- 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
…munity 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 patrilineal descent in situations like my granddaughters’. Al tistakel b’kankan, ellah b’mah sheyesh bo. Will we continue to focus on the vessel – from which parent is the Jewish blood passed dow…
…rk, when properly balanced, produces highly cooperative clusters of interactions, and potential longer distance coordination. This is very similar to Jewish court systems in late medieval Europe. There was a network of individually operating courts throughout Europe in those times. Most of the communications between these courts occurred locally but the network, like the monkeys, had the possibility to communicate over long distances. The advantag…
…allowed only men to read Torah or lead services. After some difficult negotiations, we got his permission for interested women to gather once a month in a classroom, to tallit. Wrapping myself in a tallis for the very first time was a strange and very moving experience. I felt the weight and the beauty of our tradition on my shoulders, both physically and spiritually. The tallit I wore was the one my mother brought back from Israel for my oldest…
…a and Sarah. Thanks to Jake, Max, Tani, Aaron, Joseph and Sam for their participation today, and to Steven Pincus for sharing Amy with us on countless Sunday mornings. Thanks also to Steve, Richard, Lenny, Dominic, John and Don for their constant support and their taking on of the Spring Fling on our behalf, at which we hope to see you all dancing tonight. Again we want to thank the congregation, who along with Rabbi Tilsen provided a welcoming an…
…are borne on the side. Violence shall no more be heard in your land, desolation nor destruction within your borders; But you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Paradise. Your sun shall no more go down, neither shall your moon withdraw itself; For the Lord shall be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended. I the Lord will hasten it in its time. Marc D. Schwartz, MD, President HealthCalls America Inc. www.HealthCal…
…percent are Arabs, and of them about 75 percent are Palestinian Arabs, constituting the bulk of the Palestinian Arab population. (The “no Jews in Palestine east of the Jordan River” law goes back to 1922 under British rule.) Zero percent Jews in Lebanon. Zero percent Jews in Syria. Zero percent Jews in Libya. Zero percent Jews in Iraq. One older Jewish man I know in Jerusalem described how, when his family fled Baghdad 50 years ago, he was traumat…
…h this teaching. 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…
…eth century America? Surveying the large number of works in the BEKI collection entitled “Rabbi_,” the BEKI Art Committee began discussing how best to present this work in an exhibition. Among ourselves, we called this the “Rabbi Show,” although there is nothing in the artworks themselves to signify that these are rabbis, rather than ordinary men who have been given the honor of holding the Torah. As Jewish artists and auction houses alike use “Ra…
