Hineinu, March 27, 2024

Thanks for celebrating Purim together!

A Seat at Your Seder?
Pesach is coming soon! As you are planning your seder, please let Tara Anderson (tara@havurahshalom.org) know if you are able to host one, two or more guests at your table this year for our 5784 seder matching effort. Thank you!

Regular Havurah Happenings

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 below and 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 – 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 – Havurah Shalom and Zoom Room Aleph
For all who want a regular prayer practice and those saying Kaddish. All are welcome.

Help Out a Havurahnik

Would Jewish-focused programming be beneficial for parents as they navigate raising their children, who may currently or at some point identify as LGBTQ+?
Havurahnik Talia Cordova is working on an undergraduate thesis on developing culturally relevant resources for Jewish parents of LGBTQ+ youth. You are invited to help her by completing an anonymous survey for her research.

Upcoming Havurah Events

Tot Shabbat
10:30 am to 11:30 am, Saturday, March 30 – Havurah Shalom
Young children (0-5) and parents celebrate with singing, movement, blessings, and storytelling. All are welcome. RSVP

Register by April 1 for Wrestling with the Truth of Colonization Training
6 pm to 8 pm, April 4 ,9, 11, 16, 18 -– Offsite Zoom
Metropolitan Alliance for the Common Good offers Wrestling with the Truth of Colonization as an 8-session training created by a global team of Indigenous leaders. Last year, 14 Havurahniks participated. You are invited to join in reflection and learning about the consequences of colonization and its ongoing impact on the region where we live. “These sessions were challenging but were so important in my understanding of the experiences of our Indigenous brothers and sisters.” Contact Michael Heumann or Bob Brown with questions or more information. Register by April 1.​​​​​​​

Nosh and Learn: Countering Active Threat Training
12:30 pm to 2:15 pm, Sunday, April 7 - Havurah Shalom
Come at 12:30 for bagels, stay for an engaging and informative safety training at 1 pm. We will learn best practices for how to counter an active threat at this training developed for faith-based institutions and houses of worship. RSVP

Teen Havurah: Viking Gameroom
3 pm to 5 pm, Sunday, April 7 - PSU Viking Gameroom (1825 SW Broadway, in the basement of Smith Memorial Student Union)
Havurah Teens: Join us at the Viking Gameroom at PSU for an afternoon of fun! Video games - Xbox One, billiards, popcorn & soda, foosbal, pop-a-shot. RSVP
Parent/guardian volunteers are needed. If you can chaperone, add your name in the RSVP/registration notes.

Zoom Check-in Meeting of the Palestine Justice Working Group
7 pm, Sunday, April 7 (first Sundays) – Zoom Room Bet 
We meet on Zoom halfway between our larger monthly hybrid meetings to see where we're at. Please feel free to join us. If you are interested in being added to the listserv, please email David Lewis.

Rosh Ḥodesh Tov! Gender-Inclusive New Moon Ritual
7 pm to 8:15 pm, Monday, April 8 — In Person or Zoom Room Heh (to be announced)
Our gender-inclusive New Moon group celebrates each Rosh Ḥodesh with learning and ancient and contemporary ritual. Everyone is invited to connect with our closest heavenly body, the Moon. Gatherings take place on or near the new moon of each Hebrew month. Attend any or all sessions. RSVP to be updated on location and other details throughout the year. Location details for the April 8 gathering will be announced soon.

Music Jam
7 pm to 8:30 pm, Monday, April 8 (every second Monday) — Havurah Shalom
Havurah Music Jams Rock On! Come sing and play in community! Songsheets will be provided and include a mix of country, folk, Jewish folk, liturgical and popular songs. Bring your instrument, your voice and your enthusiasm! Please RSVP for the April Music Jam.

Steering Meeting
6:30 pm to 9 pm, Tuesday, April 9 – Havurah Shalom and Zoom Room Gimel
All Havurah members are invited to join for Steering Meetings.

