IKAR Podcasts

I spent the summer reading banned books. Here’s what I learned: empathy poses the greatest threat to tyranny. Art is the antidote to numbness. And Torah is the most dangerous book of all.

This is a recording of Rabbi David Kasher's Parsha class from September 29, 2022 that has been edited for brevity. Watch the full class on IKAR's YouTube channel.

Some lessons we learn just once, but the deeper wisdom we learn over and over and over. This summer was my coping with prostate cancer and surgery. And the old lessons were there to greet me on the other side: the world is prepared for us, it takes (and we are) a village), we are marinating in love.

Culture change always starts with stories.   And we aren’t the only living beings with stories to tell. The Earth’s chorus of voices demands moral engagement, a new approach to our planet in peril.

Our world is crying out for a subversive sequel, a redemption narrative.It’s time to write a new and better, more just and more inclusive version of our story.We must plant seeds for the future now, before it’s too late.

During this time of cheshbon hanefesh or accounting of the soul, are we keeping our corner of the body of the Jewish people healthy with communally, unified practice? I believe, it's time to create a liberally minded halacha (practice of Jewish law) to meet our sensibilities of the day yet remain true to the commandments of our tradition.

Living in exile with God (as if such a thing could be.)

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.

This is a recording of Rabbi David Kasher's Parsha class from September 15, 2022