Judaism greets our most powerful experiences of salvation and redemption with song and music. Using the lens of Franz Rosenzweig’s Star of Redemption, we find music not only passively accompanying our experiences of the Divine, but also actively attuning us toward justice, bringing redemption to others and joy to God.

Recently featured in The New York Times, The Gaza Children Village provides daily education, nutritious meals, healthcare, and trauma-informed support to orphaned and vulnerable children through their Academies of Hope. Co-Sponsored by NewGround: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change.

This is a recording of Rabbi David Kasher's class The Weekly Parashah from 3.18.2026, co-sponsored by IKAR and Hadar.

This is a recording of Rabbi Morris Panitz's session of For the Love of Learning class. Every Tuesday morning, a new story from the Talmud.

Taught by your rabbis in a monthly rotation, we’ll dig into the strange and compelling world of the Talmud, exploring the ways ancient dilemmas speak to modern questions. Join us in-person at the Event Space (coffee and nosh provided) or over Zoom (B.Y.O. nosh) for as many sessions as possible… your Tuesday will thank you.

Vayak-hel Pekudei 5786

This is a recording of Rabbi David Kasher's class The Weekly Parashah from 3.11.2026, co-sponsored by IKAR and Hadar.

When the man entered with the boy in his arms, a change came over the place. All of us felt it. Something in the air trembled; a warmth passed through the yard, and we knew that one of the living had come among us.

We assembled in small knots, whispering about our former lives. Some remembered their misdeeds, some their triumphs. We debated, we argued, we laughed when the memory allowed it, but always we were together, bound by the strange circumstance of our continued existence.

- Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders

The Charles Bronfman Prize recognizes young humanitarians whose work is grounded in their Jewish values and is of universal benefit to all people. The goal of the Prize is to recognize dynamic leaders whose innovation and impact serve as inspiration for the next generation.

Parashat Mishpatim

This is a recording of Rabbi Sharon Brous's For the Love of Learning class. Every Tuesday morning, a new story from the Talmud. Taught by your rabbis in a monthly rotation, we’ll dig into the strange and compelling world of the Talmud, exploring the ways ancient dilemmas speak to modern questions. Join us in-person at the Event Space (coffee and nosh provided) or over Zoom (B.Y.O. nosh) for as many sessions as possible… your Tuesday will thank you.

This is a recording of Rabbi Morris Panitz's of For the Love of Learning. Every Tuesday morning, a new story from the Talmud. Taught by your rabbis in a monthly rotation, we’ll dig into the strange and compelling world of the Talmud, exploring the ways ancient dilemmas speak to modern questions. Join us in-person at the Event Space (coffee and nosh provided) or over Zoom (B.Y.O. nosh) for as many sessions as possible… your Tuesday will thank you.

This is a recording of Rabbi Morris Panitz's of For the Love of Learning. Every Tuesday morning, a new story from the Talmud. Taught by your rabbis in a monthly rotation, we’ll dig into the strange and compelling world of the Talmud, exploring the ways ancient dilemmas speak to modern questions. Join us in-person at the Event Space (coffee and nosh provided) or over Zoom (B.Y.O. nosh) for as many sessions as possible… your Tuesday will thank you.

This is a recording of Rabbi Morris Panitz's of For the Love of Learning. Every Tuesday morning, a new story from the Talmud. Taught by your rabbis in a monthly rotation, we’ll dig into the strange and compelling world of the Talmud, exploring the ways ancient dilemmas speak to modern questions. Join us in-person at the Event Space (coffee and nosh provided) or over Zoom (B.Y.O. nosh) for as many sessions as possible… your Tuesday will thank you.

This is a recording of Rabbi Sharon Brous's of For the Love of Learning. Every Tuesday morning, a new story from the Talmud. Taught by your rabbis in a monthly rotation, we’ll dig into the strange and compelling world of the Talmud, exploring the ways ancient dilemmas speak to modern questions. Join us in-person at the Event Space (coffee and nosh provided) or over Zoom (B.Y.O. nosh) for as many sessions as possible… your Tuesday will thank you.

