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 – Monday, September 30, 2024
For our Biblical ancestors, the sounding of the shofar was the central mitzvah—obligation—of what came to be known as Rosh Hashanah. Apples and honey, God on the throne of judgment, round challah, and a birthday of the world all came later. The Torah teaches, simply: וּבַחֹ֨דֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֜י בְּאֶחָ֣ד לַחֹ֗דֶשׁ מִֽקְרָא־קֹ֙דֶשׁ֙ יִהְיֶ֣ה לָכֶ֔ם כל־מְלֶ֥אכֶת עֲבֹדָ֖ה לֹ֣א תַעֲשׂ֑וּ י֥וֹם תְּרוּעָ֖ה יִהְיֶ֥ה לָכֶֽם׃ In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a sacred occasion: you shall not work at your occupations. You shall observe it as a day when the horn is sounded. This is not the only time in Torah, or in our tradition, when we are commanded to sound the shofar. Saadia Gaon, the great 9th century philosopher, identifies ten ancient occasions when the shofar was used. According to his teaching, we were to sound the shofar to announce Creation and the Revelation at Mount Sinai; we needed to hear it to call [...]
Daily Kavanah – Friday, September 27, 2024
Tomorrow evening, we observe Selichot, our official kick-off to the High Holy Day season.Here’s a story I first learned from my colleague, Rabbi Naomi Levy, that can help frame these days.A wealthy man approached the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism, and asked if he could meet Elijah the Prophet, the messenger of God who rose to heaven in a chariot of fire. The man had heard rumors that Elijah wanders the earth to bless people in need of his help.At first the Baal Shem Tov insisted that he didn't know how to find Elijah but then one day he said to the man, "You can meet Elijah this Shabbat. Here is what you must do: Fill up your coach with a Shabbat feast. Pack bread, wine, chicken, and vegetables. Pack cakes and fruit and delicacies and bring it all to a certain hut in the forest and ask [...]
Daily Kavanah – Thursday, September 26, 2024
This week in our fall Introduction to Judaism course, we dove into the Hebrew Calendar and the way it has developed over time. We looked at the Hebrew months, the holidays, and the way we count the years as the Sages did, by dating back to the creation of the world. Together, we explored questions about what makes Jewish time so special and attempted to find some possible answers. Sacred time, space, and ritual can perhaps be best visualized through our havdalah service that ends Shabbat, when we extinguish the havdalah candle and mark the separation between Shabbat and the rest of the week. If Shabbat is one day of the week, that makes the majority of our week not sacred, almost acting as a subtle reminder to us of the mundanity of everyday life. But the idea of sacred time doesn’t have to be limited to the expectations set by ancient [...]
Daily Kavanah – Wednesday, September 25, 2024
As a lover of Jewish time, I always make a point to keep an eye on the moon as its light fluctuates throughout the month. Last week, we saw the full moon of the month Elul light up our night sky. However, the full moon wasn’t as full as it typically appears. On Tuesday night, if you looked up at just the right minute, you would’ve seen a partial lunar eclipse in which the moon was partially obscured by the shadow of the earth. Though we knew it was coming, it was still a bit unsettling to know that the full moon we had come to expect was going to look a little different for a few moments in our night sky. As the moon is now in its waning phases, we know we are coming closer to the end of the Hebrew month. This Saturday night, Ashkenazi Jews [...]
Daily Kavanah – Tuesday, September 24, 2024
This week, we read the double Torah portion, Nitzavim-Vayeilech. Nitzavim in particular is jam-packed with “good stuff”, including a pretty intense pep talk from Moses to the Israelites as they continue their preparation to enter the Promised Land. This text, which we will read again on Yom Kippur, declares:לֹא בַשָּׁמַיִם הִוא לֵאמֹר מִי יַעֲלֶה־לָּנוּ הַשָּׁמַיְמָה וְיִקָּחֶהָ לָּנוּ וְיַשְׁמִעֵנוּ אֹתָהּ וְנַעֲשֶׂנָּה׃ וְלֹא־מֵעֵבֶר לַיָּם הִוא לֵאמֹר מִי יַעֲבׇר־לָנוּ אֶל־עֵבֶר הַיָּם וְיִקָּחֶהָ לָּנוּ וְיַשְׁמִעֵנוּ אֹתָהּ וְנַעֲשֶׂנָּה׃כִּ י־קָרוֹב אֵלֶיךָ הַדָּבָר מְאֹד בְּפִיךָ וּבִלְבָבְךָ לַעֲשֹׂתוֹ׃It is not in the heavens, that you should say, “Who among us can go up to the heavens and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?” Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who among us can cross to the other side of the sea and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?” No, the thing is [...]