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 – Wedensday, March 20, 2024
Who’s a Hero? The Purim story was likely written by Jews heavily influenced by Greek storytelling. The heroes, the villains, even the court setting take their cues from classic Greek comedies and yet, it is truly a unique form of Jewish literature. Unlike every other book of the Jewish Bible, the story of Esther does not mention God. In the telling by its author, the story’s unfolding and victorious conclusion completely rests in human hands. There is no mention of God or prayer—even in victory the Jews neither offer prayers nor sacrifices to God. In many respects, the book of Esther is a fully secular story. Of course, later rabbinic tradition could not tolerate God’s absence and introduced a special Al Ha-Nisim (for the miracles) prayer of gratitude to God for the Jewish deliverance as part of the Purim rituals. Reading the Purim story as it is, Esther and Mordechai [...]
Daily Kavanah – Tuesday, March 19, 2024
To Masquerade or Not to Masquerade It is hard to imagine two days more different than Purim and Yom Kippur, and yet the rabbis of our tradition dared to make the discordant comparison. Purim, the day of merriment and abandon, evocative of Mardi Gras; Yom Kippur, solemn and awe evoking, reminding us of our mortality. And yet, in a bit of wordplay, the rabbis imagine that we should read Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement, as Yom Ki-Purim—a day like Purim. Of course, the wordplay is only the contrivance through which a deeper comparison is made. On Purim we recognize that we are sometimes forced to wear masks, hide behind them, and become someone we are not. We hide our pain or sorrow or pretend to affectations that mask who we really are. If Purim is about our tendency to be inauthentic, on Yom Kippur, we seek to remove all pretense. [...]
Daily Kavanah – Monday, March 18, 2024
Purim’s Satire and Farce Exaggerations, twists and turns of fate, outright comedy, ridicule, and unlikely outcomes are the standard fare in our cherished and enduring story of Purim. Ahasuerus is the foppish and foolish king who exiles one wife for refusing to dance in his presence (says the Midrash) and choses another after a beauty competition that included a night in the king’s bed! This, in a world where marriages served the purpose of expanding one’s power and rarely if ever for beauty, love, or even desire. The villain is a caricature of vanity and greed. As deviously manipulative as he is, the Jewish heroes out-maneuver him with their strategizing, resulting in both his head and that of all his offspring topping poles. The heroes, and there are two in this story, seize victory from the jaws of defeat through happenstance. Mordechai overhears murderous schemers and though his revelation is [...]
Daily Kavanah – Friday, March 15, 2024
This week we’ve been focusing our daily kavannot on the life and legacy of our namesake, Rabbi Stephen Samuel Wise, whose birthday we celebrate this Sunday (he was born on March 17, 1874 and died April 19, 1949). His commitment to the dream of establishing a Jewish national home in the Land of Israel inspires us still. Our temple and schools are named in his honor because our founder, Rabbi Isaiah Zeldin of blessed memory, was deeply moved by Wise’s rabbinate, his leadership, and his undying commitment to Zionism. Though he died twenty years before I was even born, I have an interesting personal connection to him. First through Rabbi Zeldin who as a thirteen year old boy encountered Rabbi Wise addressing an overflowing crowd at Madison Square Garden in 1933, speaking out against the rise of facism in Europe. I am also connected to him through my maternal great-grandparents who, [...]
Daily Kavanah – Thursday, March 14, 2024
This Sunday, March 17, marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, the namesake of our congregation and a pillar of the 20th Century American Jewish Community who helped shape Jewish life as we know it today. Throughout this week’s daily kavannot, we will explore many of his lasting contributions to our history and tradition. From a historical standpoint, the convergence of Rabbi Stephen S. Wise’s simultaneous, strong devotions to the American Jewish community, to labor and civil rights, to freedom of the pulpit, and to Zionism seems unlikely. Few, if any, of Wise’s early 20th century contemporaries held all these passions at once, just as, few, if any, successfully championed any of them with the success that Wise championed them all. This was, in part, due to Stephen Wise’s refusal to allow the world to dictate his values to him. Despite the countless colleagues who urged [...]