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, October 17, 2022
On Simchat Torah we finish our yearly reading of the Torah, and start again "in the beginning." This week, we offer these reflections on the Book of Genesis (B'reishit). Where does the journey begin Where will we go? Hours pass the answers can change As we keep moving along. The late Debbie Friedman (z"l) wrote these words to accompany the Ma'ayan Passover Haggadah. And yet, these are also the words to which I have been turning as we prepare to open the Book of Genesis yet again. Where does our journey, as a people, begin? Our ancient sages wondered the same, asking why the Torah begins with the Book of Genesis. Why, they wonder, doesn't it begin with the story of the Exodus from Egypt, arguably the foundational story of our people's identity? Even more specifically, one rabbi asks: Why doesn’t the Torah begin with the words, "This month shall [...]
Daily Kavanah – Friday, October 14, 2022
The holiday of Sukkot is known in our tradition as "Z'man Simchateinu—the Season of Our Joy." There are many reasons to rejoice at this time of the year. In the Land of Israel and here in California, it's the time of the olive and grape harvest, a time—we hope—to celebrate our bounty; grapes are of course associated with joy and gladness for obvious reasons. It's also the holiday that comes right after we literally survive Yom Kippur. Having made it through our fast, having (ideally) repented, forgiven, and experienced renewal, we celebrate the gift of another chance, another year, another opportunity to make a difference. A story is told about Rabbi Chaim of Tzanz (1793-1876, Poland) that illustrates another aspect of the joy of these days. Rabbi Chaim was a scholar and a tzaddik (a righteous person). It was his custom on the eve of the holiday of Sukkot to distribute tzedakah generously. One [...]
Daily Kavanah – Thursday, October 13, 2022
So Said Rabbi Shimon son of Yochai: "Three things resemble each other as follows: Land, human and rain." Rabbi Levi said: "And all three of them are comprised of three Hebrew letters, to teach you that if there is no land there is no rain and if there is no rain there is no land, and if both of them are missing—there is no human." —Bereishit Rabbah On Monday at our upcoming Shemini Atzeret service, we will shift our Amidah prayers from praying for dew (which we do in the spring and summer months) to a special fall and winter request for rain, adding the words morid hagashem to the G'vurot. The special geshem prayer for rain recited at the end of Sukkot is one that is certainly as poignant—if not more so—for us here in Southern California as it was for our ancestors who dwelled in the Holy Land in the ancient days of Rabbi Shimon and [...]
Daily Kavanah – Wednesday, October 12, 2022
A few days ago, the entire Lutz family gathered together to fulfill the mitzvah of building our sukkah. I love this ritual—literally building something all together from the ground up and finding ways to make it look beautiful (of course, I am partial to Ruby’s colorful decorations). It is such a special time to be together, phones down and distractions aside. It’s also the first time of year when we can finally be outside without worrying about the heat or the bugs, a day when we might even see a few California leaves change color. The hours of preparation spent outside in fresh air with family and dear friends is perhaps my favorite part of our Sukkot ritual. As the sun was setting and we were decorating our sukkah, I remembered this beautiful poem, "The Light Has Changed," special words written for our harvest holiday. Fall is so brief in Southern California that [...]
Daily Kavanah – Tuesday, October 11, 2022
בַּסֻּכֹּ֥ת תֵּשְׁב֖וּ שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֑ים כׇּל־הָֽאֶזְרָח֙ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל יֵשְׁב֖וּ בַּסֻּכֹּֽת׃ לְמַ֘עַן֮ יֵדְע֣וּ דֹרֹֽתֵיכֶם֒ כִּ֣י בַסֻּכּ֗וֹת הוֹשַׁ֙בְתִּי֙ אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בְּהוֹצִיאִ֥י אוֹתָ֖ם מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם "And you will dwell in booths for seven days, all the citizens of Israel will dwell in booths, so that future generations will know that I caused the Israelites to live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt." —Leviticus 23: 42-3 Today is the first day of the fall festival of Sukkot. Even as we decorate our sukkahs, prepare festive meals, and celebrate the joyous occasion of this holiday, our biblical text reminds us of the deep and tender roots of this holiday's origins. We dwell in the sukkah not only to celebrate the beginning of a new season and a new year, but also to remember our parting from slavery, our wandering in the desert, and the uncertainty that our Israelite ancestors experienced in the wilderness. [...]