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, April 1, 2025
This week’s parashah, Vayikra, the first in the Book of Leviticus, introduces our forebears’ manual for creating and sustaining holiness among the Israelites, beginning with a discussion of ritual animal sacrifice. The parashah discusses five different types of offerings including the zevach shlamim, often known as the peace offering or freewill offering.The sages suggest that the zevach shlamim brings shalom—peace—to Israel. Unlike other sacrifices, which accompany guilt or ritual celebrations, shlamim are offered strictly for the purpose of securing the continued peaceful existence of the celebrant. The zevach shlamim, then, represents one of the first rituals to formalize the process of bringing personal or familial aspirations to the public arena. By offering a zevach shlamim, an Israelite publicized the peace they sought for themselves or their family to the community. Three thousand years later, we still follow this practice, sharing our aspirations through communal prayers of supplication, such as mi shebeirach for healing or t’filat haderech prior to a challenging journey. In many ways, the zevach [...]
Daily Kavanah – Monday, March 31, 2025
This week’s parashah, Vayikra, the first in the Book of Leviticus, introduces our forebears’ manual for creating and sustaining holiness among the Israelites—beginning with a discussion of ritual animal sacrifice. The parashah discusses five different types of offerings including the minchah, often known as the meal offering. When discussing the meal offering, the Torah remarks: “You shall season your every offering of meal with salt; you shall not omit from your meal offering the salt of your covenant with God; with all your offerings you must offer salt.” (Lev 2:13). Clearly, the Israelites believed in the import of salt! According to the medieval sage, Rashi, the salt represents the oceans, a symbol of creation. Ibn Ezra, meanwhile, suggests that salt symbolizes destruction, as stated within the 130th Psalm: “God turns the rivers into a wilderness, springs of water into thirsty land, fruitful land into a salt marsh, because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.” [...]
Daily Kavanah – Friday, March 28, 2025
This Shabbat, we conclude our reading of the Book of Exodus. Our parasha tells of the Israelites' completion of a major building project: the construction of the Mishkan, the portable sanctuary carried by the Israelites as they journeyed through the wilderness. For our ancestors, their vision of this special place of worship and gathering became a reality through the collective effort and extraordinary generosity of the entire community. (In fact, in last week’s parasha we read that the people were so generous that Moses had to ask them to stop bringing gifts!) When the sacred work of building the Mishkan is finally done, the Torah tells us: וַיַּ֨רְא מֹשֶׁ֜ה אֶת־כׇּל־הַמְּלָאכָ֗ה וְהִנֵּה֙ עָשׂ֣וּ אֹתָ֔הּ כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר צִוָּ֥ה ה׳ כֵּ֣ן עָשׂ֑וּ וַיְבָ֥רֶךְ אֹתָ֖ם מֹשֶֽׁה׃ And when Moses saw that they had performed all the tasks, Moses blessed them. (Exodus 39:43) The Israelites did the work and then they experienced the blessing. This week, we also marked a powerful milestone [...]
Daily Kavanah – Thursday, March 27, 2025
Advice for Life: Spiritual Heights Earlier this week, I wrote about “Advice for Life”, a course based on the teachings of the leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, also known as the Rebbe (for the story of how I landed in this class, read here). How does one achieve spiritual growth? Many books suggest that when we want to make such changes in life, we begin by looking inward; focusing on ourselves, changing our attitudes so that we will be motivated to make those changes. Rabbi Schneerson had a different perspective. He had a “leap first” mentality. He believed the Torah taught us to “focus on doing good right from the start.” In Likutei Sichot, which feature Rabbi Shneerson’s scholarly essays based on the Torah portion, he wrote: “We could argue that in order for a Jew to begin performing mitzvot and drawing closer to G-d, they [...]
Daily Kavanah – Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Advice for Life: Family BlissEarlier this week, I wrote about “Advice for Life”, a course based on the teachings of the Chabad-Lubavitcher, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, also known as the Rebbe (for the story of how I landed in this class, read here).The centrality of the family goes back to the early chapters of the Torah. And yet, interestingly, Rabbi Schneerson wrote that "the focus on the family unit is lacking—somewhat or significantly—even among those who genuinely try to follow a Torah lifestyle. They set aside time for Torah study, fulfill the mitzvot meticulously… Yes, the father, mother and children are walking a single path… nevertheless, they do not walk this path as a family…”Among the recommendations Rabbi Schneerson offers to enhance family relationships is that Jewish families celebrate the Shabbat meal together on Friday nights. More specifically, he wrote, “Parents and children should gather in the same room, around the [...]