- 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
…Shabbat Afternoon Schedule Change: The Shabbat Minha (Saturday Afternoon) services in February 2017 will be 1p – 1:35p in the Posener Beit Midrash, and (as in the summer) the evening service will not be held at BEKI on those four days. This early service time will allow participants to avoid the round-trip to the synagogue on what are the snowiest and coldest nights. Comments or questions to jjtilsen@beki.org . …
…the name of Congregation Keser Israel for $138,000 (about $1.35 million in 2015 dollars). The building seemed to have been made for Keser Israel. It was half fortress and half enchanted castle. No two walls were the same, no two towers identical. It was an imposing palace, but somehow off-beat, heimish (warm). It did not overwhelm the congregation, but gave it a personality, a sense of being at home in its own special home. The congregation took…
…of kindness within the BEKI family. This project was described in the BEKI 2000 plan, published in 1997 – and it exists because Muriel Banquer made it happen. Social action and tiqun olam have been given new energy this year, thanks to Jennifer Botwick, and projects are in the works that will enable us fulfill the mitzva of giving to the broader community. Our Habitat for Humanity project will break ground in Newhallville in a couple of weeks. Ta…
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…ntitling her to privileges not ordinarily available to a wife. Several scholars explain the first story, by suggesting that Abraham conferred this higher status on Sarah so that she would be treated with greater respect by the local population. Egyptians at that time would have been familiar with the Hurrian custom. The second version reflects the fact that knowledge of the Hurrian concept was no longer widespread and the story then becomes simply…
…er and lightning, the blare of the shofar and the mountain smoking. (Exodus 20:15) The midrash (Exodus Rabbah 28:4) on this text reads: Rabbi Yitzchak said: What the prophets of the future would prophesy in every generation, they received at hbhx rv. This is what Moshe said to Israel: “Those who are standing before the Holy One our God with us today and those who are not with us today” (Deuteronomy 29) – It does not say, “that are not here standin…
…d I do if we have those coins? Signed, In R-bbi We Trust Dear Trust, Our halakha (law) holds that there are five basic Hebrew names of the Almighty that are so sacred that they may not be treated casually or erased. Among those are the tetragramaton, the four-letter name beginning with yud, which is unpronounced and is usually replaced by “Adonai” (“my Lord”) when reading or praying aloud, and is sometimes replaced with “HaShem” (“The Name”). It i…
…g to do is to praise a righteous person, because the language of praise is cheap and formulaic. Suffice it to say that if the best way to teach is by example, Ruthie is the greatest teacher I know of emuna, of hesed, and of avoda — of faith, of steadfast love, of the holy work of worship. Without any irony, I can say that she is truly a giant. Which brings us back to the place we started, the theme of sacrifice. When our ancestors gave the first f…
…r minds, which I find to be a very important trait in anybody. A final similarity, it seems to me, is family relationships. Both of these women had strong family ties, whether it was to a spouse, like Deborah, or to siblings, like Miriam. I am at a certain point in my life now, and I feel I should tell you all about it. So, here’s me. Now, don’t think I’m some arrogant girl who thinks she’s always right, because I am. But let’s get on with it. I w…
…and Standards of the Rabbinical Assembly, the highest halakhic body in the land, on 28 October of 1992, that prohibits the practice of joint aliya. Rabbi Reisner simply could not find a legal justification for joint aliya. While there have been teshuvot (responsa) written that justify the practice, they are not, in my judgment, persuasive. If a synagogue is going to abandon the traditional halakhic framework in the realm of Shabbat Torah reading,…
