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, May 14, 2024
Each Yom HaZikaron, I find myself drawn to the Yehuda Amichai poem, written about Yom HaZikaron itself. Entitled Who Will Remember Those Who Remembers, he wrote: What is the correct way to stand at a memorial ceremony? Erect or stooped, pulled taut as a tent or in the slumped posture of mourning, head bowed like the guilty or held high in a collective protest against death, eyes gaping frozen like the eyes of the dead or shut tight, to see stars inside? And what is the best time for remembering? At noon when shadows are hidden beneath our feet, or at twilight when shadows lengthen like longings that have no beginning, no end, like God? Israelis are, unfortunately, far too good at memorial ceremonies. From the songs to the flags to the sirens, the sense of loss permeates the country in a way that I do not think we Americans [...]
Daily Kavanah – Monday, May 13, 2024
Every year, on the evening of Yom HaZikaron, the Giv’olim elementary school in Ramat Gan—near northern Tel Aviv—hosts a Memorial Day ceremony for Yom HaZikaron. Parents and students alike from the local community flock to campus and sit patiently in white plastic chairs, waiting for the school principal to announce the commencement of the ceremony which features student-led poetry, dances, and music. The ceremony honors every student from the school who lost their life in defense of Israel or in acts of terror. In between performances, students or adults read biographies of each fallen alumnus, as their photo appears on a projection on the side of the school building. Until this year, the last addition to the list was Ido Naim, an alumnus who died in a military training exercise in 2000. This year, as in countless schools across Israel, new names will be added to the list, as [...]
Daily Kavanah – Friday, May 10, 2024
This Shabbat marks the first in the Hebrew month of Iyyar which means Yom HaZikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day) and Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel Independence Day) will be commemorated and celebrated next Monday and Tuesday. These will be the most muted and challenging observances of these days in Israel’s 76- year history. The war continues on three fronts: Gaza, the north, and on college campuses across the Diaspora. On Sunday night and Monday, all Israel – our community of course included – will mourn those killed in acts of terror and war from soldiers who have fallen in the line of duty to those who were slaughtered while dancing at the Nova Music Festival. The transition from memory and sorrow to celebration has always been a challenging one on these two days. The signal to make the switch has always been the moment when the flag is raised from half mast to full at Har Herzl as Yom HaZikaron slips away and [...]
Daily Kavanah – Thursday, May 9, 2024
The Torah’s Lesson about Jews by ChoiceThis week our Torah portion includes, “When a proselyte dwells among you in your land, do not wrong him. The proselyte* who dwells with you shall be like a native among you, and you shall love him like yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am Adonai your God.” (Leviticus 19:33)A proselyte is also known as a “convert” to Judaism or a “Jew by choice.”With this verse, the Torah teaches that those who convert to Judaism are to be seen as authentic a Jew as those who were born a Jew. In fact, of the convert to Judaism, Rashi (writer of comprehensive commentaries on the Bible and Talmud) wrote, do not say to him “Yesterday you were an idolator and now you come to study Torah which was given from the mouth of the Almighty.”In other words, once someone converts [...]
Daily Kavanah – Wednesday, May 8, 2024
“And Every Single One Was Someone”This week we commemorate Yom HaShoah.I met Ilan Greenfield 46 years ago at a month-long Jewish retreat. An Israeli, Ilan is the son of the founders of Gefen Publishing House, specializing in English-language books of Jewish and Israeli interest. Ilan is now the CEO and Gefen has offices in Jerusalem and New York.Gefen, which was founded in 1981, publishes about 40 titles a year. One of its books is titled “And Every Single One Was Someone”. It has no plot and is very difficult to read because the lettering is tiny. Even those with extraordinary vision will need reading glasses.There is only one word in this book: “Jew”. It is printed in a 5.5 font. To give you a sense of the size of the word, here it is in 8 point font: “Jew”My computer does not allow for smaller print.“Jew” is printed six million times, [...]