Hineinu

Hevre,  

We want to provide you with an update about our thoughts and plans regarding re-opening given that Multnomah County will soon be in Phase I. We continue to be guided by our values of preserving life, caring for our most vulnerable, being safe and following public health guidelines. We acknowledge that this is a fluid reality. We are gathering information and making decisions as new information is learned. We also know it is important for many of you who are planning activities, services, and life cycle events to have some sense of what will be allowable and what won’t be so you can plan accordingly.

At this point we are not opening the building for meetings or any gatherings. We will continue to utilize Zoom for our meetings, services, and other events including for B’nei Mitzvahs. We realize that many of you want to gather in person, and since the weather is improving, meeting outside can be an option under specific circumstances.

At this time, we will approve of an outdoor Havurah event (ie. neighborhood gathering for Shabbat, Havdalah, etc.) if it meets the following requirements: Attendance must be limited to a maximum of 25 people and everyone should wear masks and maintain a physical distance of at least six feet. Singing cannot be part of these events, as we know there is an increased risk when people sing, even if they are outside.

As in the past for B’nei Mitzvah, the immediate family (up to 10 people) may choose to be in the sanctuary while the rest of the participants are on Zoom. The requirements for this type of in-person gathering will be communicated separately to those families.

We have certainly learned that there is much we can do and do well on Zoom. We have held hundreds of meetings, meaningful Friday night services, community minyans, B’nei Mitzvah and Shabbat School classes. We need to continue to use this technology to connect with each other as a community, except in those configurations as mentioned above.

In order for our guidelines to change, we will be watching reports from Oregon Health Authority and consulting with our core team, which includes Michael Heumann (thank you Michael) who is a retired epidemiologist with Oregon Health Authority. We’ve been advised that we will need to see at least three weeks of downward trending new and presumptive cases before we consider our next steps.

We encourage you all to reach out to each other, connect by phone, over Slack, Zoom with each other, and have small (less than 25) outdoor, socially distanced and masked gatherings. Now that the weather will hopefully allow, we can create more of these opportunities with each other.

Stay well and healthy,
Presidents, Staff, and Crisis Core Team members

Havurah Shalom Dues Commitment
Renewing for FY 2020-2021

Havurah Shalom’s new fiscal year begins July 1, which means it’s time to renew your dues commitment. Please renew before the end of June. A heartfelt thank you for your continued support of, and participation in, our community. We look forward to another year of financial health!

Havurah Job Opening
Music Coordinator

Photo of the Bage Building Havurah is considering. (Taken by the Real Estate Investment Group)

Upcoming Events & Classes
Dates, Times, and Zoom Rooms Listed Below

AlteRockers Happy Hour
Thursday, June 25, 5 pm – Room Bet
We have not had an opportunity to get together in person for the past few months, so let's do the next best thing. Grab your favorite drink and appetizer and join others from AlteRockers in socializing. I don't know about you, but I am sure interested in how you have been during our quarantine since March. How have you been using your time? Have you come up with new food dishes? What do you plan to do this summer? If you have any questions, please contact Ted Scheinman.

Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, June 26, 7:30 pm – Room Aleph
Join us this Friday for a service led by Ilene Safyan and her daughter, Rabbi Arielle Lekach-Rosenberg, visiting from Congregation Shir Tikvah in Minneapolis.  

Bar Mitzvah of Jonathan Williams
Saturday, June 27, 10 am – Room Aleph
Please join us in welcoming Jonathan Williams as a Bar Mitzvah and member of our community.

Thinking About the Futures of Israel/Palestine
Part II: Sunday, June 28, 10:30 am – Special Zoom Room (RSVP for code)
This discussion will focus on the implications of the ambition of the current Israeli government to annex large parts of the West Bank with the approval of the Trump Administration. We will be joined by a panel of progressive Israeli activists and academics, names to be announced. Each of the panelists will speak for 10 minutes and then we will have a general Q&A. RSVP here. 
 

Should We Buy a Building?
Sunday, June 28, 7 pm – Room Aleph  NEW TIME

The Long-Term Space (“Space Jam”) Committee made a presentation at the congregational meeting about our space crunch. If you are interested in learning more about a potential purchase of the property behind Havurah to accommodate our (joyously!) growing congregation, or you would like to lend your voice to this important decision in our midst, please attend this Zoom meeting. It would be helpful if those wishing to attend would RSVP here. Members of Havurah’s Space Jam committee will provide information we have gathered about our needs, the Bage Building as a possible solution, and the effort needed to accomplish this goal. We will also answer questions from members and take a poll. You are all welcome and encouraged to participate. The more voices, the better, so mark your calendars!