Experience the Omer: Making it Count!
7 pm to 7:30 pm (intro class is 7 pm to 8 pm), Tuesdays, April 9 to June 4 – Zoom Room Dalet
Join the Omer journey from Liberation to Revelation! Come learn about the ancient practice of counting the Omer and find your own best practice for making the transition out of the Narrow Place of Mitzrayim to the Expansive Reception at Sinai. We will learn about the mystical practice of counting each of the lower seven Sephirot — divine emanations — of the Tree of Life, each of the seven days, of each of the seven weeks, bringing us a closer, clearer understanding of this journey. Apr. 9 (Intro), April 23 (Chesed), April 30 (Gevurah); May 7 (Tiferet), May 14 (Netzach), May 21 (Hod), May 28 (Yesod); June 4 (Malchut). Led by Andrine de la Rocha. RSVP

Havurah 101
7 pm to 8:30 pm, Wednesday, April 10 – Zoom Room Gimel
Join members of the Havurah Leadership Development Committee on Zoom to learn more about our unique community and the ways we all support each other in our participatory culture. All members are welcome to join us! RSVP

Meet Up with the Alter Rockers!

Alter Rockers at OJMCHE: ORA Jewish Artists Art Show and Sale, and The Burned Piano Exhibit Opening
11:30 am, Sunday, April 7 — Oregon Jewish Museum and Holocaust Resource Center
Meet in the new café at OJMCHE for brunch/coffee/etc., then go together around the exhibits. RSVP by April 5 to Ted Scheinman.
 
(FREE) Habitat for Humanity HopeBuilder Lunch
11:30 am, Wednesday, April 24 — Oregon Convention Center
Learn about the new Habitat for Humanity projects in Portland – probably near you! Keynote speaker Majora Carter is an urban revitalization strategist, author, and Peabody Award-winning broadcaster. Our table will have Passover-friendly foods! RSVP to Ted Scheinman.

Safety Corner

BeAware: Introduction to Situational Awareness
7 pm, Tuesday, April 2 – Zoom by RSVP
Build observation skills and learn to recognize and react to various situations in your everyday life – from going to synagogue and dropping off children at school, to going to the gas station or an ATM. The course will cover the basics of situational awareness and how to help protect yourself, your family, and your community. Taught by Jessica Anderson, Secure Community Network Regional Security Director. RSVP
 
Nosh and Learn at Havurah! Countering Active Threat Training
12:30 pm, Sunday, April 7 — Havurah Shalom
Come at 12:30 for bagels, stay for an engaging and informative safety training at 1 pm. We will learn best practices for how to counter an active threat at this training developed for faith-based institutions and houses of worship. Provided by Jessica Anderson of the Secure Community Network. RSVP
 
Guardian Active Bystander Training
7 pm, Monday, April 8 — Zoom by RSVP
Secure Community Network's Jessica Anderson will teach us skillsets to help identify and respond to hazards, enabling you to become an Active Bystander--someone who helps and protects others with confidence and knowledge. RSVP

More Tikkun Olam 

Sanctuary Committee
How to Support Recently-arrived Asylum Seekers
Havurah's Sanctuary Committee is building a list of volunteers from within our congregation to support the growing number of asylum seekers in our community. Do you speak Spanish? Do you have time to help with transportation? Are you open to temporarily housing asylum seekers? Please contact Kathy Gordon. You can volunteer once or many times. These efforts are connected to the work of IMIrJ and the Asylum Solidarity Collective. For background information on what IMIRJ is doing, please see page 10  of the March Hakol. This work is another way our community can live out our commitment to being a Sanctuary Congregation!

Poverty and Homelessness Committee
Volunteer First Wednesdays at Oregon Food Bank Ortiz Center Free Food Market
9 am to 12 pm, first Wednesdays (next up: April 3) — Oregon Food Bank Ortiz Center Free Food Market - 6736 NE Killingsworth Street, Portland
Havurahniks (ages 16+) are invited and encourged to pitch in at the Ortiz Center Free Food Market. Want to ask an experienced Havurahnik about it? Email Judi Kloper.

Interfaith Alliance on Poverty First Thursday Meeting
12 pm to 1:30 pm, Thursday April 4 — Offsite Zoom
Brandy Westerman, recently appointed to the position of Emergency Humanitarian Director, will speak. She will oversee the City of Portland's alternative shelter efforts. RSVP to receive Zoom link .

Havurah Shalom 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 | Oregon Food Bank

General Info

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

Contacting your fellow Havurah members: If a member's name is hyperlinked, you can go directly to their contact page in the directory by clicking on their name and then logging into your Havurah account. Or search in the online Havurah member directory (log into the website and go to the Contact tab). 

Zoom Room links can be found near the end of this email.

Out in the Community

Parking 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

Havurah Zoom Rooms

Room Aleph
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.