Hineinu, August 2, 2023

Explore and Sign Up for Havurah's Elul Gatherings

Havurah is celebrating the month of Elul with gatherings spanning spiritual, text-based, political, ecological and creative topics. We hope you will find them enriching, fun, moving, and worthwhile. 

RSVP for something interesting today!

Share Your Reflections…Creatively!

This year we are inviting all members to make art in any medium as another way to reflect your thoughts and feelings as we approach the High Holidays.

Your art can be in response to our annual theme or an expresssion of how you see yourself, our community, your connection to it, or anything else you are pondering as we approach the Days of Awe. Deadline is August 23. Send photos of your art via email to rachel.pollak@havurahshalom.org with the subject line Reflection 2023 and complete this form.

Meaningful, Paid Teaching Opportunities at Havurah

Creating a Brit Kavod: Gesher Seeks Havurahnik Volunteers

The Gesher Committee wrote an article in the July 2023 Hakol on our desire to create a Brit Kavod, or a Code of Behavior, for our community. Based on the article, a number of Havurah members have already volunteered to work on this process. Gesher is looking for additional Havurah members to bring their ideas and creativity to this important endeavor. We hope to establish some dates and times for meetings before the High Holidays. If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, contact Fran Weick.

Regular Happenings

Thank you for following our COVID safety guidelines for in-person gatherings, which were updated on June 15, 2023.

If a member's name is hyperlinked below, you can go directly to their contact page in the directory by clicking on their name and then logging into your Havurah account.
Zoom Room links can be found near the end of this email.

Weekly Torah Study​ 
9 am, Saturdays, Havurah Shalom and Zoom Room Bet
An in-depth look at the weekly Torah reading, led by congregants. No prior knowledge or study is necessary.

Shabbat Morning
10 am, Saturdays, Havurah Shalom and Zoom Room Aleph
All are welcome at our Shabbat services, including b'nei mitzvah services. Upcoming b'nei mitzvah are listed in the website calendar.

Mahjong Group
1 pm, first and third Mondays, Havurah Shalom Library
Mahjong is a fun, social activity that builds community, encouraging new friendships and cementing old ones. If you want to learn how to play, please contact Leah Hershey for teaching resources. If you are ready to join a game, please RSVP on the calendar. To receive Mahjong Group updates, ask Leah to add you to the email list.

Jewish Mindfulness & Meditation
12 pm, Tuesdays – 1st, 3rd, and 5th Tuesdays: Zoom Room Bet only; 2nd and 4th Tuesdays: Havurah Shalom (Sanctuary or Library) and Zoom Room Bet.
We gather 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, Nancy Becker, or Deborah Eisenbach-Budner.

Morning Minyan
8:30 am, Wednesdays, Zoom Room Aleph & In Person at Havurah
For all who want a regular prayer practice and those saying Kaddish. All are welcome.

Upcoming Events

Celebrate Elul 5783
Sunday, August 6 to Friday, September 15, approximately – Various days, times, locations, and modes of delivery

We are approaching the final month of the Jewish calendar, Elul, which carries us into the High Holidays.

Elul gatherings taking place in the next couple weeks include the following (click on the event titles to learn more and RSVP/sign up):
Creative Ways to Express Your Grief (first session is Sunday, August 6 at 2 pm on Zoom);
High Holidays Greeter & Usher Training (Sunday, August 13 at 1 pm on Zoom); 
Make Your Own Talit (Sunday, August 13 at 4 pm, in person at Havurah); and
Life Story Midrash (first session is Tuesday, August 15 at 7 pm on Zoom).

More Tikkun Olam 

A New Request for Maria and Carlos
Well, our ask for a bed for Rosa, Maria's cousin, was answered! But now we are seeking someone with a small pickup to transport it from the Pearl to their Beaverton apartment. We will work on getting young backs to move the bed. Also, they need twin sheets and blankets–and some pillows would be great. If you can help in any way, please contact Kathy Gordon or Debbi Nadel; there may be other ways you can support the family as well.

