- 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
…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…
…ifth question added to this year’s traditional Passover four questions: To buy? Or not to buy? Jews face having to find Passover foods without Stop & Shop, www.newhavenindependent.org, April 12, 2019 The Stop & Shop at 112 Amity Road, which was open Friday but picketed by striking workers, offers a large selection of foods that are kosher for Passover because of the Jewish population in and near the Westville section, which isn’t as large as it on…
…m to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy whips out his cellphone and calls 911. He gasps: “My friend is dead! What should I do?” The operator says: “Calm down, I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.” There is a silence, then a shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says: “OK, now what?” Even if you follow all the directions geschribben in the Shulhan Arukh strictly, letter by letter, you are not performing the mitzvot as…
…could occur (not necessarily with their support), threatening to appeal to higher authority within the Roman administration, and finally actualizing this veiled threat. That is, it may fairly be asserted that the approach of the “Jews at large” and their representatives was essentially nonviolent, inasmuch as their only mention of violence was in the context of an appeal to Pilate to cooperate with them to help prevent the outbreak of violence fro…
…use it is one way to make taxation more fair. At the least, those who have higher income will pay about the same percentage of the their income to support social services. In contrast, the sales tax places a relatively heavier burden on lower-income citizens; it is ultimately regressive. At the level of our shul, it has been noted that the dues structure is not progressive; in fact, it is not even flat-rate (fixed percentage). Rather, all pay the…
…the four walls. Membership dues were low, but the shul was filled more by ticket buyers than members at holiday time. Aliyot were auctioned to the highest bidder, cantors were hired just for the High Holy Days — the more renowned the cantor, the better the ticket sales. The Rabbi did not have a contract with the Congregation. By informal arrangement, he would be available to one or more congregations to deliver sermons, but earned his living by…
…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…
…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…
…en it would have to be enforceable. When you choose divorce, you choose to pay. There could be no ifs, no ands or buts! However, due to the moral climate of Rabbi Yohanan’s time, some men chose to play but not to pay! Rabbi Yohanan understood that this attitude would undermine the ketuba’s purpose. It would allow men to claim that their wives had committed adultery, breached the ketuba contract, and therefore they should be free of the ketuba obli…
…or covering and seating? The committee will seek congregational input on a number of items, including the seating and potentially floor covering. The committee will make the final decision based on a variety of factors, including cost, durability, sustainability, and congregational input. Sound and Acoustics How will we handle room acoustics? We will work with the architect and potentially with an acoustical engineer. Is the space intimate enough…
