A maqam -- cognate with Hebrew MAKOM, literally PLACE -- is an Arabic and Ottoman Turkish musical mode. Mizraḥi and Sephardic Jewish communities traditionally made religious and secular music using these modes. This class will give a short background to maqams and how they work and explore some examples from Jewish communities in the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, and Greece. The instructor will demonstrate some of the music on the oud. There will be opportunities for singing, and musicians who want to join in are encouraged to bring an instrument. -- Guitars will work for some pieces, but instruments that can play microtones such as the violin family, clarinet, etc. are recommended.-- Led by Channing Dodson.

Join the Climate Action Team's monthly meeting in Zoom Room Gimel: 5 pm to 6:30 pm. (For Zoom room login info, log in to your Havurah member account on the website, go to the Contact tab, and click on Zoom Meeting Rooms in the drop-down menu.)

We gather to find some moments of quiet and shalom. Led by Rabbi Benjamin, Adela Basayne, Deborah Eisenbach-Budner, Nancy Becker, or Ria de Neeve. We will meet both in-person (Havurah Sanctuary or Library) and in Zoom Room Bet. Log in to the website and then visit havurahshalom.org/zoom or call the office for join info (503-248-4662). All are welcome.

For all who want a regular prayer practice and for people saying Kaddish. We meet both in person and streaming online in Zoom Room Aleph. All are welcome. Please email info@havurahshalom.org for join info.

The 12/1 meeting will be a continuation of the conversation we had at the last meeting. Beka Feathers will continue to facilitate this conversation. There are still questions to be answered, so if you missed the last meeting there continues to be an opportunity for your input. Our goal is to create an intention document, which will guide us in how we engage with organizations doing racial justice work.

Tap into your creative side with this writing workshop open to writers and non-writers alike. Writing prompts and short writing sessions will get your creative juices flowing in this non-judgmental environment. You can use these prompts to discover important things about yourself and your family, or you can just have some fun writing a zany story about Jewish robots and matzoh. Participants can (optionally) develop a piece from the workshop and share it at a reading at the end of the session. Group size limited to 8. Led by Yuvi Zalkow, author of two novels and a bunch of stories.

Join us in practicing Hebrew and learning new vocabulary through listening to Israeli songs and watching short video clips. In class, we will discuss lyrics, make connections to different topics, and practice using the new vocabulary through games and conversations. Requirement: Reading and writing Hebrew. Can hold basic conversations and understand the three tenses. Led by Racheli Ross.

An in-depth look at the weekly Torah reading, led by congregants. No prior knowledge or study is necessary. At Havurah Shalom and in Zoom Room Bet. Email info@havurahshalom.org for Zoom link.

Please join us in welcoming Philip Elliston as a Bar Mitzvah and member of our community.

Concepts, Conundrums, and Conversations about Parenting in Jewish Families: Explore real-life questions we face as parents, with some guidance from our Jewish texts and values, and each other. Join Alicia Jo Rabins, musician, poet, parent and Havurahnik(!), as she shares from her recently released book about parenting and Jewish spirituality and facilitates discussion about the realities of parenting.