IKAR Podcasts

Lunch & Learn with American Federation for Teachers President Randi Weingarten and Rabbi Sharon Brous to discuss Weingarten's new book, Why Fascists Fear Teachers: Public Education and the Future of Democracy, which exposes the long-planned strategy to undermine education—and lifts up the powerful role educators play in protecting truth and democracy. We apologize for technical difficulties that occured during the livestream which caused compromised the quality of the first 20 minutes of audio.

1. We must be exactly who we are, only more so. 2. There is great geographical, ideological, political and religious distance between us. We must remember that we are responsible for one another. And 3. We must dramatically shift our approach to fighting antisemitism.

This is a recording of the Weekly Parashah with Rabbi David Kasher, a class co-sponsored by Hadar and IKAR from 12.18.2025 / Mikeitz 5786

This is a recording of Rabbi Sharon Brous's of For the Love of Learning. Every Tuesday morning, a new story from the Talmud. Taught by your rabbis in a monthly rotation, we’ll dig into the strange and compelling world of the Talmud, exploring the ways ancient dilemmas speak to modern questions. Join us in-person at the Event Space (coffee and nosh provided) or over Zoom (B.Y.O. nosh) for as many sessions as possible… your Tuesday will thank you.

The seeds of redemption were being planted—we were just too busy to notice.

A conversation between Rabbi Angela Buchdahl and Rabbi Sharon Brous on faith, identity, leadership, and Buchdahl’s new book, Heart of a Stranger.

Dr. Kraemer focuses on the literary analysis of rabbinic literature, rabbinic ritual, the social and religious history of Jews in late antiquity, and Jewish diaspora ideologies. Since 2024, he has played a crucial role in forging policy and expanding the impact of the Library’s world-renowned collections and programs. His most recent book is Embracing Exile: The Case for Jewish Diaspora.

This is a recording of Rabbi Sharon Brous's third session of For the Love of Learning. Every Tuesday morning, a new story from the Talmud. Taught by your rabbis in a monthly rotation, we’ll dig into the strange and compelling world of the Talmud, exploring the ways ancient dilemmas speak to modern questions. Join us in-person at the Event Space (coffee and nosh provided) or over Zoom (B.Y.O. nosh) for as many sessions as possible… your Tuesday will thank you.

When it comes to speaking about the personal experiences we’ve had— or we yearn for— with God, we tend to retreat into self-consciousness and silence.  I’d like for that to change.  So, here’s my story.

This is a recording of our second session of For the Love of Learning. Every Tuesday morning, a new story from the Talmud. Taught by your rabbis in a monthly rotation, we’ll dig into the strange and compelling world of the Talmud, exploring the ways ancient dilemmas speak to modern questions. Join us in-person at the Event Space (coffee and nosh provided) or over Zoom (B.Y.O. nosh) for as many sessions as possible… your Tuesday will thank you.

Our ancestor, Isaac, repeated the pattern of his father’s failures—an expression of loyalty to the covenant. We, too, may feel trapped by the force of the past, as though we are powerless to the repetition of the worst chapters of our history.  But we can—and must—choose agency over inevitability.

Read the source sheet here. This is a recording of our first session of For the Love of Learning. Every Tuesday morning, a new story from the Talmud. Taught by your rabbis in a monthly rotation, we’ll dig into the strange and compelling world of the Talmud, exploring the ways ancient dilemmas speak to modern questions. Join us in-person at the Event Space (coffee and nosh provided) or over Zoom (B.Y.O. nosh) for as many sessions as possible… your Tuesday will thank you.

This week’s parashah is the fourth in a row to remind us that Abraham and Sarah are old. Imagine them in Los Angeles, 2025 - how would they age? And how can that help us imagine a new approach to aging for ourselves?

This is a recording from 11.12.2025 of the Weekly Parashah with Rabbi David Kasher, a class co-sponsored by Hadar and IKAR.

Vayera 5786 The Rabbis warn of a society defined by its cruelty toward the most vulnerable. We must not become Sodom.

This is a recording from 11.5.2025 of the Weekly Parashah with Rabbi David Kasher, a class co-sponsored by Hadar and IKAR.

The audio recording of this conversation was compromised and you may need to adjust volume settings for certain portions of the recording. We are deeply sorry for the inconvenience. Dr. Yasmeen Abu Fraiha is a medical doctor with a specialty in internal medicine, currently completing a clinical fellowship in critical care at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, combined with a research fellowship at the Middle East Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School. Her research focuses on healthcare policy and politics that create inequality in health services and outcomes for underserved communities.  She formerly served as the Health Policy Director at the Task Force for Health Promotion and Equity in the Arab Society at the Israeli Ministry of Health, leading major efforts and interventions to deal with health disparities between Jews and Arabs in Israel.   She co-founded two NGOs that promote socio-economic development of the Bedouin community in Israel, while focusing on health, education, women’s employment, housing and community empowerment. She has won several awards, including the 2007 Ramon Award for quality, leadership, and excellence and was chosen to be part of Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list. In 2023, she was named one of Israel’s 50 most influential women by Globes Magazine.  Yasmeen holds a BSc and MD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School.

The case for the medium tent. Source sheet: https://ikar.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Everythings-Breaking.-Can-We-Be-Fixed_.pdf

This is a recording from 10.29.2025 of the Weekly Parashah with Rabbi David Kasher, a class co-sponsored by Hadar and IKAR.