- 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
…ant us to do with her? She doesn’t know the language! She doesn’t know the code! What are we supposed to do with her?” “What does God say?” she asks. I listen. God doesn’t say anything. He won’t tell them to let me in. He doesn’t interfere. He’s just smiling. “Why is he smiling?” she asks. I think that God finds it amusing in some way…his children amuse him. And I think He’s smiling because he knows it’s not time, for them or for me, and that I ha…
…stments at competitive rates. If you are interested in buying Israel Bonds today, you can do so because your personal financial advisor might suggest including them in your portfolio on the basis of financial considerations, but not because the State needs your charity. If you want to give charity in Israel, we can direct you to many worthwhile institutions that help people and support the values you believe in, but the Government itself and the B…
…n expensive 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 vi…
…amily to me. I am deeply touched and grateful to be honored with a kiddush today and to share that honor with Jay, our extraordinary immediate past president. Of course, since my house hasn’t been sold yet, I’ll still be around for at least a few more weeks. There’s an old song, “How can I miss you if you won’t go away?” I hope you’ll forgive me for hanging around after the official farewell. I want to talk about three things that relate to each o…
…uld do at their celebrations, and they were not yet counted in the Minyan. Today, many of the younger members of our community may not even be aware of how relatively new and unusual it is in Jewish life to have women fully participating, responsible and accountable. However, the effort, maybe even properly called the struggle, within the whole worldwide Jewish community to take full advantage of the wisdom, scholarship and leadership that women c…
…y” (Deuteronomy 29) – It does not say, “that are not here standing with us today,” but rather “with us today.” Those future souls who weren’t yet created weren’t actually standing. Although they did not yet exist, still each one received their share of the Torah…and not only all the prophets received their prophecy from hbhx rv but even the scholars who arise in every generation, each one of them received theirs from Sinai. All the people – all Je…
…s mitzva is so important that the Shulhan Arukh, the sixteenth-century law code that serves as the common base for modern law, describes the obligation in this way: ‘ One needs to take great care in lighting the Hanuka lights; even a poor person subsisting on charity pawns or sells their cloak and buys oil for lighting. Shulhan Arukh O.H. 571 Lighting the Hanuka lights is so important that a poor person is instructed to take on additional hardship…
…ich is an Italian word that basically means “beanie.” Zucchettos are color-coded skullcaps worn by Catholic clergy: priests wear black, bishops wear purple, cardinals wear red, and the Pope wears white. The Jewish practice of covering the head dates back to ancient times when the kohanim in the Temple wore special headdresses. The morning blessing “oter Yisrael betifara – who crowns Israel with beauty,” was originally said before putting on the tu…
…se points of view. Perhaps we will be able to do this some other time. For today, I would like to recognize that there are also strong forces within Judaism that embrace art, embrace a wider view of religion that encourages the inclusion of beauty in the synagogue and sanctuary. I would like to acknowledge, too, that at times it is difficult to decide where to draw the line when art conflicts with the religion. For example, only a few days ago, th…
…I was intrigued by this story and its placement, and decided to discuss it today. Perhaps its position in Leviticus is meant to make us question and give it attention. If so, it worked for me, and I enjoyed the variety of opinions and the privilege to decide for myself what I choose to believe. I recently saw the Broadway play Wicked. The author of the book Wicked, Gregory Maguire, writes books based on the point of view of an alternative characte…
