- 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
…families. Columbus House BEKI has a long-standing commitment to Columbus House, a non-profit that serves people experiencing homelessness or at imminent risk. For years, BEKI was a host for Columbus House’s annual Abraham’s Tent project. In 2020, Columbus House awarded BEKI their John S. Martinez Community Service Award. BEKI had prepared a monthly evening meal for residents, though post-pandemic BEKI has shifted to delivering monthly food supplie…
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…oni Davis & Leslie Brisman Splitting our time between Westville and Madison, CT, we were looking for a vibrant area Conservative synagogue with an emphasis on learning and community, an interactive D’var Torah, and possibly a liberal service. We are delighted to be new members at BEKI. We so much admire Rabbi Woodward’s commitment to teaching and look forward to future new and exciting sessions on a variety of topics. His wisdom and warmth certain…
…propriate to talk at all except as necessary for the funeral. In a shiva house, furniture may be overturned and mirrors covered, and mourners may have their shoes off and wear torn clothes. These unusual sights serve to remind visitors that things are not “normal,” and that the lives of the mourners have been overturned. When making a shiva call, it is considered correct to wait for the mourners to speak and to keep the conversation to their conce…
…nships. Both of these women had strong family ties, whether it was to a spouse, like Deborah, or to siblings, like Miriam. I am at a certain point in my life now, and I feel I should tell you all about it. So, here’s me. Now, don’t think I’m some arrogant girl who thinks she’s always right, because I am. But let’s get on with it. I wrote this in my room listening to some very angry music. Sometimes I think of myself as a very disturbed child, but…
…If, for example, I were a Jew in Baghdad and I had a contract with a Jew in, say, Madrid, this network would help enforce the contract, to the end that Jewish traders in those times could operate with greater security. So here’s my overall point. Today, the power grid in America is, shall we say, a very complex distribution network. The way it operates is by a certain number of power plants producing energy, usually by burning fossil fuels, and th…
…reading a passage from the Torah or other Jewish book — these are the redemptive acts that we ourselves must do. Our own synagogue, our United Hebrew School, Ezra Academy, Kadima-USY, Makom, JTS, MERCAZ, Masorti-Israel — and above all our own family — these are the institutions that we must support. No one else is going to Jew it for you….
…win out. When we sit back and wish away those who call for political murder, pull guns, call us “bloodsuckers,” paint swastikas on public buildings–when we still the voice of Jacob, then the hands that act will be those of Esau. In addressing the insensitivity shown by Governor Rowland in his Thanksgiving Proclamation which implied that the festival is a Christian festival, we need to be consistant and persistant in attempting to persuade others o…
…t of who is worthy to live and who is ready to sail out on the next iceberg, to use the Eskimo idiom. My opposition to judicial execution (the “Death Penalty”) is based on a lack of faith in the judicial system, not in a fundamental objection to the government killing people when required, so it should not stand in the way of my appointment. Unlike other local clerics and public officials, I have never actually been convicted of a felony, which ma…
…ensive animal. Of course everyone still, unfortunately, commits sins. Today, we use prayer as a substitute for the sacrifices that were done in Temple times. Specific prayers have been written over the centuries to atone for specific sins. I think that VaYiqra also represents the dedication that Jewish people have to the Jewish religion. I’ll tell you a short story. You know that we spent a year in Jerusalem. One day, Ima, Tali, and I were visitin…
