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 – Tuesday, May 12, 2020
There’s a podcast called “Rough Translation” that explores the many ways that we humans don’t understand one another. In this episode, the host explores the profound cultural differences that lead a husband and wife to utterly fail in their compassion for one another until they literally walk in one another’s shoes. Both are American citizens—the wife is originally from Wuhan and as the virus ravages her town, her Italian-born husband is complacent—then the virus hits Italy and he discovers empathy. How is your empathy? This is the perfect time to do an empathy check. Do we feel for others beyond our own circle who suffer? What would it take to extend our compassion to those who are not like you? Jewish tradition says: “Love your neighbor as yourself”—there is no greater command for empathy. So many in our community and our world need us and need our care. The pandemic reminds us that [...]
Daily Kavanah – Monday, May 11, 2020
C.S. Lewis said the following about the US in 1939 on the cusp of World War II in a speech entitled: Learning in Wartime. “War creates no absolutely new situation: it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it.” How timeless are those remarks! Nothing new about the human condition has been created by this “novel virus.” We’ve just revealed the best and the worst of ourselves. The best: so many of us care about each other and are careful about being in public, about wearing our masks, about continuing to connect to each other via the technology that makes it all possible. And yet, some of our previous conditions continue: the homeless are still homeless, there are still folks who care less about others than their own “needs” to flout the coronavirus regulations; healthcare remains illusive for so many, our immigrants are still facing challenges [...]
Daily Kavanah – Friday, May 8, 2020
On six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there will be a Sabbath of complete rest, a sacred occasion. No work should be done; it will be a Sabbath of God throughout your dwelling places (Leviticus 23:3). This week in Parshat Emor, we are presented with a calendar of special occasions, days and weeks made holy by God. Shabbat is listed before any of the other festivals as a day of special significance marked by complete rest. Now more than ever, Shabbat is a sacred opportunity for us to mark time and to create for ourselves an environment of renewal and tranquility. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote about the Sabbath not simply as a day but as an atmosphere. The space we occupy on Shabbat should be a small piece of paradise for us, and the hours of Shabbat are a holy time that bring us closer to [...]
Daily Kavanah – Thursday, May 7, 2020
The patient person shows much good sense, but the quick-tempered one displays folly at its height. — Proverbs 14:29 Patience is a character trait that does not come easily to me. As a little sister, I always wanted to do everything my brother, Lee, was doing and never wanted to wait until I was old enough to age into his activities, classes, or outings. Lee was generous of spirit and let me tag along, but there were still times when I had to stay behind, and I struggled. Funny how things can change — I learned to practice patience over time, and my [...]
Daily Kavanah – Wednesday, May 6, 2020
I have always found prayer difficult. So often it seems like a fruitless game of hide-and-seek where we seek and God hides...yet I cannot leave prayer alone for long. My need drives me to God. And I have a feeling that God has God’s own reasons for hiding, and that finally all my seeking will prove infinitely worthwhile. And I am not sure what I mean by “finding.” Some days my very seeking seems a kind of “finding.” And of course, if “finding” means the end of seeking, it were better to go on seeking. — Anonymous I fell in love with the words above decades ago when I read them week after week in the opening reflections of my childhood prayerbook, Gates of Prayer. I found great comfort and wisdom in the Jewish idea that our searching can be just as important as our final destination, that our questions [...]