Parashat Shemot 5786

We apologize for technical difficulties that occured during the livestream which caused compromised the quality of the first 20 minutes of audio.

But we can—and must—choose agency over inevitability.

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

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.

Source sheet: https://ikar.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Everythings-Breaking.-Can-We-Be-Fixed_.pdf

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."

Join Rabbi Brous and Lori Gottlieb 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.

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.

Read the sermon here.

Parashat Behar-Behukotai 5785

This is an archive of a live event from 5/7/2025 that took place as part of Milken Institute's Global Conference.

Parashat Tazria-Metzora 5785—May 3, 2025

There are a number of

parallels between the creation of the world and the splitting of Yam Suf,

casting this dramatic moment of the Exodus as a kind of “recreation

story.”  Which makes the appearance of a provocative midrash about an

Israelite woman picking fruit from a tree and feeding it to another that much

more fascinating… and I’d like to suggest, subversive.  What exactly

happened in the Garden of Eden, and what message does it hold for the

generation crossing the sea?

7th Day of Passover 5785 | Parshat Beshallah

Prepare to embrace the bold vision of Passover

(that we are all heading toward freedom, that pharaohs crumble and fall)

requires focus. Let's affirm the twin pillars of the Hebrew Bible

(chesed/lovingkindness and tzedek/justice) to gird ourselves for the battle

ahead!

April 5, 2025 – Pesah 5785

peace builder. The path to the messianic era depends on this

transformation.

We must be honest about what’s happening here.

Defy the new norms. Live from your deepest moral convictions,

not your most callous political calculations. And do not eat the tainted grain—

no matter how hungry you are. Keep searching for an alternative food source.

There is always another food source.

Do not snail.

Do not capitulate.

Do not meet become the mirror image of your enemy.

Do not render yourselves preemptively powerlessness.

Instead: do what you know.

Read the sermon here.

What will it take for us to understand that there is no future until we see one another?

Vayishlah 5785

Source sheet: https://ikar.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Isaac_-Bound-and-Unbound-1.pdf

and rediscovered their own. We, too, can make that choice. Let us push back on the encroaching darkness as a force for good—a light force—that counters the cruelty, racism, and violence poisoning our culture with compassion, tender presence, and forgiveness. This is what solidarity looks like.

one day our dreams will be realized. Just not today. And not tomorrow.

And maybe not for many years. But just as hope doesn’t die, dreams don’t die.

The dream we share for America didn’t die because our dream—

the dream of a just and merciful multiracial democracy in which all people live in dignity—

that dream is the right dream. It is the only future…

it’s just now clear that it will take much longer to achieve than any of us had hoped.

Sukkot reflects our people's ancient narrative, balancing the transience of a wandering nation and the fragility of life with our yearning for home and the Eternal Divine. How does our tradition compel us to relate to those who yearn for home, but who are left to wander?

This story—propagated by a would-be authoritarian—plays on our worst instincts: the smallness, the fear, the ever-present sense of scarcity. And it threatens to do untold damage.

We must write something new.

peace activist and beloved friend to many in our community), was

murdered by Hamas on October 7th. Since then, her son, Yonatan Zeigen,

has dedicated his life to realizing her vision of peace.

Arab Aramin is a Palestinian peace activist whose sister was killed by

an Israeli soldier in 2007.

The two are members of the Parents Circle – Families Forum, a grassroots

organization of Palestinian and Israeli families who have lost

immediate family members in the conflict, and who believe that only

together can they achieve a sustained peace.

are in a season of second chances. We are reading Moshe's retelling of the

people's journey through the desert in Deuteronomy, and we are about to enter

into the month of Elul, the month of spiritual preparation for the High Holy

Days. It is also the moment when Moshe went back up the mountain to get the

second set of tablets - the ultimate story of second chances. We are about to

start our own month of reflection and repair - let's see what we can do.

culture. How we receive water shapes our consciousness and has the potential to

remind us of the ultimate truth of our existence: we are always, and

inevitably, dependent.

