- 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
…rest in two groups in outlying areas. Biblical scholars believe that the book of Isaiah was written during the Babylonian exile by a number of people in addition to Isaiah. Isaiah himself was a prophet of the nation of Judah and was one of the first to leave a written record of his prophecies, or proclamations. The book of Isaiah is one of the longest in the Bible, containing sixty chapters. The sayings of Isaiah are contained in the first 39 cha…
…e preservation of freedom of access of Jews to their Holy Places. Surely, too, would it turn Zionism on its head if the Prime Minister’s pledge were to hold for Christians and Muslims but not for Jews. The principle of broad Jewish access in the area of the Temple Mount, I would suggest, predates the Zionist movement, indeed all of modernity, finding its origins in Biblical times. Today’s Parshat [weekly Torah reading], Ki Tavo, provides our proof…
…n, do they intend to promote or to “stop” that candidate? 2. When one shampoo bottle says “for shiny manageable hair” and the second says “for dry damaged hair,” who buys the one that makes their hair dry and damaged? 3. When the orange juice carton advertises “squeezed orange juice,” how else might they have gotten the juice out? 4. When one person will not come to services if there is already a minyan as they are “not needed,” and another will n…
…ohibition against wanton destruction. Third, it constitutes “spilling of blood.” Fourth, it is a forbidden act of “copying the ways of the gentiles.” These four grounds represent Biblical prohibitions (Isurei deOraita). One who hunts would thus violate four distinct Biblical commandments and numerous secondary rules. How we view and treat animals is not unrelated to how we treat people. As part of God’s creation, life is of immense value. When we…
…y could not understand why or how the outlandish charges could be made. A good friend explained it to me: “People who are conniving, deceitful and scheming believe that other people are like themselves.” Now it all made sense. It turns out that this same person was indeed conniving, deceitful and scheming in business and family life, most of which, thankfully, had absolutely nothing to do with me. This life-lesson comes to me when I see the freque…
…s plankton with medieval Hebrew manuscripts, drawing on research she undertook in the late 1980s exploring motifs of cultural distinction in a tradition of ongoing commentary, reinterpretation, and embellishment. Rubin considers how the unknown meanings implied in the layered text interrelate with the unknown in science, while exploring the similarities in pattern and form between microscopic life and decorative patterns developed centuries ago. E…
