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 – Wednesday, July 27, 2022
It had been seven years since I was last in Israel. So, when the opportunity presented itself for a short visit this month, I hopped a plane. My inner Zionist was rekindled in so many vital ways. I want to share that passion with you, dear reader, to hopefully inspire you to go to make your own pilgrimage to Israel if you’ve never been, or to go back if you haven’t visited in some time. "We all stood at Sinai" As I prepared to scan my ticket to exit the train station, an elderly woman stood trapped behind the closed gates. She failed to exit the turnstile quickly enough on her first scan and the device would not accept a second. Realizing her predicament, I spoke to her in Hebrew, inviting her to walk closely behind me as the two of us exited the station using my ticket. She [...]
Daily Kavanah – Tuesday, July 26, 2022
It had been seven years since I was last in Israel. So, when the opportunity presented itself for a short visit this month, I hopped a plane. My inner Zionist was rekindled in so many vital ways. I want to share that passion with you, dear reader, to hopefully inspire you to go to make your own pilgrimage to Israel if you’ve never been, or to go back if you haven’t visited in some time. "It makes me cry, most times with pride and joy, and sometimes with frustration!" While in Israel, I visited two of the organizations that our Wise community supports: Bet Issie Shapiro and The Israel Sports Center for the Disabled. At Bet Issie, I was inspired by the commitment of its dedicated staff whose vision for inclusivity extends not merely to those who can reach its Kfar Saba campus, but also to Arab communities in the center of the [...]
Daily Kavanah – Monday, July 25, 2022
It had been seven years since I was last in Israel. So, when the opportunity presented itself for a short visit this month, I hopped a plane. My inner Zionist was rekindled in so many vital ways. I want to share that passion with you, dear reader, to hopefully inspire you to go to make your own pilgrimage to Israel if you’ve never been, or to go back if you haven’t visited in some time. "We built this!" The shiny new train between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv takes just 28 minutes. Because the elevation changes so dramatically on the way up to Jerusalem, engineers determined that the Jerusalem station had to be tens of feet below ground, literally in the underbelly of the holy city. This allows the train to reach the center of town while maintaining the gradual ascent required by its steel wheels. The result is that passengers must [...]
Daily Kavanah – Friday, July 22, 2022
I met a friend for coffee the other day in Tel Aviv. We hadn't seen each other since before the pandemic, so it was especially nice to be together. He grew up in Jerusalem but recently moved to Zichron Ya'akov, a beautiful town overlooking the Mediterranean. My friend is a doctor who worked at Hadassah Hospital for many years and now is at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. We caught up on each other's lives, talked about our families and our work, and shared how we each navigated the shutdowns, quarantines, and disruptions of COVID. I asked him how he liked working in Haifa. He surprised me a bit by how he contrasted it with Jerusalem, a city—in his words—that was "built on hatred (בנויה בשנאה—b'nuyah b'sinah) between Arabs and Jews, secular and religious, Ashkenazim and Mizrachim, the political right and the political left. So much tension—every group hating the other." But by comparison, [...]
Daily Kavanah – Thursday, July 21, 2022
On this day in 1833, August Bondi was born in Vienna, Austria. At 15, he fled the Austrian Empire with his parents and settled in St. Louis, Mo., after a brief stay in New Orleans that introduced him to American slavery. Disgusted by what he saw, Bondi and his business partner, Jacob Benjamin, moved to Kansas in 1855 and began homesteading to help ensure the territory joined the Union as a free state. Bondi’s farm and trading post suffered several setbacks at the hands of slavers, including theft, arson, and squatting. Bondi and Benjamin, along with their friend Theodore Weiner, then joined the Kansas regulars, under the leadership of famous abolitionist John Brown. Together, they drove out several pro-slavery forces from the territory, which joined the Union as a free state in 1860. Bondi then turned his home into a waystation for the Underground Railroad before enlisting in the Union [...]