Dec. 21 Community Email
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CHAG SAMEACH! TWO NIGHTS OF CHANUKAH, SANCTUARY MOVEMENT, SOLIDARITY MARCH
Photo taken at Havurah's Chanukah celebration last year UPCOMING SHABBAT Text & Torah - Chanukah Esoterica Diane Chaplin will lead this Saturday's study of Chanukah. We will serve breakfast and coffee, including bagels and lox and gluten-free options. Please arrive early to eat before the study session begins at 10:00 am. The study will be followed by a shortened morning service led by Havurah lay leaders and Rabbi Joey. NEXT WEEK AT HAVURAH Monday Office Closure & Short Days Havurah's office will be closed on Monday, Dec. 26, for the Christmas holiday. Next Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the office will close at 2:00 pm. Morning Minyan Please join us for this focused minyan for people who are saying Kaddish and/or want to incorporate a regular prayer practice in their life. Chanukah Hakol Mailing A great event for your holiday break! Join us next Wednesday for a Chanukah Hakol mailing, with Chanukah treats for all of our wonderful volunteers. If you can come, please RSVP to info@havurahshalom.org. TWO NIGHTS OF CHANUKAH AT HAVURAH
Photo by Fran Berg of tasty guilt-free gelt (Divine Chocolate) for our Dec. 29th celebration A Chanukah Celebration for All Ages Our Dec. 29th Chanukah Celebration offers fun for all ages: a potluck oneg of plate-free desserts, storytelling and candle lighting led by Rachel Duke and Deborah Eisenbach-Budner, and singing led by Beth Hamon, Aaron Pearlman, Barbara Gundle, and other Havurah musicians. Afterward, Susan Lazareck will lead an interactive storytelling about making latkes for families with kids ages 7 and under. We'll also have dreidel playing, including multigenerational tables playing for fair trade Chanukah gelt (pictured above) and adults playing for money, led by Jack Lazareck. In addition to bringing a plate-free dessert for the oneg, please bring a favorite adult drink to share with the adult-aged crowd if you wish. We’ll add lots of light and laughter to the evening! RSVP here.
Photo taken at last year's Havurah Chanukah celebration Coming Together in Dark Times We invite you to join us on Friday, Dec. 30, to welcome Shabbat, spread the light of the Chanukah candles, and share our feelings, fears, and hopes for the difficult times we are facing as a country. For those of us who came together on the Sunday after the election (photo below), it was a powerful expression of community, and there have been requests to identify some next steps. It continues to feel premature to launch a specific action plan. Instead, it seems more appropriate to gather in community, listen to how we are doing, and continue conversations about our hopes and fears about areas such as immigrants and refugees, poverty and homelessness, climate change, equity, and gun control. Please RSVP here. Email chriscoughlin60@gmail.com if you are interested in helping with planning, or if you want to help but can’t attend on Dec. 30.
RABBI BECKER-KLEIN'S VISIT JAN. 6-7 & COOKIE CALL Please RSVP Thank you again for attending so many events at Havurah during Rabbi Benjamin Barnett's visit - and thank you for your feedback on the weekend. We're looking forward to meeting Rabbi Micah Becker-Klein on Jan. 6-7. Please be sure to RSVP here so we know which events you will attend. You can read more about both Rabbi Barnett and Rabbi Becker-Klein here. The Cookie Call ... Once Again Thank you to ALL who baked for our first rabbi candidate visit with Rabbi Barnett. Your delicious treats were well received and much appreciated. Now round two... Please join in welcoming our second rabbi candidate Rabbi Becker-Klein on Friday Jan. 6 and Saturday, Jan. 7 with another amazing Havurah cookie/dessert table. We need YOUR help by baking those delicious cookies/brownies and sweet breads. (Suggested: pumpkin, banana, zucchini, carrot, date-nut, and more ...) We also need a few fruit trays or the fruit to make the trays. Learn more here. If you have questions, please contact Fran Berg at bergfr@gmail.com or 503-757-4839. LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES Jewish Mindfulness & Meditation Circle Continues
