- Congregation Beth El–Keser Israel
85 Harrison Street, New Haven, CT 06515-1724 | P: 203.389.2108 | office@beki.org
85 Harrison Street, New Haven, CT 06515-1724 | P: 203.389.2108 | office@beki.org
…hei HaBesht (Tel Aviv: Devir) 5707/1947, 5735/1975, p. 35. A table of tale numbers and the corresponding page numbers in other editions is given at the back of the book by Ben-Amos and Mintz. 2. Violence is neither advocated nor condoned in these tales to any significant extent, whereas many tales strongly advocate the efficacy and advantages of nonviolence. The main exception to this generalization are a few of the first fifteen tales (pp. 39-51…
…gants thankful for the near end of the Covid-19 pandemic. But now with the Delta Variant and a rise in new Covid cases, some synagogues are still deciding whether to hold services inside or whether to resign themselves to another Zoom Jewish New Year. Even without the Delta variant, Rabbi Eric Woodward of Beth El Keser Israel (BEKI) in New Haven had already planned “Processing Our Return to the Building: Our Hopes & Fears” — two discussion session…
…e sort that a throng will commonly engage in. He thereupon ordered a large number of soldiers to be dressed in Jewish garments, under which they carried clubs, and he sent them off this way and that, thus surrounding the Jews, whom he ordered to withdraw. When the Jews were in full torrent of abuse he gave his soldiers the prearranged signal. They, however, inflicted much harder blows than Pilate had ordered, punishing alike both those who were ri…
…30s Havura, thanks to the initiative of Miriam Benson and the support of a number of program participants such as Eva Landau. It’s a nice way to bring people together and to help people locate their cohorts in the sea of members. The number of formal members does not tell the whole story. There are many families or individuals who identify BEKI as “their” synagogue, even though they are not formally members. For at least some purposes, we should t…
…nk, To the deaths of Miriam and Aaron. * * * One thing to notice About the number 14,700 Is that it promises reduction: It moves toward its own diminishment. There is a half-life logic to it, An inherent halving: 14 in the thousands category, Then 7, half-14, in the hundreds. In this promise of reduction, We move toward zero, Though we will never reach it. Just after the number of dead is given, Parshat Korach turns suddenly. G-d tells Moses to ta…
…r friends, neighbors and families wished to exact.35 Similarly, an unknown number accepted induction but made private arrangements with the administration whereby they could avoid actual combat or use of weapons, or could avoid serving in the occupied territories. At the same time, thousands of others found other ways to avoid the military altogether, through Yeshiva deferments, emigration, and faked medical or psychiatric exemptions.36 Moreover,…
…e have now. Do we expect to lose seating capacity? We expect to reduce the number of seats on a typical Shabbat — which is not the same as losing seating capacity. A major goal of the redesign is to make the sanctuary feel more intimate. Our current capacity is 332 fixed seats — perhaps one-third of which were typically filled, pre-Covid. The sketches show roughly 200 seats. Since they are all movable, we can expand capacity when needed. What happ…
…t this text. This is from the Mishna, (Sanhedrin 8:1-4), written down about 1800 years ago. They begin by asking a question: A rebellious and disobedient son – when does he become a rebellious and disobedient son? From the age when he can produce two hairs but before he grows a beard…. And then they quote: When a man has a son – this means a son and not a daughter, a son and not a man, and a minor is exempt since he has not as yet entered into the…
…Books of Moses verse by verse in 1994, and by 2007 had reached the end of Numbers, and concluded I Samuel at Passover 2015. Several other weekly and occasional study groups formed or were developed during these years. The Shabbat Shalom Learners’ Minyan (later renamed “Shabbat Shalom Torah Study”), initiated in the 1980s, continued to attract a diverse and loyal following. In 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 BEKI won Energy Star Awards and was designated…
…ained by trickery, through a reconciliation with his brother Esau. Jacob’s flight from Esau, and his 20 years under the thumb of Laban, have not provided him fulfillment of Isaac’s blessing. In order for Jacob to become a person of real power and legitimate authority, a true leader, he must have the ability to confront his brother Esau directly and to embrace Esau steadfastly, even though in doing so he will expose himself to serious injury. Jacob…
