- 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
…ll do it that way, too. But this procedure often created a dilemma: If the number of qaddishes was limited, there might still be some who did not get to say one; if there was no limit to the number of qaddishes added, the service became burdensomely long. So after careful scrutiny the rabbis allowed all mourners to say qaddish simultaneously. This rabbinic solution was adopted only after careful consideration, and after it was determined that mour…
…of all the people. Imagine if the parshah has told us, tribe by tribe, the number of people in each tribe, and separately, the number of males, 20 and up, who were fit for service. Would that kind of census send a different message to us, a message saying, “everyone counts”, including all the women? The second census, what I’ll call the redemption census, I find a strange one. It requires counting of all the male Levites who were at least a month…
For today’s services, a number of congregants have added touches of beauty to the synagogue and the services. In my Devar Torah, I would like examine the place of beauty and art in the Sanctuary. The sanctuary is a place where we pray together, where we venerate the wisdom of the Torah, where we tell stories that celebrate our shared past. It is also a place where our spirits and our community can be invigorated, nourished, and rested. It is a sa…
…year as part of a plan to balance the state budget. That plan was rejected last year. That plan must now be brought back to the legislature for passage. Last year (2001) the Federal government passed a “temporary” ten-year tax cut program. That was at a time when large budget surpluses were projected. Now they want to make those cuts permanent. This is at a time of huge projected deficits and hardship for many American families. Most of those tax…
…evision programs around the world some months ago depicting an Israeli Telephone Company employee stuffing faxes into the Western Wall. It is in fact a custom among many of our brothers and sisters to insert small handwritten personal notes and petitions to God between the stones of the Kotel, the Western Wall of the Temple in Jerusalem. The service provided by the phone company allows people unable to visit the Wall in person to fax their petitio…
Last week we read a parasha that was fairly uniform in focus: Shoftim deals with the ancient judicial system. This week’s parasha is more of a grab bag of laws, ranging from instructions for digging a latrine outside the borders of the camp to business ethics. There are more mitzvot here than any other parasha: 72 separate precepts, according to the Rambam. A lot of it seems dated, irrelevant to how we live: offenses are punished by stoning, publ…
…in the Synagogue To volunteer, contact the office at office@beki.org or by phone at 203.389.2108 x114. Administration – Members are needed to serve on the work-groups, committees and board that steward and administer the congregation. Membership recruitment and retention, financial management, library services, and the Gallery are among the many areas that require eager and willing volunteers. Office Tasks – Stuffing envelopes, preparing mailings…
…el 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. Who was I to ge…
…ach 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 p…
…ligious school) Teen Kesher USY and Kadima youth groups Free High Holy Day tickets Support from our Hesed Committee Shiva minyanim Choice of two affiliated cemeteries Programming for children and adults All Jews are invited to become members of BEKI, including: Jews by birth and Jews by choice (converts) Jews in mixed marriages and couples who are both Jewish Jews of all races Jews of all gender identities or sexual orientations. BEKI believes in…
