Hineinu

Welcome Leah!

This is an exciting week for Havurah, as we welcome Leah Shoshanah on board as our music coordinator. Leah’s first day is tomorrow (Thursday), and we have been working to design meaningful ways for her to begin to get to know us and share her gifts.

Those who have been following will remember that we designed this position in three categories: Liturgy/Services, Youth Education/Experience, and Community Building. In the first of these, the most immediate role for Leah will be with Kabbalat Shabbat. But we imagine there will also be other ways in which she will lead and help further infuse music and spirit into formal ritual and celebration at Havurah.

Youth education most prominently means Shabbat School, and we look forward to having Leah lead music in classes and Havdalah and support our parent-teachers in their musical leadership. And enriching the musical experience of our youth will hopefully go beyond that, into our programs for teens, the b’nei mitzvah experience, and with our youngest children as well.

As for community building, there are many places in which this can go, some we have already imagined, and others which Leah will dream up with us. We are excited about the passion and creativity she brings, and I look forward to collaborating with her as she brings new ideas and helps us share music in ways we have yet to discover. Over the next several weeks Leah will be connecting with Havurah musicians and lovers of music, listening out for what is possible and where we might go as a community.

Music is a force that can bring us together, help us uncover meaning and beauty, open our hearts in healing and connection, and lift our spirits to celebrate the world we aspire to create. I am confident that Leah’s presence as a leader here will strengthen us in these sacred endeavors.

Please join us on Friday, October 30, for Leah’s first Kabbalat Shabbat, and also look out for other details regarding a welcoming celebration that evening. Obviously, for now we will not be able to greet Leah in person at the building, but please join me in being present as she enters the Havurah community and giving her a warm welcome however we can.

Bivrakha,
Rabbi Benjamin
 

Upcoming Events & Classes

The Torah of Our Lives: Havurah Spiritual Writing Group
Wednesdays, Oct. 14 - Dec. 9 (except Nov. 25), 7-9 pm – Room Gimel
Please join Harriet Cooke and Jenni Besen for an 8-week journey into spiritual writing, weaving prompts from Torah into our lives. 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. RSVP here

Beginning Conversational Hebrew Class
Thursdays, Oct. 15 - Dec. 7, (except Nov 26), 7-8 pm – Room Bet
This class is for those of you who can already read Hebrew and have a very beginning knowledge of the language but want to expand your vocabulary to hold a conversation in Hebrew. We will spend time each week practicing new vocabulary in a fun, casual environment. Led by Racheli Karlinsky Ross. RSVP here

Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, Oct. 16, 7:30 pm – Room Aleph
Welcome Shabbat together with music and tefillah! Service led by Susan Brenner and Sarah Shine.

Text & Torah: B'reishit & The Beginning
Saturday, Oct. 17, 10 am – Room Aleph
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 to follow the study session.

Jewish Mindfulness & Meditation
Tuesday, Oct. 20, 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.

Crochet Your Own Kippah
Wednesdays, Oct. 21 and 28, choose am or pm session: 10:30 - noon or 7:30 - 9 pm – Room Heh (new room will be linked next week)
Simple instructions for creating a kippah using single crochet. If you don't already know how to crochet, the first class will introduce novices to that skill, and the second class will be devoted to the kippah itself. Taught by Sarah Rosenberg. RSVP for AM ​​​​​​​ | PM

Book Group: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Tuesday, Oct. 27, 7 - 8:30 pm – Room Bet
Written as a series of letters to his teenage son, his memoir, Between the World and Me, Coates walks the reader through the course of his life. Coates’s writing is direct, insightful and powerful. Discussion led by Marjorie Walters.

Transfers of Power in Tanach: How do they happen, who wins or loses, and why
Mondays, Nov. 2, 16, 30, and Dec. 14, 3-4 pm – Room Bet
What can our sources and sages teach us to help us navigate these times??? Our class will begin with some of the transfers of power in Genesis, move on to Exodus, make a brief stop in Numbers, and finally end with Hanukkah. RSVP to receive precise references. Taught by Emily Simon. RSVP here


Tikkun Olam Events

Portland Homesless Family Solutions Meal Provider Training
Wednesday, Oct. 14, 5:30-6:30 pm & Thursday, Oct. 15, 12-1 pm on Zoom
Using Zoom, PHFS is starting orientations again for Meal Provider volunteer positions. The onboarding process includes orientation, volunteer application, tour and training, and background check. Please RSVP to tc@pdxhfs.org  for an upcoming one-hour orientation if you would like to get started! Additional volunteer positions can be found at at pdxhfs.org .

Lift Up Book Drive
Thursday, Oct. 15, 10am - 3pm
Drop off Location: 5845 NE Hoyt St, Portland, OR 97213
If you have extra books, please consider dropping off a book donation to support at-home literacy development and make sure kids have something to read while they shelter in place. Innovative Housing, Inc. is a local nonprofit that provides housing and other important services to low-income families, and they see a growing need for books in their buildings. Social distancing guidelines will be observed. Procedure: Park in the designated curbside drop-off area and follow signs to the 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 Post-Election Community Gathering



Thursday, Nov. 5, 7 - 8:30 pm – Room Aleph
There are so many unknowns about what will happen on our next election day, November 3. You are invited to a facilitated community gathering so that we can be together for mutual support at a time when there may be some answers about the election outcome. Please email Bob Brown if you have any questions. RSVP here

Photo Credit: RapidEye, Getty Images/iStockphoto

Havurah Updates

Havurah Media Library 
Looking for service recordings, drashot from Rabbi Benjamin and other community members, music albums, videos, class recordings, Jewish ritual how-to and more? All of our On Demand content from High Holidays is now on its own page on our website ​​​​​. We'll add more media as it becomes available. Find it on our website under "About."

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

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 and 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!

In the Community

21st Annual Reading of Oregon Jewish Voices
Tuesday, Oct. 27, 6:30 pm, on Zoom, sponsored by OJMCHE
Started in 1999, and organized by Havurah member Willa Schneberg, this annual event features readings by prominent Oregon Jewish poets and writers. The writers in the 2020 program are Jacob Boas, Sherri Levine, Willa Schneberg, Betsy Fogelman Tighe and Leslie What. They will share selections from their work in a virtual reading on Zoom. Register here

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.