BEKI Kids

Matok @ BEKI News

Matok is young children’s programming at BEKI. Matok means “sweet” in Hebrew, and we hope that our programming brings sweetness to your world!

Sukkot Begins Friday Night! Join Us for Sukkot Events All Week

Sunday, October 1, 12:30-3 PM: Sukkah Hop

A progressive party through the Westville neighborhood from one BEKI family’s sukkah to another! Meet at BEKI at 12:30 PM and wear your walking shoes.

Wednesday, October 4, 6:15 PM: Apizza in the Sukkah

Our annual pizza party in the BEKI sukkah! Immediately following BINA religious school and daily minyan. Delicious vegetarian pizza made by BEKI chefs, with vegan and gluten-free options available by request when you register.

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED AND DUE TOMORROW, SEPTEMBER 29! Email Peggy (office@beki.org). $10 per adult, $5 per child under 12, $30 maximum per household. Pay online here (under Miscellaneous Payments, Other)

Thursday, October 5, 5-7:30 PM: A J.E.D.I. Sukkot: Jewish Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Join New Haven’s first community-wide Sukkot celebration as part of the J.E.D.I. (Jewish Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) initiative. Held at the Eli Whitney Museum in Hamden. A bonfire, storytime, music, crafts, light dinner, and more. Everyone is welcome! Register here

In This Edition

• Saturday: Children’s Services for Shabbat and Sukkot

• Sunday: No BINA

• Sunday, 12:30-3 PM: Sukkah Hop

• Wednesday: BINA meets

• Wednesday, 6:15 PM: Apizza in the Sukkah

• Thursday, 5-7:30 PM: A J.E.D.I. Sukkot: Jewish Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

• Sunday, October 8: Simchat Torah Celebration

• Bring Meals to Families with New Babies–Gerson-Zupnick Family

• Fun with the Parsha: Sukkot

* Saturday Morning: Children’s Services for Shabbat and Sukkot

All children’s services meet in their usual locations at 11 am. Some services will also go outside to visit the sukkah!

Children’s Havura (Birth-Preschool) meets inside in the preschool classroom.

K-2 Kehila (Kindergarten-2nd Grade) meets in classroom 6.

Junior Congregation (3rd-6th Grade) meets in the library.

* Sunday, October 1: No BINA

There will be no BINA this Sunday, since it is the second day of Sukkot. Instead, join us at 12:30 PM for the Sukkah Hop–more information below!

Due to the High Holiday schedule, there will be no Sunday meetings of BINA until October 15.

* Sunday, October 1, 12:30-3 PM: Sukkah Hop

The BEKI Sukkah Hop is a fun family tradition, a progressive party through the Westville neighborhood from one family’s sukkah to another.

Meet at BEKI at 12:30 PM, after Sukkot services (in the main sanctuary starting at 9:15 AM; families welcome but not a kid-specific service). We’ll depart from the BEKI courtyard and proceed from sukkah to sukkah through the lower Westville neighborhood, with each host family sharing their sukkah and some refreshments with our community. Pick up a detailed map and schedule that day at BEKI. The final sukkah visit will end at about 3 PM.

* Wednesday, October 4, 4-6:15 PM: BINA Meets

BINA will meet as usual on Wednesday. Immediately followed by Apizza in the Sukkah for those who pre-register by tomorrow, Friday September 29–more information below!

* Wednesday, October 4, 6:15 PM: Apizza in the Sukkah

Join our annual pizza party in the BEKI sukkah! Immediately following BINA religious school and daily minyan. Delicious vegetarian pizza made by BEKI chefs, with vegan and gluten-free options available by request when you register.

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED AND DUE TOMORROW, SEPTEMBER 29! Email Peggy (office@beki.org). $10 per adult, $5 per child under 12, $30 maximum per household. Pay online here (under Miscellaneous Payments, Other)

* Thursday, October 5, 5-7:30 PM: A J.E.D.I. Sukkot: Jewish Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

The great rabbi Maimonides wrote that it would be fitting for the entire Jewish people to dwell in one Sukkah. While the logistics of this are complicated, we are going to try our best to live out this vision of Sukkot.

We will be holding our first community-wide Sukkot celebration as part of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven’s “J.E.D.I” (Jewish Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) initiative. In partnership with PJ Library, Jewish Family Services and synagogues across our community, we will be joining together with people from across Jewish New Haven (and beyond) to celebrate Sukkot, make new connections and work to build a more cohesive and inclusive Jewish community. We will be joined for this program by special guest Rabbi Isaiah Rothstein, founder of Jewish Federations of North America’s J.E.D.I initiative.

Held at the Eli Whitney Museum in Hamden. Activities include a bonfire, storytime, music, crafts, light dinner, and more. Register here!

* Sunday, October 8, 9:15 AM-12:30 PM: Simchat Torah Celebration

Celebrate the joy of Simchat Torah with other children and families at BEKI! The morning’s celebration will include Torah processions, singing, dancing, and unrolling the entire Torah to see how big our people’s story really is.

Join us at 9:15 AM for an all-ages-welcome, kid-friendly Simchat Torah service, including dancing with the Torah. Followed by a light kiddush (drinks and snacks).

* Sign Up to Bring Meals to Families with New Babies!

Eden Gerson and Chanan Zupnick have welcomed baby Amos!

Sign up to bring a meal to this family, and other families who have recently welcomed babies, at https://www.lotsahelpinghands.com/c/625635/For questions please email Rachel Greenberg at rachel.d.greenberg@gmail.com

* Fun with the Parsha: Sukkot

This Shabbat is also the first day of Sukkot! Instead of reading the next parsha in order in the Torah, we do a special reading out of order, which includes the original instructions for how to celebrate Sukkot.

Sukkot is a holiday that the Torah gives a specific beginning and end. The first day (two days for us, living outside of Israel) should be a mikra kodesh, a sacred occasion (Leviticus 23:36). That’s what this Saturday and Sunday will be! And the last day (again, two days for us outside of Israel) should also be a mikra kodesh (Leviticus 23:37). The traditions for that last day or two days have changed over time. We now call them Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, which we will celebrate next Saturday and Sunday.

What about the days in between? They are still part of Sukkot! But they have a less special status. We call them Chol HaMoed, “regular everydays of the festival.” They are in-between days, in more days than one. Chol HaMoed Sukkot is a fun and relaxed time–we go to school and work during the day, but we also eat meals in the sukkah and leave lots of time to celebrate.

Over Chol HaMoed Sukkot this year, there is a pizza party on Wednesday at BEKI (Apizza in the Sukkah), and a celebration with a bonfire at the Eli Whitney Museum on Thursday (A J.E.D.I. Sukkot: Jewish Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion). We hope you have a wonderful Sukkot, both on the special days and the Chol HaMoed days!