- 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
…bs were expelled (i.e., “ethnically cleansed”) from Kuwait (1991). At least 20,000 ethnic Palestinians left or were chased from Iraq during the current war. In August 2009, the press reported that the United Arab Emirates planned to deport hundreds of ethnic Palestinians, particularly Gazans, in the coming weeks. In contrast, Israel has not forcibly expelled Arabs since Rabin dumped (“deported”) 415 HAMAS terrorists into Lebanon in 1992, but subse…
…nsgresses a prohibition, as Scripture states, “Do not add [to the required number of lashes]” — if the Torah warns not to add blows to a guilty person, how much more does this apply to an innocent person. Even to raise one’s hand against another, even if one doesn’t actually hit him or her, is called wicked, as Scripture states, “And he said to the wicked one, Why do you hit your neighbor?”7 Rabbenu Perez, in his decree, cites a responsum of Rabbi…
…g disconsolately at the broad Euphrates River, far from their physical and spiritual home. They had been stunned by the destruction of the Temple and of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and were suffering from what many believed to be the abandonment by God. They struggled with strong pressures to assimilate with the culture and religion of the Babylonians in whose city they lived. They wondered, was their fate a punishment for their sins? Were the cu…
…c project at BEKI, see The sun will shine on BEKI bar mitzva, by Howard Blas, Connecticut Jewish Ledger, 6 January 2006 A Higher Power, New Haven Independent, 19 December 2005 Student Power, SmartPower, December 2005 Stemming the Tide, by Liz Galst, Forward (English), 4 November 2005…
…essage. Over the course of the school year, the kids would memorize a fair number of these. The sayings she chose reflected her particular take on Judaism, which tended to the ethical rather than the spiritual. In cleaning out her apartment last year, my sister Naomi and I came across some of these sayings, which I’ve brought with me to show you. Some of the pitgamim were easy to memorize and therefore were very popular with the kids: “Tov shem m’…
…ou all. Please help us again, this time by passing along our thanks to the number of congregants who are away this weekend of Thanksgiving, giving thanks of their own elsewhere. The morning of the surgery I prayed and learned another prayerbook lesson, this time explicit. At my request, Marsha had brought me a copy of our Siddur, Sim Shalom. Uncharacteristically, I admit, I started from the beginning of the Shaharit, or morning, service. There I d…
…e following notice appeared as a “special alert” in Kashrus Magazine (March 2004 p. 7): “Manischewitz Chocolate Coins (‘OU-Pareve’) bear the words: ‘In G-d We Trust.’ A number of leading rabbonim have Paskened that one may not eat them nor throw away the chocolate and wrappers, if they too have those words. Consult your rabbi.” So rabbi, I am consulting you. What should I do if we have those coins? Signed, In R-bbi We Trust Dear Trust, Our halakha…
…environmental stewardship. Rabbi Woodward Rabbi Eric Woodward became the spiritual leader in June 2021. BEKI today is a growing congregation with well over three hundred member families. Most of our members live in New Haven, and one exciting trend is the large group of members who have moved to the neighborhood of Westville to be close to, even within walking distance, of the shul. Members also live in the downtown, East Rock, and Beaver Hills…
…cities of Greece, and even twentieth century America? Surveying the large number of works in the BEKI collection entitled “Rabbi_,” the BEKI Art Committee began discussing how best to present this work in an exhibition. Among ourselves, we called this the “Rabbi Show,” although there is nothing in the artworks themselves to signify that these are rabbis, rather than ordinary men who have been given the honor of holding the Torah. As Jewish artist…
