- 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
…f commitment, the taking on of the Torah. It was in that spirit that we’ve carried on and come before you today. Additionally, we read in the notes for the text that in many congregations, Shavuot is the time when children are initiated into the formal study of Jewish religion and Hebrew language. Some temples give children their first siddur [prayer book] at this time. The parallel here speaks for itself. You’ll note also that today’s parasha res…
…lieve that the book of Isaiah was written during the Babylonian exile by a number of people in addition to Isaiah. Isaiah himself was a prophet of the nation of Judah and was one of the first to leave a written record of his prophecies, or proclamations. The book of Isaiah is one of the longest in the Bible, containing sixty chapters. The sayings of Isaiah are contained in the first 39 chapters. Most of the rest, written around 550 BCE, were poems…
…r in his household” (Gittin 6b); “Rabbi Helbo said: A man should always be careful in respecting his wife, for any blessing found in his home is only on account of her, as Scripture states: ‘And because of her [Sarai] it went well with Avram'(Gen. 12:16)” (Baba Mezia 59a); “Our Rabbis taught: Concerning one who loves his wife like his own body [or, self] and respects her more than his own body, Scripture states: ‘You shall know that your home is s…
…ders or Druze forces in the 19th century, including most of those on Mount Carmel and in the area of what is today Afula. Virtually the entire Arab and all of the Jewish population of Gaza were expelled by the Turks during World War I, although 80 percent later returned. During Israel’s War of Independence (1946-48), some 750,000 Arab and Bedouin residents fled or were expelled (official U.N. figure: 711,000), some by the urging of local Arab lead…
…for it to be, as we call it – a tree of life – we must water and feed and care for that tree so that it will continually bring forth new growth. So here goes. Let’s look at our text: And a man shall not lie with a man as with a woman, it is an abomination. And a man who lies with a man as with a woman, they have done an abominable thing, they will both surely die and their blood is upon them. (Lev. 18:20, 20:13) As we know, these texts have been…
…cities of Greece, and even twentieth 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 artist…
