Sign In Forgot Password

Nov. 30 Community Email

RABBI BARNETT'S VISIT THIS WEEKEND, CHANUKAH PARTY, BIRD'S EYE DATES

  • Shabbat with Rabbi Barnett - This Friday & Saturday, Door Greeters Needed!
  • Reflections on the Election - From Rabbi Joey, Deborah Eisenbach-Budner, Rabbi Schwarz
  • Opening for Office & Facilities Manager at Havurah
  • This Week & Next - Middle & High School, Being Jewish Makes a World of Difference, Climate Change, Jewish Mindfulness & Meditation, Wednesday Morning Minyan
  • Glazing Workshop for Courtyard Art this Sunday
  • Chanukah Celebration for All Ages - Thursday, Dec. 29
  • Tikkun Olam - Portland Homeless Family Solutions, Lift Urban Portland, Interfaith Advocacy Day
  • Correct Dates for A Bird's Eye View of Jewish History - Register by Jan. 4
  • Pacific NW Reconstructionist Shabbaton, Weekend In Quest
  • Rabbi Candidate Visits - Dec. 2-3 and Jan. 6-7

UPCOMING SHABBAT

Meet Rabbi Benjamin Barnett
Fri., Dec. 2 - 7:30 pm
Sat., Dec. 3 - 10 am Minyan, 12:30 pm Lunch, 3 pm Shabbat School, 8 pm Q & A

This weekend Havurahniks have an opportunity to meet one of the candidates for Havurah's next rabbi, Rabbi Benjamin Barnett. This schedule was mailed to every Havurah member so they could make plans to attend services and discussions with our rabbi candidates. Click here to read Rabbi Barnett's bio and to read his writings. Click here to RSVP for the weekend gatherings that you plan to attend.

Door Greeters/Monitors Needed!

The organizers of our rabbi candidate visits would like to have front door greeters/monitors to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Four events require assistance:

  • Friday Night Service
  • Saturday Morning Services
  • Saturday Lunch/Shabbat School Event
  • Saturday Night Q&A

If you're planning to attend any of these events and are willing to be a greeter/monitor for part of the time, please sign up here. You'll just need to arrive 20 minutes early for a brief training. And if you have any friends who would like to help with this, that would also be great. Thank you!



REFLECTIONS ON THE ELECTION

As we try to process the results of our presidential election, it can help to read our teachers' comments.

  • Read Rabbi Joey's reflection on the election here.
  • Read Deborah Eisenbach-Budner's suggestions here.
  • Rabbi Sidney Schwarz, a colleague of Rabbi Joey, wrote this in The Jewish Week.


NEXT WEEK AT HAVURAH

Jewish Mindfulness & Meditation
Tuesdays, Dec. 6 & 13
12:00 noon - 1:00 pm

We gather on Tuesdays, from 12:00 noon to 1:00 pm, to find some moments of quiet and shalom. We start with a brief teaching and gentle song, then have a sitting or walking meditation that is guided, in silence. This is for folks either with experience in meditation or for those with curiosity but no experience. Please contact Deborah Eisenbach-Budner for more information.

Morning Minyan
Wednesday, Dec. 7
8:30 - 9:00 am

This weekday service is for people who want to integrate prayer in their daily lives and for those saying Kaddish, or not. Please join us!



OPENING FOR OFFICE & FACILITIES MANAGER AT HAVURAH

This full-time position provides critical functions in our administration and contributes to the success of the community. Click here to see the job description. To apply, please send cover letter and resume’ to info@havurahshalom.org. - Havurah Shalom Steering Committee

Here is a message from outgoing Office and Facilities Manager Rachel Palmer.


COURTYARD ART WORKSHOP THIS SUNDAY

Don't miss this weekend's opportunity to glaze the tiles that Havurahniks of all ages have created for our courtyard art. Spaces are still open for this Sunday. The Dec. 4 and 11 workshops are for people ages 10 to adult.

Sunday, Dec. 4
10:00 am – 12:30 pm
Register here.

Sunday, Dec. 11
10:00 am – 12:30 pm
Register here.

View photos here of Havurah members creating our courtyard art together. The above photo was taken at a November workshop at Havurah.




