- 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
…the Jews chose God.” Listen to what Mark Twain wrote at the very end of the 19th century, in 1899, in his essay “Concerning the Jews”: If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of star dust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. Properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and…
…ey worthwhile. At the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, we saw the Shrine of the Book, an exhibit about the Dead Sea Scrolls. The one Biblical book found in its entirety in the caves of Qumran was the Isaiah Scroll, a facsimile of which was on display in full at the shrine. It so happens that Tsvi’s bar mitzva haftara, which he had read just days earlier at BEKI, was also from the scroll of Isaiah. As Hebrew orthography has not changed that much since t…
…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…
…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…
…t meeting this week Office Devar Torah: TBA ~11:15a ~11:30a Sanctuary Minḥa 1p 1:35p Beit Midrash Havdala (Home Ritual) 7:10p or later Home Qever Avot Services Sun 6 October 2019 Sunday after Rosh HaShana Shaḥarit Morning Service 9:00a 9:35a Beit Midrash Qever Avot Cemetery Memorial Service 10:00a 10:15a Beth El Memorial Park, Warner St. Hamden Qever Avot Cemetery Memorial Service 11:00a 11:15a Keser Israel Memorial Park & Congregation Sinai Memor…
…ust make Conservative institutions such as BEKI, Camp Ramah, Ezra Academy, United Hebrew School and the Jewish Theological Seminary our top priorities. It is here where the “tire meets the road” and a new generation is trained in what “Judaism” was, is and will be. As we redouble our own efforts to build a strong Conservative community in Greater New Haven, let us be appreciative of the heritage created for us here by our elders and ancestors, and…
…istorical Society of Greater New Haven Conservative – Masorti Institutions United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism The Jewish Theological Seminary of America Cantor’s Assembly The Conservative Yeshiva Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs The Jewish Museum The Masorti Movement (Israel) Mercaz USA National Ramah Commission Ramah Programs in Israel Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies Women’s League for Conservative Judaism Ziegler School of Rabbinic S…
…o them or not. I have never heard of any synagogue being expelled from the United Synagogue for any policy violation, except failure to pay dues. Our religious heritage, as documented by the Mishna and other rabbinic texts, endorses the values of free speech, intellectual integrity and democracy. Individual sages were allowed to teach whatever they actually believed, even if it was not in keeping with the majorityʼs view. The sages could speak the…
…7 New Haven Turning Green – with Energy!, Shalom New Haven, Summer 2007, p. 1 Hannukah in the Age of Oil (Video) New Haven Independent, 16 December 2006 (or on YouTube at Solar Rabbi’s Hannukkah Message) Innovative ways to cut heating and cooling costs, by Kent Pierce, WTNH Channel 8 News, 5 September 2006 BEKI Running Clean and Green, ShalomNewHaven, September 2006, p. 10 Rabbi on the Roof, by Allan Appel, New Haven Independent, 3 August 2006 A L…
