- 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
…printable list of prices…
…erent. Everybody does something behind closed doors, whether it be write a cheap romance novel or go to some forbidden site on the Web. The thing I do behind closed doors is write poetry. Long and involved, they usually represent some flaw in humanity or in myself or just some tragic love poem. Words spurt out of my mouth and I have to write them down or else I lose them, the ideas slipping through my fingers like grains of sand in an hourglass. I…
…ripped of its earthly referent and its specific, tangible meaning. And not VaYiqra alone, of course, but most of Bamidbar (Numbers), from which our additional reading comes; a large portion of Shemot (Exodus), and Devarim (Deuteronomy), as well. Our world was rent asunder, smashed into a thousand pieces. The parallel of Temple worship with the synagogue and prayer is more than just an analogy, it is an exact spiritual equivalent. That is because,…
…etween Westville and Madison, CT, we were looking for a vibrant area Conservative synagogue with an emphasis on 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…
…udio Center and two Artist In Residence Grants from the International Festival For The Arts, New Haven, CT. She served 4 years as the director/curator of the John Slade Ely House, Center for Contemporary Art, New Haven, CT, and has curated a number of independent exhibitions. She studied at the Akademie fuer Angewante Kunst in Vienna, Austria, and received her MFA from San Jose State University. Anna Broell Bresnick has collaborated with dancers a…
…Talmudic concept of “a mitzva done by way of a transgression is not a mitzva (mitzva ha-ba’a be`avera eina mitzva),” that is, a commandment may not be fulfilled through the performance of a transgression.23 Notably, this Rabbinic language suggests that the mitzva is thought of as a state of being, or a state of action, as it were, rather than as a goal or end. In the same way, the liturgy of the Torah service (from Proverbs 3:17) eloquently state…
…Abby Fraade, the volunteer who manages sponsorships. Please note that cellphones and photography are permitted on weekdays, but not on Shabbat or Yom Tov. If you choose to have a ceremony at BEKI on some other day, please work out the general plan in advance with Office Manager Peggy Hackett. She will arrange kitchen supervision and custodial services. Please note that we do NOT allow self-catering or a plan that’s “friends will take care of setu…
…might also violate the rule against berakha le-vatela, a blessing said in vain, also considered a significant ritual offense (cf. Biur Halakha on 141:2 “le-vatala.”) The case law is instructive. A question arose concerning a Monday morning service when there were two bridegrooms present, neither of whom was a Kohen or Levi. The question was, who was entitled to the third aliya? The Kohen and Levi were needed for the Minyan (quorum), so they could…
…of all the people. Imagine if the parshah has told us, tribe by tribe, the number of people in each tribe, and separately, the number of males, 20 and up, who were fit for service. Would that kind of census send a different message to us, a message saying, “everyone counts”, including all the women? The second census, what I’ll call the redemption census, I find a strange one. It requires counting of all the male Levites who were at least a month…
…th lists start with a broad thing to give up and then narrow it down: list number one — go from your land, your birthplace, your father’s house. List number two — take your son, your only son, the one you love, Isaac. This similarity led me to still others. One of the first, and most obvious, comparisons between the two instances of lekh lekha was that in both, God is sending Abraham on a journey. In the first lekh lekha, God is starting Abraham o…
