- 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
…sense of dignity and pride. This year, as always, each member of our shul community will be asked repeatedly to help support the shul. As Rabbi I see every day how this community makes a real difference in the lives of many people. It is my hope that, in the words of our Torah, “every person shall give as they are able” (Deut. 16:17). When Grampa Ed and his brothers left the card table with $50 or $100 less than they came with, they still felt li…
…ircle helped adults locate the resources in Jewish tradition and synagogue community that added meaning and structure to their lives, including those that could be of particular value to mental health services consumers. Concomitantly, the project helped synagogue members and staff learn to better understand and welcome this segment of our community. At right: Melakhim Scroll Cover Saul’s Circle created special programs designed for the unique sit…
…Brunch, Ḥanuka celebration or sacred time. Recognizing that many synagogue community activities and programs are geared for families with young children or for seniors, the 20s-30s Ḥavura presents an opportunity for “young people” without children (or with just a few) to explore and celebrate their Jewish identity in a synagogue setting. While the Ḥavura does not have programs or services for children, parents are always welcome to take an evening…
…, Rabbinical Assembly, 2000 “Contemporary Ethical Reflections on Identity, Community and Tradition: A Textual Study,” Dr. Kenneth Koltun-Fromm, Rabbinical Assembly, 2000 “An Introduction to Current Literary Approaches to Reading of Biblical Narrative: The Book of Ruth” Dr. Edward Greenstein, Rabbinical Assembly “Part I: Close Reading Approach” “Part II: Structuralism” “Part III: Reader Response Criticism” “Part IV: Feminist Criticism” “Maimonides’…
…for Kids at Holidays Giftshop The Giftshop at Beth El Keser Israel is a community service project of the BEKI Sisterhood. Here you can find a wide range of Judaica to enhance the beauty of the mitzvot you perform. Items such as tallitot, kippot, candlesticks, seder plates, Chanuka menoras, and mezzuza cases are in stock at competitive prices. Importantly, we carry “kosher” mezzuza parchments to grace your doorposts! The Giftshop is now the onl…
…The Kiddush reception following the service may last an hour or more. Telephone, Electricity, Smoking, Cameras Shabbat is distinguished from the rest of the week, in our synagogue as in many others, by not operating electronic items (although there is a telephone available for emergency use and for physicians on call). Similarly, writing and smoking are prohibited. Photography and video recording are not permitted anywhere in the building on Shab…
…to each other as friends who share a heritage, a set of values, a sense of community, and a desire to throw a really good party. And that brings me to my final thought: We took out a third scroll this morning because today is the first day of Adar Bet, the month that gives us Purim (quoting Ina: “Purim Baskets!”). Mi-she-nicknas Adar, marbin be-simha once Adar starts, celebration increases (Eruvin 29a). Tonight’s auction will be a great kick-off t…
…iolations of halakha associated with automobiles or even bicycles. As long as it is understood that the device will be used within the eruv (Shabbat boundary) and operated in an especially safe manner, there may not be any specific barrier to their use. We live in a mixed community, and in general, I would not want to deprive my children or myself of available pleasures on Shabbat unless there is a good reason to do so. Especially if riding a Razo…
…lakes or roads) or into matrūk murfaqa (property for use by a particular community such as market places and cemeteries).7 Mawāt is wasteland which an individual could (until 1858) turn into milk with the permission of the sultan and (until 1921) turn into mīrī by cultivating it for a given period of time and paying for it.8 According to Abraham Granott, “The object of the law of 1858, which dealt primarily with these three classes of propert…
…upposed to be an affiliation of rabbis, cantors and congregations that are community-based, not a hierarchy that imposes its agenda or viewpoint. Minority positions are validated on many issues. Indeed, some individual Committee members have voted for multiple and contradictory positions in the name of diversity, saying that all are “valid.” However, it is one thing to live with differences in kashrut or Shabbat standards, and another to reconcile…
