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, November 24, 2023
Throughout this Thanksgiving week, I’ve been focusing on my gratitude list. I’ll be honest with you — it’s been hard during this time of war in Israel and rising antisemitism here and around the world. I feel a deep sense of loss and sadness for those murdered on October 7th. I am deeply worried about the well-being of the 240 hostages. I mourn the more than 380 soldiers who’ve sacrificed their lives for Medinat Yisrael and, more broadly, for the Jewish People since the start of this war. And because grief and empathy are not finite or “zero sum,” I also feel sadness for the innocent civilians in Gaza who have been killed and wounded in their tragic role as human shields for the Hamas terrorist regime. I feel pain about the terrible uptick in antisemitism, especially on college campuses. So much pain. So much loss. So much sadness. At moments like this [...]
Daily Kavanah – Thursday, November 23, 2023
מודים אנחנו לך Modim anachnu lach, we are grateful before You, God. A prayer of gratitude for this Thanksgiving Day: For the laughter of the children, For my own life breath, For the abundance of food on this table, For the ones who prepared this sumptuous feast, For the roof over our heads, The clothes on our backs, For our health, And our wealth of blessings, For this opportunity to celebrate with family and friends, For the freedom to pray these words Without fear… In this great country, Whose landscape is as vast and beautiful as her inhabitants. Thank you, God, for giving us all these. Amen. May our hearts be warm and our bellies full. May we find comfort and coziness with our families and in our homes. May the People of Israel know peace swiftly and in our days. And after today, with our bodies and souls feeling satiated [...]
Daily Kavanah – Wedensday, November 22, 2023
For weeks, we have been living in an ongoing shiva. Over the past month and a half, our hearts have been broken open every single day. We mourn the 1,400 souls lost on October 7 as we simultaneously pray for the safe return of our hostages, for the safety of Israeli soldiers, for our beloved homeland to someday forget war and know peace. We grieve and we worry, but we also hold onto our resilience, our hope. We are not alone in holding these great nuanced feelings. In our psalms, our poetic ancestors explored themes of despair and hope side by side, expressing thanksgiving and praise while simultaneously crying out to God in anguish. We are struggling, but our tradition tells us we have been here before and we will live to see the dawning of another hopeful day. There are 150 chapters of poetry gifted to us in [...]
Daily Kavanah – Tuesday, November 21, 2023
Although difficult to watch, one of my favorite movies is “Munich,” the 2005 film directed by Steven Spielberg and co-written by Tony Kushner and Eric Roth that explores the nearly impossible path to vengeance and healing following the 1972 massacre of Israelis at the Munich Olympics. One of the most memorable moments is from an early scene, when the leading man, Avner, is reminded by his wife that, while he can fight, he can never fully save Israel from outside hatred, and that doesn’t mean he loves Israel any less. “You think Israel is your Mother,” she says to him, and he cannot argue with his beloved over this deeply felt truth. This theme of Israel as the maternal figure, the safe space, the original home, is deeply felt by our People and explored not just in film but in great Jewish music and text, as well. The famous [...]
Daily Kavanah – Monday, November 20, 2023
One of the blessings of being a parent in our schools is the miraculous energy at dropoff. Every morning, I walk Ruby to the little blanket her teachers lay out on the dewy grass. Her sweet (maybe sticky) fingers intertwined in mine only pull apart when she sees her friends and bounds toward them. They are all hugs and giggles, bursting to share what they had for dinner, which books they read, the best games they played, and then they start to plot out what the day ahead will be like. It is absolutely soul-filling to witness such joy, to see my daughter and all of our children so happy, safe, and thriving on our campus. I thank God every day as I walk away knowing that she is cared for by great teachers, administration, security guards, clergy, and friends. And still, as if that weren’t already an embarrassment of [...]