- 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
…er your event; they can be washed with normal detergent, though food might need to be scraped off and stain treatment applied. If you choose to have the linens commercially washed, dry cleaning is not required; a wash-and-fold service is sufficient. Usually, Rabbi Woodward will announce births by email to the congregation, and the bulletin editor will include a mazal tov in the next month’s edition. If either of those is a problem for you, just te…
…ene. Each member of the household has their own Hanukia, and each lights a number of lights corresponding to the number of the day of the holiday. We are fortunate that we are able to do this mitzva in such a complete and beautiful way. But what of the poor person who can not afford all of this “hidur mitzva” but must struggle to light even one lamp? The Mishna Berura, written at the beginning of the twentieth century by the Hafetz Hayim, comments…
…ll do it that way, too. But this procedure often created a dilemma: If the number of qaddishes was limited, there might 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 mour…
…nagogue ritual. Now that era has passed. Now women count. A woman does not need to go up with her husband, fiancé or boyfriend for an aliya; she can have her own if she wishes. Three reasons are given for wanting joint aliya. First, it allows a celebrant’s family to hand out more honors. But when joint aliya is allowed, celebrating families to whom the Synagogue extends the honor of selecting the honorees could be under even greater pressure to in…
Phone: 203.389.2108 Fax: 203.389.5899 Postal Address: Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel 85 Harrison St. New Haven CT 06515-1724 Office Manager Peggy Hackett Ext. 114 Education Director Annie Norman-Schiff Ext. 113 President Russell Epstein Rabbi Eric Woodward Ext. 120 Ritual Committee Chairperson Bruce Spierer Youth & Family Programming Director Annie Norman-Schiff Ext. 113 BEKI Bulletin bulletin@beki.org Cemetery Association cemetery@beki….
…together — and to at long last having at least the beginning of the skills needed to participate fully in this community — brings with it an obligation to share, or tithe. Thus our decision to purchase this new siddur. We were also intrigued by the unequivocal value on the importance of remembering we were once slaves in Egypt and to therefore release those that are beholden to us, to give them what they need to succeed, and to torture them if the…
…l services are led by members. Tefila leaders and Torah readers are always needed. Daily Minyan Participation – Adult Jews are needed to form the quorem for daily morning, afternoon and evening services, and other adults and children are needed to help strengthen the community and fellowship every day of the year. Captains are needed to help organize daily services. Master Chefs, Vegetable Choppers & Shoppers – Cooks, cleaners, shoppers and organ…
…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, as all of you know, the practice of synagogue-ba…
…values, good times, and good food. To Sherry for always being there when I need her and even when I don’t know I need her. I also want to thank those who prepared me for this day. Amy Pincus, Andy Schultz and Hannah Goldfield for tutoring me. Also Liora Lew for organizing the Benei Mitzva Program. And Dr. Kempton for encouraging me by giving me mind-probing questions, or forcing me to think when I wasn’t in the mood. And to Rabbi Tilsen for helpin…
…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…
