- 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
…and lost income are not included among the damages because a husband is always responsible for his wife’s medical expenses, and because he gets her income anyway.12 Whether or not the husband should enjoy the usufruct is discussed in numerous sources. The Big Book of Mitzvahs expresses surprise at Rambam’s position and quotes the Tosefta’s opinion that the husband enjoys the usufruct.13 In contrast, Rabbi Yosef Karo (b. 1488), in his Kesef Mishna…
…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…
…eaching. To my mind, it’s no coincidence that there are a disproportionate number of gay clergy. Half of my ordination class was gay or lesbian. The process of coming out of the closet, the work we’ve done to become whole and unashamedly ourselves is deeply spiritual. Perhaps this is the Torah that gay men and lesbians have heard and give the world – the lesson that we all, gay or not, must be honest about our lives. And it’s a lesson that is usef…
…anted parsley seeds so they’ll have parsley at their Passover seder. “This way, they’ll see the passage of Jewish time,” she explained. For Purim, several volunteers with special needs (from the Learning Barn), will help run a children’s program at BEKI. Johnston and her Kulanu students will “brainstorm” about Purim costumes, learn about “cool” shiny face make-up and hair mascara, and make “shelach manot” with leftover Valentine’s Day candy. Soon,…
…unction they had in the works of Diego Velasquez and Jan van Eyck. Another way in which references to masterpieces disturb and animate Wolf’s paintings is in the way his paintings utilize the interplay of gazes within their borders and between their surfaces and the viewer. Figures in the paintings – including animals – often stare at the viewer. Just as often, however, they look so intently into their computers that they seem not to notice one an…
…unction they had in the works of Diego Velasquez and Jan van Eyck. Another way in which references to masterpieces disturb and animate Wolf’s paintings is in the way his paintings utilize the interplay of gazes within their borders and between their surfaces and the viewer. Figures in the paintings – including animals – often stare at the viewer. Just as often, however, they look so intently into their computers that they seem not to notice one an…
…rse of the evening, he would invariably lose back the $50 or $100. In this way, the family members were able to help each other while retaining their sense of dignity and pride. This year, as always, each member of our shul community will be asked repeatedly to help support the shul. As Rabbi I see every day how this community makes a real difference in the lives of many people. It is my hope that, in the words of our Torah, “every person shall gi…
…s of kashrut is the fourth of seven reasons for keeping kosher. Our Jewish way of eating shapes our souls at the deepest level and identifies us as a distinct people. Leaving aside other ethical or religious considerations, eating the Jewish way defines us as and makes us Jews. The majority of BEKI households observe kashrut in some degree (like most mitzvot, keeping kosher is not an “all or nothing” observance). In the past few years, many of our…
…rm, it also fences Job in. Instead of feasting with his family, Job stays away, worrying that they might become infected by sin, sending word for them to sanctify themselves. Instead of engaging with his neighbors, he tells us that he “decided their course and presided over them,” living “like a king among his troops” (Job 29:25). God’s “fence” preserves Job as fruit is preserved: plucked from the vine, boiled and sealed in a jar to halt its natur…
…en from dehydration and starvation and from other hostile forces along the way. This was a people that genuinely suffered in ways that many of us probably find difficult to truly imagine. It is precisely in their imaginings of G‐d that we get a glimpse into what their suffering must have been like. We see projected onto the supreme G‐d all of the inexplicable horrors and sufferings inflicted upon this generation as a means of containing and explai…
