- 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
…n welcome in the undergraduate and graduate programs of those institutions all along (at least, in recent years); the question now is one of the rabbinate and cantorate. Some synagogues have been perfectly open to hiring Gay and Lesbian Conservative rabbis. Our president, Donna Levine, explicitly said to me, “Jon-Jay, you are free to change your sexual orientation.” It is commonly believed that Beth El or Keser Israel has engaged quietly gay rabbi…
…Signed, Dying to Know Dear Dying, It is not a symbol. It is part of an actual burial. The first shovels of dirt at a burial service can be a very difficult moment for the mourners, because it brings home the reality of the death in a very direct way. While some mourners choose not to attend the burial service, it is important to understand that the actual burial is a specific mitzva (religious imperative) and it is considered a great act of kindne…
…e Cotton Club screen in Harlem, the ICA in London, and numerous international festivals featuring digital art. Her video les affinités recouvrées (Recovered Affinities) was featured opening night of multiple Jewish Film Festivals (San Francisco, Boston) and other venues around the world. A three-time recipient of grants from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts, Rubin has been awarded international artist residencies and grants from sources as d…
…tronger sense of place and permanence, as well as the opportunity for literal aliyah — going up, as at the ancient Temple. Will the new bimah design accommodate, for example, when all the kids join at the end of Shabbat services? Kids will still be able to gather around the reader’s table for Ein Keloheinu and Adon Olam. We’re considering ways to create a special place for them to sit (on the floor, benches, or elsewhere) between those prayers, an…
…came up with the present order. But what does it mean? Maybe it was merely alphabetical: Goldfield, Silverman, Voigt. Or alphabetical by first name: Carl [Goldfield], Ina [Silverman], Susan [Voigt]. Maybe it is by order of importance; but if so, which convention is used – is the first most important, or, as the Talmud has it, aharon aharon haviv, is the best saved for last? But where does that leave Ina? Perhaps she is it like a queen traveling wi…
…the small print is not the annoying drone of a man on a television commercial talking so fast that nobody can understand him; or the paragraph in size two font on the bottom of any text that contains the word “free.” Rather, this time the small print is the thank you’s to some very special people who helped me a lot during the course of this past year. I would like to thank Rabbi Jon-Jay Tilsen for always being nurturing and encouraging. Thank you…
…gression by the enemies of Allah and Muslims. Thus, we find ourselves with parallels between Islam and Judaism in how we might interpret our obligations. Remember Amaleq and jihad: A spiritual inner battle, a fight for justice, or a call for physical destruction of our enemies. That these two great monotheistic religions should develop similar frameworks for interpreting their respective historical traumas suggests that there may be a common psych…
…dea that he knew they were going to move, but he had been paying attention all along. Since Shai doesn’t let on that he knows what’s going on around him or what is being said around him, people tend to talk about him in his presence. They assume that he is in his own world and tuning them out; and to add to the problem, he won’t say anything and will rarely react to what’s going on, even if it’s bothering him. About ten years ago, I was waiting in…
…erritories.24 The next day, 160 reservists — including one woman, one Jerusalem city councilor, and several officers — followed suit with their own declaration to refuse to participate in putting down popular disturbances in the territories (although they did not all necessarily rule out serving in some other capacity in the territories).25 A week later, on 4 January 1988, Ofer Kasif became the first of the 160 reservists called up — and was sente…
…another four or five years, Dr. Sallon, Dr. Solowey, Lou Borick and eventually all of us will taste Judean dates. Seeing Methusaleh thrive made the whole journey worthwhile. Upon our return, Bob, Tsvi and I enthusiastically began to tell of our adventures to anyone who asked. On our first Shabbat back, Tsvi was telling Morris Cohen about some of the things we did and people we saw. Morris asked him, “What was the best part of your trip to Israel?…
