From Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback and Stephen Wise Temple: Like many of our congregants, the Wise temple and school staff watched in horror as Russian forces invaded the sovereign nation of Ukraine last week. For many, it brought back echoes of 1938, when Adolf Hitler annexed the Sudetenland under a similar pretense; as well, many of … Continued
Tidying Up by Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback from Stephen Wise Temple The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Tell the Israelite people to bring Me gifts; you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart so moves him. (Exodus 25:1-2) לֵּאמֹֽר: אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה יְהוָ֖ה וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יִדְּבֶ֣נּוּ לִבּ֔וֹ תִּקְח֖וּ אֶת־תְּרוּמָתִֽי׃ כָּל־אִישׁ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר מֵאֵ֤ת תְּרוּמָ֑ה׃ When I was a kid, tidying up … Continued
On Thanksgiving, I want to share my gratitude for Stephen Wise Temple where my family has found a spiritual home. During the recent dedication of Katz Family Pavilion and Shalom Garden, Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback asked us: “How can we adequately give thanks for the countless blessings we acknowledge today?” He shared that in order to … Continued
Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback granted me permission to share his moving and meaningful #MeToo sermon from Friday, October 20, 2017 at Stephen Wise Temple in Los Angeles, California: “This is the line of Noah: Noah was a righteous man; he was blameless in his age; Noah walked with God.” It was good that Noah walked with … Continued
Not By Bread Alone כִּי לֹא עַל-הַלֶּחֶם לְבַדּוֹ יִחְיֶה הָאָדָם. The Rio Olympics just ended. It was a thrill to watch Simone and Michael, Usain and Aly. I love the Olympics and enjoy especially hearing the stories of the athletes and their families and am inspired by the extraordinary effort and commitment that goes into … Continued
At the end of May, many Americans look forward to a three-day holiday weekend. Memorial Day began as a somber day of remembrance and has evolved for many to a first sign of summer and time for a barbecue. Over one million soldiers gave their lives in service of the United States of America. Many … Continued
By Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback in Israel this week with his sixth grade students When the Eternal returned us to Zion, we were like dreamers! – בְּשׁוּב ה׳, אֶת-שִׁיבַת צִיּוֹן–הָיִינוּ, כְּחֹלְמִים Psalm 126:1 The State of Israel turns 68 years old this week, and you can feel the joy in the streets of Tel Aviv, where … Continued
Judaism as Jazz: magical musical sermon by Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback from January 15, 2016 at Stephen Wise Temple watch the video: I’m lucky – I’ve got a lot of great Rabbis in my life – teachers, guides, friends. (I should say – we are all lucky. We’ve all got great rabbis in our lives – great Cantors, too! … Continued
The Three Lessons of the Grasshopper Parashat Shelach-L’cha Shabbat sermon at Stephen S Wise Temple by Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback Shabbat shalom. Some of you might remember the old 1970s television show, Kung Fu which aired from 1972-1975 on ABC. I remember it from re-runs. The main character of the series, Kwai Chang … Continued
I believe in books and that Benjamin Franklin was right when he said the library is the greatest American institution. I am a library evangelist and was delighted to be in Los Angeles for the “It Happens Every Spring: Annual Library Lunch” at Stephen W. Wise Temple organized by Roberta Lloyd, Library Director and the … Continued