- 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
…Innovator Award, 2006 Solomon Schechter Gold Award for Environment by the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, 2002. 2001 ENERGY STAR for Congregations Award by the US Environmental Protection Agency. 2000 ENERGY STAR for Congregations Award by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Writings on this Theme Against the Flood: Parashat Noah 5767 – 2006 Conservation And Renewable Energy: Kol Nidre Message 5767 – 2006 How Many Jewish Leaders Doe…
…works have also been selected for exhibitions in over 70 venues across the United States. Many of her creations have appeared as covers for books from publishers including Penguin, Routledge, Global Publications, McGill-Queen’s University Press, and Vallentine Mitchell Publishers. At BEKI, Two Artists Channel Visions Of Home, by Al Larriva-Latt Review of exhibitions by Suzanne Neusner and Naomi Safran-Hon Click here for a list of Suzanne Neusner’s…
…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…
…of displaced Palestinian Arabs has skyrocketed. This is partly because the United Nations provides welfare benefits to anyone descended from a single displaced Palestinian Arab, creating an incentive to identify as a “refugee” no matter what one’s circumstances. Most famously, Yasir Arafat claimed he was a Palestinian refugee from Jerusalem, when in fact he was born in Egypt while Israel was under British rule. Even Palestinian Arabs driving Merce…
…eaching. To my mind, it’s no coincidence that there are a disproportionate number of gay clergy. Half of my ordination class was gay or lesbian. The process of coming out of the closet, the work we’ve done to become whole and unashamedly ourselves is deeply spiritual. Perhaps this is the Torah that gay men and lesbians have heard and give the world – the lesson that we all, gay or not, must be honest about our lives. And it’s a lesson that is usef…
…nsgresses a prohibition, as Scripture states, “Do not add [to the required number of lashes]” — if the Torah warns not to add blows to a guilty person, how much more does this apply to an innocent person. Even to raise one’s hand against another, even if one doesn’t actually hit him or her, is called wicked, as Scripture states, “And he said to the wicked one, Why do you hit your neighbor?”7 Rabbenu Perez, in his decree, cites a responsum of Rabbi…
…srael and put them as chieftains over the people: officials for thousands, officials for hundreds, officials for fifties, and officials for tens.” A few verses back, Yitro, Moshe’s father-in-law, had suggested this judicial plan as a solution to Moshe’s volume problem. Moshe was supposed to judge every case among the Israelites, civil or criminal, by himself, from dawn to dusk. Yitro knew that Moshe wouldn’t last for long that way, and came up wit…
…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…
…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…
…n order it through Amazon at a discount. If you log in through the BEKI website, we get a small donation. Tonight is probably the last time I will stand in front of you as President. Despite our perennially precarious financial situation, I will not appeal for money tonight. Tonight is a time to celebrate what we have accomplished together by passing the Torah from hand to hand. It’s time to kvell about what we’ve doneÿugnot what I’ve done, becaus…