CHANUKAH CELEBRATION ON DEC. 29

Thursday, Dec. 29
6:30 - 8:30 pm
Havurah Shalom

Our Chanukah celebration offers fun for all ages. It begins with a potluck oneg of plate-free desserts, followed by candle lighting, storytelling, and singing led by Beth Hamon, Aaron Pearlman and other Havurah musicians. If you have a dreidel, chanukiot and candles, please bring them with you. The more light and laughter the better! RSVP here if you can come.



TIKKUN OLAM

Las Posadas - Dec. 19

The Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice (IMIrJ) and Vecinos en Alerta are organizing the celebration of the annual Las Posadas tradition in the Cully neighborhood. This event is a beautiful celebration of community, with its special focus on honoring and lifting up the immigrant experience in Portland, in the U.S., and across the world. This is also a great opportunity for Havurah to connect our faith tradition with others in celebration of dignity and human rights. Las Posadas fiesta is also a good event to include children since there will be lots of children attending from Vecinos en Alberta families. As part of the Christmas celebration, these traditional Mexican fiestas (posadas - inns) are held for family, friends, and neighbors. Please let Bob Brown know if you are interested: rebrown47@gmail.com

Lift Urban Portland Holiday Dinner - Dec. 25

Every year for the past 30 years, Congregation Beth Israel has hosted Lift Urban Portland’s community holiday dinner, and Havurah Shalom has supported Lift Urban Portland and the holiday dinner for more than a decade. Currently, Havurahnik Mike Feldman is a member of Lift’s board of directors.

Volunteers are needed before, during and after the dinner to prepare and decorate, fill gift bags, greet guests, serve meals, and clean up. You can sign up here. The photo below was taken at a Lift Urban Portland holiday dinner.

Portland Homeless Family Solutions Tikkun Olam Direct Service Project

Next new volunteer orientation is Dec. 6, 5:00 - 6:00 pm, at the Goose Hollow Shelter, 1838 SW Jefferson. Please RSVP to Bethany (contact info below). Join us!

Questions regarding volunteering at Goose Hollow? To help with meal preparation: Len Shapiro at lenshap@gmail.com. Any other PHFS questions, Gloria Halper, Tikkun Olam Committee member, losninos6@gmail.com.

Volunteer at Goose Hollow Holiday Village on Dec. 16

Want to celebrate with our homeless families this holiday season? Join us at our Holiday Village event on Dec. 16 at the Goose Hollow shelter. Every year, Portland Homeless Family Solutions hosts a holiday party for the families in shelter and any families who accessed services earlier in the year. They'll have dinner, music, crafts and games for kids, the opportunity for parents to shop for presents, and lots of holiday cheer! Volunteers are needed for the following roles:

  • Set-up & Decor (12/16, 1:00 – 3:00 pm)
  • Kids Activity Host & Clean-up (12/16, 3:00 – 6:30 pm)
  • Gift Wrap & Clean-up (12/16, 3:00 – 6:30 pm)
  • Gift Prep (12/14 or 12/15, time TBD)

Shift times are approximate and may change as the event date gets closer.

Can't volunteer but want to donate items towards our other donation needs? Ready to volunteer at Holiday Village? Contact Bethany.

Save the Date for Interfaith Advocacy Day 2017

Tuesday, Feb. 7
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Morning Session – St. Mark Lutheran Church
790 Marion St NE, Salem
Afternoon Session – Oregon State Capitol

With the theme, "Raising Diverse Voices of Faith to Strengthen Oregon Communities," Interfaith Advocacy Day 2017 will bring together people of many religious traditions from throughout Oregon for a day of prayer, dialogue and advocacy with state legislators. Join us in addressing housing, hunger, health care, gun safety, and climate justice.

Sponsored by Havurah Shalom, Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, First AME Zion Church, Portland Interfaith Council of Greater Portland, Islamic Society of Greater Portland,  Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, Muslim Educational Trust, Oregon Center for Christian Voices, United Methodist Women of the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference. Registration and more details coming soon.



A BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF JEWISH HISTORY

Wednesdays, Jan. 11, 18 & 25, and Feb. 1
7:00 - 8:30 pm
Havurah Shalom

Apologies for posting the wrong dates for this class in last week's email. The above dates are correct.

Do you have a vague sense that a lot happened to the Jews between the exodus from Egypt and our modern era, but you aren’t sure what actually happened, where, or why? Have you ever wondered how and why Jewish people dispersed from one small land in the Middle East to live in every part of the globe? Have you ever wondered what brought your ancestors to live in the United States? Using illustrations and maps, we will enjoyably learn the themes, geography, and journey of the Jewish people.

