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
Kabbalat Shabbat Celebration
6 pm Oneg; 6:30 pm Service; 7:30 registration-only Dinner, Friday, April 12 – Havurah Shalom (Service both in person at Havurah and online in Zoom Room Aleph).
A family-friendly oneg followed by a service led by Rabbi Benjamin and Havurah musicians, with dinner afterward. No RSVP or registration is needed to join for the oneg and service; just join in! All are welcome! (Only the 7:30 pm dinner requires registration, and the dinner is registration is now full.) (Havurahniks, can you help out at our April Kabbalat Shabbat Celebration? Click here to explore available volunteer shifts, which start at just 15 minutes. Many helping hands are needed to make Kabbalat Shabbat a success each month.)
Also at Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday, April 12: Prayer Flags for the Planet with Artist/Scientist Anne Nesse
Havurah will be hosting an art exhibit opening April 12 at Kabbalat Shabbat. The exhibit will consist of prayer flags that illustrate women’s role in preventing climate disaster. There will also be a reception and talk by artist and scientist Anne Nesse on Sunday, April 14 at 3 pm.
Shabbat Morning with Bar Mitzvah of Kai Berkson-Klaus
10 am to 12 pm, Saturday, April 13 – Havurah Shalom and Zoom Room Aleph
Please join us for Shabbat morning services, including welcoming Kai Berkson-Klaus as a Bar Mitzvah and member of our community.
Spring Gardening Day
10 am to 2 pm, Sunday, April 14 – Havurah Shalom
Come early, come in the middle, or come at the end; there is plenty to do. Or better yet, come for the whole thing! Bring gloves, pruners, and any other tools you can, plus water and a snack to share. RSVP
Prayer Flags for the Planet Reception with Artist/Scientist Anne Nesse
3 to 5 pm, Sunday, April 14 – Havurah Shalom
Join Havurah Climate Action Team to welcome and talk with artist Anne Nesse. Her Prayer Flags for the Planet art exhibit was inspired by Paul Hawkin's Project Drawdown, the top 100 Climate Solutions that together can help reverse our climate crisis. The reception event is excellent for ages middle school and above, it includes a hands-on Climate Flag making table. (The exhibit will be up through May 10.) RSVP for the reception.
Tot Shabbat
10:30 am to 11:30 am, Saturday, April 20 – Havurah Shalom
Young children (0-5) and parents celebrate with singing, movement, blessings, and storytelling. All are welcome. RSVP
Meeting of Palestine Justice working group
7 pm to 8:30 pm, Sunday, April 21 – Havurah Shalom and Zoom Room Bet
Join for the regular monthly meeting of the Palestine Justice working group. The agenda will be distributed in advance on the listserv. If you are interested in being added to the listserv, please email David Lewis.
Experience the Omer: Making it Count!
7 pm to 7:30 pm, Tuesdays, April 23 to June 4 (RSVP to get the recording of the April 9 Intro session) – 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 to join and to be emailed a recording of the hour-long intro session.
Havurah Staff Holiday: April 23, 24, 29, and 30
The office will be closed for the start and end of the Passover holiday.
Shabbat School Enrollment Deadline is Friday, April 26
Shabbat School is for Havurah families with children in grades K-6. Shabbat School gives our children a basis for Jewish learning and fosters a strong sense of community amongst families. Families must enroll their children in Shabbat School by April 26, 2024, to ensure a spot for the 2024-25 (5785) school year. You can find the enrollment link on our Shabbat School page (under the Learning tab on Havurah’s website).
Shabbat Morning with Bat Mitzvah of Beatrice Weiss Ekstrom
10 am to 12 pm, Saturday, April 27 – Havurah Shalom and Zoom Room Aleph
Please join us for Shabbat morning services, including welcoming Beatrice Weiss Ekstrom as a Bat Mitzvah and member of our community.
Climate Action Fair at MJCC
12 pm to 4 pm, Sunday, April 28 – Mittleman Jewish Community Center, 6651 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR 97219
HCAT (Havurah Climate Action Team) invites you to continue with our climate action month by attending a community wide Climate Action Fair at the MJCC (Mittleman Jewish Community Center). Cosponsored by the MJCC and the Jewish Federation’s Climate team, meet dozens of environmental organizations and discover resources for actions you can take. A series of speakers will talk about forestry, electrification, native plants and climate friendly foods. All are welcome! ASL interpretation will be provided for speakers. An arts activity area will be available for both children and adults. For more information on tablers, sponsors, and speakers see our Facebook page. The event and parking are free, or be climate friendly and come by bus. For questions, or if you would like to help volunteer, contact Michael Heumann. And please spread the word! All of us taking action is the solution to climate change. See the Havurah calendar event page for more info, including programming highlights.
Havurah Climate Action Team Monthly Meeting
5:30 to 7 pm, Monday, April 29 – Zoom Room Gimel
With the new normal of extreme hot summer days and wildfire smoke, we are all affected by the climate crisis. Havurah Climate Action Team (HCAT) meets monthly and online as needed, to educate and support one another in tangible actions and political advocacy to address solutions. We are reaching out to Havuraniks of all ages and welcome new members to our team! We enthusiastically want to hear your thoughts and vision for actions! Please join us via Zoom on fourth Mondays from 5:30 to 7 pm. Check the Havurah calendar for details/confirmation. Contact Elianne Lieberman or Harriet Cooke.
Passover Minyan (Yizkor)
8 am to 9:15 am, Wednesday, April 29 – Havurah Shalom and Zoom Room Aleph
For all who want a regular prayer practice and for people saying Kaddish. We will observe Yizkor today as well. We meet both in person and streaming online in Zoom Room Aleph. All are welcome. Please email info@havurahshalom.org for join info.
Havurah Book Group: Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
7 pm to 8:30 pm, Tuesday, April 30 – Zoom Room Bet
(Fiction/368 pages) February 1862. The Civil War is less than one year old. The fighting has begun in earnest, and the nation has begun to realize it is in for a long, bloody struggle. Meanwhile, President Lincoln’s beloved eleven-year-old son, Willie, lies upstairs in the White House, gravely ill. In a matter of days, despite predictions of a recovery, Willie dies and is laid to rest in a Georgetown cemetery. “My poor boy, he was too good for this earth,” the president says at the time. “God has called him home.” Newspapers report that a grief-stricken Lincoln returns, alone, to the crypt several times to hold his boy’s body. From that seed of historical truth, George Saunders spins an unforgettable story of familial love and loss that breaks free of its realistic, historical framework into a supernatural realm both hilarious and terrifying. Willie Lincoln finds himself in a strange purgatory where ghosts mingle, gripe, commiserate, quarrel, and enact bizarre acts of penance. Within this transitional state—called, in the Tibetan tradition, the bardo—a monumental struggle erupts over young Willie’s soul. Lincoln in the Bardo is an astonishing feat of imagination and a bold step forward from one of the most important and influential writers of his generation. Saunders has invented a thrilling new form that deploys a kaleidoscopic, theatrical panorama of voices to ask a timeless, profound question: How do we live and love when we know that everything we love must end? Discussion led by David Newman. Nonmembers welcome. RSVP for Zoom info.