- 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
…asters from the Renaissance onward, but drawn from contemporary life. Cell phones and computer screens perform functions that windows once performed for Rembrandt van Rijn and Vermeer, and indeed, sometimes mirrors perform the same function they had in the works of Diego Velasquez and Jan van Eyck. Another way in which references to masterpieces disturb and animate Wolf’s paintings is in the way his paintings utilize the interplay of gazes within…
…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…
…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…
…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 petitions to an agent who then carefully inserts the sheets into cracks between the stones. But you don’t even need a fax machine to reach God. Our sages valued sincerity in prayer above all else. Length, language, or location are secondary considerations. Better…
…, he was addressing his precept to the intelligentsia, the scholars, those best able to appreciate the value of community, those with the most to offer the community. Often people who are especially ethically and spiritually sensitive get disgusted with the Jewish community in general and the Synagogue community in particular. They may be personally wronged or they may recognize certain pathologies operating in the community. Such people may let g…
…the intercalation of the month, if he consumed it as a second tithe in Jerusalem, if he ate carrion or torn flesh or the flesh of unclean animals or creeping things, etc., etc., if he consumed any food but did not consume flesh, if he drank any liquid but did not drink wine, he has not become a rebellious and disobedient son, unless he both consumes flesh and drinks wine, as it is said, a glutton and a drunkard…. If he stole from his father and c…
…an installation in oil pastel first exhibited at the Artist’s House in Jerusalem. Klein is also well known for her work in fabric” painting, dying and constructing clothing and Judaic pieces. She constructs garments and objects of hand-dyed, airbrushed, silk-screened, and embellished fabrics to address her perspective on Judaic themes. Objects, wire, machine embroidery, photo-transfer and other complex cloth techniques conceptually allude to idea…
…y of Shabbat and weekday programs for children and youth expanded, and the number of minors grew from under 70 in 1994 to over 225 a decade later. A typical Shabbat morning includes simultaneous programs or services for children and youth, as well as youth participating in the main service and Shabbat Shalom Torah Study. In 2003, the congregation began a process of building renovations, aimed at improving accessibility, enhancing energy efficiency…
…ans as a result of seasonal heating in a typical year. That makes it a big number. In other words, as a byproduct of human exploitation of the land and other natural resources, we have crammed 51 years of solar heat into 50 years of solar time. I cannot help but feel that the earth will make up for this in due course, that the land will have its rest. The environmental responsibilities of each of us and of our congregation need to be understood in…
…essage. 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 brought with me to show you. Some of the pitgamim were easy to memorize and therefore were very popular with the kids: “Tov shem m’…
