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 – Friday, November 4, 2022
I'm in New York this week joining 50,000 others for the 51st running of the New York City Marathon. It's my third time running this race. When people hear this, they assume that I must love running. This is not true. I don't love running. I do, however, enjoy finishing a run. There is great satisfaction in achieving your goal, in having done something beneficial for your health and well-being, and in converting the extra calories burned to slices of chocolate chip banana bread that may be consumed. Notwithstanding the excitement of the day and the support of the thousands of New Yorkers who come to cheer the runners on, much of the 26.2-mile experience is tiresome and tedious, not to mention both physically and mentally taxing, to say nothing of the exhaustion and blisters that come from the hours and hours of training. What helps tremendously is staying focused on the purpose, [...]
Daily Kavanah – Thursday, November 3, 2022
It’s a week before midterm elections. Our participation, as Jews, in our country’s democratic process is essential for the well-being of our own community and the nation. Help make Wise a 100% voting congregation. Don’t forget to vote! Proposition 30 supports increasing the tax on income above $2 million by 1.75% and dedicating that income to zero-emission vehicle subsidies; zero-emission vehicle infrastructure, such as electric vehicle charging stations; and wildfire suppression and prevention programs. There are two issues here. The first is the climate emergency and how California responds to our rapidly changing climate. There is no question that humanity’s reliance on fossil fuels and other greenhouse gasses is causing the climate to change dramatically. Unless action is taken for both mitigation of climate change-induced risks and the reduction of gas emissions, we do face a dire future. The second is the prudence of subjecting the wealthiest in [...]
Daily Kavanah – Wednesday, November 2, 2022
It’s a week before midterm elections. Our participation, as Jews, in our country’s democratic process is essential for the well-being of our own community and the nation. Help make Wise a 100% voting congregation. Don’t forget to vote! Propositions 26 and 27: Both initiatives seek to legalize sports betting. Prop 26 legalizes it on Tribal lands and horse racing tracks, while Prop 27 legalizes it online and promises revenue for remediating homelessness. While there are many arguments for and against each of these propositions, I will focus on Jewish views of gambling. Once again, an essential reminder about any Jewish perspective is that it’s complicated and nuanced. The Mishnah (200 C.E.), in the tractate called Sanhedrin, famously says that someone who plays with dice is prohibited from serving as a witness in a trial, should that person be a professional gambler with no other occupation. The rabbis suggest [...]
Daily Kavanah – Tuesday, November 1, 2022
It’s a week before midterm elections. Our participation, as Jews, in our country’s democratic process is essential for the well-being of our own community and the nation. Help make Wise a 100% voting congregation. Don’t forget to vote! Proposition 1 By far the most significant proposition for our wives, mothers, and daughters is Prop 1. A ‘yes’ vote supports amending the state constitution to prohibit the state from interfering with or denying an individual’s reproductive freedom, which is defined to include a right to an abortion and contraceptives. A ‘no’ vote opposes this amendment to the constitution. For a lengthy and comprehensive evaluation of Jewish views on forced pregnancies and the necessity for abortion and prohibitions against, I refer you to this excellent article. It is a balanced, nuanced review of Jewish positions by a knowledgeable and traditionally observant Jew. The closest analogy to medically- or artificially-induced abortion [...]
Daily Kavanah – Monday, October 31, 2022
It’s a week before midterm elections. Our participation, as Jews, in our country’s democratic process is essential for the well-being of our own community and the nation. Help make Wise a 100% voting congregation. Don’t forget to vote! Jewish values. It’s a term that is easily and glibly bandied about, yet if we drill down deeply into the concept, we quickly discover that the Jewish voice is by no means monolithic. Wise is a Reform congregation, meaning that your clergy are influenced by their education and identification with the Reform movement. As such, we will often—though not always—reflect values that capture Reform Judaism’s interpretation of the principles that appear in the Torah and subsequent Jewish literature. This will sometimes differ from those perspectives found in more traditional strains of Judaism. It is important to recognize that each conclusion based on our shared tradition is refracted through the lens [...]