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, September 19, 2023
From now through Yom Kippur, each of our Daily Kavanot will feature a piece written by our clergy on the themes and traditions of the High Holy Days. Each of these pieces can be found in Days of Awe, our High Holy Day Machzor supplement. On the Throne By Rabbi Sari Laufer There is a beautiful teaching in the Talmud which imagines God in a moment of prayer. For what—the rabbis wonder—does God pray? The answer: "May it be My will that My mercy will overcome My anger (towards Israel), and may My mercy prevail over My other attributes and may I deal with My children with the quality of mercy, and may I stop short of the limit of strict justice." God prays that God will have mercy on us all. These attributes—justice and mercy—are the work of the High Holy Days. When I have [...]
Daily Kavanah – Monday, September 18, 2023
From now through Yom Kippur, each of our Daily Kavanot will feature a piece written by our clergy on the themes and traditions of the High Holy Days. Each of these pieces can be found in Days of Awe, our High Holy Day Machzor supplement. The Heavenly Court is in Session By Rabbi David Woznica On the High Holy Days we stand before God in judgment. We should feel a sense of humility and, at the same time, have optimism for our future. Our machzor (High Holy Day prayer book) reminds us Rosh Hashanah inaugurates the 10-day process of judgment, “On Rosh Hashanah it is written and on Yom Kippur it is sealed: How many shall pass away, how many shall be born? Who shall live and who shall die.” The words are meant to make us feel intensity in synagogue. These are, indeed, the [...]
Daily Kavanah – Friday, September 15, 2023
From now through Yom Kippur, each of our Daily Kavanot will feature a piece written by our clergy on the themes and traditions of the High Holy Days. Each of these pieces can be found in Days of Awe, our High Holy Day Machzor supplement. Ten Days of Turning By Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback I was six—maybe seven—years old. It was a hot, humid Midwestern summer day and I had nothing to do. I wandered out to the garage where we kept all of our sports equipment in a big wooden crate. I grabbed a basketball, tucked it under one arm, and then, standing tall on my tiptoes, reached up and pressed the automatic garage door opener so that I could walk out to the driveway to shoot some hoops. But watching the garage door go up inspired in me a new idea for an afternoon [...]
Daily Kavanah – Thursday, September 14, 2023
From now through Yom Kippur, each of our Daily Kavanot will feature a piece written by our clergy on the themes and traditions of the High Holy Days. Each of these pieces can be found in Days of Awe, our High Holy Day Machzor supplement. Everything Is In It By Cantor Emma Lutz בֶּן בַּג בַּג אוֹמֵר, הֲפֹךְ בָּהּ וַהֲפֹךְ בָּהּ, דְּכֹלָּא בָהּ “Ben Bag Bag said: turn it and turn it again and again, for everything is in it.” —Pirkei Avot 5:22 Together in the days ahead, we will participate in the communal observance of the Yamim Noraim, the 10 Days of Awe. For many hours, sometimes for multiple days in a row, we will sit together in our spectacular sanctuary or outside on our plaza and put our all efforts into prayer. Ben Bag Bag, a rabbinic disciple of the great Rabbi Hillel, [...]
Daily Kavanah – Wednesday, September 13, 2023
From now through Yom Kippur, each of our Daily Kavanot will feature a piece written by our clergy on the themes and traditions of the High Holy Days. Each of these pieces can be found in Days of Awe, our High Holy Day Machzor supplement. Turn and Return On Tisha B'Av, when we come to the end of the Book of Lamentations, a strange thing occurs. Perhaps you have heard of it, perhaps not, but as the final verse is chanted in its plaintive tune, the entire community goes back to repeat the penultimate verse: הֲשִׁיבֵ֨נוּ יְהֹוָ֤ה ׀ אֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ (ונשוב) [וְֽנָשׁ֔וּבָה] חַדֵּ֥שׁ יָמֵ֖ינוּ כְּקֶֽדֶם׃ Return us to You, Adonai, and we will return Renew our days as of old! The custom exists because we, as a people, believe in a nechemta—the redemptive power of hope. We are taught, generationally, that we do not end a reading or a [...]