IKAR Podcasts

In honor of Abraham Joshua Heschel’s 50th yahrtzeit, we revisit the central claims of his theology, exploring how wonder and a personal relationship with God can reorient our approach to a meaningful life.  Wonder reminds us that we are recipients of a gift, summoning us to the ultimate question: what are we to do with this gift?

Much of the time it feels like we're on a different path than what we hoped for or asked for or dreamed. What can Joseph and Betzalel teach us about the gifts of two very divergent paths? What do we learn from a path that is both short and long?

The candles in our window don’t just remind us of the miracles our ancestors experienced… they invite the world into our story. See us! we say. See our trial and our triumph, our struggle and our survival. Our story becomes real when it is held with care. And that may be the real gift, one we can give each other every day.

What would happen if we approached life with a posture of fullness rather than one of scarcity?

Rabbi Sharon Brous and Ari Wallach in conversation from 12/3/2022

Even decades after Jacob stole the birthright from his brother, he sees himself, fundamentally, as a liar and a thief. When we don’t believe we can change, we invest in subverting the truth and inverting reality. Our country is in the grips of a multi-generational obfuscation, entrenching in a dangerous lie that we cannot reckon with the past, that healing is not possible from past wrongs. But individuals and nations need not be defined by our moral failings. There is another way.

Source sheet here: https://ikar.box.com/s/t1tfkt5grb10t96zuxakm00j3iq0qnjoIn 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.