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, November 28, 2023
This week I’m sharing words from a few of our third and fourth grade students at Wise Elementary school. The children are assigned the task of writing an introduction to a particular prayer in the morning service. As I led services this week, I was struck by the poignant and inspirational insights from these young teachers. Liam’s words, below, reflected his understanding of the Barechu – the call to worship. Customarily, the first line: Barechu et Adonai Hamevorach! (“Bless Adonai, the One who is praised!”) is recited by the service leader. The congregation then responds with a knee bend and bow, saying: Baruch Adonai Hamevorach l’olam vaed (“Blessed is Adonai the One who is praised forever”). The response indicates their readiness to continue the service. Liam sees this call and response as a summons to be meaningfully present for others. Here is his beautiful interpretation: “Heneini,” I am here. A heneini moment for me was when I saw [...]
Daily Kavanah – Monday, November 27, 2023
One of the high points of the week are the services that my fellow clergy and I lead with our Wise Elementary School students. The children’s incredible enthusiasm and energy make the services truly uplifting. They also bring the beautiful wisdom that comes from the unique perspectives of astute, yet wonderfully innocent, children. Over the course of the year, the Judaic studies teachers work with the students to prepare iyunim – introductions to a particular prayer. The children are invited to integrate concepts in the prayer with their values and their take on the world around them. This past week, I had the pleasure of joining our second through fourth graders. I was so inspired by their words that I want to share them with you. It’s been said that “from the mouths of babes…” Well, from the mouths of our incredible children come insights that can inspire and uplift us all.For [...]
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 [...]