# Sharon Brous > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sharon_Brous > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sharon_Brous.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharon_Brous > Source revision: 1321974599 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{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](/source/University_of_St._Thomas_(Minnesota)) in 2025. | birth_name = | birth_date = November 30, 1973 | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | years_active = | employer = [IKAR](/source/IKAR_(Jewish_congregation)) | occupation = Rabbi | spouse = David Light | children = 3 | alma_mater = [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University) (BA) | website = {{url|https://ikar.org/team/rabbi-sharon-brous/}} | image_size = }} '''Sharon Brous''' (born November 30, 1973) is an American [rabbi](/source/rabbi){{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](/source/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}} who is the senior rabbi of [IKAR](/source/IKAR), a Jewish congregation in Los Angeles. She was one of the founders of [IKAR](/source/IKAR) in 2004, along with Melissa Balaban, who currently serves as IKAR's Chief Executive Officer, and others."[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.{{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}} ==Biography== In 2013, ''[The Daily Beast](/source/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.[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). 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." In 2006, the ''[Forward](/source/Jewish_Daily_Forward)'' cited her as among the 50 most influential American Jews."[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. In 2013 she blessed President Obama and Vice President Biden at the Inaugural National Prayer Service, and blessed LA Mayor [Eric Garcetti](/source/Eric_Garcetti) at his inauguration in 2017.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaM5n5aAgeA |title=Video |via=[YouTube](/source/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 }} She sits on the faculty of the [Hartman Institute](/source/Hartman_Institute)-North America, [Wexner Foundation](/source/Wexner_Foundation)'s Wexner Heritage; and REBOOT, and is a Senior Fellow at [Auburn Theological Seminary](/source/Auburn_Theological_Seminary). She serves on the International Council of the [New Israel Fund](/source/New_Israel_Fund) and rabbinic advisory council to [American Jewish World Service](/source/American_Jewish_World_Service). Brous was ordained by the [Jewish Theological Seminary](/source/Jewish_Theological_Seminary_of_America) in 2001 and received a master's degree in human rights from [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University), where she also received her bachelor's degree in 1995.{{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}} Before moving to Los Angeles, she served as a Rabbinic Fellow at [Congregation B’nai Jeshurun](/source/B'nai_Jeshurun_(Manhattan)) 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](/source/Jewish_Emergent_Network), a collaboration between IKAR and [Kavana](/source/Kavana_Cooperative) in Seattle, The Kitchen in San Francisco, Mishkan in Chicago, [Sixth & I](/source/Sixth_%26_I_Historic_Synagogue) in [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington%2C_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](/source/Time_(magazine))''; the cover was based on a 1943 [Norman Rockwell](/source/Norman_Rockwell) painting titled “[Freedom of Worship](/source/Freedom_of_Worship_(painting)).”{{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 | Jta |publisher=clevelandjewishnews.com |date=2018-11-20 |accessdate=2019-01-31}} Brous is known for her strong political stances, and has asserted that "There’s no such thing as decoupling religion and politics."{{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}} She studied Talmud with LA Mayor Eric Garcetti twice a week,{{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}} and Mayor Garcetti stated that he was in touch with her daily.{{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}}{{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}} 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](/source/Death_Penalty_Focus). [Karen Bass](/source/Karen_Bass) presented the award.{{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 }} 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'',{{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}} ''A dream of Zion: American Jews reflect on why Israel matters to them'',{{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}} and ''The Women's Torah Commentary: New Insights from Women Rabbis on the 54 Weekly Torah Portions''.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](/source/Elyse_Goldstein), pages 238–45. [Woodstock, Vermont](/source/Woodstock%2C_Vermont): [Jewish Lights Publishing](/source/Jewish_Lights_Publishing), 2000. {{ISBN|1-58023-076-8}}. The 2022 art exhibit “Holy Sparks”, shown among other places at the [Dr. Bernard Heller Museum](/source/Hebrew_Union_College_%E2%80%93_Jewish_Institute_of_Religion), featured art about twenty-four female rabbis who were firsts in some way;{{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}}{{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}} [Penny Wolin](/source/Penny_Wolin) created the artwork about Brous that was in that exhibit.{{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}} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * [http://ikar-la.org/ IKAR Official Website] {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Brous, Sharon}} Category:1973 births Category:Living people Category:Women rabbis Category:21st-century American rabbis Category:Columbia College, Columbia University alumni --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sharon Brous](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharon_Brous) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharon_Brous?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.