Please obtain Barnavi's A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People from the Time of the Patriarchs to the Present in advance. Havurahnik Roger Brewer, a lifelong student of Judaism and Jewish History, will teach this course. Register here by Jan. 4.



PACIFIC NW RECONSTRUCTIONIST SHABBATON

Online registration is open now for the Pacific NW Reconstructionist Shabbaton Weekend, May 5-7, 2017.

Celebrate Shabbat at Camp Solomon Schechter with members of the five Pacific Northwest Reconstructionist congregations!

  • Be inspired by rabbis and educators, including visiting faculty from Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
  • Enjoy programming for all ages
  • Share music, meals, and more!

See the attached flier for more details and register here.



IN THE COMMUNITY ...

Emily G. Gottfried Human Rights Awards
Friday, Dec. 2, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Moda Center Rose Room

Please join us as we honor Joyce Harris, Causa, and Sean Davis at the Emily G. Gottfried Human Rights Awards event on Friday, Dec. 2. The cost is $25, and all proceeds go to charities working for human rights in our community. Buy your tickets today at this link.

Fair Trade Chanukah Gelt

Buy fair trade Chanukah gelt that tastes great! Scroll down this email from Fair Trade Judaica to order your gelt.

Season of Lights

Havurahniks Ilene Safyan, Andrew Ehrlich, and Ed Kraus are part of a benefit concert for the Alzheimer's Association on Dec. 3, 2016. Learn more here.

Weekend In Quest

The 11th annual Weekend in Quest, a Shabbaton (study weekend), will be held March 3-5, 2017 in Astoria, Oregon. It is sponsored by The Institute for Judaic Studies of the Pacific Northwest in Portland and co-sponsored by Havurah Shalom. 

The scholar-in-residence is Professor Roger Porter, Emeritus Professor of English and Humanities at Reed College. Professor Porter’s program is entitled “Who is the Jew?” Anti-Semitism in Shakespeare and Philip Roth. Shabbat services will be led by Rabbi Yitzhak Husbands-Hankin, Emeritus Rabbi at Temple Beth Israel, Eugene.

Catered kosher-style meals include a festive Erev Shabbat dinner, Kiddush lunch and Saturday evening dinner, with round-table discussions, social time and entertainment woven throughout the weekend. For more information, to download a brochure and to register, go to http://weekendinquest.org  and/or contact Havurah member Mimi Epstein at mimiepstein42@comcast.net.



RABBI CANDIDATE VISITS & PROCESS

The Rabbi Search Committee is pleased to announce that we have two candidates for the position of rabbi at Havurah Shalom. They will be visiting with us in December and January. Unfortunately, our third candidate had to withdraw his application due to family circumstances. These are the two weekends when our candidates will visit:

Click here to see their bios and links to materials they have written found on the rabbi search website.

The process to determine which candidates to invite started with the focus groups and your participation. Click here to see the focus group report.

A job description was then developed based on the feedback we received from the focus group and your input. Click here to see the job description.

We realize that what we want is a “super rabbi” but also recognize that there is no one candidate who could possibly fulfill all that is in the job description. As you meet each of the candidates, we hope that the focus group report and job description will guide your evaluation of each individual, and the extent to which they embody the most important qualities we are seeking in a new rabbi.

In April we posted the job at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College Placement Center and started receiving resumes that were forwarded to us by the Placement Center. We received over ten resumes and three were from women.

In July the Rabbi Search Committee reviewed the resumes and identified five rabbis with whom to hold Skype interviews in August. From those Skype interviews, we identified rabbis to invite to come visit.

So why are none of the candidates women? Two of the rabbis interviewed in August were women. We hoped that we could have a balance of female and male candidates. Unfortunately the female candidates did not have the experience and qualities that Havurah Shalom is looking for and needs in our next rabbi.

The Rabbi Search Committee believes that the two candidates who will be visiting with us are highly qualified and we look forward to your input after their visits. We hope you will take this opportunity to participate in as many of the events as you can.

As always, if you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at rabbisearch@havurahshalom.org.

- The Rabbi Search Committee

 

Thu, March 28 2024 18 Adar II 5784