IKAR Podcasts

Latest Episodes:

BEST BOOK EVER Wandering Jews and Arameans - Parshat Ki Tavo Sep 13, 2022

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Where does our national story begin? With a wandering Aramean, according to the story told in this week's parsha. But exactly who that Aramean was is a matter of great debate.

SERMON The War Before the War - Rabbi David Kasher Sep 12, 2022

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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.

BBE BONUS CLASS How Rabbis Deal with Moral Discomfort - Parshat Ki Teitzei Sep 09, 2022

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This is a recording of Rabbi David Kasher's Parsha class from September 8, 2022

BEST BOOK EVER A Life in Pieces - Parshat Ki Teitzei Sep 09, 2022

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Buried in the laws of inheritance is a subtle reference to one of the most tragic stories in the Torah - one that we usually miss.

SERMON: Like a Ripple - Rabbi Lebell Aug 30, 2022

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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.

SERMON Even When You’re Far Away, I’m Right Here - Rabbi Sharon Brous Aug 22, 2022

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As we prepare to bring our oldest to college, I feel for Moses, struggling to say goodbye to his own children, poised to enter the Promised Land on a part of the journey they must take without him. Somehow, amidst the confused, rambling contradictions of his farewell speech, Moses helps b’nai Yisrael remember what matters most, and reminds us just what we need to hear as well.

BEST BOOK EVER The Tempter - Parshat Re’eh Aug 22, 2022

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The Torah warns us against someone - maybe even someone very close to us - who might come try to entice us to worship other gods! But when we look a little closer at the commentators, we begin to wonder if the real enticement might be coming from… a higher source.