Jewish Mindfulness & Meditation
Tuesday, June 30, 12 pm – Room Bet
We gather to find some moments of quiet and shalom. Led by Deborah Eisenbach-Budner, Rabbi Benjamin, Adela Basayne, and Nancy Becker.

Book Group Discusses The Lost
Tuesday, June 30, 7 pm - Room Bet
As a boy in the 1960s, Mendelsohn could make elderly relatives cry just by entering the room, so much did he resemble his great-uncle who had been "killed by the Nazis." This was all Mendelsohn knew of his maternal grandfather Abraham's brother, who had remained with his wife and four daughters in the Ukrainian shtetl of Bolechow after Abraham left for America. Long obsessed with family history, Mendelson embarked in 2001 on a series of journeys to learn exactly what had happened to his great uncle and his family.

Check out the Book Group's updated webpage here. It contains a list of all the books they will read for the next year, so you can stock up and prepare yourself ahead of time!

Morning Minyan
Wednesday, July 1, 8:30 am – Room Aleph
For all who want a regular prayer practice and for people saying Kaddish.

Uprooting and Rooting: A Jewish Meditation Retreat with Rabbis Benjamin Barnett, Joshua Boettiger, and Yael Levy
July 23-25
Honoring the reality of this time, we are shifting to a three-day retreat guided online. While our contact will be virtual, we will still build a very real community of retreat. A detailed schedule will guide us, including: sitting and walking meditation, prayer, chanting, teachings and instructions, and check-ins with teachers. Information and registration here.

Tikkun Olam

Updates Inside Havurah

Reconstructing Judaism Resources
Visit ReconstructingJudaism.org and click on Recon Connect or the Virtual Shabbat Box. There you will find the community, innovation, spirit and depth that embody Reconstructionist Judaism. Recon Connect is an online hub updated regularly!

COVID-19 Resources
Check out our COVID-19 resource page on our website for more information.

Our Weekly Emails
If you have something you think should be included in Hineinu, please submit to the regular weekly email form here.

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

Resources for Anti-Racism
Let's Inform Ourselves & Our Community

Juneteenth: Circle Round for Justice
Friday, June 19, 5pm – Schrunk Plaza
Portland Interfaith Clergy Resistance calls for “Juneteenth: Circle Round for Justice" – a sacred space to lift up our voices in prayer for justice, in solidarity with the Movement for Black Lives. Our gathering will include 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence.

Check Out the Demands and Resources from Local Groups
Care Not Cops and Don't Shoot Portland are both local groups taking a look at how police affects our communities.

Educating Ourselves About Police Accountability & Funding
The Portland African American Leadership Forum has teamed up with Unite Oregon to articulate demands for change regarding the Portland Police Bureau. You can read an analysis from PAALF here, and see details of the campaign here. 

Reconstructing Judaism: Standing Up for Racial Justice & Against Racial Violence
Read RJ's statement on the death of George Floyd and the protests here.

1619: A New York Times Podcast
Exploring American slavery and its legacy. Listen here.

Listening to Jews of Color
Be’chol Lashon
13 Jews of Color to Follow Right Now
I’m a black rabbi. I’ve never been in a Jewish space where I wasn’t questioned
Black Jews Are Grieving, and We Need You to Help Us Mourn​​​​​​​  
‘Believe us’: Black Jews respond to the George Floyd protests, in their own words  
Jews of Color and the Policing of White Space​​​​​​​  

Let's Help Each Other
Do You Need Help or Would You Like to Offer Help?

If you are facing financial hardship from a loss of employment, decrease in income, or any other impact of this crisis; or, if you would benefit from the support of community members for grocery shopping, errands, or any other concrete needs, for any reason, please contact Rabbi Benjamin at benjamin.barnett@havurahshalom.org or 503-248-4662 ext. 3.

If you would like to be on a list of people to support others in concrete ways, such as grocery shopping or running other errands, please contact Susan Lazareck at susanlazareck@gmail.com and Rabbi Benjamin at the email above.