Ikar Los Angeles

In this moment it is so easy to be fully consumed by the constant news updates and horrors and the fear and uncertainty. And as we continue to try to show up and manage the raging world out there, we must also take of ourselves. We need each other for this long road ahead - what do we have to offer?

A recording of Rabbi David Kasher's weekly virtual parsha study class from 10.26.2023. Sign up for the class here: https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A...

We are descendants of Abraham, Ivrim – Hebrews. Rooted in our identity is an ancient call to meet our family in sorrow, to act in solidarity, and even from the depths of our pain, to never, ever forget the humanity of the other.

A recording of Rabbi David Kasher's weekly virtual parsha study class from 10.26.2023. Sign up for the class here: https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A...

A recording of Rabbi David Kasher's weekly virtual parsha study class from 10.19.2023. Sign up for the class here: https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fikar-la.zoom.us%2Fmeeting%2Fregister%2FtJwrfuytrz4jGtMKB6cYx0bcGz7JmFw5rgUd&sa=D&ust=1697577720000000&usg=AOvVaw1yOKzqinM2sivSvIl6GPS9

After the atrocities in Israel on Simhat Torah, among the worst in Jewish history, we must remember the healing power of community, and the importance of compassion, solidarity and showing up.

A recording of Rabbi David Kasher's weekly virtual parsha study class from 10.12.2023. Sign up for the class here: https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fikar-la.zoom.us%2Fmeeting%2Fregister%2FtJwrfuytrz4jGtMKB6cYx0bcGz7JmFw5rgUd&sa=D&ust=1697577720000000&usg=AOvVaw1yOKzqinM2sivSvIl6GPS9

The book of B'midbar is a book full of conflict. And so that was the book that Ezra Furman suggested we talk about. It's appropriate - she's a punk musician and B'midbar is kind of the punk book of the Torah. I think you'll find it interesting to hear a a side of Ezra that you won't always see on stage, a soft, reflective side. She will scream at you from the stage, but one on one, when she's working through ideas, she's very quiet and deliberate. You can tell that she believes everything she says and and believes that how you say it and when you say it are extremely important, too. Buy Rabbi David Kasher's book, ParshaNut. Best Book Ever is a co-presentation of IKAR and the Hadar Institute. Find us on socials @WeAreIKAR and @HadarInstitute. You can follow my Facebook page at Rabbi David Kasher or find me on instagram @DavidKasher to keep up with the show and everything else we’re getting up to.

How must we respond to the danger posed by Israel’s extreme, ultranationalist government? Walking away is not a moral choice. Instead, we must summon courage, imagination and moral clarity.

Engaging fully in the introspection of this High Holiday season can land us deep in shame and unable to move. But there is another way: be honest about our shortcomings, witness them and embrace them, and then transform them into something else entirely.

Some reflections on ending well, and what we pray will never end, offered on my father’s shloshim—the end of the most intense period of mourning. Read the full transcript: https://ikar.box.com/s/pk0nat9jcb3k3pk4uzken4ujdcrum1hb

Pastor Eddie Anderson, Reverend Zachary Hoover, and Rabbi Sharon Brous in conversation to discuss the necessity of reparations for building the beloved community.

This summer, we’ve become a city of picket lines, with more than 100,000 workers out on strike. Though the particulars of each strike might differ, screenwriters, actors, hotel employees, and city staffers are unified in demanding greater respect from their employers and the right to a sustainable livelihood. The Torah is clear that the dangerous gap between the power of the employer and the worker necessitates our solidarity with the worker’s pursuit of dignity. Let’s make our voices heard.   

Our Torah teaches clearly that during war you cannot cut down enemy trees. How does that impact our understanding of the fires ravaging Maui? The horrible toll of colonization and climate change is all around us, what are we called to do?

Within the story of a technical, 2nd century, out-of-the-box legal maneuver is a much greater lesson about the dangers of a fracturing social reality. It’s a cautionary tale about what’s at stake when a society is perilously far from its foundational ideals. A tale, sadly, as modern as it is ancient.   

What if what changes us are not in the earthquake, the wind, the fire, but the tiny, almost indiscernible moments in-between? Heading into the holiest time of year, amidst so many rapturous challenges, let’s see what we can learn when we pay attention to the small stories.

When we say 'Hear O, Israel,' are we really listening?