Best IKAR Podcasts (2024)

Water is not only a building block of life, but also of culture. How we receive water shapes our consciousness and has the potential to remind us of the ultimate truth of our existence: we are always, and inevitably, dependent.By IKAR

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Ikar HaDin, Chumra, and Minhag: The Phenomenon of Greater Stringency in the Orthodox World, with Rabbi Shaya Karlinsky (215) 59:37

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19d ago59:37

59:37

Sometimes it’s called a move to the right. Other times it is seen as a rejection of lax religiosity. Some people think of it as an admirable commitment to serving God as best as possible. Others decry it as representing an unacceptable change from traditional Jewish practice. All these and more are reactions to the unquestionably real phenomenon of…

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Eikev (5784) 53:28

14h ago53:28

53:28

Eikev (5784)By Rabbi Yehoshua Rubenstein

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Eikev (5783) - Sarah Imeinu is the Root of All Geirim 19:56

14h ago19:56

19:56

Eikev (5783) - Sarah Imeinu is the Root of All GeirimBy Rabbi Yehoshua Rubenstein

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Eikev (5782) The Zechus of Davening Before Eating - מדקדקין עד כזית ועד כביצה 14:39

14h ago14:39

14:39

Eikev (5782) The Zechus of Davening Before Eating - מדקדקין עד כזית ועד כביצהBy Rabbi Yehoshua Rubenstein

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Eikev (5781) - The Earth Shattering Drasha of Rebbe Akiva - את ה' אלקיך תירא -רבות תלמידי חכמים 25:18

14h ago25:18

25:18

Eikev (5781) - The Earth Shattering Drasha of Rebbe Akiva - את ה' אלקיך תירא -רבות תלמידי חכמיםBy Rabbi Yehoshua Rubenstein

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Eikev (5780) - Moshe is the Source of Techias Hameisim 26:46

14h ago26:46

26:46

Eikev (5780) - Moshe is the Source of Techias HameisimBy Rabbi Yehoshua Rubenstein

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The Ongoing War, and a Potential Mental Health Crisis in Israel and the Diaspora (217) 1:18:09

4h ago1:18:09

1:18:09

This podcast is being released less than a day after the Israeli army preemptively struck thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers in Lebanon, doing so just fifteen minutes before those launchers were supposed to fire hundreds of missiles into northern and central Israel. Thank God that as of now, Israel clearly won this exchange. We don’t know what…

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Women and Kaddish

8d ago

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By Rabbi Anthony Manning

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Vaeschanan (5780) - Shabbos Nachamu 28:12

1d ago28:12

28:12

Vaeschanan (5780) - Shabbos NachamuBy Rabbi Yehoshua Rubenstein

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Vaeschanan (5781) Iyov Vs. Moshe-Eitz Hadaas Vs Eitz Hachayim 25:23

20h ago25:23

25:23

Vaeschanan (5781) Iyov Vs. Moshe-Eitz Hadaas Vs Eitz HachayimBy Rabbi Yehoshua Rubenstein

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Is Israel a Light Unto the Nations... And Should It Even Bother Trying? A Conversation with Yossi Klein Halevi (216) 55:31

7d ago55:31

55:31

The October 7th massacre, and the subsequent war against Hamas, other Iranian proxies like Hezbollah and the Houthis, and Iran itself, have caused many people throughout the Jewish world to reconsider what Israel means to them, and what kind of society Israel should create. Many continually return to the idea that Israel should be a light unto the …

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Learning to Let Go - Rabbi Morris Panitz 16:33

12h ago16:33

16:33

Source Sheet: https://ikar.app.box.com/s/rtmn38bq994apeql50rea60v1irkvvsg An extraordinary rabbinic story re-imagines the final conversation between Moses and God, exploring core questions foundational to the human experience. What happens in the moment of death? And, what peace can be found when learning to let go?…

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Devarim (5784) The Penimiyus of Shiras Devorah 13:00

