IKAR Podcasts

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. 

Tisha B'Av is the day we devote to contemplating destruction and ruin.  How should we observe it, this year, when we are already carrying so much grief?  And how can our tradition, and the story of one London rabbinical student, spur us to action?

Right now we are in the period of the most concentrated grief in the Jewish calendar leading up to Tisha b'Av next week. This year, in Los Angeles, we are in an extended period of the same. From the fires through the ICE raids beginning last month, we have gotten no reprieve. What insight does our parsha lend us about how to live in this valley of grief and also let our grief be a catalyst for action?

Buried in a list of names is the mysterious fact that the sons of the mutinous leader Korah did not die. What follows is the bizarre journey of the sons of Korah to a ledge in Hell, where their song calls out to us, even today.

Sharing a personal, first-hand account of my time in Israel during the war with Iran.

Trauma, history, fear—all of these lead us down a path that is as futile as it is dangerous. At the end of one terrible war and in the midst of another, we can do better. We must grow in our ability to imagine one other.