- 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
…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…
…stival services are led by members. Tefila leaders and Torah readers are always needed. Daily Minyan Participation – Adult Jews are needed to form the quorem for daily morning, afternoon and evening services, and other adults and children are needed to help strengthen the community and fellowship every day of the year. Captains are needed to help organize daily services. Master Chefs, Vegetable Choppers & Shoppers – Cooks, cleaners, shoppers and…
…evision programs around the world some months ago depicting an Israeli Telephone Company employee stuffing faxes into the Western Wall. It is in fact a custom among many of our brothers and sisters to insert small handwritten personal notes and petitions to God between the stones of the Kotel, 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 petitio…
…y that does not clearly exhibit the same problems. The temptation to walk away may be great; how much more likely to leave are those who are in effect driven away. I am reminded of two Israelis discussing the hardships of life in modern Israel. “Four weeks a year in the Army Reserves, sky-high taxes, rock-bottom salaries, meshuga drivers, terrorists, corrupt politicians, rampant sexism, poor postal service, rude and lazy bureaucrats — who can stan…
…irst most important, or, as the Talmud has it, aharon aharon haviv, is the best saved for last? But where does that leave Ina? Perhaps she is it like a queen traveling with part of her retinue in front and part behind. There were six possible orders, but 70 possible reasons for the order. That is why Talmud scholars can’t navigate – by the time they have considered all of the possible interpreta tions of the highway sign, they are long past the ex…
…ard a segment of the surrounding society that seeks to convert us to their ways. We find those attempts at the least annoying, and often disrespectful and outright dangerous. Our response is to make sure we don’t do unto others as we don’t want others to do unto us. However, the truth is that, at least in America, far more Christians convert to Judaism than the other way around. Very few Jews convert to Christianity, since for the educated and dev…
…ive directly to and from shul, on condition that they make no stops on the way. In places where Jews (of all affiliations) were already driving to shul it seemed hypocritical to rope off the parking lot and have them park a block away. The choice facing the Rabbis seemed to be: They come by car or they don’t come, and the Rabbis wanted them to come. It seemed preferable to violate the prohibitions of driving than to have much of the religious fabr…
…ely innocent victim. In each test, the brothers behave in a most exemplary way. In the last test, rather than showing indifference to Jacob’s pain, (as Joseph himself did) Judah shames Joseph with his obviously sincere compassion for Jacob. At this, Joseph’s harsh facade cracks, and he is forced to accept that his brothers are not wicked and inhuman and that they and he share a deep human bond. Hearing Judah’s courageous argument to spare Jacob th…
…ve credo (Latin scholars: credamus). The words can be translated different ways. I grew up with: “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.” In this translation, the stress is on God’s one-ness, indivisibility. More commonly used today is, “Hear O Israel, Adonai is our God, Adonai alone.” This version affirms two ideas — that we believe Adonai is God, and that God is unique. Rashi wrote that Adonai Elokenu refers to now, and to the God of…
…nger and gathers up his family, servants and flocks and stealthily sneaks away from Laban to return to his family in Canaan. An incensed Laban pursues Jacob, and in a final, hostile encounter the two negotiate a cool parting of the ways. Now Jacob faces an even more frightening encounter, with his brother Esau, who has vowed to kill him. Jacob’s past has finally caught up with him. He fears for his life. His worldly success has not prepared him to…