12d ago13:00

13:00

Devarim (5784) The Penimiyus of Shiras DevorahBy Rabbi Yehoshua Rubenstein

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Devarim (5784) - Ben Buzi 18:13

16h ago18:13

18:13

Devarim (5784) - Ben BuziBy Rabbi Yehoshua Rubenstein

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Mourner's Kaddish

15d ago

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By Rabbi Anthony Manning

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Dreams and Visions, From Within the Nightmare - Rabbi Sharon Brous 18:59

10d ago18:59

18:59

Some years, the mourning and reflection of Tisha b’Av can feel performative. This year, it will be deeply personal. Even as we approach the abyss, we must remember the redemptive vision planted deep within our souls. Parashat Devarim, Shabbat Hazon -- 5784By IKAR

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Tisha B'Av and Bad Theology: A New View of Megillat Eicha with Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman (CLASSIC EPISODE) 1:10:39

12d ago1:10:39

1:10:39

“What does Eichah have in common with climate change deniers, anti-vaxxers, Holocaust deniers and those that claim that the 2020 presidential elections were stolen?” Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman sent this to Scott, who was intrigued and immediately invited him back onto this podcast to discuss what he meant. More than anything else, we need a way to rel…

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Devarim (5783) - The Secret of Wearing Two Pairs of Tefillin Shel Rosh 29:07

5d ago29:07

29:07

Devarim (5783) - The Secret of Wearing Two Pairs of Tefillin Shel RoshBy Rabbi Yehoshua Rubenstein

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Devorim (5780) - The Hidden Story of Og Melech Habashan 33:33

22d ago33:33

33:33

Devorim-5780By Rabbi Yehoshua Rubenstein

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Why do I keep doing this? How our patterns have purpose. - Rabbi Marc Kraus 16:01

22d ago16:01

16:01

Sermon from 8.3.2024 / Matot-Masei 5784By IKAR

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The Origins and Development of Kaddish

23d ago

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By Rabbi Anthony Manning

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Arrests and Mob Violence at Sdei Teiman: What Happened, What It Means, and Why It Matters (BONUS EPISODE) 40:08

28d ago40:08

40:08

This is a rush-release bonus episode of the Orthodox Conundrum, to help us all get to the bottom of what happened yesterday at the military detention center at Sdei Teiman. We will learn what the nine arrested soldiers were accused of, the manner that they were arrested, and the reason for the protests of numerous right-wing members of Knesset. Wha…

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Can the Glass Ceiling Be Broken? Women's Leadership and Its Limits, with Joanne Greenaway (214) 54:39

1M ago54:39

54:39

One of the most difficult issues facing Modern or Centrist Orthodox Jews today is the question of how to increase and encourage the participation of more women in leadership roles, while also working within the halachic parameters that set limits on how extensive those leadership roles are allowed to be. When we add two thousand years of socializat…

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Let's Get to Work - Rabbi Hannah Jensen 17:21

16d ago17:21

17:21

This week we find ourselves freed from some of the defeatism and despair that was taking root these last weeks and months. And now, with a bit of renewed hope, we have so much work to do. In the parsha we see a model of a collective that includes everyone and centers marginalized and unexpected groups. This moment demands we show up, no matter what…

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Unusual Minhagim of Hagbaha

1M ago

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By Rabbi Anthony Manning

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When Reverence Becomes Pseudo-Idolatry: The Phenomenon of Gadol Worship, with Rav Yitzchak Shurin (213) 1:03:41

23d ago1:03:41

1:03:41

For the past two thousand years, Torah observant Jews have acknowledged that our greatest scholars deserve respect, and have an extraordinarily deep and broad understanding of the vast sea of the Torah sheba’al peh, the Oral Law. In recent times, however, proper respect for talmidei chachamim has often morphed into a pseudo-idolatry of gedolim, whe…

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Don’t Curse Tomorrow with the Despair of Today - Rabbi Morris Panitz 14:00

