- 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
…y the personnel and institutions of all three religious movements. In that spirit (perhaps a harbinger of things to come), the faculty of Tel Aviv University decided recently to build on campus a panoply of three synagogues (Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox) rather than a single, exclusively Orthodox synagogue. Third, the time has come to dismantle the Chief Rabbinate and its network of courts. Sustained by a political alliance between cynicism…
…em. If your toothbrush remains wet between uses, it could be in persistent contact with meat or dairy in a moist environment and thereby take on the property of “meat” or “dairy.” Even if the brush is not in contact with actual food, you might equate a toothbrush with an eating utensil or think of the particles on your teeth as being “like” food. So for “esthetic” reasons one might want to add the stringency of keeping separate toothbrushes. (Don’…
…was daunting, but also exhilarating and inspiring. It was emotionally and spiritually satisfying. People have thanked us afterwards for “forcing” them to do it. Had there been joint aliya, these people might never have taken this important step. Furthermore, this position, whether one agrees with it or not, is based on a clear analysis of the law as well as an evaluation of the implications of the policy for this Congregation. I have always been…
…Before Jacob encountered Esau in the flesh, his spirit struggled with the spirit of Esau. Maimonides sees Jacob’s struggle as having taken place in a dream. Nachmanides argues that Jacob struggled with no one but himself, with his own guilty conscience. These interpretations are appealing, but seem unsupported by the biblical text. Jacob suffers an actual physical injury in his struggle. Nehama Leibowitz describes the story as “essentially non-ra…
for works in Main Gallery Contact the Sisterhood Gift Shop to purchase Matzo Covers Keyboard Fantasy $800 Floral Deck $1,200 Popups $1,200 Coaster $1,200 Busy Garden $1,000 Outside the Box $700 Cell $700 Balloon Festival $600 Sails $500 Beneath the Surface $500 Introspection $500 Genesis 1-12 $1,200 Valley of the Leaves $700 The View from Above $1,000 The Book of Life $600 Huppa $2,000 Kaleidoscope $400 Round Matzah Cover $150 Click here to downl…
…eaching. To my mind, it’s no coincidence that there are a disproportionate number of gay clergy. Half of my ordination class was gay or lesbian. The process of coming out of the closet, the work we’ve done to become whole and unashamedly ourselves is deeply spiritual. Perhaps this is the Torah that gay men and lesbians have heard and give the world – the lesson that we all, gay or not, must be honest about our lives. And it’s a lesson that is usef…
…02 Aug BEKI Parking Lot Food Drive (Contact Free) August 2, 2020 10:00 am – 11:00 am Home Page Interior Page From 10 am to 11 am in the BEKI parking lot. Please provide non-perishable food (cans and boxes) to feed the hungry. Call 203.671.4705 to […] More Info…
…the Akira Kurosawa masterpiece, Rashomon, which, in its closing sequence, opens to view a deep structure of justice and mercy that remains invisible to the movie’s characters. Time permitting, I would also have included the remarkable 1970s Israeli movie, I Love You Rosa, rich in allusions to the Book of Ruth and the Song of Songs. Here, in reading Abraham Joshua Heschel’s luminous book, The Sabbath, in preparation for the course, I gleaned that:…
…entire congregation is invited and must be included in the calculation of number of guests. a. Sponsoring Kiddush prepared by BEKI Kiddush Team This fee (prices as of March 2024) includes a dairy buffet lunch, announcement and publication of sponsorship, wine & grape juice, setting up and clean-up of the room, trash removal and standard custodial services. These BEKI volunteers can manage up to 50 invited guests in addition to the congregation; f…
…the physical space of the sanctuary that will permit us to more easily to open our hearts to holiness? Can we create a setting that will remind us of the wonders of the world, that will help instill in us a sense of awe? Can we make the space that is more welcoming to God. We all know from our efforts to decorate our homes, that our emotional state is affected by colors, fabrics, sculptures, paintings, singing, and light. These same factors in a…
