Hineinu

Photo from Simchat Torah 2019 by Ellen Regal

Rabbi Benjamin's Drashot

High Holidays 5781

Here are links to all of Rabbi Benjamin's drashot from High Holidays:

 
Erev Rosh Hashanah Drash
 
Rosh Hashanah Day 1 Drash
 
Rosh Hashanah Day 2 Drash
 
Erev Yom Kippur Drash
 
Yom Kippur Morning Drash

 

More content from High Holidays coming soon!

Upcoming Events & Classes

Kabbalat Shabbat for Sukkot & Shmeini Atzeret

Friday, Oct. 9, 7:30 pm – Room Aleph
A special Erev Shabbat service, led by J.D. Kleinke, with special songs to mark Shmeini Atzeret, the eight day of Sukkot, with lots of kirtan-style singing, and some embodied meditation.

 

Yizkor Shimeini Atzeret

Saturday, Oct. 10, 10 am – High Holidays web portal
Join us for a Shabbat service with Yizkor observance. This event will take place on our High Holidays platform. We look forward to seeing you!

 

Simchat Torah
Saturday, Oct. 10, 5:30 pm – High Holidays web portal
On a traditional Simchat Torah celebration, we dance with the Torah seven times. 
This year our "dancing" will take many forms and will progress from jubilant celebration to contemplative study and discussion. Check out the program packet here. See the full schedule on the High Holidays web portal.

Jewish Mindfulness & Meditation
Tuesday, Oct. 13, 12 pm – Room Bet
We gather on Tuesdays to find some moments of quiet and shalom. Led by Rabbi Benjamin, Adela Basayne, and Nancy Becker.

Morning Minyan
Wednesday, Oct. 14, 8:30 am – Room Aleph
For all who want a regular prayer practice and for people saying Kaddish.

 

Machzor Return

Wednesday-Friday, Oct. 14-16, 12-6 pm

If you borrowed a machzor over the High Holidays, we are ready to start receiving returns! Bring it by Havurah at one of the listed times, or make an appointment with Rachel for a different time. If you know the door and alarm codes, bring it by any time. There is a bin in the entryway with a sign-in sheet.

 

The Torah of Our Lives: Havurah Spiritual Writing Group

Wednesdays, Oct. 14 - Dec. 9 (except Nov. 25), 7-9 pm

Please join Harriet Cooke and Jenni Besen for an 8 week journey into spiritual writing, weaving prompts from Torah into our lives. Each evening begins with a summary of the week's Torah portion and pearls from commentary. Two timed writes are followed by optional, but encouraged, sharing. All that is required is a journal. Facilitation by Harriet Cooke, who has led groups with Write Around Portland and P’nai Or for ten years.

 

Text & Torah: B'reishit & The Beginning
Saturday, Oct. 17, 10 am

We will study what the Torah says about the "beginning." Did you know that at one time it was forbidden to study what happened before creation? We'll unpack that and discuss Judaic views of creation and the beginning. If you'd like to receive the readings by email so that you can read aloud during study or follow along from a printed page, email Diane at cellochaplin@gmail.com. Service follow the study session.

Tikkun Olam Events

Discussion on White Supremacy, White Nationalism, and Anti-Semitism

Wednesday, Oct. 7, 7 pm – High Holidays web portal event

Havurah’s Countering White Nationalism cohort invites you to join us for a conversation about the differences between white supremacy and white nationalism, including the role anti-semitism plays within the white nationalist movement. We will show the first 36 minutes of a talk by Eric Ward (password: 8K?.4$f4), Executive Director of the Western States Center, as the starting place for our conversation. You might also be interested in reading this article by Eric Ward as background information. Please register on the High Holidays web portal, where you will find the questions we'll be considering. The event will go up on the web portal very soon!

 

Street Roots Fundraiser

Thursday, Oct. 8, 8 am
Street Roots, a "hand up" organization is having their yearly fundraiser. Join here!

