Soon it will be time to gather in our High Holidays tent! In this tent, we will pray, meditate, discuss, question, relate, see, teach, create, welcome, hear, play, respond, recognize, learn, sing, move, and be moved. Soon it will be the month of Elul, and soon it will be Rosh Hashanah, and soon it will be Yom Kippur. We are Havurah Shalom, and so we will gather in a tent together and make lush meaning, as we always do.
This year, our tent is online. Instead of gathering at the Tiffany Center, we will find quiet places in our homes and attend via the web and our High Holidays app. This is new territory for us all, and you probably have questions about what to expect.
On Tuesday, Aug. 11, you'll receive an email with a sign-in link for the platform we're using, which is managed by a company called Cvent. Click, go to the site, and confirm your contact info. You will have the option to register a guest as well. If you have kids or other family members whose emails we don't have, and you want them to be able to attend using their own devices, please add them as your guests.
Now you will be able to review the High Holidays at Havurah Shalom website! You can build a personal agenda using the schedule of events, see what's available On Demand, and more.
On Friday, Aug. 14, you'll receive another email, inviting you to download the (not very inspiringly named) Attendee Hub app. Follow the instructions in the email to download the app and verify your account. Downloading the app lets you connect even more easily with the many offerings that will become available.
What about nonmembers? A registration link will be made available so anyone in the community can take part in High Holidays at Havurah, continuing our proud history of ticketless High Holidays.
Join us on Thursday, Aug. 20, for a Launch Party! More details on that to come. It will kick off a month of programming for Elul, meant to move us into the mindset of the High Holidays and provide excellent opportunities to gather together.
We hope our High Holidays tent will be one of peace and togetherness, even as it sits in a landscape unfamiliar to us all. You can respond to this email with any questions. Looking forward to seeing you so very soon!
Kabbalat Shabbat Friday, August 7, 7:30 pm– Room Aleph
Welcome in Shabbat with a musical service led by JD Kleinke.
Community Minyan
Saturday, August 8, 10 am – Room Aleph
Join our Community Minyan in celebrating Shabbat. Led by Barbara Slader, Susan Brenner and Priscilla Aliyar, with Torah drash by Emily Simon.
Jewish Mindfulness & Meditation
Tuesday, Aug. 11, 12 pm – Room Bet
We gather to find some moments of quiet and shalom. Led by Rabbi Benjamin, Adela Basayne, and Nancy Becker.
Four Wise Biblical Women (And They Aren't Who You Think They Are)
Monday, Aug. 10 & 24, 3-4 pm – Room Gimel
Please join Emily Simon as she features two more wise women who are entwined - Deborah and Yael (this is two classes worth). Please read Judges 4 & 5 and make sure to have a tanach available during the class. RSVP here.
And for extra credit: this portion is read as the Haftarah to parshat Beshlach. (Exodus 13:17 through 17:16). Even a quick perusal of the parsha (think chapter 15) should give you a big hint for why that might be.
Morning Minyan
Wednesday, Aug. 12, 8:30 am – Room Aleph
For all who want a regular prayer practice and for people saying Kaddish.
Grief Support Group: Online Drop-In Wednesday, Aug. 19, Sept. 9 & 23, 12:30 pm - 2 pm
Havurah Shalom is initiating a facilitated Grief Support Group. Participants receive support and are invited to share feelings and experiences in a confidential peer-group setting. Each session also includes grief education focused on a theme, such as common grief reactions or coping with stress. Participants are asked to pre-register for each individual session they wish to attend, and may attend as many or as few sessions as needed. Limited to 10 people, age 18+. The Zoom Room will be given out with the registration confirmation email. To register, click your desired date(s) below:
This is a new initiative by Havurah Shalom. Consideration will be given to extending these sessions through the end of 2020 or beyond if they appear to meet congregant needs and if in-person gatherings are still curtailed. Contact Tivona Reith at bikkurholim@havurahshalom.org with any questions.
Havurah Zoom Rooms
For more info on our Zoom, click here. You must sign-in after you visit the link.
Photo by Brad Pector
Updates Inside Havurah
Space Jam Update
We need to tell everyone that we have had a setback in our efforts to secure new space and a potential option to purchase the Bage Building.
Nearly 100 people attended the Space Jam committee meeting in late June to learn more about the announcement that the Bage building behind us might be up for sale. You demonstrated that our congregation is filled with committed, connected, caring people, and we were deeply impressed with the thoughtfulness of your questions, several of which had to do with the amount of time we had to act, and whether we could acquire an exclusive option to purchase the building through a lease agreement.
