40 | FEBRUARY 15 • 2024 J
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L

os Angeles-based Rabbi 
Sharon Brous, who was 
voted “
America’s No. 
1 Most Influential Rabbi” 
by Newsweek and the Daily 
Beast, will dive into her new 
book, The Amen Effect, at 
Congregation Shaarey Zedek 
on Feb. 21 from 7-9 p.m.
Brous, who serves as senior 
rabbi of IKAR in Los Angeles 
and whose TED Talk about 
reclaiming religion has been 
viewed 1.5 million times, will 
discuss the book based on 
themes of ancient wisdom and 
how they intersect with life 
today.
The conversation will be 
moderated by Congregation 
Shaarey Zedek’s Rabbi Yoni 
Dahlen and Detroit Opera 
Director Yuval Sharon, who 
will be interviewing Brous.

‘SHOWING UP’
Released in January 2024, 
The Amen Effect, published 
by Penguin Random House, 
tackles themes Brous first dis-
cussed with her Los Angeles 
community 10 years ago. 
Witnessing an increase 
in loneliness and isolation 
amongst the community and 
beyond, Brous realized it was 
time to speak up. “I had not 
spoken about the need to 
show up for one another as a 
moral, spiritual and religious 
imperative,” she explains.
The idea of simply “show-
ing up,” a powerful action 

that can often be overlooked, 
is a theme in ancient Jewish 
wisdom that guides people to 
be there for others in times of 
both joy and sorrow. Still, this 
practice had somehow dissi-
pated over time.
Brous learned that even 
prior to the COVID-19 pan-
demic, which only fueled a 
devastating increase in loneli-
ness and social isolation, some 
30% of Americans didn’t know 
the names of their next-door 
neighbors. Twenty percent 
of Americans, meanwhile, 
reported not having a single 
confidant they truly trusted 
and felt close to in the world.
Alarmed by the numbers, 
Brous continued to learn 
more about the ancient Jewish 
wisdom meant to guide con-
nection, love for others and, of 
course, the principle of show-
ing up, eventually inspiring 
her to put thoughts to paper 

in The Amen Effect.
While it is not an overtly 
religious book, Brous calls 
the guiding principles of The 
Amen Effect an inspiration 
for Jewish and non-Jewish 
individuals alike. People want 
to connect, she explains, but 
often don’t have the tools to 
do so.

PRACTICAL TOOLS 
Each chapter of The Amen 
Effect focuses on a different 
theme of connection, followed 
by practical tools that individ-
uals can apply to their lives 
to build upon their own con-
nections or create new ones in 
times of love, loss and every-
thing in-between.
One “rule” the book out-
lines, for example, is showing 
up to a funeral — a difficult 
time when loved ones, and 
even acquaintances, need 
community and support more 
than ever.
“Going to a funeral is an 
incredible gesture of love and 
re-humanization,” she says. 
“Go to the funeral. Go to the 
wedding. Go to the 50th birth-
day party. Just show up.”
With a book release that 
unexpectedly coincided with 
the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, 
Brous calls these principles 
more important than ever. 
“They could help us heal 
our own broken hearts,” Brous 
explains, “and also help us 
mend the rifts in our society.”

The Amen 
Effect also discusses getting 
to know your neighbors 
(influenced by the alarming 
statistics on Americans) and 
building a “joy break” into 
every day.
This short break, Brous 
explains, which can be just 
a few minutes, can include 
anything that makes a person 
feel joy, whether that’s blasting 
music and dancing around or 
calling a friend one knows will 
be uplifting.
The Amen Effect, Brous con-
tinues, is “written for anybody 
who’s ever had a broken heart 
or anybody who’s ever loved 
someone with a broken heart.” 
In addition, “anyone who’s 
trying to understand what it 
means to be a human being 
in a complicated, painful, bro-
ken and also really beautiful 
world.”
The event at Congregation 
Shaarey Zedek is sponsored 
by Gretchen and Ethan 
Davidson, who have pur-
chased 250 copies of The 
Amen Effect to give to attend-
ees. Books are available on a 
first-come, first-serve basis to 
the first 250 registrants.
The event is free and reg-
istration is now open on the 
congregation’s website. 

To register and learn more about The 

Amen Effect: A Conversation with 

Rabbi Sharon Brou, visit shaareyzedek.

org.

Rabbi Sharon Brous will discuss themes of connection 
in her new book The Amen Effect at Congregation 
Shaarey Zedek.

‘America’s No. 1 Most 
Influential Rabbi’

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

OUR COMMUNITY

Rabbi Sharon Brous

