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 12, 2022
On this day, in the year 1683, an army of Christian Europeans defeated the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Vienna. Then, according to one long-lasting legend, a local Jewish baker created a new delicacy—the bagel—as tribute to the Polish king, Jan Sobieski, who led the victorious European forces. The bagel took the shape of horse stirrups (beugal) to commemorate the victorious cavalry charge that delivered the city into European hands. Ultimately, the sensational tale proved false. We now have records of bagels in Krakow from as early as 1610, while a similar-looking Polish bread, obwarzanek, dates back to 1394. However, the historical connection between bagels and Eastern European Jewry endures. Bagels arrived in the United States along with Eastern European immigrants in the late 19th century, but for the most part remained a niche Jewish food until the 1970s, when ethnic foods gained a foothold in mainstream U.S. markets. [...]
Daily Kavanah – Friday, September 9, 2022
This week's Torah portion begins by describing a situation that most of us, thankfully, will find far removed from our personal experience. Deuteronomy 21:10 starts: "When you take the field against your enemies (כִּי־תֵצֵא לַמִּלְחָמָה עַל־אֹיְבֶיךָ)…" and goes on to detail some of the rules of warfare that our ancient Israelite ancestors were called to observe. During the many centuries when we lacked the means to defend ourselves, the commentators began to interpret this verse creatively in order to keep it relevant to our lived experience. They suggested that the "enemy" we are to battle is much more intimate: our own selves. During this time of preparation for the Days of Awe, I find this take on that verse especially helpful. We are invited to reflect on the aspects of our own character that we need to fight against in order to become our best selves. We are called to consider what urges and [...]
Daily Kavanah – Thursday, September 8, 2022
In honor of this Labor Day week, here are some reflections on the history of the labor movement, and Jewish heroes who have fought for worker rights. This Shabbat, Torah places the Israelites on the steppes of Moab—inching ever closer to the Promised Land. Parashat Ki Tetzei continues what scholars consider to be the third part of Moses's final discourse to the people, a section heavily rooted in and focused on moral codes and commandments. Within this week's parasha we find statements of or allusions to 74 of the 613 mitzvot considered part of our tradition, and— thematically for this week on our American calendar—they turn to a number of laws that govern employer–employee relationships. Reading them through the lens of today's world—or even through the lens of medieval scholars—we might see how and why the American labor movement was shaped and often defined by Jewish voices; these verses also explain how these early labor leaders crafted their demands for [...]
Daily Kavanah – Wednesday, September 7, 2022
In honor of this Labor Day week, here are some reflections on the history of the labor movement, and Jewish heroes who have fought for worker rights.Also included in the wonderful gift bag of books were, no surprise, a couple of books about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, z"l. While not technically a labor leader, there is no doubt that her dogged pursuit of equity over the course of her legal career changed the workplace experience for Americans, particularly for women.Of course, Justice Ginsburg's story is deeply intertwined with the Ashkenazi immigrant experience in New York, and is even—in some ways—tied to Clara Lemlich Shavelson and her legacy. Justice Ginsburg was born on March 15, 1933, in Brooklyn, N.Y., to Nathan and Celia (Amster) Bader. Nathan had immigrated to the United States from Russia at the age of 13. Celia, the fourth of seven children, was the first to be born in the [...]
Daily Kavanah – Tuesday, September 6, 2022
In honor of this Labor Day week, here are some reflections on the history of the labor movement, and Jewish heroes who have fought for worker rights. When I left my former congregation to come here to Stephen Wise, a group of mothers with whom I had shared parenting and activism gifted me a number of children's books focused on justice. One of those books was "Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909." It is a children's biography of Ukrainian immigrant Clara Lemlich Shavelson, the farbrente Yidishe meydle (fiery Jewish girl) who organized women into the International Ladies Garment Workers Union beginning in 1905. At a 1909 strike meeting at the Cooper Union, Shavelson's fiery speech, in Yiddish, set off the Uprising of the 20,000, the largest strike by women workers to that date. The book itself focuses entirely on her labor activism upon her arrival in the [...]