Rabbi Sharon Brous (R) and Imam Talib M. Shareef speak during the second day of the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 20, 2024 in Chicago. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Rabbi Sharon Brous and Imam Talib M. Shareef together opened the second night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago with an invocation to peace and our shared humanity.

Brous, who is the founder and senior rabbi at Los Angeles’ IKAR, wore a yellow ribbon pin to honor the hostages still held in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct.7 attack on Israel. “I also wore an olive branch,” Brous told us afterwards, “because this terrible war must end, all of the hostages must be brought home, and we must lay the foundation for a just peace and a thriving future for Israelis and Palestinians.”

Brous said Tuesday evening:

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“We have gathered together this week to craft a redemption story for America. My faith is sustained by a redemption story. A people beleaguered and bereft, traversing the desert on a journey from degradation to dignity, from darkness to light.

“Holy one, help us write America’s redemption story, a story of ceaseless striving towards a true multiracial democracy, rooted in equal justice where every person is treated as unique, mighty, and worthy of love.

“In this story, politics is not a vehicle for repression, bigotry, or personal profit, but a call to service. This story counters extremism with capaciousness and compassion. It rejects the inevitability of war, affirming that every one of us, Muslim and Jew, Christian, Black, white, Latino, AAPI, queer and straight, Israeli and Palestinian, deserves to live in dignity and in peace.

“Some say that this story is impossible. But we know that the God of redemption specializes in the impossible. And so must we.

“May we be guided by hope, joy, and a fierce moral imagination. Amen.”

Brous has worked with presidents for more than a decade. In 2013, she blessed President Obama and Vice President Biden at the Inaugural National Prayer Service, and then eight years later did the same for President Biden and Vice President Harris. In 2021, she led the White House Passover Seder. Two years later, she led the Hanukkah candle lighting with Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff.

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