The Essence of Hanukkah: Creating Light or Kindling Fire? – Rabbi Morris Panitz

Perverters of Justice and Pluralized Karma - Rabbi Sharon Brous: The warnings famously issued in this parashah are not Biblical fantasy—they are living reality. When we allow powerful people to deceive, mock and instrumentalize those most vulnerable, when we cede to a norm of heartlessness, indifference and the perversion of justice, there is no end to the cruelties that will permeate our society. It’s time to wake up—to recognize this moment and movement for exactly what it is. by IKAR Sermons & Talks

18 min listen

The War Before the War - Rabbi David Kasher: Sifting through a dense catalog of state regulations in search of some inspiration for the High Holy Days - with some help from the Ba'al Shem Tov and Abraham Maslow. by IKAR Sermons & Talks

14 min listen

Like a Ripple - Rabbi Lebell: We live in a vast, complex world. It’s beautiful, but wracked with devastation and suffering. Infinitesimal in the face of it all, one wonders how they could possibly make a difference. The first four words of Parshat Re’eh teach us that each individual’s presence does in fact have an impact on the wider community, and a single action can even tip the whole world toward good. Let’s choose to live like every single one of us matters, like the way we live can bring us closer to a healed, redeemed world. by IKAR Sermons & Talks

18 min listen

Even When You’re Far Away, I’m Right Here - Rabbi Sharon Brous: As we prepare to bring our oldest to college, I feel for Moses, struggling to say goodbye to his own children as they stand poised to enter the Promised Land, knowing this is a journey they must take without his guiding presence by their side. Somehow, amidst the confused, rambling contradictions, Moses helps b’nai Yisrael remember what matters most, and reminds us just what we need to hear as well. by IKAR Sermons & Talks

19 min listen

The Prayer Problem - Rabbi David Kasher: Stories from Rabbi Kasher’s early prayer days. A rabbinic list of ten types of prayer. And a prayer reframe from the Sfas Emes. by IKAR Sermons & Talks

22 min listen

The Transformative Power of Shared Grief - Rabbi Sharon Brous: Tisha b’Av is a day of communal grief-- we fast, lament and hold the memory of the greatest catastrophes the Jewish people have endured. T by IKAR Sermons & Talks

22 min listen

We’ll Find Water - Rabbi Morris Panitz: What’s the first step of a spiritual journey? by IKAR Sermons & Talks

13 min listen

In Praise of Old Age - Rabbi David Kasher: The Legend of Serah bat Asher. And a commandment we too often overlook. by IKAR Sermons & Talks

19 min listen

SERMON Brown M&Ms - Rabbi Joseph Shamash: Recovery and Bilaam’s addictive tendencies. by IKAR Sermons & Talks

13 min listen

Desire Revisited - Parshat Beha'alotcha: The Israelites have begun complaining. by IKAR Sermons & Talks

18 min listen

There Were Twelve Flags of Israel - Shabbat Bamidbar: Thoughts on the dangers and the blessings of flag-waving by IKAR Sermons & Talks

15 min listen

Restored with Love: Lessons from Megilat Rut - Rabbi Keilah Lebell: In such a turbulent time we need to remember what love looks like. by IKAR Sermons & Talks

13 min listen

On Mourning and Lag b’Omer - Rabbi Ronit Tsadok: The themes of Lag b’Omer offer some guidance on what our society needs. by IKAR Sermons & Talks

9 min listen

"I am a private person." - Rabbi David Kasher: A Jewish response to the recently leaked Supreme Court draft opinion intending to overturn Roe v. Wade. by IKAR Sermons & Talks

14 min listen

The Question of Jewish Identity - Rabbi David Kasher: Reflections after a recent trip to Israel. by IKAR Sermons & Talks

17 min listen

The Unsung Heroines of Our Liberation Story - Rabbi Tova Leibovic-Douglas: Our Passover story was made possible by a quiet revolutionary spirit manifested through four female archetypes. by IKAR Sermons & Talks

12 min listen

Leaving Egypt in a Warming World - Rabbi Morris Panitz: Egypt is not just a place. It’s our addiction to fossil fuels, our extractive relationship to the Earth, our rendering of Creation solely and soullessly as an instrument for greed. In each generation, every individual must see themselves as though they left Egypt, which begs the question: on the road to freedom, what will each of us do to leave Egypt behind us? by IKAR Sermons & Talks

16 min listen

Covid Torah - Rabbi David Kasher: One of the silver linings of the pandemic is that we have all become better readers of Leviticus. by IKAR Sermons & Talks

20 min listen

The Complicated Wisdom of Jewish Time - Rabbi David Kasher: Reflections on mourning from Moed Katan and Parshat Shemini. In memory of Steven J. Kasher, Z"L. by IKAR Sermons & Talks

19 min listen

Don’t Look Away - Rabbi Morris Panitz: Even in the absence of a clear political path forward, we need to keep our hearts open to the stories, pleas, and suffering of the Ukrainian people, responding with empathy, advocacy, and resources. by IKAR Sermons & Talks

6 min listen

Fostering Possibility - Rabbi Susan Silverman: In this drasha we explore how Esther and Moses overcame their resistance to action, when that action involved risk; Serah bat Asher and Ruth's capacities to draw strength and purpose from the past and imagine themselves as agents of a better future; and how all their stories shed light on our lives and world today, particularly in relation to our responsibility for the children in the LA County Foster Care system. by IKAR Sermons & Talks

16 min listen

All Life is Sacred - Rabbi Morris Panitz: We are all made in the image of God, interconnected and morally accountable to one another. by IKAR Sermons & Talks

10 min listen

A Technologically Reflective People - Rabbi David Kasher: A sermon on our relationship to technology (in which Rabbi Kasher gets his dates confused and accidentally adds a year to the pandemic!) by IKAR Sermons & Talks

14 min listen

Redemption is Here… Now!!!: Real moments with real meaning, and that neither could nor should last forever. by IKAR Sermons & Talks

29 min listen

Just Holiness / Holy Justice - Rabbi David Kasher by IKAR Sermons & Talks

16 min listen

Love in the Time of Loss - Rabbi Morris Panitz: We aren’t just shaped by the past. by IKAR Sermons & Talks

14 min listen

The Inner Whisper - Rabbi Sharon Brous: On my final shabbat before sabbatical, we explore the connection between na’aseh v’nishmah—doing and discovering—and shmita, a periodic break in the rhythm of doing to digest lessons learned and deepen our roots as we prepare for the next chapter of our flourishing. by IKAR Sermons & Talks

22 min listen

Keeping Open Our Doors and Our Heart – Rabbi Sharon Brous: Jewish vulnerability is rooted in the enduring awareness of those who want to do us harm. And the world is full of goodness. We must learn to hold both. by IKAR Sermons & Talks

18 min listen

No Victory Until All Have Crossed the Sea – Rabbi Sharon Brous by IKAR Sermons & Talks

19 min listen

January 6th, One Year Later: Rep. Adam Schiff & Rabbi Sharon Brous Discuss the Democracy Crisis by IKAR Sermons & Talks

35 min listen

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The Essence of Hanukkah: Creating Light or Kindling Fire? – Rabbi Morris Panitz

The Essence of Hanukkah: Creating Light or Kindling Fire? – Rabbi Morris Panitz

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