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.”

Thomas L. Friedman, Opinion Columnist for The New York Times, featured Rabbi Sharon Brous’s most recent Sermon, The Tears of Zion, https://bit.ly/3YlSj8Y in his op-ed, “American Jews, You Have to Choose Sides on Israel” https://lnkd.in/gAqeDjR3

The JTA News just ran an article that offered a revealing glimpse into this reality. It quoted a Los Angeles rabbi, Rabbi Sharon Brous, as beginning her sermon on Israel last month with a content warning to her congregants: “I have to say some things today that I know will upset some of you.” “Every American rabbi knew what she meant: Israel has become such a hot-button issue that it cannot be discussed without taking sides for or against Netanyahu’s policies.

As Rabbi Sharon Brous told the JTA News, “You have a wonderful community, and you love them and they love you, until the moment you stand up and you give your Israel sermon.” She said the phenomenon has an informal name: “Death-by-Israel sermon.”

Death-by-Israel sermon. Never heard that before.

What makes the situation even more incendiary is that the fault line on Israel — pro- or anti-Netanyahu — often overlaps with the fault line between Democrats and Republicans, and we know how explosive that divide is.”

In the midst of a national housing crisis, California’s Jewish organizations are breaking ground.

Holy One, bless this City of Visionaries and Dreamers, Strivers and Seekers, and—maybe most notably—Storytellers.

The stories told here—with the pen and with our lives—ignite the imagination of the whole world!

Across our nation, an old story is resurgent in our time: a story built on lies, prejudices and conspiracy theories. That is a story of scarcity—in which one group’s gain is another’s loss, a story that narrows the horizon of our moral concern and threatens the fabric of our democracy.

But in this city, we will never cede to that story. Instead, together we are writing one, rooted in great dreams and fueled by our deepest commitments.

In our story, we are strengthened by our diversity.

“The story of the Exodus leaves us with a moral imperative: Our perpetual challenge is to build a society in which every person is treated as an image of the Holy One, living in full dignity.”

“As we began the process of thinking about what it means for us to have a home in Los Angeles, and to live out our values, it means creating homes for other people because that is the greatest need right now.” – Brooke Wirtschafter, IKAR’s Director of Community Organizing. We’re proud to work alongside our co-sponsors, Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, L.A. Voice, Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California, Southern California Association of NonProfit Housing, & United Way of Greater Los Angeles. Thank you to Religion News Service & Alejandra Molina for your coverage of our important work.

“My friend Rabbi Sharon Brous recently shared with a group of us where she finds hope. She quoted Psalm 126: “Those who sow in tears, reap in joyous song.”

Rabbi Brous reminded us that “we have wept sacred tears, crying out for justice and equity, love and fairness. Those tears have not been wasted. For years, our tears have cultivated the soil for transformation, making it possible for a true multiracial democracy to one day flourish. So I remain hopeful, knowing that yesterday’s tears will one day bear the fruit of the beautiful world yet to be born.”

Amen, Rabbi, amen”