IKAR Podcasts

We cannot bypass the pain in pursuit of the promise. Only by confronting the trauma of our past, both individual and collective, can we build a future of expansive possibility.

Living meaningfully with the time we've got. 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.

We are facing a spiritual catastrophe. In the small space between prophecy and distinct possibility, we must forge a new path.

We're living in a world of constant distraction and alerts and noise, and we're exhausted. But we also don't know how to get out of this internally and externally constructed trap. What can these holidays help us learn about the necessity of stillness and silence in order to go back out into the world? How can they help us rediscover our connection with ourselves and with each other?

The Jewish community is being offered a false choice between countering antisemitism and protecting democracy and civil rights. But there is no inclusive democracy without Jewish safety -- and no Jewish safety without inclusive democracy. Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) and a nationally recognized leader on countering antisemitism and extremism and protecting democracy -- who previously led the successful lawsuit against the Charlottesville neo-Nazis -- will join Rabbi Sharon Brous for a conversation on how we can reject the false binaries of this moment and advance a more just and inclusive world for Jews and all communities

As we move closer to the High Holydays, what do Ursula Le Guin, a provocative Midrash and the opening word of our Torah portion have to teach us about the demanding but essenntial work of teshuvah?

In this week's parsha we learn that the king had to write a Torah for himself. Or was it two - a Torah that accompanies him throughout his life and one that remains in a treasury locked away? From this we can learn a lot about our public and private selves and about the difference between the actual and the ideal. What lessons might accompany us as we enter this holiday season and throughout our lives?

Both the Jewish calendar and the Torah come to a close leaving our people in a state of active preparation. But do we ever feel truly ready?

An earnest message to my child as she makes her own way in a broken, angry, anguished world, and a quiet plea to us all to open our hearts with love. 

At first glance, Tu B’av, the Festival of Love, seems to be the Jewish equivalent of Valentine’s Day.  But, a deeper look at the strange origins of this holiday reveals the transformative possibilities of this day.  It all begins with an ax.