The Core Crisis Team is moving forward with a careful, phased approach to opening our sanctuary under current Oregon Health Authority rules and limitations. We are now moving forward with guidelines for allowing limited indoor gatherings in our building for Wednesday Morning Minyans and upcoming B’nei Mitzvah. For more information about these guidelines, read the full article here. The Core Crisis Team is also exploring opportunities for greater community input on re-opening issues and will be sharing more about that in the near future.
Havurah Census
Your Response is Needed!
The Long Range Plan team is counting on your participation in the Havurah Census. If your household hasn't completed the Havurah Census yet, you will receive an email with the link in the next few days. Please click on the link to provide your household's input for our demographic census.
We need this information to accurately reflect our community, to enable us to be inclusive, responsive and self-aware as we plan for Havurah's future. Your responses are confidential. They are being received and processed by the Oregon Beliefs and Values Center, a market research non-profit organization.
Upcoming Events
Kabbalat ShabbatCANCELED
Friday, June 11
Bar Mitzvah of Judah Barnett Saturday, June 12, 10 am – Room Aleph
Please join us in welcoming Judah Barnett as a Bar Mitzvah and member of our community!
Jewish Mindfulness & Meditation Tuesday, June 15, 12 pm – Room Bet
We gather to find some moments of quiet and shalom. Led by Rabbi Benjamin, Adela Basayne, or Nancy Becker.
Morning Minyan Wednesday, June 16, 8:30 am – Room Aleph
For all who want a regular prayer practice and for people saying Kaddish. Led by J.D. Kleinke.
Community Minyan Saturday, June 19, 10 am– Room Aleph
Please join us for Shabbat morning! Led by community members and Rabbi Benjamin, this service includes davening, Torah reading, and discussion.
Book Group Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots Tuesday, June 22, 7-8:30 pm – Room Bet
As a member of the strictly religious Satmar sect of Hasidic Judaism, Deborah Feldman grew up under a code of relentlessly enforced customs governing everything from what she could wear and to whom she could speak to what she was allowed to read. Yet in spite of her repressive upbringing, Deborah grew into an independent-minded young woman whose stolen moments reading about the empowered literary characters of Jane Austen and Louisa May Alcott helped her to imagine an alternative way of life among the skyscrapers of Manhattan. Discussion led by David Newman.
LGBTQIA+ Advance Care Planning Tuesday, June 29, 7-8:30 pm– Room Bet DATE CHANGE The Ma'avar Committee is hosting an Advance Care Planning workshop on creating an Advance Directive with a special focus for the LGBTQI+ community. Advance care planning is a process of considering the types of healthcare decisions that may need to be made in a medical crisis or at the end-of-life then writing those decisions and preferences into an Advance Directive. Space is limited and RSVP is required. Please contact Ericka Kimball via the Havurah Member Directory with questions. RSVP here.
Maria & Carlos's Move
Help needed by “young athletic types” as someone called them, to move the many items donated to furnish their apartment. The move will take place on July 1, with some loading the night before. Please sign up on the spreadsheet. Feel free to call or write me, Barbara Hershey, via the Havurah Member Directory, as I am coordinating this move. Let me know your time availability.
It is now time for all you generous donors to Maria and Carlos to deliver your items for their apartment to either my house (inner NE) or to Nancy Chesser (NW). Contact us to arrange a mutually acceptable date/time.
Thank you to many generous menschen, we have most of what is needed to settle Maria and Carlos in their new apartment at the end of the month. There are just a few critical items outstanding (see a list here):
One twin mattress and box spring
Sharp kitchen knives for slicing and dicing (not eating utensils)
Iron and ironing board
First Aid kit
Monetary contributions are also accepted and you can give here.Thank you all!
