Wise Words
Writings of reflection by the Stephen Wise Temple clergy.
Each Monday morning, members of our mailing list receive the weekly email “This Week at Wise,” and on Fridays, a “Shabbat Shalom” email from Rabbi Yoshi which include messages of thought, inspiration, and contemplation from our clergy, along with a schedule of events. Sign up and don’t miss out!
Wise Words – Monday, June 22, 2026
Despite the excitement I feel as Camp Wise opens its doors this morning to its largest group of campers ever, I’m also reminded that summer camp is hard. The days are long. The temperatures climb higher each year. Campers (and their parents) arrive with boundless energy, endless questions, and occasionally strong opinions about everything from group assignments to snack choices. And, as this week’s Torah portion, Chukat, reminds us, leading Jews in the summer heat can be overwhelming. Camped at Meribah, the Israelites need water. God tells Moses that once he speaks to a rock, water will emerge. However, Moses loses patience and rebukes the complaining Israelites before striking the rock. Water flows, but Moses, the man who spent forty years carrying his community’s fears, frustrations, and demands, learns that he will not continue into the Promised Land. He has depleted his reserves, reminding us that even the greatest leaders [...]
Shabbat Shalom – Friday, June 19, 2026
This evening of Shabbat falls on Juneteenth, a federal holiday since 2021. It relates in powerful ways to core values in our Jewish tradition, and should matter deeply to us especially given important relationships that are precious. I want to take a few extra minutes with it and connect it to our tradition and our parasha.Slavery in this country was a moral stain. Human beings, created b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God, were treated as property. Stolen from their families. Oppressed, raped, murdered. Their bodies used and their humanity denied. President Abraham Lincoln understood it as the wrong it was, and on January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that enslaved people in Confederate territory “are, and henceforward shall be free.” Months earlier, defending the decision he knew he had to make, he wrote: “In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free.”But here’s the part [...]
Wise Words – Monday, June 15, 2026
On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that enslaved people were free. This moment came nearly two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. Juneteenth reminds us that justice delayed is still injustice. It teaches us that freedom is not merely a proclamation on paper, but a reality that must be brought to life. For generations, Black communities around this country have commemorated Juneteenth through gatherings, worship, music, storytelling, education, and acts of civil engagement. However, it was not until June 2021 that Juneteenth became a federal holiday, finally recognizing its significance not only in Black history, but in the American story as a whole. As Jews, the story of liberation is central to our identity. We retell the story of the Exodus every year because freedom lies at the heart of our [...]
Shabbat Shalom – Friday, June 12, 2026
This Shabbat has special personal resonance for me. Parashat Sh’lach L’cha is the parasha of my bar mitzvah — just a few years back, a little more than four decades ago. Embedded in this portion is a lesson that was particularly relevant to my adolescent self. Perhaps it was this way for you as well, but middle school was not an especially wonderful time for me. There was a lot of uncertainty around self-esteem, hormonal changes, and a deep suspicion that things just might not turn out the way I wanted them to in life. And one of the lessons of this parasha is an acknowledgment of how easy it is to default to pessimism in this world — but also about the possibility of hope. Twelve spies are sent out to check out the land of Israel. To see what it is like. Whether the cities are inhabited. Whether the land is [...]
Wise Words – Monday, June 8, 2026
Becky and I love LA! From the moment we pulled up roots in New York and New Jersey and planted them here in Los Angeles, we’ve never looked back. That’s not to say that living in this world-class city—rich in culture, glitz, beaches, mountains, diversity, and sunshine—doesn’t have its shortcomings. While I don’t need to name them all, I think we can all agree that one of the issues with the highest impact on the quality of our lives is homelessness. I am profoundly disturbed and often angered by the inhumanity endured by those who live on our streets, under bridges, and in our parks. Though only a small portion of the homeless suffer from untreated mental illness and disease, they are often the most visible. When I must step over another human as I’m pushing one of my grandsons in a stroller, I am frustrated and appalled that [...]