{{Short description |American rabbi (born 1973)}} {{Infobox person | name = Sharon Brous | image = Sharon Brous.png | caption = Sharon Brous speaking at the University of St. Thomas in 2025. | birth_name = | birth_date = November 30, 1973 | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | years_active = | employer = IKAR | occupation = Rabbi | spouse = David Light | children = 3 | alma_mater = Columbia University (BA) | website = {{url|https://ikar.org/team/rabbi-sharon-brous/}} | image_size = }}

'''Sharon Brous''' (born November 30, 1973) is an American rabbi<ref name=ynet>{{cite news|title=First on America's top 50 rabbis list: A woman|newspaper=Ynetnews|date=March 25, 2013|url=https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4360437,00.html|publisher=Ynet. ynetnews.com|access-date=2018-03-23|archive-date=2023-09-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904054451/https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4360437,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> who is the senior rabbi of IKAR, a Jewish congregation in Los Angeles. She was one of the founders of IKAR in 2004, along with Melissa Balaban, who currently serves as IKAR's Chief Executive Officer, and others.<ref>"[http://ikar-la.org/ask/our-story/ Our Story] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019051807/https://ikar-la.org/ask/our-story/ |date=2020-10-19 }}". IKAR. ikar-la.org. Retrieved 2018-03-24.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ikar-la.org/team/melissa-balaban/|title=Melissa Balaban|website=IKAR. ikar-la.org|language=en|access-date=2017-06-17|archive-date=2020-10-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019051657/https://ikar-la.org/team/melissa-balaban/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Biography== In 2013, ''The Daily Beast'' listed Brous as #1 on its list of America's most influential rabbis; she ranked #5 on the same list in 2012.<ref name="50Most">[http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2013/03/21/america-s-top-50-rabbis-for-2013-photos.html America's Top 50 Rabbis for 2013 (PHOTOS)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170507184939/http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2013/03/21/america-s-top-50-rabbis-for-2013-photos.html |date=2017-05-07 }}, ''Daily Beast'' (March 21, 2013).</ref> The publication wrote that "Ikar, the come-as-you-are spiritual community that Brous, 39, founded nearly a decade ago, has become a magnet for L.A.’s young, unaffiliated Jews" in a time when many synagogues face "disaffected, declining membership."<ref name="50Most"/>

In 2006, the ''Forward'' cited her as among the 50 most influential American Jews.<ref>"[https://forward.com/forward-50-2006/ ''Forward'' 50, 2006] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219130030/https://forward.com/forward-50-2006/ |date=2019-02-19 }}". ''Forward''. forward.com. Retrieved 2018-03-24.</ref> In 2013 she blessed President Obama and Vice President Biden at the Inaugural National Prayer Service, and blessed LA Mayor Eric Garcetti at his inauguration in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaM5n5aAgeA |title=Video |via=YouTube |accessdate=2020-11-23 |archive-date=2021-01-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124063508/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaM5n5aAgeA |url-status=live }}</ref> She sits on the faculty of the Hartman Institute-North America, Wexner Foundation's Wexner Heritage; and REBOOT, and is a Senior Fellow at Auburn Theological Seminary. She serves on the International Council of the New Israel Fund and rabbinic advisory council to American Jewish World Service.

Brous was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2001 and received a master's degree in human rights from Columbia University, where she also received her bachelor's degree in 1995.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Columbia College Today|url=https://www.college.columbia.edu/cct_archive/may05/updates4.html|access-date=2021-10-02|website=College.columbia.edu}}</ref> Before moving to Los Angeles, she served as a Rabbinic Fellow at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in New York City.

In January 2016, Brous and colleagues from six other Jewish communities from across the United States officially announced the launch of the Jewish Emergent Network, a collaboration between IKAR and Kavana in Seattle, The Kitchen in San Francisco, Mishkan in Chicago, Sixth & I in Washington, D.C., and Lab/Shul and Romemu in New York City. All seven communities have individually received recognition for the impact of their work in the Jewish community on both a local and national scale.

In 2018 Brous, among others, was on the cover of ''Time''; the cover was based on a 1943 Norman Rockwell painting titled “Freedom of Worship.”<ref>{{cite web|author=JTA |url=https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/jta/la-rabbi-sharon-brous-featured-on-time-magazine-cover-based/article_9c76ab21-3d97-5e5f-b72a-d53d381acd7c.html |title=LA Rabbi Sharon Brous featured on Time Magazine cover based on Norman Rockwell painting &#124; Jta |publisher=clevelandjewishnews.com |date=2018-11-20 |accessdate=2019-01-31}}</ref>

