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 – Friday, February 23, 2024
Every synagogue you’ve ever visited has one. They come in different shapes and sizes but the origin of each comes from the opening of this week’s Torah portion: וְאַתָּ֞ה תְּצַוֶּ֣ה ׀ אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וְיִקְח֨וּ אֵלֶ֜יךָ שֶׁ֣מֶן זַ֥יִת זָ֛ךְ כָּתִ֖ית לַמָּא֑וֹר לְהַעֲלֹ֥ת נֵ֖ר תָּמִֽיד׃ “You shall further instruct the Israelites to bring you clear oil of beaten olives for lighting, in order to cause the light to go up continually.” (Ex. 27:20) In its most literal sense, the verse commands us regarding the special menorah that was situated inside the tabernacle and then later in the Temple in Jerusalem. This menorah is to be a ner tamid, an eternal light—it should never go out. And so it is, to this very day, that every synagogue includes one, reminding us of our past, reminding us of our destiny. The commentators of the midrash, however, understood this verse metaphorically. The ner tamid is not a physical lamp, rather, it is merely a [...]
Daily Kavanah – Thursday, February 22, 2024
Mitzvah Day 2024 is less than a month away and we are hoping that our community, across all ages, will join us for our morning of service. There are projects to benefit local causes like the unhoused, our hospitals, and Wise Readers to Leaders. In addition, we’ll be supporting a range of vital Israeli beneficiaries, both those to respond to the crisis of the Gaza war as well as our usual partner organization. Join us! Bring your kids, grandkids, teens! Support our causes! You can do it all here. To get you in the Mitzvah Day Spirit, I’ll be sharing some of my favorite Tikkun Olam texts from the Jewish tradition along with my interpretations. As we endure yet another atmospheric river (who heard of these until only a year or two ago?), we recognize that the unthinkable is becoming real for us. Humanity’s collective actions over the previous 100 [...]
Daily Kavanah – Wednesday, February 21, 2024
Mitzvah Day 2024 is less than a month away and we are hoping that our community, across all ages, will join us for our morning of service. There are projects to benefit local causes like the unhoused, our hospitals, and Wise Readers to Leaders. In addition, we’ll be supporting a range of vital Israeli beneficiaries, both those to respond to the crisis of the Gaza war as well as our usual partner organization. Join us! Bring your kids, grandkids, teens! Support our causes! You can do it all here.To get you in the Mitzvah Day Spirit I’ll be sharing some of my favorite Tikkun Olam texts from the Jewish tradition along with my interpretations. Let’s start with a text from the Jerusalem Talmud Sanhedrin 4:9.The text has been modified for gender neutrality.Therefore, a human was created single and alone in the world to teach that for anybody who destroys a single life [...]
Daily Kavanah – Tuesday, February 20, 2024
Mitzvah Day 2024 is less than a month away and we are hoping that our community, across all ages, will join us for our morning of service. There are projects to benefit local causes like the unhoused, our hospitals, and Wise Readers to Leaders. In addition, we’ll be supporting a range of vital Israeli beneficiaries, both those to respond to the crisis of the Gaza war as well as our usual partner organization. Join us! Bring your kids, grandkids, teens! Support our causes! You can do it all here. To get you in the Mitzvah Day Spirit I’ll be sharing some of my favorite Tikkun Olam texts from the Jewish tradition along with my interpretations. אָז יִבָּקַע כשַּׁחַר אוֹרֶךָ וַאֲרֻכָתְךָ מְהֵרָה תִצְמָח I’ve owned many tallitot over my years as a rabbi—it’s sort of a uniform of the profession. My most recent two have had the Hebrew passage above written in beautiful [...]
Daily Kavanah – Monday, February 19, 2024
Mitzvah Day 2024 is less than a month away and we are hoping that our community, across all ages, will join us for our morning of service. There are projects to benefit local causes like the unhoused, our hospitals, and Wise Readers to Leaders. In addition, we’ll be supporting a range of vital Israeli beneficiaries, both those to respond to the crisis of the Gaza war as well as our usual partner organization. Join us! Bring your kids, grandkids, teens! Support our causes! You can do it all here. To get you in the Mitzvah Day Spirit I’ll be sharing some of my favorite Tikkun Olam texts from the Jewish tradition along with my interpretations. Let’s begin by dispelling a myth: Contrary to what some have said, Tikkun Olam is very much a part of Jewish tradition, ever since the phrase found its way into early prayer books and was [...]