The unfortunate news is that while we were figuring out our approach, and working with the Steering Committee and our real estate agent to craft a letter of inquiry, another buyer stepped forward with an offer that we were unable to match. It looks like the building will be sold to this new buyer unless something unusual happens during their due diligence investigation of the property.
There will be more information about this process in the August Hakol, but we wanted to give you this short update now. This is not the last you will hear from us on the topic of our space crunch. We will continue our work and devote more energy to further dialogue among our members in order to be more agile when another opportunity presents itself. Stay tuned and stay involved.
Add Your Voice to High Holidays with a Mini-Drash!
As we did last year, we invite you once again to add your voice to our prayer and celebration at High Holidays by submitting a “mini-drash” or kavanah (intention). These are short reflections or sharing of life experience, 2-3 minutes long, either in response to this year’s theme (reference the theme here), or connected to the annual themes of teshuvah (returning/renewal/repentance) or forgiveness. Through your contributions we will include more voices and reflect more diversity of experience as we journey through Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur together. Deadline for contributions is August 31.Send to Rachel at rachel.pollak@havurahshalom.org with the subject line: “Mini-drash 2020”
Why Did We Choose Slack for Our Havurahood Groups?
See these helpful slides explaining why Slack was chosen for our community.
New Place For Book Group Resources We have a new Book Group webpage found here! (You can also go to the Havurah website and hover over the Clusters tab to find Limud, and then hover over Limud to the Book Group page.) The Book Group webpage has tips for discussion leaders, and a list of previously read books, and most exciting of all, the list of books being read this year! Enjoy reading!
Sign Up to Be a Host or Scroller You have probably attended a service, class, meditation, or other Havurah event on Zoom by now. Have you ever wondered how we manage to get such a great experience for everyone, or who is scrolling through the siddur? Our hosts and scrollers are volunteers, and you can join them! Just sign up on the Hosts & Scrollers tab of this form. No experience? We can train you! Please sign up today, or contact Karen Westerman for more info.
Zoom Gabbai Training from Reconstructing Judaism with Carol Stern (Adat Shalom, MD) and Jake Ehrlich (T’Chiyah, MI) Tuesday, August 11, 10:30 am PST
The important role of “Zoom Gabbai,” or what Havurah is calling Zoom hosting, is a key part of running Zoom services and programming safely and smoothly, and preventing Zoom bombing. This session, offered through Reconstructing Judaism, will describe the most important parts of being a Zoom Gabbai. This call will be recorded and made available later for those who are not able to attend. Register for Zoom Gabbai Training here! If you have any questions regarding this call, please reach out to jweinberg@reconstructingjudaism.org.
Recon Connect & Virtual Shabbat Box from Reconstructing Judaism 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!
Create or Join a Sacred Circle Orientations: Thursday, August 13, 6-8 pm and Tuesday, August 18, 11-1 pm Havurah is working with Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice (IMIrJ) to organize Sacred Circles across all of IMIrJ member organizations. “This is a time to be disciplined, rigorous, serious in our commitments to act for social justice and in our commitments to one another.… Now through the election, the Sacred Circles will be a sustained bridge between the sacred encounters we’re having with directly impacted communities and strategic sacred action that embodies a world we want to live in. Sacred Circles will provide accountability, direction and support as we collectively learn and live our way more fully into courageous action for racial and immigrant justice.” There are Sacred Circles forming within Havurah. You can find the IMIrJ vision for Sacred Circles here, and a recording of the virtual launch of the Circles here.
If you are interested in forming or joining a Havurah Sacred Circle as a member or a co-host, contact Bob Brown or Adela Basayne and please register for an upcoming orientation:
Lift UP Needs Food Gleaners
Lift UP needs substitute gleaners to collect donated food to distribute at Preston’s Pantry. Gleaners lift 50-75 pounds repeatedly, collecting about 2000 pounds usually from warehouses in NW. Shifts are Monday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon. If you are willing to be on the substitute list, please contact Jenn Louis at jenn@jennlouis.com.
Letter and Petition Sponsored by Portland United Against Hate
Portland United Against Hate has put out a letter and petition pertaining to Portland police brutality and the actions of Trump's federal agents here, and any Havurah members who are so moved are invited to sign on to this letter. Rabbi Benjamin and a number of other rabbis (including rabbis Daniel Isaak and Deborah Kolodny) along with other faith leaders and numerous progressive organizations are sponsoring this letter. Please see the letter here and scroll down to bottom to sign.
