- 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
In planning this tribute dinner honoring Carl, Ina and Susie, the Tribute Committee faced a difficult choice: In what order should they list the names of the honorees? There are six possibilities.¹ It turns out that the question of order was debated long ago by our sages. Carl will recognize this text from our Thursday Continue Reading »
The practice of fasting on Yom ha-Kippurim is one among several strictures adopted to fulfill the Biblical requirement of “tormenting one’s soul” on this Day of Atonements (note the plural form). The purpose of fasting is to enhance our spiritual sensitivity and contrition on this Holy Day, and to force ourselves for at least a Continue Reading »
I’m one of the few people I know who doesn’t use illegal drugs. Never have. Past and present presidents, teachers, cops and rabbis, just about everyone, apparently, has inhaled (or not), injected or ingested substances prohibited by law. One reason I have avoided drugs is that many of them cause users to lose their inhibitions. Continue Reading »
Several Catholic Bishops in America made the headlines when they announced that they would not provide the sacrament of the Eucharist (communion) to Catholic public officials who vote to support abortion rights. Iʼm all for clergy – especially Conservative rabbis – using the aptly-named bully pulpit to wield political power, but I am not quite Continue Reading »
I was impassionate about the film The Passion, and hoped the hype would be forgotten within a week of opening day. As long as it did not inspire pogroms in the streets of New Haven or the wilds of Woodbridge, my plan was to ignore the movie. I will admit, though, that the idea of Continue Reading »
Welcoming adults who have chosen to become Jewish is one of the great joys in the life of our community. It is an affirmation of the power of the Torah and of the success of the Jewish family, at least as idealized, to attract spiritually sensitive and intelligent people. The most common attractions of Continue Reading »
Did God create us, or did we create God? Remarkably, our sages taught that both propositions are true. It is easy for us to see in other religions the extent to which human projection and wishful thinking is responsible for notions of God. Religion is often a response to the vicissitudes and suffering of life, Continue Reading »
BEKI Bulletin January 2007 A Message from Rabbi Tilsen The Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards endorsed two papers in December (2006), one of which finds that Gay and Lesbian Jews may celebrate civil unions with the blessing of Jewish law and may serve as rabbis in the Conservative Movement. The other paper Continue Reading »
When our sage Hillel said, “Al tifrosh min ha-tsibbur — Do not leave the community” (Avot 2:5), he was addressing his precept to the intelligentsia, the scholars, those best able to appreciate the value of community, those with the most to offer the community. Often people who are especially ethically and spiritually sensitive get disgusted Continue Reading »
1997 Is it possible to do too much of a mitzva? Halakha (Torah law) specifies minimums for some mitzvot (commandments). A person should give at least 10% of their wealth annually for tzedaqa (charity); leave at least 1/60th of their crops unpicked (“pe’a”) for the poor to collect; drink at least 4 cups of wine Continue Reading »
