- 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
…sizable. “I’m lucky in that I happen to have done a lot of my Passover shopping. To buy the rest I won’t cross the picket line,” said Rachel Bashevkin of Westville, who is on the board of Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel. Her Mission: Preservation, www.newhavenindependent.org, February 28, 2019 Christina Crowder spends a lot of time conserving and preserving — music, and the environment. An accomplished accordion player, Crowder preserves klezmer…
…ied bottled water. The other was a separate oversized mailing for “Mizmor” brand kosher-certified water. The dilemma for the consumer: which brand is really more kosher? I was somewhat upset to receive these advertisements, not only because my Purim gags had been preempted, but also because these actual products suggest an unethical practice and are religiously misleading. Let us go back a step. The Torah outlines dietary restrictions, primarily t…
…57 Kindness to gentile reconciles; Priest 236/158 Generosity to gentiles expiates Jews’ sins Escapism: Flight or Fight 50/63 Aliya (emigration to Israel); Desire for aliya really means one must address local problems 127/137 Earthly matters most 158/144 Avoiding responsibility for restitution; Restitution made personally 210/150 Flight preferred Economic Issues 48/61 Repentance achieved by giving charity; Wealth; Charity 71/127 Livelihood protecte…
…lk. To answer your question, we must ask two more. Do actual meat or dairy pieces remain in the toothbrush? Does the toothbrush take on the property of being a fleshig (meat) or milchig (dairy) utensil? Meat stuck in your teeth retains the property of meat for a short time, as is suggested by the Good Book: “While the flesh was still between their teeth,” etc. (Numbers 11:33). Partly for that reason we are enjoined to wait a period of time after e…
…28 Nov Men’s Winter Clothing Drive Begins – Nov 28-Dec 5 November 28, 2021 9:00 am – 6:00 pm Fill the boxes in the lobby with clean, gently used men’s winter clothing (and brand new men’s warm socks) – November 28-December 5 Everything will […] More Info…
…environmental stewardship. Rabbi Woodward Rabbi Eric Woodward became the spiritual leader in June 2021. BEKI today is a growing congregation with well over three hundred member families. Most of our members live in New Haven, and one exciting trend is the large group of members who have moved to the neighborhood of Westville to be close to, even within walking distance, of the shul. Members also live in the downtown, East Rock, and Beaver Hills n…
…hat many Jews live in places where the only way to get to shul–not the shopping mall, not the laundry, not the movies–was to drive, and since their spiritual health and identity as Jews may have depended on their coming to shul, we should not object if they drive directly to and from shul, on condition that they make no stops on the way. In places where Jews (of all affiliations) were already driving to shul it seemed hypocritical to rope off the…
…en Joseph and his brothers talked with each other, the brothers expressed apology and contrition, and Joseph gave them forgiveness. But, with the interest in forgiveness that drew me to this parasha, I was surprised to find that apology and forgiveness are never described, and there is reason to believe that they never occurred. We are told that years later, when Jacob dies, the brothers worry that Joseph will hate them and fully pay them back for…
…e whose opinions they don’t share, and indeed have been known to call the opinions of others “stupid” or “nonsensical,” they have by-and-large upheld the right of their colleagues to express such opinions. The principle is that you can say or teach as you believe, as long as you follow the law as defined by the majority of the sages. In the United States, the Supreme Court records dissenting or concurring opinions. This practice can be traced all…
…cantor hop during services on Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur? Signed, Not Jumping to Conclusions Dear Not Jumping, During the recitation of the Amida prayer, it is customary for the worshiper to stand with feet and legs together such that it would appear that the worshiper were standing on one leg. On the High Holy Days, the cantor bows and prostrates during the middle of the Amida. In order to bow and bend without hitting his head on the table in f…
