The following letter is mailed by the BEKI office to each kosher caterer scheduled for an upcoming event.
Dear Kosher Caterer,
We understand that you have been contracted by ________ for the date of _______ at our synagogue.
Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel can receive deliveries on Mondays through Thursdays from 9:00a to noon and on Fridays from 9:00a until 11:00a. We ask that you call our office several days before your delivery so that our custodian and our mashgiah can plan to meet you.
Deliveries of food will be accepted only upon presentation of (1) a complete inventory and invoice signed by your mashgiah; (2) a certificate of insurance and documentation of Workman's Compensation coverage, if your employees will be working on our premises for the affair; (3) payment of a $100 per day kitchen use fee. Rabbi Tilsen or his representative will monitor the unloading of the delivery for purposes of kashrut supervision. Items not on the inventory (unless bearing a recognized kashrut seal) and unsealed containers will not be accepted.
Please understand that our Congregation is a traditionally observant Conservative community. Lighting fires, operating electric applicances such as coffee-makers and can openers, and cooking are not permitted on Shabbat.
For Saturday Night Affairs (commencing after Shabbat ends), no preparations may be made at the synagogue on Shabbat. Cleanup from an afternoon affair may be completed at the time of the affair. Please note that there is a worship service every day from 5:45p to 6:30p held in the small chapel adjacent to the upper level kitchenette and dumbwaiter; please be sure your staff is quiet in this area during this time. Access to the building for Saturday Night Affairs will not be allowed until one hour after sunset. Please plan accordingly.
At BEKI we maintain the highest standards of kashrut. We recommend that you kasher the oven, dishwasher and sink before and after your use and that you cover the surfaces you will use for food preparation in the BEKI kitchen. We do not permit the use of "kosher gelatin" at dairy meals, although vegetable-derived gums are permitted.
When you will be using our kitchen to prepare food or when you are serving food in our facility, we require the presence of a mashgiah working under the direction of your supervising rabbi. (This requirement does not apply if you are only delivering food.) In some cases you may arrange to use a mashgiah working directly under the supervision of Rabbi Tilsen.
Employees may not bring food to the premises unless it is under the supervision of your mashgiah and our office is so informed in advance by your mashgiah. Our facility is non-smoking. There is a telephone in the kitchen for emergency use, restricted to local, 1-800 and 911 calls.
If you are setting up for a Shabbat morning qiddush, please be informed that Synagogue policy requires that grape juice be served whenever wine is offered. There are magnetic "Grape Juice" and "Wine" labels on the refrigerator in the upper level kitchenette; please use them to mark the trays at qiddush. There is a large blue card on the refrigerator in the upper level kitchenette with the Shabbat morning qiddush blessings; please place that card next to the large qiddush cup that the leader will be using.
Whenever bread (bagels or halla) is served, washing stations must be set up to accommodate ritual hand washing. The highchairs in both the upper and lower level Social Halls should be set up at tables for use by our members.
We would be appreciative if you could instruct your staff of these rules and procedures. We trust that all will go well and we look forward to working with you. Failure to comply with Synagogue policy may result in suspension or cancellation of your approval to serve this Congregation. Please be aware that we regularly share information about kashrut and shabbat compliance and administrative irregularities with the Connecticut Valley Rabbinical Assembly, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism Connecticut Valley, and local Conservative and non-Conservative synagogues. If you have any questions about the contents of this letter or about other matters of concern please do not hesitate to call our Office Manager Mary Ellen Mack at 389-2108 ext. 14. Thank you for your careful attention.
Rabbi Jon-Jay Tilsen & Dr. Brian Karsif, President
Rev. 10 December 1998
Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel
85 Harrison Street at Whalley Avenue
New Haven, CT USA 06515-1724
(203)-389-2108
Fax (203) 389-5899 (24-hour)
Email to Rabbi Jon-Jay Tilsen: jjtilsen@aol.com