- 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
…hat I think is made by the censuses described in today’s parshah. Maybe my statement stands in stark opposition to it. In none of these censuses do they count the women. I think that sends a message about whether women count in general, but at the very least, whether they count for crucial purposes of defense and ritual service to G-d. My opposing, religious statement, and one that I also believe that is made, for example, by the rituals celebrati…
…year as part of a plan to balance the state budget. That plan was rejected last year. That plan must now be brought back to the legislature for passage. Last year (2001) the Federal government passed a “temporary” ten-year tax cut program. That was at a time when large budget surpluses were projected. Now they want to make those cuts permanent. This is at a time of huge projected deficits and hardship for many American families. Most of those tax…
…ants might seek in a beautiful sanctuary. The sanctuary’s design should first and foremost be respectful of the BEKI aesthetic. I perceive this aesthetic to be one that encourages the traditional and communal, that rejects symbols of wealth or hierarchy, is respectful informality, is perhaps at times slightly anarchic. Abraham Heschel wrote that a recognition of the sublime, feelings of awe, wonder, and mystery are central to people’s relationship…
…es early, and once late in the service in case someone comes late. For the last six years at BEKI, we have practiced the earlier custom of saying only one qaddish, one of the radical reforms introduced by Rabbi Tilsen. This, then, is a classic case of a practice persisting even when the original reason for the custom no longer exists. The custom endures by the force of tradition. So when Dear Rabbi answers your question by saying, “Because it is a…
…r and a wife, and he has left his land, birthplace and father’s house. The last time God speaks to Abraham directly is when he tells him to sacrifice his son. Rabbi Whitman draws a conclusion about why these two commands are singled out and grouped together with the words lekh lekha. As said he in one of his sermons, By the time of the Aqeida, Abraham had accomplished much. He was a great leader and warrior. He was spiritual, personable, and princ…
…ton Center for the Arts. She has exhibited in galleries in New York, the West Coast and throughout the United States as well as in Berlin, Rome and Vienna. Her work has been written about in the New York Times, Art In America, Art New England and many regional newspapers. She has been the recipient of numerous awards and grants, including two from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts, a Weir Farm Art Center Residency, two full residency grants t…
…ty and all of us will study on your behalf.”4 Instead of calling in the Ghost Busters or threatening the spirit, the Besht successfully talks the spirit out of its evil ways and out of the woman. It should be noted, moreover, that such spirits are born of evil deeds and can usually be dispensed with only when the wrong is righted. Thus reconciliation is inextricably bound to the pursuit of justice, the confrontation of evil, and making amends. Rec…
…e sunny, earthquake-prone environs and moved to follow their kids to the east coast in 2019. Lisa had worked as a Literacy Specialist at a Jewish Day School in Los Angeles for many years, and as the Educational Director for OROT, a program for Jewish children with learning differences, in Philadelphia for 2 years. Mike is a California Land Use Attorney who works on various planning, zoning, and entitlement issues for clients in Southern California…
…g leftover food after the event. BEKI’s custodian will set up tables with plastic table toppers, or you may rent table linens. You may also borrow tablecloths from the Sisterhood supply. Your obligation is to return the washed tablecloths within ten days after 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…
…iving aliyot in our congregation – they just have to be Jewish. But they must at least be willing to say the berakha (blessing) on their own, or even with coaching. If a 12- or 13-year old can find the courage to stand in front of their elders, and before the Throne of Glory, and lead prayers, then the aunts and uncles or grandparents must find the courage to stand up and recite three Hebrew sentences. To say that someone who would not even read t…
