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, April 18, 2022
The mystics of our tradition saw great meaning in the counting of the Omer, which is marked each night between Passover and Shavuot. In its cycle of seven days, counted seven times, they saw a parallel to the sefirot, the system by which the Kabbalists understood the Divine attributes. Each week is dedicated to a particular attribute, and each day of that week focuses on the intersection of two Divine attributes. This week, the first of the Omer, we focus on chesed: lovingkindness or compassion. Today is the second day of the Omer* Gevurah she-b'chesed—Discipline in kindness Years ago, on a teen hiking tour, we ended each day with a sharing circle—we each shared a highlight of the day, a lowlight of the day, and a hero of the day. While I am sure I rolled my eyes as a teen, it turns out that I have kept up that practice for myself (at least in my mind [...]
Daily Kavanah – Friday, April 15, 2022
Tonight, we retell the foundational story of the Jewish people: "We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt. God freed us for a purpose.” Embedded in this narrative is not only the oppression and degradation we experienced in Egypt more than 3,000 years ago, but countless other moments of humiliation and suffering we have endured throughout the centuries. Instead of dwelling on the pain and sadness though, our tradition celebrates the miracle of our deliverance and then goes one step further into the realm of the truly sublime: We are commanded to transform our journey from bondage to freedom into a life of meaning and purpose for ourselves and others as well. There is sadly still much darkness in our world. We see violence in Ukraine and in our own cities. We read stories of murderous acts of terror in our people’s Homeland. Yet we do not despair because we remember that we have experienced [...]
Daily Kavanah – Thursday, April 14, 2022
In advance of Passover, our clergy have been reflecting on elements of the Passover Seder in each of their Daily Kavanot. The entire collection is now available online in our 5782 Haggadah Supplement. Ha Lachma Anya We Jews are storytellers. The Bible itself is a vast compendium of stories told by our ancestors over a span of 1,000 years. The stories we told then—and the stories we’ve told since—have become a part of us, shaped our identity, and, indeed, crafted that complex quality that we call Judaism. Surely, at the pinnacle of our stories is the account of the Exodus from Egypt. Despite being set in the distant past, it conveys truths that capture all of our accounts of dispersion, exile, return, and redemption. It is the story of my grandparents fleeing Lithuania for the Golden Land, and from Germany in a desperate flight to save their lives. It’s your story [...]
Daily Kavanah – Wednesday, April 13, 2022
The Fifth Question: Telling the Exodus Story There are two commandments for the Seder in the Torah: retelling the story (Exodus 13:8, 13:14-15) and eating matzah (Exodus 12:18). The Seder begins with the story of our freedom and concludes with the reminder to be more committed Jews. Our sages later added eating bitter herbs, drinking four cups of wine, and reclining. The Seder and Haggadah exist to fulfill the role of telling our story and to help us identify with our ancestors. Our history is the glue that binds us with one another today and to countless generations before us, including those Israelites who fled Egypt. A central element of our Haggadah is the Maggid, telling the story. We remind ourselves of the bread of affliction. We confirm that it was God who took the Jews out of Egypt (even though Moses plays an extraordinary role, he is not mentioned in [...]
Daily Kavanah – Tuesday, April 12, 2022
Hallel is a section of prayer recited during the morning service for particular festivals. The word itself means “praise,” and it is comprised of six Psalms (113-118), all of which express thanks and praise to God, celebrating God’s kindness and compassion, and exclaiming: “Hallelujah.” The Hallel recited during the Seder is different from Hallel at any other time: It is recited without a blessing, it is recited sitting down, it is recited at night, and it is recited in two parts. We recite two of the psalms of Hallel before the meal—before we have even crossed the Sea. We sing it in fear and anxiety, but also perhaps in anticipation. And then, after the meal—after the Sea, standing on dry land, and with a path forward—we recite the other four psalms of Hallel. We recite them with hope. We recite them with fear. We recite them, as I recently read, to remind us to help those who struggle [...]