Congregation Beth El – Keser Israel Events for July 2023

‍Religious School Registration

BEKI’s K-6 religious school, which is called BINA, is accepting registrations from member and non-member families.  School starts Sunday, September 10.  More information and the registration form are at https://www.beki.org/youth/religious-school.

Middle Schoolers

BEKI’s Kadima youth group will gather at a local orchard on Sunday, August 12 to pick blueberries and have some fun.  Kids in grades 4 through 8 are welcome.  For more information about this and future events, consult Education Director Annie Norman-Schiff at anormanschiff@beki.org.

Children’s Programs

Children’sHavura (for babies through preschoolers), K-2 Kehila, and Junior Congregation—all led by parent or grandparent volunteers—meet in person each Saturday, including through the summer.

Learn with the Rabbi

Rabbi Eric Woodward leads a discussion of the weekly Torah portion on Thursdays and Talmud study on select Sundays.  Details at beki.org.

Tisha Be-Av

For the Fast of the 9th Day of Av, Tisha Be-Av, BEKI will have services both Wednesday evening, July 26 and Thursday, July 27.  Megillat Eichah (the Book of Lamentations) will be read and traditional kinnot (dirges) will be sung.  A new component this year will be climate grief programming, led by Bruce Spierer, Program Manager for Climate Action at Adamah, and Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner, the founder of Exploring Apocalypse.  Details at beki.org.

Interfaith Service Day

BEKI is participating in an interfaith day of service Sunday, August 6.  Projects that morning will include building a house with Habitat for Humanity, preparing food for the hungry with the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen, restoring a cemetery with the Hebrew Burial and Free Loan Association, pounding guns into garden tools with Swords to Plowshares, or cleaning a shoreline with Save The Sound.  Lunch will be on the New Haven Green at 12:30 pm, with festivities until 4 pm.  For more information about joining the BEKI work team, contact office@beki.org.

Winds Concert

The woodwind quintet Elm City Winds, which performs both classical and popular music, will return to BEKI on Wednesday, August 9.  Jennifer Silva, flute; Caesar Storlazzi, oboe; Laura Caruthers, clarinet; Adrienne Gallagher, bassoon; and Emily Fine, French horn, have created a program of dance music through the ages for this concert.  Admission is free.  Details at beki.org.

Fall Programs

BEKI’s annual Elul Beit Midrash, a series of programs in August & September to prepare us intellectually and spiritually for the Yamim Nora'im, the days of awe, will include a nature walk, text study sessions, and much more.  For more information, email office@beki.org.

Art by Anna Bresnick

One of New Haven’s most influential artists, Anna Broell Bresnick, is exhibiting a show at BEKI entitled Four Stops Along an Artistic Path.  The exhibition, which will run through September 1, features selections from her decades-long career and reflects the different stages in her work, beginning with a focus on sculptures, followed by a transition to drawing.  A passionate teacher, she served for 29 years as the Educational Center for the Arts (ECA) Visual Arts Department Chair.  To arrange a time to see the exhibit, email office@beki.org or call the office at 203.389.2108 x114.

<span class="fineprint">at 85 Harrison Street (corner of Whalley Avenue - Route 63 - in Westville)</span>