- 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
…s, tribe by tribe, the number of people in each tribe, and separately, the number of males, 20 and up, who were fit for service. Would that kind of census send a different message to us, a message saying, “everyone counts”, including all the women? The second census, what I’ll call the redemption census, I find a strange one. It requires counting of all the male Levites who were at least a month old and a counting of all the firstborn males among…
…tell stories that celebrate our shared past. It is also a place where our spirits and our community can be invigorated, nourished, and rested. It is a safe place, made safe by the community’s recognition of its sacredness. The sanctity of the sanctuary derives not from its location, structure or furnishings. Sanctuary services can take place in a store front, a dining room, a concentration camp, or in a submarine. Any space with any architecture…
…live in Westville. When we came to BEKI, we were excited to see the large number of children and families that were local to the Westville community. Having a place for the kids and us to learn and socialize is important. Jacob Robins The shared joy of davening and learning together is my favorite part of being Jewish. I live in East Rock and would be happy to share interests like keeping up with various sports teams (MLB, college baske…
…re to include everyone. As it is, if such a family may pick only a limited number of people to honor, everyone who does not receive an honor understands that the family was limited. However, if the family is essentially unlimited, by being able to call up more than one person at a time for an aliya, then anyone who is not called up has greater grounds to feel slighted. A second reason for wanting joint aliya is that one of the proposed honorees do…
…ll do it that way, too. But this procedure often created a dilemma: If the number of qaddishes was limited, there might still be some who did not get to say one; if there was no limit to the number of qaddishes added, the service became burdensomely long. So after careful scrutiny the rabbis allowed all mourners to say qaddish simultaneously. This rabbinic solution was adopted only after careful consideration, and after it was determined that mour…
…, the Western Wall of the Temple in Jerusalem. The service provided by the phone company allows people unable to visit the Wall in person to fax their petitions to an agent who then carefully inserts the sheets into cracks between the stones. But you don’t even need a fax machine to reach God. Our sages valued sincerity in prayer above all else. Length, language, or location are secondary considerations. Better a few words from the heart than the…
…ograms. Rides for kids when their parent is unable to drive. An occasional phone call or visit to someone who lives alone or in assisted living. A cooked meals or groceries for someone recuperating from illness or surgery. Of course, we can’t provide regular nursing service or permanent carpooling, but we can extend a helping hand, and we should. How will this work? Well, were just getting started, and there may be some kinks till we work out the…
…entire week. But just before I left, someone told me about a rabbi who did spiritual therapy sessions. I had no idea what that even meant but I was intrigued and maybe even hoped for a quick fix. And so I sought her out and, as luck would have it, she was free to see me. She asked me many questions…questions about my relationship to God and Judaism. She truly had a gift because the words began pouring out of me. I told her that Judaism was somethi…
…them to feel that BEKI was their “spiritual and social home.” She and BEKI spiritual leader Rabbi Jon-Jay Tilsen procured an $18,000 grant from the Jewish Foundation of Greater New Haven to start up a two-year program, which will offer Jewish education for adults with developmental disabilities and for adults with chronic mental illness in the greater New Haven area. ‘Kulanu Ke’Ehad Havura’ The program started last fall. Called “Kulanu Ke’Ehad Hav…
…25 Jan The Afro-Semetic Experience January 25, 2000 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm BEKI Join us for An encore concert IN ANTICIPATION OF THE DAYS OF AWE David Chevan, Warren Byrd and the AFRO-SEMITIC EXPERIENCE CONGREGATION BETH EL – […] More Info…
