We have shared so many words together over these past few weeks—prayers, songs, and sermons; “yashar koach”s, “g’mar chatimah tovah”s and comments with names of loved ones on Facebook or YouTube as our services streamed. We directed words to [...]

As we move through these Days of Awe, we hope that these readings and excerpts from Sha’ar HaShamayim, our Stephen Wise Temple machzor, will deepen your worship and High Holy Days experience. The purpose of these Holy [...]

A story is told about Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditzev (1740-1809). One year, a few days before Yom Kippur, he was standing in his study, gazing out the window. He saw an itinerant handyman walking [...]

In just a few more days, the New Year will be upon us. Whether you will attend our services in person or join us online, we will gather together to express our deepest hopes and highest [...]

Rabbi Hayim Halberstam of Tzanz (1793–1876) related this parable: A man was lost in a forest for several days. He tried and tried but could not find a way out. He saw another man coming [...]

Rabbi Harold Schulweis shares a beautiful lesson about the shofar that was taught to him by Natan Sharansky, the famous refusenik who later immigrated to Israel and became a member of parliament and then head of the [...]

There is a story told by Rabbi Albert Lewis about a man named Joe. During his lunch break at work, Joe took a seat on a bench next to a fellow worker and began rummaging [...]

When Hayyim of Zanz was a young man, he set about trying to reform his country from its evil ways. But when he reached the age of 30, he looked around and saw that evil [...]

Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins shares a story that helps us in our preparation for the New Year: After a long, hard climb up the mountain, the spiritual seekers finally found themselves in front of the [...]

The events of the past few weeks in Afghanistan are horrifying on so many levels. But the true magnitude of the horror dates back decades, centuries even. The human toll of the United State’s longest [...]