and for a life rooted in faith appears to be growing ever stronger. In this session, speakers share their perspectives and experiences of faith, and the role faith and faith-driven communities can and should play in calming stormy seas. Author Talk: Rabbi Sharon Brous, “The Amen Effect” To thine own self be true: Sharon Brous has let this advice illuminate her path to becoming a rabbi. She was raised with a strong social, but not religious, Jewish identity. The more she studied and admired the humanity in the sages’ writings, the more Brous felt her voice was silenced simply because she is a woman. Today, as an ordained rabbi, Brous’s decades of hands-on pastoral care in Los Angeles has cleared “a path to become myself.” Her book, The Amen Effect—and how to get it—is embraced by seekers of every stripe and urges us to seek human connection in an increasingly isolated and divided world.

Christiane Amanpour speaks with Rabbi Sharon Brous of the IKAR synagogue in Los Angeles about the Trump administration’s funding cuts to higher education in what it says is an effort to battle antisemitism.

We welcome Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah, Israeli and Palestinian leaders at the forefront of a burgeoning new peace movement. In conversation with Rabbi Brous, they will share their personal journeys and vision for a shared society. This conversation will be a rare and powerful opportunity to hear from two of the most courageous voices mobilizing Israelis and Palestinians toward peace. We hope you’ll join us in showing up, listening deeply, and supporting their work. Joining us virtually? Sign up here!

Hear from Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger and Khaled Abu Awwad, leaders of Roots/Shorashim/Judur, an Israeli-Palestinian grassroots initiative for understanding, nonviolence, and transformation. They share their personal stories of struggle and transformation and their vision of mutual national recognition and reconciliation.

How do American Jews navigate complex conversations about Israel and Palestine across generations? And what does it take to truly listen to each other? Rabbi Sharon Brous sits down with IKAR’s CEO Melissa Balaban and her daughter Emma Wergeles to reflect on their recent trip to Israel and the West Bank with Encounter. From different generational perspectives, they share what challenged them, what moved them, and why direct engagement with both Palestinian and Israeli perspectives is essential for for any hope of a lasting and just peace.

Join New Israel Fund for a conversation with an incredible line-up of experts and peace builders: Israel’s leading human rights attorney Michael Sfard, Executive Director of the Association of Civil Rights in Israel, Noa Sattath, and Breaking the Silence founder and now Co-Director of OFEK: The Israeli Center for Public Affairs, Yehuda Shaul, and Rabbi Brous will share a few words.

Rabbi Sharon Brous on The Next Big Idea Daily podcast.

Rabbi Sharon Brous joins Fareed to discuss how Jews in the US are grappling with their Jewish identity amid the war in Gaza and rising antisemitism.

Rabbi Brous joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about loneliness, the importance of connection, and the power of showing up for one another.

Spiritual leaders and lifelong seekers reflect on how to cope and find optimism in dark times.

This week, we are honored to share with you a conversation with Rabbi Sharon Brous, author of the The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Mend Our Broken Hearts and World. From the moment we started reading Sharon’s book, we knew that she had a special message, and that she would be an incredible guest. Sharon’s book is a beautiful blend of ancient Jewish wisdom, contemporary science, and deep personal experience that shows how humans throughout history have taken up the responsibility to sit with each other as sacred witnesses to life’s most vulnerable and most joyous moments. Sharon makes the case that when we sit with each other in “celebration, sorrow, and solidarity,” we are connecting in ways that not only forge deep and lasting relationships, but contribute to a larger healing in our communities and in the world. One of the things we loved about Sharon’s book and the conversation with her was that she shared experience from her own life in which she’s succeeded here as well as where she’s failed. None of us do this perfectly, and so often we feel like we don’t even know how to—Sharon was wise and generous in giving herself and all of us grace for now always showing up for people the way we could have, but also practical advice that help us see how we can do this better. Sharon’s speaking from the perspective of a Jewish Rabbi, but her work reminds us of our own sacred texts and our promises to be willing to “mourn with those that mourn.”  We loved that Sharon explained that these principles of connection and solidarity really are universal, and we all get at them in our own languages and through our own rituals and traditions. This episode cuts straight to the heart of what it feels like to be human; it was impossible for it not to get personal, since we all know grief, joy, and connection intimately. We absolutely loved talking with Sharon and consider this a special episode. We hope that you enjoy it as much as we did!

Before Services, join us for a concert with Tsvey Brider (vocalist Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell, an AJU Public Fellow, and accordion/keyboardist Dmitri Gaskin). Tsvey Brider will perform a world of new and traditional Jewish music of diverse genres, times and places. Co-sponsored with AJU.