Weekly Parsha Study Saturdays, 9 am, Zoom Room Aleph & In Person
Join Havurah for a community-led study session of the weekly Torah reading before each Shabbat service.
Shabbat Morning Service Saturdays, 10 am, Zoom Room Aleph & In Person
All are welcome at our Shabbat services, including b'nei mitzvah services. You don't need to receive an invitation. Just come celebrate with the b'nei mitzvah, their family, and the community! Check our online calendar for details about all Shabbat services.
Jewish Mindfulness & Meditation Tuesdays, 12 pm, Zoom Room Bet & In Person
We gather mostly via Zoom to find moments of quiet and shalom in a welcoming space. Various styles of Jewish meditation are explored. No meditation experience necessary. All are welcome to drop in. Led by Rabbi Benjamin, Adela Basayne, or Nancy Becker.
Morning Minyan Wednesdays, 8:30 am, Zoom Room Aleph & In Person
For all who want a regular prayer practice and those saying Kaddish.
Upcoming Events
Bar Mitzvah of August Springgate Saturday, July 16, 10 am
Please join us in welcoming August Springgate as a bar mitzvah and member of our community. No invitation is required. All are welcome.
Mahjong Group Monday, July 18, 1 pm – In Person at Havurah (First & Third Mondays/Month)
We are excited to bring mahjong back to Havurah. It is a fun, social activity that builds community, encouraging new friendships and cementing old ones. And while some of us may play elsewhere as well, we all agreed that restoring its place as an ongoing congregational activity will be a good fit for Havurah and those of us who play or want to learn the game. So please don't hesitate to join us! Learn more and register.
The Song Circle Monday, July 18, 7:30 pm – Zoom Room Dalet & In Person
The Song Circle is based on a program designed by Joey Weisenberg and the Rising Song Institute focusing on communal songs and niggunim, wordless melodies. It is open to all who wish to learn, share music, and grow their personal leadership techniques. The guided self-study requires access to a library of Joey’s music videos, written materials, and short instructional videos, which costs $18/month per person, but limited subsidies are available. Contact: Ken Lerner
Book Group – Palestinian Walks: Forays into a Vanishing Landscape Tuesday, July 26, 7 pm – Zoom Room Bet
Author Raja Shehadeh enjoys heading out into the countryside that surrounds his home. We accompany Raja on six walks taken between 1978 and 2006. The earlier forays are peaceful affairs, allowing our guide to meditate at length on the character of his native land. But recently his hikes have become less than bucolic and sometimes downright dangerous because his home is Ramallah, in the West Bank. In this book, Raja Shehadeh's elegy for his lost footpaths becomes a heartbreaking metaphor for the deprivations of an entire people estranged from their land. Led by Joel Beinin. Learn more.
AlteRocker Happy Hour Thursday, July 28, 4:30 pm – Zoom Room Heh
Come schmooze with us. And mark your calendars for monthly schmoozes - the last Thursday of the month.
Bat Mitzvah of Charlotte Wise
Saturday, July 30, 10 am – Zoom Room Aleph & In Person
Please join us in welcoming Charlotte Wise as a bat mitzvah and member of our community. No invitation is required. All are welcome.
Tikkun Olam Updates
Gun Safety Success!
The Havurah-sponsored, gun safety initiative by Lift Every Voice Oregon collected 161,485 signatures! They started out with 2 petitions but dropped one (IP 18) to focus on requiring permits, background checks, training, and a ban on large-capacity ammunition magazines (IP 17). This is what you will have the chance to vote into law this fall. You can watch Barbara Gundle travel to Salem with the LEVO group to deliver the petitions here.
Volunteer Projects with The Common Good Project
We would love your help! There are many opportunities to work with our homeless neighbors in a safe and effective way. YOU ARE NEEDED.
We have established an Amazon Wish List and will continue to update it as needs change. Please consider purchasing an item or two if you can.
Some of you have time and resources to help cook. Sign up here.
Some people have offered to donate funds. That's really kind and so very, very helpful. Venmo = @jenn-louis
Tuesday delivery caravan is always in need of drivers. Sign up here.
Lastly, the website has been updated to include information on this homeless initiative. Please go to jennlouis.com for more information and links. Contact: Jenn Louis
Gathering School Supplies to Donate
Margot Kirshbaum and Naomi Granek Brown’s mitzvah project is raising money and gathering supplies for Schoolhouse Supplies, so low income students in Portland get the supplies they need to thrive at school. Will you please help by donating money to Schoolhouse Supplies in honor of Margot and Naomi’s bat mitzvah, or by bringing physical donations (backpacks, notebooks, pens etc.) to the porch at 2279 SE 35th Place, Portland 97214? Thank you so much for your generosity!
