Daily Kavanot
Writings of reflection by the Stephen Wise Temple clergy.
Each weekday morning, members of our mailing list receive the “Daily Kavanah,” which includes messages of thought, inspiration, and contemplation from our clergy, along with a schedule of events. Every Thursday, the “Daily Kavanah” turns into “Eyes on Wise,” our weekly newsletter featuring the latest news, photos, videos, stories, and tikkun olam opportunities from our community. Sign up and don’t miss out!
Daily Kavanah – Tuesday, July 4, 2023
Independence Day and the Story of Haym Solomon Approximately 1,500-2,500 Jews were living in the colonies at the time of the American Revolution, with a total population of about three million. Unlike in Britain, where one needed to take a Christian oath to become an officer, Jews could serve as officers (as high as colonel) in this fledgling new land. As a result, about 100 Jews fought alongside non-Jews in helping to secure freedom. Haym Solomon, a Sephardic Jew born in Poland, came to New York City in 1775. In the early 1780s, alongside his personal funds, he raised $650,000 to support the Revolutionary War, including an emergency gift to General George Washington for the Yorktown campaign. This battle was the last in the Revolution. Solomon was the most significant contributor to the construction of Congregation Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia. His public response to antisemites was, “I am a Jew; [...]
Daily Kavanah – Monday, July 3, 2023
This week’s kavanot are directed to our younger generation of Jews (under 50). For those a bit older, they are likely to induce a smile. Time In Herman Wouk’s The Caine Mutiny, the main character, Willie, receives a letter from his father, who will soon pass away from cancer. “Remember this, if you can: THERE’S NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING MORE PRECIOUS THAN TIME. You probably feel you have a measureless supply of it, but you haven’t. Wasted hours destroy your life just as surely at the beginning as at the end, only at the end it’s more obvious.” There is a concept in Judaism, bittul Torah, which is generally understood as squandering time that would be better used in studying Torah. More generally, it teaches us not to waste time. Of course, this can be taken to an extreme. Indeed, it is essential to enjoy life (movies, sports, getting together [...]
Daily Kavanah – Shabbat Message From Rabbi Yoshi – Friday, June 30, 2023
This week's Torah portion includes an interesting inversion. An enemy king sends a prophet to come and curse our Israelite ancestors. But instead of uttering a curse, he offers a blessing, one that has become well-known to generations of Jews as these words have entered our daily liturgy: מַה־טֹּ֥בוּ אֹהָלֶ֖יךָ יַעֲקֹ֑ב מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶ֖יךָ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob, Your dwellings, O Israel! —Numbers 24:5 What was meant to be a curse becomes a blessing. There is something quite extraordinary about such a transformation. The Moabite prophet, Bilaam, had every reason to do as he was asked. He would have been generously rewarded by the king. But instead he utters the words that he feels compelled to share and declares the beauty and goodness he sees in his people’s enemy. There is something else quite extraordinary about this story. Generations later, our sages chose to remember this non-Israelite prophet’s [...]
Daily Kavanah – Thursday, June 29, 2023
If a trip to Israel is, by definition, a stroll down Biblical, rabbinic, and Jewish memory lane, this week’s Torah portion is a stroll down my own personal memory lane (and, I recently learned, for Rabbi Josh, as well). While a double portion this year (Hukkat-Balak), I was called to Torah lo those many years ago for Parashat Hukkat. If I am being truthful, I remember much more about my yellow Sam and Libby flats than about my d’var Torah. I do remember that my almost-13-year-old self was hard-pressed to find anything “interesting” to talk about—a conversation I have now had countless times with 12-year-olds as they search for meaning in our ancient texts. Imagine my surprise then, years later, when I encounter this same text once again, and again, and again. This text, in which Miriam and Aaron die. This text, in which, after Miriam’s death, the Israelites find [...]
Daily Kavanah – Wednesday, June 28, 2023
One of the sites we did not see on this trip to Israel was the zodiac mosaic in Tzippori. Nor did we visit the zodiac mosaic in the Hammat Tiberias shul. In fact, much to my son's chagrin, we did not visit any of the five synagogues in Israel where zodiac mosaics have been discovered, though happily for him, we did see some of the Roman mosaics left at Caesaria. Our lack of zodiac visits, in our case, had everything to do with traffic, children's patience levels, and our other plans—and not a moral objection to the Zodiac or its place in synagogues, but that has not always been true historically. Born in the cradle of Zoroastrianism, our Talmudic sages had a complicated relationship with the Zodiac. On the one hand, our text declares ein mazal l’Yisrael—there is no planet for Israel—but on the other hand, the names for the [...]