1M ago14:00

14:00

The sense of defeatism, all too present after the events in this country over the last week, is the most dangerous myth threatening our future right now. To throw up our hands and surrender to the myth of inevitability is to relinquish the most precious gift given to humanity: our capacity to change the world around us. We can be scared without bei…

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Wedding Minhagim: The Indoor Chuppah

1M ago

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By Rabbi Anthony Manning

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Nepotism, Greed, Power, and Politics: The Tragic Self-Inflicted Fate of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate (212) 1:04:40

30d ago1:04:40

1:04:40

68 years ago, Rav Soloveitchik zt'l identified the timidity of Orthodox Jews as representing a failure to respond to the miracle of renewed Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel. Today, tragically, we seem to have the opposite problem. In 2024, Israel has a religious establishment which has completely lost its sense of shame, and is not only inv…

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The Shining Thread - Rabbi Deborah Silver 17:48

1M ago17:48

17:48

When we roll open the sacred Torah, what we see is monochrome. Pale parchment, dark ink, black, and white. Which are the only colors the human being can see when we are born. If today's parsha had a color, it would be red. Click here to see the painting Hope, by George Frederick Watts, painted in 1886: https://www.wikiart.org/en/george-frederick-wa…

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"Our Faith is in the Question": Teaching Emunah to Our Children, Our Students, and Ourselves, with Rabbi David Aaron (211) 1:13:46

1M ago1:13:46

1:13:46

This podcast is dedicated לעילוי נשמת אלעזר בן ישראל, a man who accepted the vicissitudes of life with a simple and pure faith. What does it mean to believe in God? This question is absolutely fundamental to Jewish life and living - yet many people feel uncomfortable discussing God at all. In our educational institutions, we often have a broad curr…

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"The Vast Unconscious of the Jewish People": Learning How (and Why) to Learn Midrash with Simi Peters (210) 1:09:32

1M ago1:09:32

1:09:32

When you learn Torah, do you consider yourself to be in dialogue with Chazal? According to Scott's guest, Simi Peters, a key element of learning midrash aggadah is being able to become participants in a conversation that began thousands of years ago and continues today. But in order to do so, we need to become students of midrash: learning how to a…

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This Moment of Angels - Rabbi Tova Leibovic-Douglas 16:32

2M ago16:32

16:32

We are living in a world that is broken and painful. It is a moment to turn towards the angels within us and around us in order to find our way through.By IKAR

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Our Brothers' Keepers - Rabbi Sharon Brous 29:08

2M ago29:08

29:08

Our family is broken. Please, God, help us heal.By IKAR

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Hareidi Messaging in Modern Orthodox Institutions: Are You Aware of What Your Children Are Being Taught? With Rabbi Yitzchak Blau (209) 1:22:10

2M ago1:22:10

1:22:10

Schools which identify with the Modern Orthodox world and espouse a Centrist Orthodox hashkafa, nevertheless will sometimes hire teachers who profess a Hareidi worldview. In some ways, this is a welcome development; breaking down the barriers that separate our various communities is generally a good thing, and we should be pleased when we discern a…

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Minhag: Outline and Overview

2M ago

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By Rabbi Anthony Manning

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"A Theology of Distraction": Exploring the Conundrums of Kohelet with Dr. Erica Brown (Originally released on September 26, 2023) 1:07:26

2M ago1:07:26

1:07:26

(This episode was originally released on Septetmber 26th, 2023, but its message is perhaps even more relevant now, after October 7th and its aftermath, than before. Scott will be back with a new episode next week.) Megilat Kohelet is one of the most difficult books in Tanach: it jumps back and forth between conflicting assumptions, it lacks any obv…

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A Prayer for Peace - Rabbi Morris Panitz 12:18

2M ago12:18

12:18

Every ounce of our energy must advance a vision of peace. There is no other way to rebuild a society in ruins. Our God, and God of our ancestors. Our God, and God of our descendants. Grant us peace.By IKAR

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