 

Sukkat Shalom for Police Accountability

Thursday, Oct. 8, 7-8:30 pm

Please join the P'nai Or Tikkun Olam Committee and Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty for a Sukkot evening of ritual, song, and exploring the November police accountability measure, Portland Measure 26-217. We will be joined by our Rabbis who will share their experiences and our Jewish role in helping to restore justice for all lives, and particularly for Black lives in Portland. Register here.

 

Portland Homesless Family Solutions Reunion
Friday, Oct. 9, 5:30-7 pm

Have fun and help support our work with PHFS at their annual Family Reunion (virtual this year)! Sign up here – the entertainment is free.

 

Portland Homesless Family Solutions Meal Provider Training

Wednesday, Oct. 14, 5:30-6:30 pm & Thursday, Oct. 15, 12-1 pm on Zoom

PHFS is starting volunteer orientations again, for Meal Provider positions. Please see their website at pdxhfs.org to see what other volunteer activities are being offered under COVID. To become a new Meal Provider volunteer, this is their onboarding process: orientation, volunteer application, tour and training, and background check. Orientations and trainings are occurring virtually over Zoom. Please RSVP for an upcoming one-hour orientation if you would like to get started! RSVP to tc@pdxhfs.org for Zoom info.

 

Lift Up Book Drive

Thursday, Oct. 15, 10am - 3pm
Drop off Location: 5845 NE Hoyt St, Portland, OR 97213

Help provide books for children and youth! The Innovative Housing, Inc. team is once again collecting gently used books in an effort to support at home literacy development and make sure kids have something to read while they shelter in place. We are a local nonprofit that provides housing and other important services to low-income families. Right now, we are especially focused on supporting children in their virtual schooling and we see a growing need for books in our buildings. If you have extra books, please consider dropping off a book donation. Social distancing guidelines will be observed. Procedure: Park in the designated curbside drop off area, follow signs to book drop off. No contact needed. Book Type Requests: Books for children ages preschool to 12th grade, books in other languages (especially Spanish), and culturally diverse reading materials.

Havurah Updates

Seeking Volunteers for the Great Machzor Switch

Time by arrangement

Two volunteers needed to unshelve and box up our old machzorim and label and shelve the new ones. Volunteers can be part of the same pod and work together, or work separately alone to maintain Covid safety.

 

Me & White Supremacy Discussion Group

There is a discussion group going through Layla Saad’s Me and White Supremacy that still needs some participants. These discussions are about an hour and a half every other week for a total of about four months. Contact David Lewis if you are interested.

 

October Hakol

The October Hakol is available here!

 

Havurah Shalom Community Brochure for 2020-2021

We hope you’re excited about what we have in store this year at Havurah. All of our events and classes will still be on Zoom until further notice. See the Havurah Calendar on our website for Zoom details. As we have seen over the past seven months and over High Holidays, we can make meaningful connections, even if it means meeting over Zoom. We have more possibilities in store too, so look forward to new opportunities! If you haven’t seen the community brochure yet, click here.

Tikkun Olam Updates

Interfaith Alliance on Poverty

IAP's October newsletter can be found here. Their newsletters are packed with information and opportunities to pitch in to be part of the solution!

 

Virtual Tutors Needed for All Grades!  

The Ortiz Community Center has received many requests for tutors, from students in all grades (K-12). In response, we are organizing a "virtual" tutoring program.
We are interviewing the parents and students, to verify their computer+internet access, to establish scheduling needs/preferences, and to learn about specific homework needs (e.g., specific subjects for high school students). We will then match each student to the preferences of each tutor. We plan to start with a commitment of one session per week per student. Initially, we will be utilizing free Zoom accounts, which means a limit of 40 minutes per session. (Help with people new to Zoom will be available.) We have a growing number of student requests, so taking on more than one student (in separate sessions) would be great. These students are almost all children of immigrants, very motivated to succeed in school just like all of our own families and ancestors. Any questions? Contact Jay Moskovitz.

Havurah's BLM Resource Page
Check out our new Black Lives Matter resource page!

Do You Need Help?

If you are facing financial hardship from a loss of employment, decrease in income, or any other impact of our recent crises; 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 and Rabbi Benjamin.

Havurah Zoom Rooms

For info on Zoom, click here. You must sign-in after you visit the link.