Interfaith Alliance on Poverty Updates
Here are three different links about Argyle Garden, 72 units of very affordable housing and the first modular housing permitted in Portland.
The Metro Transit-Oriented Development Program (not Bond or Supportive Housing) donated $340,000 and Transition Projects developed it. Check it out, it's cool!
Interfaith Alliance on Poverty's August Newsletter Features articles on... Portland Forum on Alternative Shelters & Villages, Crisis of Homelessness, and Working Coalitions to Assist the Unsheltered. View the issue here.
Volunteers Needed to Increase Voter Turnout One effective way to increase voter turnout for November: Volunteer with Vote Forward. Research shows that registered voters who receive a personalized letter a few days before the election have increased likelihood of going out to vote. A larger turnout is essential, especially in swing states.
Sign up with Vote Forward and you can choose from a number of states and download prepared letters with names and addresses of registered voters and then stamp and address these to be mailed in late October. Consider choosing one of the following states: North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan or Wisconsin. You can prepare as few or as many letters as you have time for.
Here is an article that explains the rationale for this letter-writing strategy.
Please email or call Lee Gordon with questions and to let him know if you choose to do this, so we can keep track of how many Havurah folks have volunteered.
Tikkun Olam's Poverty and Homelessness Committee:
Portland Homeless Family Solutions Fact
Havurah PHFS volunteers comprised of almost half of those who showed up at their SE Family Village to garden and put together trikes and bikes for PHFS children!
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.
(HYB) Shabbat Morning Shabbat, May 3rd 10:00a to 12:00p Led by community members and Rabbi Benjamin (who is on sabbatical until July 1, 2025), this service includes davening, Torah reading, and discussion. Join us afterward for a light community brunch provided by the Lunches and Noshes Committee! Free childcare is provided. For Zoom information, please email info@havurahshalom.org.
(IP) Shabbat School Shabbat, May 3rd 3:00p to 5:15p This program gives children a foundation for lifelong Jewish learning and engagement while integrating parents and children in a caring Jewish community.
(ZM) Progressive Israel Network Sessions Sunday, May 4th 11:00a to 12:00p Havurah Shalom is hosting a four-session series from the Progressive Israel Network. Come learn in collaboration with representatives from five to six of the participating Progressive Israel Network organizations, including T’ruah, New Jewish Narrative, Partners for Progressive Israel, New Israel Fund, J Street, and Reconstructing Judaism.
All perspectives on Israel-Palestine, as well as all curious people, are welcomed and encouraged. Our guests will give presentations and take questions. You can register for all sessions, below, but it's okay if you can't attend all three sessions.
(Reconstructing Judaism, the central organization of the Reconstructionist movement, of which Havurah Shalom is a part, is a member of the Progressive Israel Network.)
(IP) Writing for Peace and Reconciliation, Within and Between Us Sunday, May 4th 6:30p to 8:30p Commemorate the last day of Pesach and Yitzkor in community Passover not only invites us to retell our ancient story but to look at our current reality and ask: what is our mitzrayim today? The obstacle in our personal and communal life? Where can we break through in an act of courage and compassion? April 20th & May 4th, 6:30 PM at Havurah, join Harriet Cooke for a writing/drawing group to explore this theme along with Yitzkor, the Sephirot and Counting the Omer. (It is recommended to attend either just the first session or both sessions.)
(IP) Jewish Ethical Responses to the Problem of Racism Monday, May 5th 6:30p to 7:45p We will address topics such as countering white nationalism and antisemitism, Jewish perspectives on reparations, repairing Jewish pioneer memory, and responding to racial microaggressions. Facilitated by Karen Sherman and Adela Basayne.
(CANCELED) Collage Art with Jewish Symbols Wednesday, May 7th 6:30p to 7:45p This class has been canceled by the instructor. If you are interested in doing art at Havurah, please reach out to Adela Basayne (info@havurahshalom.org). Bring your crafts and creativity out for making collage art with Jewish symbols. We will create hamzas, stars of David, trees of life, and images for blessing the home. All ages are invited! Led by Carolina Martinez.
(IP) Hebrew as a Tool: Prayer and Torah (registration closed) Wednesday, May 7th 7:00p to 8:15p (This class will now be starting on January 8.) Using an in-depth, word-by-word approach, we discover literal meaning(s), ancient layers of understanding, and our own personal interpretations that stem from the nuances of the Hebrew text. Basic Hebrew decoding skills necessary.