News & Events from Our Tikkun Olam Partners

Path Home (formerly PHFS): Volunteer for our monthly Path Home dinner | Interfaith Alliance on Poverty (IAP) | Lift UP | MACG | Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice NW ​​​​​​ | Rose Haven

Out in the Community

Christine & The Zamlers: The Lost Klezmer Music of S. Ansky
7:30 pm, Monday, August 7 – Eastside Jewish Commons, 2420 NE Sandy Blvd., Portland

Christina and The Zamlers (Christina Crowder, Jack “Yankl” Falk, Andrew Ehrlich) invite you to join our “community expedition” into an extraordinary discovery: the unlikely release of thousands of unique musical manuscripts from a Kyiv archive, where they had lain unseen for more than 100 years.

This concert will showcase some of the music and songs that have been rescued from obscurity — from deeply moving Hasidic nigunim and classically inflected klezmer concertos, to jaunty mazurkas, lively Jewish circle dances, and more. All Ages, $12-$18 sliding scale/person. Learn more and get tickets.

"Bookish: Ceramic Sculpture & Photography" (an exhibition by Havurahnik Willa Schneberg)

Saturday August 12 - Sunday, September 3 – Astoria Visual Arts (Gallery) (1000 Duane St., Astoria, Oregon)

There will be a 5 pm artist talk at the August 12 opening. On September 2, at 2 pm, Havurahnik Willa Schneberg will read from her new collection, The Naked Room, and offer a free poetry workshop from 3 to 4:30 pm, “Developing Radical Empathy Through the Persona Poem.” There will be a 12-participants maximum. Each participant will receive a copy of The Naked Room. If you are interested, please register by emailing astoriavisualarts@gmail.com. Funded in part by a grant by the Ford Family Foundation.

New Parking Now Available!
Legacy has generously given us permission to park in its lot at 1919 NW Lovejoy on weekdays after 5 pm and all day on weekends. We can park in any spot but 1-10. We hope this will make it easier to come for services and other programming! Please help us maintain our relationship with Legacy by honoring these guidelines.

Resources

Do You Need Support?
If you are 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, please use this 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.

Havurah Zoom Rooms

Room Alef
PC/Mac/Smartphone: Click here to join.
Note for all devices: You can also open your Zoom app first, click “Join a Meeting” then enter meeting ID 604560503 and "call via device audio." The passcode is 5472.
Cell/Landline: Dial +1 669-900-6833 and enter meeting ID 604560503.
 
Room Bet
PC/Mac/Smartphone: Click here to join.
Note for all devices: You can also open your Zoom app first, click “Join a Meeting” then enter meeting ID 291215092 and "call via device audio." The passcode is 5472.
Cell/Landline: Dial +1 669-900-6833 and enter meeting ID 291215092.
 
Room Gimel
PC/Mac/Smartphone: Click here to join.
Note for all devices: You can also open your Zoom app first, click “Join a Meeting” then enter meeting ID 502586440 and "call via device audio." The passcode is 5472.
Cell/Landline: Dial +1 669-900-6833 and enter meeting ID 502586440.

Room Dalet
PC/Mac/Smartphone: Click here to join.
Note for all devices: You can also open your Zoom app first, click “Join a Meeting” then enter meeting ID 472484392 and "call via device audio." The passcode is 5472.
Cell/Landline: Dial +1 669-900-6833 and enter meeting ID 472484392.

Room Heh
PC/Mac/Smartphone: Click here to join.
Note for all devices: You can also open your Zoom app first, click “Join a Meeting” then enter meeting ID 87852542099 and "call via device audio." The passcode is 5472.
Cell/Landline: Dial +1 669-900-6833 and enter meeting ID 87852542099.

To see our full Zoom room instructions, click here. Member sign-in required.