Community Announcements
Judy Chicago Exhibit Tour and Rooftop Reception For Community Members Ages 45 and Under Thursday, Aug. 4, 5:30 pm Register here. For Community Members Ages 45+ Tuesday, Aug. 23, 11 am Register here.
OJMCHE and the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland invite you to join them for a special summer event for younger adults ages 45 and under on Aug. 4 (Co-hosted by OJMCHE, JFGP, One Table, Moishe House & Moishe Pod West PDX) or a special event for people ages 45+ on Tuesday, Aug. 23 (Co-hosted by OJMCHE, JFGP, MJCC). Take a guided tour of "Turning Inward: JUDY CHICAGO,” from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation, which traces Judy Chicago’s development as an artist and Jewish woman across six decades. Both events will be followed by a reception on the museum’s stunning rooftop patio. Cost is $10/person.
Resources
Do You Need Support?
If you are a Havurah member facing emotional, financial, or health challenges and would welcome support, please consider contacting the (a) Bikkur Holim (Visiting the Sick) Committee for spiritual support, (b) Lotsa Helping Hands for help with food, transportation, or other errands, or (c) Rabbi Benjamin, for spiritual and moral support – benjamin@havurahshalom.org or 503-248-4662 ext. 3. If you're interested in being on a list of people who support others in concrete ways, such as grocery shopping or running other errands, please contact Lotsa Helping Hands. To request that the name of a relative or Havurah member be read during the Misheberach (healing prayer) at Shabbat services, use this new Misheberach Request Form.
Questions About Havurah? The Transparency & Inclusivity Committee is an avenue within Havurah Shalom to help members find the answers to questions or concerns they have wondered about. Please send your questions to transparency@havurahshalom.org. We will anonymously answer your question in Hakol. Everyone in our community benefits from this clarity.
Daily Shofar Blast Sunday, Sep 14th (All day) Hear the Sound of the Shofar each day of Elul (except Shabbat): Andrine, Diane & Howard (& sometimes Dominic & Wesley) help prepare us for Rosh Hashanah with shofar, deep thoughts, and a touch of kavanah (intention). Videos will be posted daily on Havurah's YouTube and Facebook pages.
Havurahnik Mahjong Group Monday, Sep 15th 1:00p to 4:00p Just for Havurah members, our Mahjong Group is a fun, social activity that builds community, encouraging new friendships and cementing old ones. And while some of us may play elsewhere as well, we all agreed that restoring its place as an ongoing congregational activity will be a good fit for Havurah and those of us who play or want to learn the game.
(ZM) High Holiday Safety Training Monday, Sep 15th 6:30p to 7:30p All Havurah members are invited to this important safety training. High Holidays event manager Rachel Pollak will cover the procedures and practices that keep us safe at the Tiffany Center and at the Havurah building, and Secure Community Network Regional Security Advisor Jessica Anderson will teach us situational awareness and de-scalation. There will be time for questions at the end. All High Holiday greeters, ushers and event monitors are especially encouraged to attend this training. It will be recorded for those not able to attend.
(ZM) Climate Change Book Group Slow Reading of "Not Too Late" Tuesday, Sep 16th 5:30p to 6:30p All are welcome! Havurah members and non-members alike are invited to join us in this slow, section-by-section reading of "Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility." Click and RSVP. Attend any or all of these HCAT (Havurah's Climate Action Team) Book Group discussions about "Not Too Late."
(ZM) Story Turning: Harvesting Joy in the Past Tuesday, Sep 16th 7:00p to 8:15p Teshuvah is the ongoing process of Turning and Returning. Using brief, simple, playful forms: sound, movement, story, stillness—which EVERYONE can do—we'll discover and shape our own tales of transformation and renewal.
Together we’ll play with a few classic Jewish tales and find our own voices, visions, ancestors, light, and revelations. This is not a performance class. No experience is required, just a willingness to be curious and a little silly.
Led by Cassandra Sagan, a twice-ordained Maggid (Jewish storyteller/teacher), and a lifetime creative process/poetry/arts educator.
(IP) My Soul Thirsts for You: Elul Watercolor Workshop Wednesday, Sep 17th 7:00p to 8:15p Elul opens the gates of return. It’s a time when we are invited to soften, reflect, and seek out closeness with the Divine. In this workshop we'll explore watercolor, which is an especially effective medium for holding and expressing emotion. Our learning will center on the 13 Attributes, a sacred text recited throughout the High Holiday season, as we invite in qualities of compassion, honesty, and patience. No art experience needed, just a willingness to experiment and be present. All materials provided. Led by Noah Lind, Rabbinic Intern.
Hakol Deadline is Thursday, September 18 Thursday, Sep 18th (All day) Havurah members, click to learn how to submit your contributions to our monthly newsletter, Hakol.
