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 – Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Judaism is a religion of Original Repentance, not Original Sin.I do not remember the first time I learned that, or from whom, but certainly our reading of Genesis 2—the story of the Garden of Eden—does not imagine us all at fault, “paying for” the actions (sins?) of Adam and Eve. Rather, as Rabbi Yael Ridberg writes, sin is the result of our negative human tendencies or inclinations, known in Hebrew as the yetzer hara (the inclination toward evil), which must be channeled in ways that affirm life by the influence of the yetzer hatov (the inclination to goodness). Sin exists in Jewish tradition, but it is seen as personal and ongoing—and, it is also seen as an invitation. Rabbi Ridberg continues by saying: The word in Hebrew for sin (ḥet) literally means something that goes astray, like an arrow that misses the mark. When an archer misses the target, it is not a [...]
Daily Kavanah – Tuesday, February 27, 2024
I am not sure that any art exhibit has taken my breath away quite like the exhibit of Black American Portraits at LACMA in 2022. Like most of the crowd, I had gone to see the already-iconic Obama portraits by artist Kehinde Wiley—that alone was well-worth the wait. But beyond those two spectacular portraits were over 150 other pieces of art, featuring 200 years of Black American subjects, sitters, and spaces. The goal was, according to LACMA’s publicity, “centering Black love, abundance, family, community, and exuberance.” Among them were a number, that I recall, portraying ordinary Black Americans as royalty—a common theme in Kehinde Wiley’s work. So, imagine my surprise to discover that in 2012—long before the Obama portraits—the Jewish Museum in New York mounted a Kehinde Wiley exhibit for Black History month entitled Kehinde Wiley/The World Stage: Israel. The description of the exhibit offers the following: Kehinde Wiley / [...]
Daily Kavanah – Monday, February 26, 2024
Carter Woodson, the “father” of Black History set out in 1926 to designate a time to educate Americans about Black history and promote Black culture. It wasn’t until 1976, during the country’s Bicentennial Celebrations, that Black History Month was officially established in the month of February. And, as many supporters and critics have noted, Black history is inextricable from American history writ large. “The Black experience,” says Sara Clarke Kaplan, executive director of the Antiracist Research & Policy Center at American University in Washington, D.C. “is embedded in everything we think of as 'American history.'” And so too is it buried deep in my own family’s history—a story of Jewish America and of Black America. For much of my childhood, two large portraits loomed large over our living room. Hanging over the fireplace were these dark paintings of a severe looking man and an equally intense looking woman, both dressed in [...]
Daily Kavanah – Friday, February 23, 2024
Every synagogue you’ve ever visited has one. They come in different shapes and sizes but the origin of each comes from the opening of this week’s Torah portion: וְאַתָּ֞ה תְּצַוֶּ֣ה ׀ אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וְיִקְח֨וּ אֵלֶ֜יךָ שֶׁ֣מֶן זַ֥יִת זָ֛ךְ כָּתִ֖ית לַמָּא֑וֹר לְהַעֲלֹ֥ת נֵ֖ר תָּמִֽיד׃ “You shall further instruct the Israelites to bring you clear oil of beaten olives for lighting, in order to cause the light to go up continually.” (Ex. 27:20) In its most literal sense, the verse commands us regarding the special menorah that was situated inside the tabernacle and then later in the Temple in Jerusalem. This menorah is to be a ner tamid, an eternal light—it should never go out. And so it is, to this very day, that every synagogue includes one, reminding us of our past, reminding us of our destiny. The commentators of the midrash, however, understood this verse metaphorically. The ner tamid is not a physical lamp, rather, it is merely a [...]
Daily Kavanah – Thursday, February 22, 2024
Mitzvah Day 2024 is less than a month away and we are hoping that our community, across all ages, will join us for our morning of service. There are projects to benefit local causes like the unhoused, our hospitals, and Wise Readers to Leaders. In addition, we’ll be supporting a range of vital Israeli beneficiaries, both those to respond to the crisis of the Gaza war as well as our usual partner organization. Join us! Bring your kids, grandkids, teens! Support our causes! You can do it all here. To get you in the Mitzvah Day Spirit, I’ll be sharing some of my favorite Tikkun Olam texts from the Jewish tradition along with my interpretations. As we endure yet another atmospheric river (who heard of these until only a year or two ago?), we recognize that the unthinkable is becoming real for us. Humanity’s collective actions over the previous 100 [...]