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, October 18, 2023
This week, our daily kavanot will honor the memories of just some of the men, women, and children killed by Hamas in last week's horrific attacks. Zichronam livracha—May their memories be forever a blessing. Tamar Kedem-Siman Tov and her husband Yonatan lived in Nir Oz, a kibbutz near the border of Gaza. On Friday, October 6, the population of the kibbutz was around 400 people. The NY Post described Tamar as “a community activist and women’s rights activist, who recently campaigned to become head of the Eshkol Regional Council.” Her social media profile indicates she works at the foundation for Encouraging Initiatives in Education and that she had been a program leader for the Cadets for Municipal service, an initiative that aimed to train local leaders in Israel’s rural communities. Yonatan worked on the kibbutz as an operations manager and wheat grower. Before her campaign, Tamar served as an [...]
Daily Kavanah – Tuesday, October 17, 2023
This week, our daily kavanot will honor the memories of just some of the men, women, and children killed by Hamas in last week's horrific attacks. Zichronam livracha—May their memories be forever a blessing. As of late last week, Sayeret Matkal, Israel’s special reconnaissance and operations unit, akin to the British Special Air Service or the U.S. Navy’s Seal Team Six, If you ask my 7 year old about the highlight of our family trip to Israel this summer, she will first tell you about the ice cream. But then, she is likely to tell you about the day we spent at Moshav Bar Giora, outside of Jerusalem, where our very own teacher Chen Goldberg grew up. She’ll tell you about running around with her friend Ziv and his cousins, about running back and forth to the makolet (the local convenience store), about the bonfire and the sunset and the [...]
Daily Kavanah – Monday, October 16, 2023
This week, our daily kavanot will honor the memories of just some of the men, women, and children killed by Hamas in last week's horrific attacks. Zichronam livracha—May their memories be forever a blessing As of late last week, Sayeret Matkal, Israel’s special reconnaissance and operations unit, akin to the British Special Air Service or the U.S. Navy’s Seal Team Six, has been placed on standby to conduct hostage rescue operations in Gaza. They will do so without Major Tal Cohen, who was killed while fighting Hamas militants. A husband and a father of three children in Ganei Tal in central Israel, Tal, along with fellow officers and soldiers from Sayeret Matkal, were among the first to respond to the attacks on Saturday, October 7. He was buried last Tuesday afternoon at the Givat Shaul cemetery in Jerusalem. His sister, Anat, remembered him, “Tal, for me you will always remain [...]
Daily Kavanah – Friday, October 13, 2023
This week, we are dedicating our Daily Kavanot to the people and the State of Israel. Our thoughts and our prayers are with them. My wife was supposed to be in Israel right now for the wedding of the daughter of our dear friends, Leon and Bruria. I’ve known Leon since freshman year of college. He met Jacqueline in Israel a few days after I did through a mutual friend. After he and Bruria started dating, we all became fast friends. They danced at our wedding and we at theirs. We’ve known their first-born, Yael, since she was a baby. We attended her bat mitzvah in Jerusalem. She and her whole family are precious to us. Jacqueline couldn’t travel to Israel this week for obvious reasons but yesterday we were able to attend the wedding together—online. Because so many loved ones couldn’t be present, including many who have been called up [...]
Daily Kavanah – Thursday, October 12, 2023
In October of 1973, during Yom Kippur services, I remember sitting in temple next to my father, who had a transistor radio earpiece pressed to the side of his head. He was earnestly listening for updates on the Yom Kippur War, which at that time was only hours old. Over the ensuing days, we held emergency meetings in our home and at our synagogue to coordinate our community’s response. As the Young Leadership Chair for the United Jewish Appeal, my father was central to national action as well. In that year before my bar mitzvah, my family and I would travel to Israel and visit the land that I witnessed my community work so hard to protect. I learned a critical lesson that shaped the entirety of my life: The responsibility for ensuring the safety and strength of Israel is inextricably linked to my identity as a Jew. On [...]