- 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
…t has become untenable. Perhaps in the next few years we will see a better way to reconcile an ancient rule with a radically changed world, but in the meantime, life goes on. After all, we don’t want to take Biblical rules lightly; but in this case, there is not much else we can do but treat it the same way we treat some other technical violations. Unfortunately, most of the CJLS papers promote sweeping and far-reaching approaches where a simple a…
…high-output stage lights in the sanctuary, and halogen lamps in the entry way and art display areas were replaced in Spring 2015. An initiative to promote Conservation and Alternative and Renewable Energy as Jewish values was begun in 2006 as a Legacy Heritage Innovation Project funded by the Legacy Heritage Fund. This initiative uses the existing education structures of the Congregation as vehicles to further awareness and action. The initiative…
…ust tell the story of the Exodus to each son and daughter of Israel in the way that is most meaningful to him or her. Through the efforts of Sisterhood, the generosity of Abel Catering and the good offices of the JFS, the Exodus was reenacted through song, food and story at a table set in the Passover tradition. This was one of several BEKI outreach efforts for children and adults with special needs. Goody Bags for Kids at Holidays At Purim and Si…
…, doesn’t respect others’ marriage commitments, takes whatever he can get away with, and then lives it up and has a great time. As supporters of Israel we sometimes feel this way, too. So many governments are engaged in brutality, arms exports and the drug trade — including Western governments — and few pay much attention, but whenever Israel does something wrong it is on the front page. Why do we bother trying to be good? When we try to do what i…
…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…
…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…
…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…
…that Arab expulsion of Palestinian Arabs from Kuwait is more than half the number of Palestinian Arabs who fled or were expelled from Israel in 1947-49. The “Jenin Massacre” (2002) turned out to be a hoax; while it was reported that hundreds or thousands had been massacred, the reality was that about 55 Arabs (including 5 or 10 civilians) died, along with 22 Israeli soldiers. The headline story in mid-August (2009) of the Swedish daily Aftonbladen…
…First things first. As many of you know, my mother Shulamit Lubarr passed away last year. She was a gifted Hebrew teacher. She taught kitah aleph and bet for many years at Hebrew schools in New Jersey and Florida and helped hundreds of children learn to read Hebrew and begin to understand their heritage. Quite a few of her students grew up to become rabbis and Jewish educators, but even the students who were dragged against their will to Hebrew sc…
…familiar symbolic images embedded as decorative elements. “All That Remains” will next be presented at the Virginia Holocaust Museum, Richmond, VA, in October 2020. The works in this show include images from each of these series. In this retrospective of her work, a number of works in private collections are represented by photographic reproductions, thus providing context for the entirety of exhibition. for more information and for purchasing wor…
