Today, Michael speaks with Rabbi Sharon Brous. Sharon is the senior and founding rabbi of IKAR, a leading-edge Jewish community based in Los Angeles, and the author of The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Mend Our Broken Hearts and World, a national bestseller. She was named #1 on the Newsweek/The Daily Beast list of most influential Rabbis in America and has been recognized by The Forward and Jerusalem Post as among the most influential Jews alive today. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post, and her 2016 TED talk, “Reclaiming Religion,” has been viewed by more than 1.5 million people. Sharon is in the inaugural cohort of Auburn Seminary’s Senior Fellows program, which unites top faith leaders working on the frontlines for justice, she sits on the faculty of REBOOT and serves on the International Council of the New Israel Fund, and the national steering committee for the Poor People’s Campaign.

Highlights from Michael’s and Sharon’s insightful conversation include: 

-Sharon’s spiritual awakening and a deep dive into her seminary journey, her love for Talmudic texts, and the realization that her feminist, activist voice was missing from the tradition, and needed to be included

-The deep spiritual yearning among disaffected Jews and the need for a new, imaginative religious expression that is both prophetic and rooted in justice

-The criticism and threats Sharon received for calling people to compassion, and the spiritual imperative to resist polarization by turning toward, not away from, each other

-Poignant stories from Sharon’s community and life, including a powerful lesson from her mentor that taught her the sacred responsibility of simply showing up

-Themes from Sharon’s celebrated sermon, The Amen Effect, and how it turned into a national best-selling book

-The link between social disconnection and the rise of tyranny, and a story of how an ideological conflict helped catalyze a life-changing shift in someone

-The “18 minutes of joy” practice from Sharon’s grieving friend, redefining joy as a form of resistance and spiritual resilience, and so much more!

Finally, Michael leads a guided meditation on expanding love from a personal to global scale, culminating in gratitude, spaciousness, and divine compassion. 

Learn more about IKAR and Sharon’s work at https://ikar.org/ and on social media.

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