- 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
…nse of peacefulness, awe, community, mystery, and religiosity. There are a number of factors that could conflict with our wish to achieve beauty and art in the synagogue and sanctuary. One is the expansive interpretation of the second commandment. The literal words of the commandment are, Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image nor any manner of likeness that is in the heaven above or that is in the earth beneath. My reading of this is that t…
…Dear Befuddled Blesser, No, this is not a case of a transgendered God. In classical (Biblical) Hebrew (and other Semitic languages), short vowels are often lengthened (changed into “long” vowels) when they are “in pause,” i.e. at the end of a phrase or verse, and final vowels are often dropped when the phrase or verse ends in a open syllable. This is for phonetic reasons. Thus, the sheva (English: Shewa) represented by “e” in “lekha” becomes a lo…
…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…
…re to include everyone. As it is, if such a family may pick only a limited number of people to honor, everyone who does not receive an honor understands that the family was limited. However, if the family is essentially unlimited, by being able to call up more than one person at a time for an aliya, then anyone who is not called up has greater grounds to feel slighted. A second reason for wanting joint aliya is that one of the proposed honorees do…
…ene. Each member of the household has their own Hanukia, and each lights a number of lights corresponding to the number of the day of the holiday. We are fortunate that we are able to do this mitzva in such a complete and beautiful way. But what of the poor person who can not afford all of this “hidur mitzva” but must struggle to light even one lamp? The Mishna Berura, written at the beginning of the twentieth century by the Hafetz Hayim, comments…
…en Jewish Federation’s Department of Jewish Education. On the first day of class, Tony quoted Dante, “Here begins a new life.” Thus began my yovel journey. Around the same time, with a small group of lunch buddies, I helped to start a Mishna study group with Rabbi Tilsen. We have been studying Mishna Sanhedrin weekly now for more than ten months. Here I learned that “He who saves a single life is as if he had saved an entire world.” The context in…
…omise of both fruitfulness and dominion? Was he still there, did he stick around after his father dropped the cleaver? And if he was, could he hear anything after what had just happened? and was G-d’s voice even audible, or directed only to his father? We don’t know. What we do know is that when he walks up Mount Moriah, Isaac has never heard G-d’s voice. And from the time he walks down Moriah, many years pass before he hears G-d’s voice. He desce…
…ich is what the Mishna specifies. Instead, its shell was white with brown stripes. This problem was solved when people found that when this snail was in the water it covered itself with a slime that made it look the color of the sea so that requirement was fulfilled. Second, its dye was more purple than blue. This problem was recently solved when someone noticed that the snail’s dye turned more bluish in sunlight. If the dye is exposed to sunlight…
…essential to a child’s developing Jewish identity and the reinforcement of classroom lessons. Children in the K-1 class meet Sunday mornings. Children in grades 2 through 6 meet Sunday mornings and Wednesday afternoons. There are also Shabbatons and holiday celebrations. To download registration information, click here or call the BEKI office at (203) 389-2108 x114 or email the office at office@beki.org. To arrange a visit or for more information,…