Tikkun Olam
Nicholas Kristoff's Discussion on Poverty: Recording
Nicholas Kristoff's discussion around poverty issues on June 7 was well attended by Havurahniks. The event was sponsored by the Interfaith Alliance on Poverty with whom Havurah's Poverty & Homelessness Committee works as a member congregation. If you missed Nicholas's discussion and would like a recording, please contact Havurah member Gloria Halper via the Havurah Member Directory.
Congregation Neveh Shalom COVID-19 Outreach and Services (CNSCOS)
CNSCOS can help you make sense of all there is to know about the pandemic, testing, and vaccines. CNSCOS can help with finding and applying for financial resources, running errands, accessing food assistance, finding other helpful services, or just calling to chat with folks who are feeling isolated or lonely. The CNSCOS team also provides timely information online here and via a weekly email here. Contact covid19@nevehshalom.org or call 971-990-5652 if you need COVID-19 assistance.
Do You Need Help?
If you are facing emotional or 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 or emotional 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 Rabbi Benjamin.
Havurah Zoom Rooms
To see our full Zoom room instructions, click here. Member sign-in required.
Questions About Havurah?
The Transparency & Inclusivity Committee is an avenue within Havurah Shalom to help members find the answers to question they have wondered about. Please send your questions to transparency@havurahshalom.org. We will anonymously publish your question in Hakol and then answer that question. Everyone in our community benefits from this clarity!
(HYB) Shabbat Morning with Music Shabbaton (w/ Aly Halpert) Shabbat, May 10th 10:00a to 12:00p This community minyan will feature the musical contributions of Aly Halpert who is in residence with us this Shabbat. 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) Tot Shabbat Shabbat, May 10th 10:30a to 11:15a Young children (0-5) and parents celebrate with singing, movement, blessings, and storytelling. All are welcome! Please RSVP when you plan to come. We provide free childcare for those staying to enjoy the full Shabbat service that ends at noon and which is followed by a light community brunch. Email info@havurahshalom.org to learn more.
(IP) Songs for Liberation Song Circle (w/ Aly Halpert) Shabbat, May 10th 4:30p to 6:30p (Currently this event is for Havurah members only, as registrations are capped at 80 people. Havurah members, be sure to RSVP.) Rising Song Records artist Aly Halpert concludes our music shabbaton with a Song Circle, a space to enjoy our voices together as we learn new and ancient Jewish songs and niggunim together. Aly Halpert is at the epicenter of a resurgence of Jewish music-making– introducing new tunes, new words, and new ways of bringing music into davening and community-building.
Rose Haven Walk (register at their 2025 Reigning Roses Walk site) Sunday, May 11th 10:00a to 1:00p Rose Haven supporters and guests will unite to stride a beautiful route through NW Portland on Mother’s Day at the 12th Annual Reigning Roses Walk. Walk with, or in honor of, a special woman in your life – a mother, grandmother, daughter, partner, or friend. 10 am check-in, 11 am begin walking. (We've cancelled the Havurah Teen Engagement plan for this event; just go to the Rose Haven 2025 Reigning Roses Walk website to register!)
(IP) Jewish Ethical Responses to the Problem of Racism Monday, May 12th 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.
(HYB) Steering Meeting Tuesday, May 13th 6:30p to 8:30p Steering members and staff will meet to consider matters of governance. All Havurah Shalom members are invited to attend Steering Committee meetings. For Zoom join links, visit havurahshalom.org/zoom (must be logged in) or call the office in advance for assistance (503-248-4662).
(IP) Hebrew as a Tool: Prayer and Torah (registration closed) Wednesday, May 14th 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.
(IP) B’nei Mitzvah Drash and Service Workshop Thursday, May 15th 7:00p to 8:00p Students and parents are guided through responding to Torah in a drash. You will also take a walk through the Shabbat Morning service. Led by Sarah Shine.
(HYB) Text and Torah Shabbat: "Forgotten" Jewish Rituals Shabbat, May 17th 10:00a to 12:00p One hour of text study with Diane Chaplin on special topics, followed by a brief service. 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@havurhshalom.org.
