- 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
…ing to the broader community. Our Habitat for Humanity project will break ground in Newhallville in a couple of weeks. Talk to Darryl about signing up. All kinds of great ideas are waiting to be tried, including quite a few in the BEKI 2000 report that have not yet been done. Is there someone out there who’d like to organize a film series? How about a book fair? A juried art exhibit. A children’s choir. A gardening club to landscape the new entran…
…no people breeding dogs, there would be no packs of wild poodles running around. Cultivated dates depend on people for care and reproduction. The Judean date, which appears on the ancient coins of Israel, was a national symbol. But within a couple of generations after the destruction and depopulation of Judea by the Romans in the second century, Judean dates became extinct. No one has tasted one of these Biblical fruits in about 1,700 years. Shou…
…eaching. To my mind, it’s no coincidence that there are a disproportionate number of gay clergy. Half of my ordination class was gay or lesbian. The process of coming out of the closet, the work we’ve done to become whole and unashamedly ourselves is deeply spiritual. Perhaps this is the Torah that gay men and lesbians have heard and give the world – the lesson that we all, gay or not, must be honest about our lives. And it’s a lesson that is usef…
…lach manot” with leftover Valentine’s Day candy. Soon, Kulanu will start a class in intensive Jewish learning (study of Hebrew and liturgy) to help “diminish the distance between the ‘bima’ and the ‘pews,’” said Johnston. By request, a Hebrew-siddur class will be held at the Learning Barn. She hopes BEKI congregants will volunteer and teach Kulanu students Hebrew one-on-one. Johnston will also ask BEKI members to provide home hospitality–inviting…
…Shabbat Afternoon Schedule Change: The Shabbat Minha (Saturday Afternoon) services in February 2017 will be 1p – 1:35p in the Posener Beit Midrash, and (as in the summer) the evening service will not be held at BEKI on those four days. This early service time will allow participants to avoid the round-trip to the synagogue on what are the snowiest and coldest nights. Comments or questions to jjtilsen@beki.org . …
…chel was the major force in bringing us to join BEKI, since so many of her classmates attended here. And BEKI immediately clicked with Joanne as well. She took an alef-bet class with Ellen Jawitz, borrowed Siddur Sim Shalom, and began painstakingly to learn. About two years ago, as most of you know, Joanne instigated a course of study for adults like herself, whose senior member — the first to sign up — was George Posner. I’m sure you all remember…
…Books of Moses verse by verse in 1994, and by 2007 had reached the end of Numbers, and concluded I Samuel at Passover 2015. Several other weekly and occasional study groups formed or were developed during these years. The Shabbat Shalom Learners’ Minyan (later renamed “Shabbat Shalom Torah Study”), initiated in the 1980s, continued to attract a diverse and loyal following. In 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 BEKI won Energy Star Awards and was designated…
…payment instructions. Most programs are held in readily accessible spaces. Classes, programs and services are open to all without respect to age, gender, personal status or synagogue affiliation. Classes & Programs Discussion of the Week’s Parashah with Rabbi Eric Woodward is each Thursday 9-9:45a in the library, following 8:15a Shacharit. Talmud class with Rabbi Eric Woodward meets on select Sundays at 10a, following 9a Shacharit. Prayer and Lit…
…th a pitgam, a Hebrew aphorism. She would post a new one every week on the classroom wall, often with a story to illustrate the message. Over the course of the school year, the kids would memorize a fair number of these. The sayings she chose reflected her particular take on Judaism, which tended to the ethical rather than the spiritual. In cleaning out her apartment last year, my sister Naomi and I came across some of these sayings, which I’ve br…
…ur Members” is an exhibition of a selection of synagogue photographs from around the world by members of Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel in New Haven that is on view at the New Haven synagogue through October. BEKI Continues Long Tradition of Inclusivity, Shalom New Haven, Sep 4, 2018 Last year, after the speeches had been delivered at the retirement luncheon for custodian Clarence Bromell, and dessert was about to be served, a BEKI member named…
