- 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
…just as bare rations can sustain us when we are hungry. But once our basic needs are satisfied, humans often want satisfaction of a higher level. Beyond providing a spare utilitarian structure, are there ways we can arrange the physical space of the sanctuary that will permit us to more easily to open our hearts to holiness? Can we create a setting that will remind us of the wonders of the world, that will help instill in us a sense of awe? Can we…
…s been a synagogue-centric family and miss the community we left behind in Needham, MA. It is so gratifying for us to see the next generation understand the importance of synagogue life for themselves and for their children. It’s been challenging to fully engage during these tougher COVID times, but we do hope, little by little, to build strong connections of our own within our new BEKI community. Coleman and Tema Leviter We moved to the New Haven…
…e 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 and musicians in the creation of installations for performances. These have included large sculptural str uctures, floor drawings and video. Broell Bresnick has taught…
…hei HaBesht (Tel Aviv: Devir) 5707/1947, 5735/1975, p. 35. A table of tale numbers and the corresponding page numbers in other editions is given at the back of the book by Ben-Amos and Mintz. 2. Violence is neither advocated nor condoned in these tales to any significant extent, whereas many tales strongly advocate the efficacy and advantages of nonviolence. The main exception to this generalization are a few of the first fifteen tales (pp. 39-51…
…on will not come to services if there is already a minyan as they are “not needed,” and another will not come unless they are sure there will be a minyan, how should we answer the question, “will there be a minyan?” Dear Rabbi, The siddur (prayer book) instructions say that the Shema [p. 100-103 in Sim Shalom] should be recited silently except for the first line. But sometimes we sing it out loud. Why is that? Signed, Can Hear O Israel Dear Can…
…s hands. In this is also seen a message about the communal support that is needed to overcome inner doubt. We must support each other in our struggles with our inner Amaleq. “Remember Amaleq” means to call forth faith in the presence of moral challenges. A second interpretation describes Amaleq as chaos and Denial of God’s order in the world around us. The Talmud takes up deeper meanings of Amaleq when it considers the phrase from Deuteronomy “Ama…
…oremost to communicating with those around me. In service of this powerful need, I found within me an unusual calm and lucidity. These helped me to reach out to those close to me in special ways both before and after going in for the surgery. One of those close to me in this drama was God. For the first time, really, a fixed flaw in my relation with God was exposed and pried loose. For so long, without realizing it, my belief in Him and my thanks…
…grandmother when applying to get married in Israel. The RA comments that “Needless to say, this is a near impossibility for most people,” and goes on to argue, “Where one is part of a Jewish community and has been living as a Jew, there is no need to instigate an investigation into that person’s Jewishness. We affirm that trust is the default position in these matters.” If that’s the default position, then it sounds to me like a reason to accept…
…nsgresses a prohibition, as Scripture states, “Do not add [to the required number of lashes]” — if the Torah warns not to add blows to a guilty person, how much more does this apply to an innocent person. Even to raise one’s hand against another, even if one doesn’t actually hit him or her, is called wicked, as Scripture states, “And he said to the wicked one, Why do you hit your neighbor?”7 Rabbenu Perez, in his decree, cites a responsum of Rabbi…
…d activities that have been flourishing for years. And we’ve initiated any number of new programs that you have suggested. There is energy in the air that encourages people to think, “We can do it.” Our attitude is, “Just say yes.” Last June we had a tribute dinner, honoring the rabbi and Miriam and raising a lot of money for the shul. A zillion people worked to make that happen. Prior to that, the last tribute dinner anyone could recall took plac…
