The Nightingale of Iran

A blessing for strength in spirit and body for a new Pope in a time when spiritual and moral leadership matters more profoundly than ever.

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.

Join us after services for a conversation with Rep. Laura Friedman.

…Because there is a space between stimulus and response. What we do in that space is our choice. So please: tell me you’re scared. I’m scared too. Tell me times are tough. Tell me we’re facing a narrowing landscape of possibilities. But please do not tell me there’s nothing we can do. There’s always a choice to make.