IKAR Podcasts

Hope doesn’t die, and despair is a privilege we cannot afford.

We think of t'shuvah as a process that begins quietly, internally. We take stock and then we act. But what if we need an external catalyst first? What if we need to return to a physical place in order to encounter ourselves again - a different version of ourselves, different pieces. What can returning to a place surface for us? And what does our tradition show us can come from that journey?

One year after her sister's death, Michal rethinks the Talmudic story of "the oven of achnei" and Moses's final speech to the people to reflect upon the importance of small and private acts.

Vivian Silver (founder of Women Wage Peace, lifelong Israeli-Canadian 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.

As we prepare for the High Holy Days, what difficult things do you need to say to God?  Covenantal relationship must be able to hold it all. The anger and the disappointment, the heartbreak and the rebuke.

We say Psalm 27 100 times in the High Holy day season. Why?

Six beloved hostages were executed in a tunnel beneath Rafah, leaving behind broken-hearted loved ones and a shattered nation. We must be clear about who is responsible.

At this time of year in our Jewish calendar, weare in a season of second chances. We are reading Moshe's retelling of thepeople's journey through the desert in Deuteronomy, and we are about to enterinto the month of Elul, the month of spiritual preparation for the High HolyDays. It is also the moment when Moshe went back up the mountain to get thesecond set of tablets - the ultimate story of second chances. We are about tostart our own month of reflection and repair - let's see what we can do.

Water is not only a building block of life, but also ofculture. How we receive water shapes our consciousness and has the potential toremind us of the ultimate truth of our existence: we are always, andinevitably, dependent.

Source Sheet: https://ikar.app.box.com/s/rtmn38bq994apeql50rea60v1irkvvsgAn extraordinary rabbinic story re-imagines the finalconversation between Moses and God, exploring core questions foundational tothe human experience.  What happens in the moment of death?  And,what peace can be found when learning to let go?