About Us
IKAR is a progressive, egalitarian Jewish community, driven by a passionate belief in the relevance of the Jewish tradition and its power to infuse our lives with meaning and purpose. Our mission to reclaim the essence (the ikar) of Judaism and to reimagine what it means to be Jewish in the world today.
To be Jewish today is to be animated by both gratitude and unrest, by humility and audacity. It is to recognize the utter magnificence of the world, the miracle of human life and human connection, the possiblity of love and the abundance of life's blessings. And it is, at the same time, to feel the exodus from Egypt - the journey from slavery to freedom, from degradation to dignity - in our guts. It is to refuse to accept a world saturated with injustice, oppression and human suffering, and to become agents of social change whose fiercest weapons are love, faith and holy hutzpah." // Rabbi Sharon Brous on "What does it mean to be Jewish today?"