The Sermons I Needed to Hear Right Now
About this episode
Klein speaks with Rabbi Sharon Brous, founder of the Los Angeles synagogue Ikar, about her two sermons in the aftermath of Oct. 7 — the ones that tried to hold both Jewish grief and Palestinian suffering. Brous describes how her congregation of 3,000-plus responded to both sermons, and why her insistence on distinguishing between Israeli policy and Jewish safety cost her support while earning the synagogue national attention. They discuss her call for 'soulful solidarity' with Palestinians, the moral weight of opposing the Israeli occupation while loving Israel, the failure of American Jewish institutions to create space for dissent, and how to build resilient spiritual community in a moment when grief, rage, and fear are pulling Jews toward absolutism and despair.