- 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
…a, enter ZIP Code 06515 at Candlelighting Times Guide. For candle lighting times and additional time parameters, see MyZmanim for New Haven and adjust elevation to 21 meters where applicable. The bottom left of the screen provides a date menu. For a Hebrew Calendar Add-on with candle lighting times for Mozilla Firefox, see https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1379. Want to know who is scheduled to lead the services? Consult the Service L…
…of other faiths and interfaith families alike. LaMaazel will not only take away some of the mystery but will also enhance your understanding and sense of awe of the miracles of childbirth and joys of parenting. LaMaazel introduces pregnant women and their partners to the laws, customs and rituals connected with pregnancy and birth, such as tehinot (prayers written by and for women), appropriate approaches to sexuality during pregnancy, the meaning…
…s. We hire carpenters, and masons, and also plumbers and electricians. Sometimes it seems like the “getting and spending” is the focus of the secular leadership of the synagogue. Quoting Wordsworth, The world is too much with us, late and soon Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers We have given our hearts away But if that’s all that it’s about, why do we bother? Because this isn’t just a building. At the end of the parasha, we have a power…
…er range of options available in modern culture, wider than at any [other] time in Jewish history, mahloqet may not be broad enough to correct runaways or tendencies to absolutize. Pluralism serves this role in the modern world. It serves as the self-corrective to all tendencies to absolutism. Pluralism does not require any abandonment of party or school of thought or any diminution of commitment. Nor does it require any admission that the other v…
…r brought spiritual salvation is another question; but it is clear that he did not meet the Jewish definition of messiah. The Christian ideal of a messiah is in many ways a good idea; after all, we certainly need spiritual redemption and salvation as much as we need political salvation. But our sages believed that we can be spiritually strong only when our material needs are met. For them this meant the absence of poverty and political oppression….
…st classes and programs are open without charge. See the BEKI Bulletin for times and dates and in some cases registration and payment instructions. Most programs are held in readily accessible spaces. Classes, programs and services are open to all without respect to age, gender, personal status or synagogue affiliation. Classes & Programs Discussion of the Week’s Parashah with Rabbi Eric Woodward is each Thursday 9-9:45a in the library, following…
…l Hall are all easily accessible to people using wheelchairs. Services are usually held on the floor level, although the Holy Ark is on a raised bima (stage). Wheelchair seating is most convenient in the back, center aisle, and second-row cut-outs in the center. Sound amplification is best in the center of rows six to ten along the Whalley Avenue side. A Hearing Loop system was installed in the Sanctuary in May 2014. Sanctuary seats are fixed and…
…eading is read according to the common traditional diaspora annual cycle. Usually the amidah of the Shaharit Morning and Minhah Afternoon service is repeated fully; the musaf amidah on Shabbat is repeated at the reader’s discretion if the hour is not late. Doors open 15 minutes before scheduled service times. The building is accessible to those using wheelchairs and with limited mobility by entering through the front main doors on Harrison Street…
…ust make Conservative institutions such as BEKI, Camp Ramah, Ezra Academy, United Hebrew School and the Jewish Theological Seminary our top priorities. It is here where the “tire meets the road” and a new generation is trained in what “Judaism” was, is and will be. As we redouble our own efforts to build a strong Conservative community in Greater New Haven, let us be appreciative of the heritage created for us here by our elders and ancestors, and…
…does not simply mean that a legislator is “for” or “against” anything. Sometimes conscientious legislators vote against a bill that is poorly written or unworkable even though they may support the bill’s goals. Sometimes legislators compromise on a “package” of issues, or support a bill that is not optimal because it is just the best that they think is attainable. It is not fair to oversimplify the process – doing so is itself a poor way to influe…
