- 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
…v. 25:8-12). As the text states, the yovel comes in the 50th year, the year-long culmination of a succession of seven sabbatical cycles. In it, the land is given its rest – the agricultural practices of sowing, reaping, and harvesting are suspended; specific land holdings are returned to the original owners; debts are forgiven; and indentured servants are freed. While there is some doubt historically whether the yovel was actually observed, and wh…
…, he does not want to tell that to the blasphemer, his reason being that he-Moses-had killed the blasphemer’s father. If he sentences the blasphemer to death as well, people may think that Moses does not like the family, and therefore the Israelites will not trust him. Rabbi Heller differs, suggesting that maybe Moses did know the punishment is death, but he did not know what manner of death. In some ways, this story is similar to one about a stic…
…ouise Elizabeth “Betty” Holden Stutz, brother Robert, daughter Eleanor, son-in-law Jeffrey Lowell and grandson Galen Frederick Lowell. In making this contribution, Eleanor explained that she wanted to express her gratitude for the blessings of life, love and wisdom that she received through her father, in recognition of God as the ultimate source of blessing. “I wanted to give something back,” she said. The acquisition of a new telephone system ha…
…called ืืึผืื yibum or “Levirite marriage” whereby the brother or male next-of-kin of a married man who dies childless must marry his widow. The purpose of this rule is insure that the deceased’s property rights, some of which may be entwined with the widow, will remain within his tribe, and to insure that the widow has the support she needs. But over the years, the tribal territories were lost, women gained independent property rights, and polyga…
…05 Aug Zoom Schmooze: Insights on the Psychological Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic with Morris Bell & Raina Sotsky August 5, 2020 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm Home Page Interior Page Raina is a psychiatrist who works with both adults and children. Morris is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine and […] More Info…
…ili, “Haver ‘Yesh Gevul’ nikla…,” Ha’aretz, 5 Jan. 1988, p. 1. 27. “Ahdu al-shab`an al-yahud…,” Al-Ittihad, 12 Jan. 1988, p. 1. Apparently, Lentsher had previously received a suspended sentence of 7 days. In a letter to his parents, Lentsher wrote: “I am not an oppressor…. My war is not with the Palestinians. My war is with the ruinous occupation.” 28. Lili Galili, “Ke-250 hevrei ‘Yesh Gevul’ hifginu bemahsom Araz,” Ha’aretz, 17 January 1988, p. 3…
…more important to honor our leaders who are honest, intelligent, community-minded, self-sac rificial and hard-working people with high ideals and shared values. They are people who are dedicating part of their lives for the common good, to fulf ill the mission of the Jewish People of making the world better through the mitzvot and values taught by our sages. As Rabban Gamliel, son of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, taught (Avot 2:2): ืื – ืฉืืื ืืฉื ืขืืื ืขืึนืก…
…ommunity leaders have warned him (`ein anu kofin et ha-ba`al liten la get u-le-hagbotah ketubata `ad she-yitru bo) … and when he receives the warning and he is made to wait under the observer, if the observer testifies that he repeated his violence we collect her alimony for her.23 Rashba seems to conclude similarly in one of his responsa.24 Moreover, Rabbenu Simha ben Shemuel, cited in many sources, states explicitly that the court may turn to ge…
…and I didn’t feel invisible anymore. One day I was speaking with my brother-in-law on the phone. I was talking about BEKI (which by this time I had joined) and the feeling that I have here. And I confided in him that one day I’d like to get up on the bima and read from the Torah. And as I said these words I began to tremble. The very thought was overpowering to me. To even think of myself as playing such an honored role among Jews seemed so bold….
…not prevail, justice alone does not prevail. Mercy tempers the judgment. G-d does not abandon justice, does not leave them in Eden as they were before they ate. They are punished, and the punishment is severe – they are exiled from their home, and both are sentenced to hard labor, she to the pains of childbirth, he to the pains of tilling the soil. Eden is barred by a flaming sword – a double symbol of death. There is no going back. But out of me…