Brous is known for her strong political stances, and has asserted that "There’s no such thing as decoupling religion and politics."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-27/los-angeles-rabbis-politics-trump|title=After a turbulent year, L.A. rabbis wrestle with the politics of faith|date=September 28, 2019|website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> She studied Talmud with LA Mayor Eric Garcetti twice a week,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/la-mayor-eric-garcetti-studies-talmud-to-connect-with-ethics/|title=LA Mayor Eric Garcetti studies Talmud 'to connect with ethics'|first=Kelly|last=Hartog|website=Timesofisrael.com|access-date=2020-11-23|archive-date=2020-06-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606004913/https://www.timesofisrael.com/la-mayor-eric-garcetti-studies-talmud-to-connect-with-ethics/|url-status=live}}</ref> and Mayor Garcetti stated that he was in touch with her daily.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lamag.com/mag-features/eric-garcetti-covid-19-cover/|title=A Month Inside the COVID-19 War Room with Mayor Eric Garcetti|first=Gwynedd|last=Stuart|date=May 18, 2020|access-date=July 16, 2020|archive-date=June 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607071023/https://www.lamag.com/mag-features/eric-garcetti-covid-19-cover/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jewishinsider.com/2020/05/eric-garcetti-leans-on-his-jewish-faith-amid-pandemic/|title=Eric Garcetti leans on his Jewish faith amid pandemic|date=May 28, 2020|website=Jewish Insider|access-date=July 16, 2020|archive-date=June 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200617174224/https://jewishinsider.com/2020/05/eric-garcetti-leans-on-his-jewish-faith-amid-pandemic/|url-status=live}}</ref> Brous also hosted Mayor Garcetti at her Jewish High Holidays events for multiple years running.

In 2021, Brous received the Human Rights Award from Death Penalty Focus. Karen Bass presented the award.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Honorees (1996 - 2023) |url=https://deathpenalty.org/awards/honorees-1996-2023/ |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=Death Penalty FOCUS |language=en-US |archive-date=2024-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303053314/https://deathpenalty.org/awards/honorees-1996-2023/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In January 2024, she released her first book, a national best-seller, ''The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Heal Our Hearts and Mend Our Broken World.''

Brous has contributed to the books ''The Modern Jewish Girl's Guide to Guilt'',<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GCv25vOP-rsC&pg=PA69 |title=The Modern Jewish Girl's Guide to Guilt|editor=Ruth Andrew Ellenson|publisher=Penguin|date=2005|isbn=9780452287488}}</ref> ''A dream of Zion: American Jews reflect on why Israel matters to them'',<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=40F84qW2OdUC&pg=PA149|title=A dream of Zion: American Jews|editor=Jeffrey K. Salkin|publisher=Jewish Lights Publishing|date=2007|isbn=9781580234153}}</ref> and ''The Women's Torah Commentary: New Insights from Women Rabbis on the 54 Weekly Torah Portions''.<ref>Sharon Brous and Jill Hammer. “Proclaiming Liberty throughout the Land.” In ''The Women's Torah Commentary: New Insights from Women Rabbis on the 54 Weekly Torah Portions''. Edited by Elyse Goldstein, pages 238–45. Woodstock, Vermont: Jewish Lights Publishing, 2000. {{ISBN|1-58023-076-8}}.</ref>

The 2022 art exhibit “Holy Sparks”, shown among other places at the Dr. Bernard Heller Museum, featured art about twenty-four female rabbis who were firsts in some way;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jewishjournal.com/community/346461/holy-sparks-exhibition-celebrates-50-years-of-women-in-the-rabbinate/|title=“Holy Sparks” Exhibition Celebrates 50 Years of Women in the Rabbinate|first=Debra L.|last=Eckerling|date=March 31, 2022|website=Jewish Journal|access-date=April 15, 2024|archive-date=March 2, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240302102053/https://jewishjournal.com/community/346461/holy-sparks-exhibition-celebrates-50-years-of-women-in-the-rabbinate/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://huc.edu/news/holy-sparks-celebrating-fifty-years-of-women-in-the-rabbinate/|title=Holy Sparks: Celebrating Fifty Years of Women in the Rabbinate|website=HUC|access-date=2024-04-15|archive-date=2024-04-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240420131626/https://huc.edu/news/holy-sparks-celebrating-fifty-years-of-women-in-the-rabbinate/|url-status=live}}</ref> Penny Wolin created the artwork about Brous that was in that exhibit.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jewishartsalon.org/videos/video-holy-sparks-celebrating-50-years-of-women-in-the-rabbinate/|title=VIDEO: HOLY SPARKS – Celebrating 50 Years of Women in the Rabbinate|date=January 30, 2022|website=Jewish Art Salon|access-date=April 15, 2024|archive-date=September 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230923004228/https://jewishartsalon.org/videos/video-holy-sparks-celebrating-50-years-of-women-in-the-rabbinate/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [http://ikar-la.org/ IKAR Official Website]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Brous, Sharon}} Category:1973 births Category:Living people Category:Women rabbis Category:21st-century American rabbis Category:Columbia College, Columbia University alumni