- 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
In this country, people normally eat cows. But in India, one would sooner eat their brother-in-law than eat a cow. Here they eat Kentucky Fried Chicken; in France they eat Kentucky Fried Frogs. The Chinese have as many recipes for cats and rats as your Bubbie has for eggplant. When we find a bug in our bedroom, we have to call daddy to kill it and remove its carcass; in some places, that insect would be added to the salad for dinner. Insects, rep…
…animals each year. In a typical year, several hundred people are killed and 1,500 are injured by hunters in this country. Hunting is a significant and celebrated part of American culture. Whether he’s a Davey Crockett or a Buffalo Bill, a real man has a dead animal’s head on his wall. Jewish culture & law, however, take a different view of hunting. The “Great Hunters” of the Bible are viewed by the Sages of Israel as wicked men: Nimrod, whose very…
…onception to your first steps at ten months to your fascile use of words at 18 months, to your being the leader of the pack at 18 months as the youngest member of your two year old nursery school class at EBJ. Most people in those days saw you as a highly active child with natural athletic abilities, but few saw beyond this preschooler in constant motion. Your father and I, your teachers and those close to you caught the glimmer of a very sensitiv…
…refer to memorize every city the Ringling Bros. Circus visits on its cross-country tour. During the past few months, as we were helping Shai prepare for reaching the age of mitzvot, he has encountered many opportunities in which to learn how to take on greater levels of responsibility. A few months ago, Shai expressed interest in coming to shul for Shabbat morning services. After going to shul on only rare occasions for years, Shai has come to shu…
…makes it easier to experience God’s presence. In parashat T’rumah, in the book of Exodus 25:8, God tells Moses to instruct the Israelites to “make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.” “Exactly as I show you,” God continues, “the pattern of the Tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings – so shall you make it.” We no longer receive divine blueprints for our synagogues, but we know that the design and furnishings of a synagogue can e…
…if they aren’t already. The haftara, from the Second Book of Kings (2 Kings 11:17 – 12:17), discusses things that come up at modern-day synagogue Board meetings — proper use of donations, the importance of keep up with repairs on a facility used for communal worship. At the time of King Yehoash, who came to power in 836 BCE, the priests had been instructed to collect and spend certain annual donations to maintain the holy Temple and courtyards. Bu…
…ctivity-based; and often silly. • Each age group has its own siddur (prayerbook), which includes Hebrew and some English. Although we hope that children are exposed to these Hebrew prayers and some aspect of the Torah stories being read that week in the annual cycle, parents, especially those who are themselves beginners in Judaism, can always introduce relevant English-language songs and books. • BEKI observes the Jewish Sabbath, which means that…
…he BEKI Ancestors’ High Holiday exhibition. Jessey credits Stacey Battat’s book, Thin Threads Real Stories of Survival & Recovery, with opening up her sense of our connections. She found so much inspiration in this book that she donated a copy to our BEKI Library. This year’s exhibition was the work of many hands, from scanning and editing photographs to runs to IKEA for frames, to editing the extensive labels, framing the photographs, and finally…
…ose to believe. I recently saw the Broadway play Wicked. The author of the book Wicked, Gregory Maguire, writes books based on the point of view of an alternative character. In Wicked’s case, this character is the Wicked Witch of the West from L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. What would the story about the blasphemer be like if told from the perspective of the unidentified man? Would we learn that he was provoked, abused or misunderstoo…
