- 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
…d a rich crop of opportunities for Jewish study. Certainly I felt drawn to use the freedom of my yovel this way. Here I catalogue several such commitments of my yovel, and for each, share with you one thing I learned. I began by signing up for a course in Biblical Hebrew, taught by Professor Tony Perry through the New Haven Jewish Federation’s Department of Jewish Education. On the first day of class, Tony quoted Dante, “Here begins a new life.” T…
…e could relax and get the luxury called time. Being rich was also good because one could afford better things for one’s house like a fancy chair. Being wealthy also meant security, in that there was less of a chance that one would starve because one had a surplus of food and a storage area. It was also considered a sign of having Gods favor at least if one acquired one’s wealth honestly. Living with great wealth was bad because people—following th…
…However, when official committees were appointed, they never got very far. Beth El held merger talks with both Beth Sholom in Hamden and Keser Israel in 1962. These were stalemated. On the surface, merger seemed a natural thing when official committees were again appointed in 1966. Both congregations had their troubles. Beth El’s growth was steady, but there was a large financial overhead of the building, new school wing (1964) and staff. Keser Is…
…te without further comment.35 Most of the discussion about the wife who refuses to do her work focuses on whether she has the right to do so, and under what circumstances, rather than on the question of whether the court or the husband can force the wife to do her job by using the rod. There is one case in which the husband is explicitly permitted to hit his wife. Rabbi Yisrael ben Petihyahu Isserlein (1390-1460) was sent this question: One who he…
…period of sacred time. The act of lighting the candles links one Jewish household to another and one generation to another. Dear Rabbi, Is it permitted to use Razor Boards [skateboards with handles] on Shabbat? Signed, Cutting it Close Dear Cutting it, Halakha (Jewish law) enjoins us from engaging in dangerous activities, and to follow safety rules in everything we do. Thus halakha requires those using Razor Boards, skateboards, skates and bicy…
…involving Isaac and Rebekah in Toldot. By the way, to avoid confusion (because God changes their names between the first and second stories), I’ll use the enlarged names for Abraham and Sarah in this talk. I’ve put the three passages into a handout which has been distributed so that you can see them together, and can compare them. I’ve decided to focus on Isaac’s deception of Abimelech along with the two earlier passages of deception. Abimelech ha…
…vice usually concludes by noon. Services today may run a little longer because of the ceremonies recognizing the b’mitzvah. The Kiddush reception following the service may last an hour or more. Telephone, Electricity, Smoking, Cameras Shabbat is distinguished from the rest of the week, in our synagogue as in many others, by not operating electronic items (although there is a telephone available for emergency use and for physicians on call). Simila…
…uring Ḥol HaMoed and Hoshana Rabba (except on Shabbat), some wear tefillin until Hallel is begun; others do not wear tefillin during this period. The general practice at BEKI is to not wear tefillin. The BEKI Moishe Schnitman Sukkah is open for use to members and their guests, supporters and neighbors; no representation is made by the synagogue concerning the kashrut of food brought by members and their guests, supporters and neighbors for person…
…bis. Our president, Donna Levine, explicitly said to me, “Jon-Jay, you are free to change your sexual orientation.” It is commonly believed that Beth El or Keser Israel has engaged quietly gay rabbis in the past. Our congregation, like many, simply accepts Gay and Lesbian individuals and families on the same basis as we accept everyone else. If you’re Jewish, and your check clears the bank, you can be a member. There are no ritual debilities and n…
…d not be otherwise. At the same time, there are certain experiences that cause some people to suppose that there must be a great Force in the universe. For me, contemplating the wonders of the cosmos and the quantum, the miracle of life and love, and my own consciousness (not to mention yours), provides an inescapable intuition that there is something big going on that I do not comprehend. For lack of a better name, I call that force, that reposit…
