Sharon Brous
Avery, 240 pages
Published January 9, 2024
What is prayer? It’s a question I’ve been asked in various ways over 14 years of ministry. From the science-driven medical student who grew up in a charismatic church to the parent whose small child was recently diagnosed with a life-threatening disease, such a question cannot render a one-size-fits-all response. And yet, if there is something that could be said about prayer, it is this: prayer is one way people of faith seek the attention of God together. Whether it is the Lord’s Prayer in the Christian tradition or the Kaddish in the Jewish tradition, prayer spoken in the context of community opens up a dimension of collective spiritual life that enables us to not only feel seen, but also see one another.
This practice of knowing and being known, of sharing and journeying with one another through our struggles, hopes and fears is what Rabbi Sharon Brous calls “The Amen Affect.” Amen is derived from the Hebrew word emunah, meaning “belief” or “trust.” As in, “I believe you. I see you.” It is the affirmation that the prayers we bring forward are not only worthy of being heard but the assurance that we can bear the weight of our petitions when we lift them together.
In a time when loneliness has officially been declared a public health crisis by the U.S. Surgeon General, Brous offers a kind and deeply thoughtful companion for any minister or community builder looking for case studies and stories to not only expand our imaginations for how to navigate these complex times, but also remind us that we are not alone in our work. She relays a common exchange with parishioners. “Can’t I just grieve alone in my home? people often ask. No, says the tradition, you can’t, because no one should walk alone through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.”
In The Amen Effect, Rabbi Brous intersperses insights of wisdom voices – ancient and modern rabbis, activists, poets and Christian ministers – with stories of real pastoral care and concern at IKAR, a community she founded in Los Angeles, California, to reach “young, disengaged Jews” dedicated to “reclaiming the prophetic tradition and working with multi-faith partners to build a society of equity and equality, compassion and justice.” Her voice is shaped by a deep and abiding love for the tradition she stewards and is grounded in practical pastoral realities.
Brous is honest about the ways that the mystery of God can remain unsatisfying for some, even as it serves to scaffold others whose tragedies leave them wondering how they could possibly go on. From journeying alongside parishioners to tense conversations with those who stoke the fires of antisemitism, Rabbi Brous describes how prayer is less about a pathway to perfection than it is about a community holding the torn edges of our lives with grace and tender trust so that we might pursue healing and mend our broken hearts, together.
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