- 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
…cries out to God. “Isn’t this just what I said when I was still in my own country? That is why I fled beforehand to Tarshish. For I know that You are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in kindness, renouncing punishment. Please, Lord, take my life, for I would rather die than live” (Jonah 4:2-3). To which God replies with three words: “Hetiv hara lakh – Doest thou well to be angry?” Jonah does not answer; instead, he sets…
…de taking advantage of a practically unlimited energy source, that is, the sun, providing a backup system for larger power plants, and the beginnings of the move towards clean energy production. The realization of these advantages served as the inspiration for my Bar Mitzva project, that is to install 6,000 watts of photovoltaic solar cells [at BEKI]. The panels will be installed in late April [2006]. Just as Yitro saw a flawed system, and suggest…
…er, fear, or guilt. This does not mean that I went through it 100% anxiety-free. I felt my will assert itself, however, from a level deeper than any anxiety. When my best medical alternative quickly became clear, my deeper energies turned foremost to communicating with those around me. In service of this powerful need, I found within me an unusual calm and lucidity. These helped me to reach out to those close to me in special ways both before and…
…learning and community, an interactive D’var Torah, and possibly a liberal service. We are delighted to be new members at BEKI. We so much admire Rabbi Woodward’s commitment to teaching and look forward to future new and exciting sessions on a variety of topics. His wisdom and warmth certainly help light the way to BEKI. At the same time, we also admire and love the fact that a sizeable number of congregants can daven and read Torah! The unrestrai…
…t service elsewhere can find a minyan schedule of our region linked to our Service Schedule page. Go to https://www.beki.org/worship/daily-services-and-other-holidays/ to find the link. Want to preview the next newsletter? Past, current and future editions of the BEKI Bulletin are available at https://www.beki.org/calendar-events/news-happenings-and-beki-bulletins/. Find out what happened or is going to happen. A Message from Rabbi Tilsen Doing it…
…man is clean of sin, the water tests his wife. At a time when a man is not free of sin, the water does not test his wife. Therefore, when adulterers increased in their numbers, the sota’s bitter waters ceased. This reading by the Gemara has answered both our questions while demonstrating for us the evolutionary nature of the halakha, the laws by which the mitzvot are applied. Verse 31 refers to the sota and her male partner assuming the ceremony h…
…gain, with certain restrictions). Minors may not lead the shaharit morning service or musaf additional service. However, any Jewish child who has reached the age of bar-mitzva (13 for boys) or bat-mitzva (12 for girls), whether or not they have celebrated a “bar- or bat-mitzva” ceremony, are adults for this purpose by virtue of their age and may lead all services. Dear Reader, Dear Rabbi has a few questions of his own and would be happy to receive…
…ght still be some who did not get to say one; if there was no limit to the number of qaddishes added, the service became burdensomely long. So after careful scrutiny the rabbis allowed all mourners to say qaddish simultaneously. This rabbinic solution was adopted only after careful consideration, and after it was determined that mourner’s qaddish is not one of the types of public prayers that can be said by only one person at a time, such as is th…
…s and our traditions. The times we live in right now are very good. We are free and privileged. We are welcome in mainstream society. More than that: we have considerable impact on it. The danger is that we might intermarry and assimilate until there’s nothing left of Judaism to preserve. In the century just past, an extraordinary percentage of Nobel prizes were awarded to Jews, and Jews earned distinctions way out of line with our numbers — in re…
…that Arab expulsion of Palestinian Arabs from Kuwait is more than half the number of Palestinian Arabs who fled or were expelled from Israel in 1947-49. The “Jenin Massacre” (2002) turned out to be a hoax; while it was reported that hundreds or thousands had been massacred, the reality was that about 55 Arabs (including 5 or 10 civilians) died, along with 22 Israeli soldiers. The headline story in mid-August (2009) of the Swedish daily Aftonbladen…