An extraordinary rabbinic story re-imagines the final

conversation between Moses and God, exploring core questions foundational to

the human experience.  What happens in the moment of death?  And,

what peace can be found when learning to let go?

Parashat Devarim, Shabbat Hazon -- 5784

country over the last week, is the most dangerous myth threatening our future

right now.  To throw up our hands and surrender to the myth of

inevitability is to relinquish the most precious gift given to humanity: our

capacity to change the world around us.  We can be scared without being

resigned.  We can be exhausted without being fatalistic.  We can be

discouraged but nonetheless courageous.  

parchment, dark ink, black, and white. Which are the only colors the

human being can see when we are born. If today's parsha had a color, it

would be red.

Click here to see the painting Hope, by George Frederick Watts, painted

in 1886: https://www.wikiart.org/en/george-frederick-watts/hope-1886

Full class: https://youtu.be/xCIiAkZDSGQ

Watch the Full Class: https://youtu.be/FRhY5TSlsqo

Full unedited class: https://youtu.be/tQGKQYEjVKA

Source sheet: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/563716?lang=bi

Full unedited class: https://youtu.be/O-gaUHURJBA

Source sheet: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/562111?lang=bi

Zilberstein, Jason Neidleman, and Alexia Gyorody, the second, third, and

fourth generation of family members who both survived and perished in

the Shoah. As living survivor numbers dwindle, we will explore together

how we can understand and hold their experiences in ways that co-create a

more just, humane and dignified future for one another and our world.

Co-produced by Peanut Productions.

Videos by The Righteous Conversations Project:

- To Life: The Ella Mandel Story created in collaboration with Sinai

Akiba

- Dreams of Yisrael: The Story of Yisrael Zilberstein created in

collaboration with IKAR Limudim

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.

transformative? When we open our doors to those who are hungry,

something in our hearts opens too. This is how we begin to write a new

liberation story.

Since October 7, The New Israel Fund has been funding emergency support

and resettlement for Israelis forced from their homes, and they have

been supporting Israelis and Palestinians working together for a just

future. They have now launched a campaign to feed the people of Gaza

living at the brink of famine through the World Central Kitchen and The

International Rescue Committee. The humanitarian crisis there is a moral

catastrophe, and it is a Jewish moral obligation to feed those who are

hungry. I hope you’ll join me in support of this campaign.

assumptions about each other that cast a giant shadow over how we relate to one

another.  Who knows what kind of humanity might emerge from such a

day, from such a world?

latent antisemitism. And in a culture steeped in antisemitism, literally no one is safe. The bulwark against authoritarianism is a multiracial, multifaith coalition,

and that coalition is broken today, and risks being fractured beyond

repair. We must sound the alarm.

recognizes, in the subtleties of language, that history is on the verge of

dangerously repeating.  Moses must become a new kind of leader, one who

does everything in his power to save the people from God’s wrath.  Only

then can healing begin. 

Parashat Tetzaveh 5784

it nearly impossible for people seeking asylum to safely enter this country and

with the numbers of displaced people around the world growing quickly, we need

better solutions. The Torah's images of the keruvim (cherubs) offer us two versions

- what will we choose?

that softens the soil.  When law leaves story behind, it runs the risk of

disregarding the human beings it's meant to protect.  In the last year and

a half, since Roe V. Wade was overturned, far too many women and people who

need abortion access have been dangerously denied care. It’s time to tell their

stories and protect the right to reproductive freedom. 

 Learn more about the vision, the work and the promise of ALFA here. 

The people are free, but Moses is caught between past and future, and the consequences are tragic.

