- 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
…source of emotional and psychological mood. About the Artist: A native of Israel, Dganit grew up in a Kibbutz. After high school, Dganit volunteered in establishing a new Kibbutz in the north of Israel, which was followed by military service. Dganit then traveled with her husband-to-be, traversing Southeast Asia, in a physically difficult, but emotionally rewarding experience that would last two and a half years. Dganit and her husband moved to N…
…Smirnoff Milton Smirnoff served as President of Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel from 1993-1995. He has provided countless hours of quiet service and public leadership to the Congregation, particularly in its administrative functions. Milt has worked tirelessly for a unified membership and a sound financial basis. As a businessperson and civic leader, Milton has transcended ethnic, religious and racial boundaries by viewing each person as an equa…
…he Tabernacle.” God takes up occupancy inside the Mishkan. The children of Israel knew his spirit was in there, because they could see the pillar of smoke by day and fire by night. We don’t have any such assurance that God is dwelling in our midst today, but we build and maintain synagogues anyway. Is God here in BEKI right now? What is the point of this whole exercise if God isn’t here? I don’t know how you see God — as a watchful Father, the Roc…
…es and oil. Both are central parts in the economy as sheep were in ancient Israel. The fact that sheep are even mentioned in the Torah suggests that the topic of sheep is not a trivial matter. The words keves and kesev were mentioned in the Torah a combined 121 times not to mention its synonyms. In comparison, Sarah was only mentioned 55 times. There are several different names in Hebrew that mean sheep. A one year old male is a keves, a one year…
…t concerning HaShem [God], one could indeed say that before HaShem created Israel, their image was already inscribed in HaShem’s mind. This is because in the case of HaShem the past and the future are one. The statement “Let us make a human” means “Let us make Israel,” who are called “human,” “in our image,” i.e., in the image and form that was inscribed in HaShem’s imagination. The statement “in our likeness” means that a human will now be made i…
…f impulse, of falsehood. As Jews we strive to be children of Jacob–renamed Israel when he struggled with God–and to use our words, our intellect and compassion, our vision of a better world to counteract the violence that surrounds us. Our sages noted a play on words in the Hebrew text: The phrase “haqol qol ya`aqov — the voice is the voice of Jacob” can also be read “heqel qol ya`aqov” meaning “when the voice of Jacob is stilled, then the hands a…
…get away with, and then lives it up and has a great time. As supporters of Israel we sometimes feel this way, too. So many governments are engaged in brutality, arms exports and the drug trade — including Western governments — and few pay much attention, but whenever Israel does something wrong it is on the front page. Why do we bother trying to be good? When we try to do what is right and follow the rules, it is easy to become resentful of others…
…e issue that we can claim as fundamental and universally held. “Support of Israel” comes close, but we have a very broad range of opinions as to what this “support” actually means. While our Rabbinical Assembly does issue little-read resolutions on questions of public policy, we are neither hierarchical nor centralized, as is the Catholic Church. The Chancellor can say whatever he wants, and we can agree or disagree. The Law Committee can issue te…
…d by the Good Book: “While the flesh was still between their teeth,” etc. (Numbers 11:33). Partly for that reason we are enjoined to wait a period of time after eating meat before eating dairy. But after some time, the “food” in your mouth (and stuck on or between your teeth) ceases to be “food.” Who would eat it? If your toothbrush is used at that point, it is not really in contact with “meat” or “dairy” and thus, strictly speaking, you would not…
…of women. We found a woman in a reproduction of a lithograph by the Greek-Israeli artist Rafael Avraham Shalem, recalling a Greek Sephardic family preparing for Shabbat. We found women in the contemporary print by Deborah Joy of an egalitarian congregation. Women dance in a mid-century print by Sol Schreibman. Only one work, a print by the Israeli artist Simcha Nornberg, depicts a woman with a Torah. This is the only work of someone holding a Tor…
