- 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
…he achievement of the larger goal herein envisaged.” This permission was misunderstood. The Rabbis who articulated this stance in the 1950s only meant that they would not object to driving to shul, because they believed the alternative of not going to shul at all was worse. They never envisioned that people would think that it was permitted to drive altogether, or that people would reasonably conclude that if they could drive to shul, they could d…
…the world as Jewish; we recite it morning and night in private, and during services. We sing it triumphantly when we take the Torah from the ark, and joyously in the qedusha section of the amida. The Shema closes the Neila service on Yom Kippur with dramatic repetition; it is the core of the deathbed confession and the heartbreaking cry of the martyr. Strictly speaking, the Shema isn’t actually a prayer. It doesn’t praise God, or give thanks, or p…
…ld come to Egypt to ask for food). In his second dream he dreamed that the sun and the moon and 11 stars bowed to him. His brothers hated this dream and even his father asked: “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Do you really think that I and your mother and brothers will bow down to the ground to you?” This question is surprising because Yaqov favored Yosef, as “he was the son of his old age” and because Yosef reminded Yaqov of Rahel, Yose…
…, and have prevailed.” The stranger refuses to reveal his own name. As the sun sheds its first light, the stranger vanishes, and Jacob limps off toward his confrontation with Esau. * * * * What are we to make of this extraordinary episode? Who is the “man” (ish) with whom Jacob wrestles? What is the purpose of the assault, the meaning of the struggle, the significance of the name change? How are we meant to understand this apparent interruption in…
…find self-expression in my landscape, in the light, the atmosphere and the sun of Israel,” he said. “My motif is always the non-static landscape with all its contrasts: the rays of dawn, the stillness of the day’s heat, the evening’s twilight, radiance and dimness, wind and rain, a night’s storm.” Avniel’s work was included the 2004 exhibition “Our Landscape: Notes on Landscape Painting in Israel” at the University of Haifa Art Gallery. Other exhi…
…refer to memorize every city the Ringling Bros. Circus visits on its cross-country tour. During the past few months, as we were helping Shai prepare for reaching the age of mitzvot, he has encountered many opportunities in which to learn how to take on greater levels of responsibility. A few months ago, Shai expressed interest in coming to shul for Shabbat morning services. After going to shul on only rare occasions for years, Shai has come to shu…
…several hundred people are killed and 1,500 are injured by hunters in this country. Hunting is a significant and celebrated part of American culture. Whether he’s a Davey Crockett or a Buffalo Bill, a real man has a dead animal’s head on his wall. Jewish culture & law, however, take a different view of hunting. The “Great Hunters” of the Bible are viewed by the Sages of Israel as wicked men: Nimrod, whose very name means “one who rebels [against G…
…nual Meeting June 21, 2021 JUNETEENTH, the African-American Celebration of Freedom Robert Forbes June 16, 2021 Tea Tasting Caroline Keogh of New Haven Tea June 9, 2021 Anti-Asian Racism in America Rachel Forbes June 2, 2021 Together New Haven: Economic Development in New Haven Carlos Eyzaguirre May 26, 2021 Regendering the Torah Yael Kanarek May 19, 2021 Broke in America: Seeing, Understanding, and Ending U.S. Poverty Joanne Samuel Goldblum and Co…
In this country, people normally eat cows. But in India, one would sooner eat their brother-in-law than eat a cow. Here they eat Kentucky Fried Chicken; in France they eat Kentucky Fried Frogs. The Chinese have as many recipes for cats and rats as your Bubbie has for eggplant. When we find a bug in our bedroom, we have to call daddy to kill it and remove its carcass; in some places, that insect would be added to the salad for dinner. Insects, rep…
