- 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
…abbinic teaching is that we assume that the Almighty loves and values each person unconditionally, and judges us by our deeds and by what is in our hearts, not by what membership cards we carry. You don’t have to be Jewish to be loved by God or to be “saved” or to enjoy the “world to come.” Being Jewish should help in those departments – like belonging to a health club can help you stay healthy if you actually make use of its facilities. But you d…
…The Kiddush reception following the service may last an hour or more. Telephone, Electricity, Smoking, Cameras Shabbat is distinguished from the rest of the week, in our synagogue as in many others, by not operating electronic items (although there is a telephone available for emergency use and for physicians on call). Similarly, writing and smoking are prohibited. Photography and video recording are not permitted anywhere in the building on Shab…
…lf singing the part of the Torah with the bullet hole. As it turns out the person had been reading the same part of VaYiqra I had learned a few weeks before. And after thousands of years of difficult history, you are here today celebrating with me as I read the very same part of the torah that this man died for. There is one more thing I would like to talk about. It may not seem related, but bear with me! I am wearing a tallit with petil tekhelet,…
Converting to Judaism is one of the most beautiful spiritual paths a person can take. A person converting to Judaism engages intellectually with the tradition, they practice the mitzvot, they become a part of the community, and they grow spiritually. People find Judaism through many paths, all of which are important. Rabbi Woodward has advised and guided many converts over the years. If you are interested in conversion to Judaism, please reach ou…
…rah’s “Fifth Amendment:” Confessions are not admissible in criminal cases. Numbers 35:30: If anyone kills a person, the manslayer may be executed only on the evidence of witnesses: the testimony of a single witness shall not suffice for a death sentence. Prohibition against acting without probable cause The accuser is libel for the truth of the accusation. Exodus 23:1. You shall not come forth with slander, an unfounded testimony to cause a legal…
…all wickedness, but a person like himself capable of teshuva (repentance), personal growth and forgiveness. For Jacob to be able to brave conciliation, he first had to make clear in his own heart and his own mind that his brother was not pure evil but rather a human being like himself. Once he changed his own attitude, he was able to relate to his brother in a better way and his brother Esau consciously or subconsciously recognized that. This atti…
…23 Aug Processing our Return to the Building: Our Hopes & Fears w/Rabbi Woodward (on-line) August 23, 2021 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm Home Page Interior Page We’re told that when we walk into a synagogue, we should say, “Mah Tovu” – how beautiful! But the reality is, returning to “a new […] More Info…
…is inherently more powerful that falsehood. The old joke has it that each person in Israel thinks that they are the President. The beauty of the reality behind that joke is that indeed each person feels a great responsibility toward the nation. Some things are just too important to be left to our leaders. Unfortunately, “the Jews” don’t control the press; if we did, certain people would be getting much less coverage, or at least much more critica…
…hat great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not yet know their right hand from their left, and many beasts as well!” (Jonah 4:11). The value of the life of the individual animal is recognized in Torah tradition. That value is implied in the Zohar’s question and codified in laws that prohibit cruelty to animals (tsa`ar ba`alei hayim) and wanton destruction (bal tashhit). There is reason to believe that…
…family of our dedicated office manager Peggy Hackett, who so often is the person who keeps our BEKI family inter-connected. We know so little about each’s others family histories, and in the brief narratives submitted with each photograph we find a visceral connection to the history of the Jewish people and to the history of the USA. Ultimately what ties us together is our connections in the present, the ways in which we listen to each other and…
