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!
Shabbat Shalom – Friday, March 6, 2026
This past Shabbat, we read the Torah verses commanding us to remember Amalek, the paradigmatic enemy of the Jewish people, who attacked our ancestors from behind while they were vulnerable in the wilderness. In Jewish tradition, Haman is understood to be a descendant of Amalek. Over time, however, "Amalek" has come to symbolize a larger, more painful truth: that in every generation, there are those who rise up with the intent to destroy us. Sadly, history has shown us repeatedly that this is no mere story; it is the reality of our lived experience. This past week brought an extraordinary and chilling development. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—the dictator who ruled Iran for decades and oversaw the world’s largest state sponsor of terror, a fanatical leader with the blood of countless innocents on his hands—was killed in an Israeli strike in Tehran. It is extraordinary to reflect on the fact that the verses [...]
Wise Words – Monday, March 2, 2026
Tonight, Jewish communities around the world will begin their celebration of Purim. And before the revelry and the debauchery, the first requirement of the holiday is to hear the megillah—the entire megillah. In traditional communities, the drinking and dancing cannot begin until the community has heard every word of the story—one of only two in our tradition named for and centered on a woman. Fitting, perhaps, for this second day of Women’s History Month. But actually, the Megillah gives us two very different women at the center of the story. Vashti is written out in the very first chapter, but the story cannot begin without her. Vashti refuses to “dance” for the king— abruptly, publicly, without apology. The text offers no flowery speech, only the stark words: “Queen Vashti refused.” Later, Esther wonders, fasts, strategizes, and then risks her life by approaching the king unbidden. Vashti’s protest is about dignity. Esther’s [...]
Shabbat Shalom – Friday, February 27, 2026
I still remember my first visit to the Kotel, the Western Wall in Jerusalem, one of the holiest sites in Jewish tradition.It was 1978. We had come as a family to celebrate the b’nai mitzvah of my older sister and brother.Something strange and confusing happened during the ceremony. I saw my brother surrounded by the men of our family, with me, a boy of eight, among them, proudly wearing his new tallit and tefillin, chanting Torah and receiving hearty “mazel tovs” from family and strangers alike.But my sister, the oldest, most responsible, studious, and Jewishly committed of us all, stood behind the mechitza along with my mother, grandmother, aunt, and the other women in our family, balancing on chairs so they could watch the men pray. No tallit or tefillin for her. No Torah scroll. No mazel tovs.I thought we had come to Israel to celebrate her becoming bat mitzvah [...]
Wise Words – Monday, February 23, 2026
This month, Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month (JDAIM) comes to a close. Throughout the month of February, we have been invited to think about access, belonging, and what it truly means to build a community where every person is seen, heard, and valued. As the month ends, the work does not. Inclusion is not a theme for one month. It is a sacred obligation that continues every day of the year. For much of my life, reading has been an obstacle. Having been diagnosed with dyslexia, reading was a slow, frustrating, and sometimes painful process. The world I lived in did not feel like it was built for me. I worried that struggling with words meant that I did not belong. How could I be a leader? How could I be an educator? How could I learn and teach our sacred traditions? There were many teachers who told me [...]
Shabbat Shalom – Friday, February 20, 2026
I want to begin with October 7th — that Shabbat morning. I woke up to WhatsApp messages from my daughter and from friends and family in Israel. Confusion. Horror. The numbers kept rising. And suddenly our world was on fire. I know many of you remember exactly where you were that day. It wasn’t only shock. It wasn’t only grief. It was the feeling that something shifted. What you love — what you are proud of — was suddenly treated as something shameful. And then came another fire. Antisemitism rising in schools, on campuses, across social media. Anti-Israel sentiment turning quickly into delegitimization and demonization. It burned. The very next day, October 8, I shared a poem at a gathering of solidarity in Los Angeles. It was written nearly a century ago in Yiddish by Mordechai Gebirtig. It’s called Es Brent — “It Burns.” “S’brent, briderlekh, s’brent! Undzer shtetl [...]