Wise Clergy Statement on Monterey Park Shooting
According to Chinese astrology and lore, the Year of the Rabbit is supposed to usher in a year of peaceful energy. All the more heartbreaking, then, that— for too many of our neighbors—this Lunar New Year began with the sounds of gunfire, screaming, and trauma. Once again, a joyous celebration ended in senseless violence at the hands of a lone man with a deadly weapon. In our nightly prayers, we ask God [...]
Search for Meaning With Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback and Author Zack Bodner
In the latest edition of his Search for Meaning podcast, Stephen Wise Temple Senior Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback hosts Zack Bodner, CEO of the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center and author of "Why Do Jewish? A Manifesto for 21st Century Jewish Peoplehood." The founder of the Z3 Project, which fosters renewed conversation on world Jewry and Israel relations, Bodner has spent his career serving the Jewish community. Before [...]
Wise In The News: Rabbis Featured in Multiple Articles
Rabbi Sari Goes to Sacramento: On Friday, Jan. 6, Stephen Wise Temple Rabbi Sari Laufer traveled to Sacramento to participate in a pre-inauguration interfaith unity celebration for California Governor Gavin Newsom at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. You can read her full remarks HERE. Rabbi Yoshi Featured in LA Times Column: Following a week of torrential downpours that were both a blessing and a curse for many across Southern California, Los Angeles Times faith [...]
Rabbi Sari Laufer Delivers Remarks at Pre-Inauguration Interfaith Unity Celebration for Gavin Newsom
On Friday, Jan. 6, Stephen Wise Temple Rabbi Sari Laufer traveled to Sacramento to participate in a pre-inauguration interfaith unity celebration for California Governor Gavin Newsom at St. Paul's Episcopal Church. Rabbi Sari delivered remarks at the service, becoming one of three women rabbis to participate in gubernatorial inaugurations across the country this month. Rabbi Sari's full remarks are available below: In Jewish tradition, the beginning of a journey is seen as [...]
Search for Meaning With Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback and Veronica Zweiback
WARNING: This episode of Search for Meaning with Rabbi Yoshi contains some explicit language. In the latest edition of his Search for Meaning podcast, Stephen Wise Temple Senior Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback hosts singer-songwriter Veronica Zweiback, who talks about her journey in music, as well as her journey of self-discovery in terms of gender identity. Rabbi Yoshi's niece comes from a musical family. Her father plays the guitar, [...]
Stephen Wise Temple Sings: Baraye Iran
In solidarity with the people of Iran and all those around the world who seek personal freedom, Stephen Wise Temple offers this "Baraye Iran" video as tribute. After the death of Mahsa Amini at the hands of Iranian officials, protesters from around the world posted their reasons for regime change in Iran. Each of them began with the words, "Baraye," a Farsi word which means "For" or "Because of." [...]