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, June 28, 2021
On this day in 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist, assassinated the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie Chotek, setting off the course of events that ultimately led to the first World War. World War I proved a decisive turning point for the American Jewish community. Through four years of harrowing conflict that decimated Europe and the Middle East, American Jews experienced an ascendance into the world’s preeminent Jewish community, just as they witnessed the first signs of their acceptance as one of America’s mainstream religious and ethnic groups. But it wasn’t easy. From the outset, American Jews recognized that they would have to act swiftly, shrewdly, and cooperatively to protect and advance their interests as Jews and as Americans. Shortly after the conflict began, American Jews observed the growing needs of the Jews of Palestine, whose supplies faltered as the Ottoman Empire [...]
Daily Kavanah – Friday, June 25, 2021
One of my favorite Hebrew expressions is על טעם וריח אין להתווכח (al ta’am v’reiach ein l’hitvakeach)—“there is no point arguing about taste and smell.” If I like brussels sprouts and you don’t, what’s the use of arguing? It’s a matter of taste. Well here’s something worth arguing about. Last week in Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love, an Israeli food truck was disinvited from the “Eat Up the Borders” food festival. The Moshava Israeli Inspired Cuisine food truck, which was initially included in the event, was asked to bow out because of concerns that it would lead to protests from those who felt it inappropriate to feature Israeli cuisine—at a festival that celebrates food from around the world. When I first read about the incident, I thought it might have been an article from The Onion, but, sadly, this actually happened in our country this week. (And make no mistake, [...]
Daily Kavanah – Thursday, June 24, 2021
This Shabbat, we will read Parashat Balak, which features—among other things—a talking donkey. According to rabbinic legend, that donkey was one of ten magical items created at twilight before the first Shabbat. For some summer fun this week, we’ll explore some of those symbols and what they might teach us today. “In 1970, a self-described “geeky kid from Kansas” named Gilbert Baker came to San Francisco as an Army draftee...After an honorable discharge, he stayed in San Francisco, free to pursue his dreams of being an artist. He learned to sew, making all the fabulous 70s clothes that he wanted but couldn’t buy.” In 1977, Supervisor Harvey Milk—the first openly gay elected official in an American city, challenged Baker to design a symbol for the gay community, something to provide a positive alternative to the pink triangle by which GLBTQ+ folks were designated by the Nazi regime. While the community [...]
Daily Kavanah – Wednesday, June 23, 2021
This Shabbat, we will read Parashat Balak, which features—among other things—a talking donkey. According to rabbinic legend, that donkey was one of ten magical items created at twilight before the first Shabbat. For some summer fun this week, we’ll explore some of those symbols and what they might teach us today. While I am truly an excellent planner in many regards, the ability to match a recipe and a shopping list continues to elude me. I cannot count the number of times I have gotten excited about a particular recipe—and often gotten Orli excited along with me—gone to the store, settled in to bake, and realized that I did not have some specialty ingredient, or enough of something, or a particular kitchen gadget. Often, this attempt will end in tears and frustration, and not always from the 4.5 year old. Perhaps knowing this about the Divine, the midrash suggests that after the [...]
Daily Kavanah – Tuesday, June 22, 2021
This Shabbat, we will read Parashat Balak, which features—among other things—a talking donkey. According to rabbinic legend, that donkey was one of ten magical items created at twilight before the first Shabbat. For some summer fun this week, we’ll explore some of those symbols and what they might teach us today. Today is the [[DATE REDACTED]] anniversary of my bat mitzvah. Just a couple of years ago, I ascended the bimah at Temple Shaaray Tefila in New York City, and chanted the words not of Balak, which we’ll read this Shabbat, but of Chukat, which we read this past Shabbat. As some of our b’nai mitzvah students can surely imagine, I remember complaining to my rabbi that there really was nothing in this Torah portion that I found interesting...somehow I missed some key plot points. Another of the items created at twilight, the rabbis teach, is the well of water which sustained [...]