Due to technical difficulties, the beginning of this program was not recorded.

a darkness that sometimes manifests as depression, despair, and suicidal ideation,

a darkness that may feel inescapable. I offer these words with great love and tenderness toward those who are holding fresh or age-old wounds of worry and grief.

Today we’ll meet in the darkness.

To honor the victims and support the survivors in their efforts to rebuild, we invite you to join a community memorial and fundraiser in a Zoom webinar with survivors from Kibbutz Kfar Azza in a conversation moderated by Rabbi Sharon Brous.

Jacob loved Rachel, but he failed to take seriously her anguished voice.

Thousands of years later, Israeli spotters—women in intelligence—were ignored…

at the peril of the nation. Why we must center women’s voices in the quest for peace,

and in the work for a better, safer world.

Third way people fight to see humanity, even when our own humanity has been denied,

and insist on complexity in a world of simplistic certainties, and fluidity in a time of binaries.

Perhaps we, too, can find one another in that spacious place, the place where hope is born.

Rooted in our identity is an ancient call to meet our family in sorrow,

to act in solidarity, and even from the depths of our pain,

to never, ever forget the humanity of the other.

and the importance of compassion, solidarity and showing up.

I think you'll find it interesting to hear a a side of Ezra that you won't always see on stage, a soft, reflective side. She will scream at you from the stage, but one on one, when she's working through ideas, she's very quiet and deliberate. You can tell that she believes everything she says and and believes that how you say it and when you say it are extremely important, too.

Buy Rabbi David Kasher's book, ParshaNut.

Best Book Ever is a co-presentation of IKAR and the Hadar Institute. Find us on socials @WeAreIKAR and @HadarInstitute. You can follow my Facebook page at Rabbi David Kasher or find me on instagram @DavidKasher to keep up with the show and everything else we’re getting up to.

Walking away is not a moral choice.

Instead, we must summon courage, imagination and moral clarity.

Isaiah’s message today, on Shabbat Hazon, a Shabbat of vision, challenges to the people to take action and choose a path toward hope, not disaster.

Those feelings of aloneness, or differentness, or social irrelevance are as old as time. In Aaron, something beautiful and eternal was born from the heartache. What about in us? The reminder that together we can beat back the darkness... by honoring the light that dwells within each of us.

one who studies Torah." How can the study of Torah help us understand

and appreciate what it means to be free?

Entering Adar with hearts heavy from hate, our tradition reminds us of the messages embedded from the past, and their subversive claims on our future.

Israel is barreling toward an unrecognizable future. Let us not sleep through the revolution.

In perhaps the most heartbreaking verse of the Torah, Esav cries out to his father for a blessing just like his younger brother had received. To understand these tears and the tragic arc set into motion by this moment, we turn to a surprising source for insight: The Book of Esther. Uncovering the hidden conversation between these two texts implores us to love expansively and without limits.

We hope you’ll feel inspired to share our stories with friends and we hope that you’ll join us in our work for building more homes.

 And we aren’t the only living beings with stories to tell. 

The Earth’s chorus of voices demands moral engagement, a new approach to our planet in peril.

It’s time to write a new and better, more just and more inclusive version of our story.

We must plant seeds for the future now, before it’s too late.

Right now, we need to be telling and hearing our abortion stories.  

This is an edited down version of Rabbi David Kasher's weekly Parsha Studies Class from 5/12/2022.

Between Passover and Shavuot, Jews all over the world devote themselves to the study of Ethics (Pirkei Avot). This custom follows the famous rabbinic teaching that before we can receive the Torah, we must learn Derekh Eretz - how to live together in harmony with all human beings. One of the greatest Jewish philosophers, the mighty Maharal of Prague (famous from the legend of The Golem!) called this course of study "The Path of Life."

(From Samara Hutman's Intro)

In partnership with Righteous Conversations Project.

#hevrakadisha #mourningrituals #yahrtzeit #love&loss