Photo by Capungaero Bird's Eye View of Jewish History 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. Having the Conversation: Workshops to Discuss What Quality Means at the End of Life Many of us spend a great deal of time thinking about how we want to live our lives, but many of us avoid thinking about how we would like our end of life care to go. Havurah will be facilitating a two-part workshop in February to help community members begin to think about what quality means at the end of life. Working from The Conversation Project model, we will support each other as we explore this challenging topic. If you would like to join us, we ask that you commit to both workshops. Deadline to register is Jan. 23. Learn more here. TIKKUN OLAM Lift Urban Portland Christmas Dinner Every year Congregation Beth Israel hosts Lift Urban Portland’s community holiday dinner on Dec. 25, and Havurah Shalom supports the dinner. You can sign up here to help. Havurah member Mike Feldman serves on Lift’s board of directors, which met at Havurah earlier this week. Portland Homeless Family Solutions Goose Hollow Shelter Tikkun Olam Direct Service News From Bethany Rocci, Volunteer Manager at Goose Hollow Shelter "We are very grateful to each of you for volunteering your time at our Holiday Village Party last Friday evening! Thank you to all of our set-up volunteers who created a beautiful party space and for organizing all of the toys! Thanks to our activity station volunteers for engaging our kids in crafts and fun activities. Thank you to our volunteers who kept an eye on our energetic kids while their parents went and shopped — I know for some, that was a very busy role! :) And clean-up was a breeze, thanks to your speedy work! And special thanks to our volunteer groups from inkShift, Kaiser, Portland Volunteer Vixens, PSU, and our many volunteers from Havurah Shalom!" Join us in this volunteer work at the Goose Hollow homeless family shelter! To volunteer, attendance at an hour orientation is the only requirement. Next orientation: Dec. 28, 5:00 – 6:00 pm at the shelter: 1838 SW Jefferson. Meal provider questions: Len and Elayne Shapiro- Elayne Shapiro, elayneshapiro@gmail.com. All other Goose Hollow issues: Gloria Halper, losninos6@gmail.com. Community Sanctuary Assembly The idea of "sanctuary" has received much attention since the election because many people of faith and conscience feel that people of color, immigrants, Muslims and others will be vulnerable. As a community, how do we demonstrate our welcome and provide safe haven to vulnerable people? Havurah Shalom has joined the New Sanctuary Movement by signing this pledge to be a Sanctuary Congregation. But our Steering Committee's action is a first step in our understanding of what this means to our community. "Sanctuary is much more than providing a physical space for someone at risk of deportation - it is a strategy and set of actions for faith communities, faith-based organizations, and people of conscience." Be a part of the conversation. Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice (IMIrJ) is hosting a community wide Sanctuary Assembly on Jan. 8. Attend to learn more about Sanctuary as part of the broader movement for immigrant justice and accompaniment. Attend to begin that discussion with other people from Havurah. This flier provides more information. Have questions or need more information? Contact Bob Brown. Praying With Our Feet - Solidarity March As Abraham Joshua Heschel said after the Selma Civil Rights March in 1965, led by Martin Luther King, Jr., which demanded voting rights for African Americans at the Alabama state capitol: I felt my legs were praying. Havurah will join up with the Portland and Oregon Community on Jan. 21 in a show of solidarity with our sisters marching in Washington DC and across the country. Everybody who supports women's rights and civil justice is invited to "a march which is not a protest, but a show of love and support in a time of uncertainty and vulnerability for many people in our country." First we will gather for our community minyan at 10:00 am at Havurah, and then, for those who wish, we’ll join the march as a group under the Havurah banner. Emily Simon personally assures everyone that we will get out in time to join up with other Havurahniks who are going to the march, and will shorten up the Torah readings or the service accordingly. Our mantra for the community minyan, which is the first chapter in Exodus, will be: Resistance is always easier at the beginning than at the end. What does it mean to resist, and how does the Torah portion suggest that we go about it? Read more here.
Interfaith Advocacy Day, Tuesday, Feb. 7 Please consider joining a group from Havurah Shalom and other members of the Portland interfaith community in a lobbying activity in Salem to advocate with legislators and their staff for compassionate legislation regarding various areas of our common concern. These meetings provide a first-hand opportunity to express your beliefs in a setting where you can make a difference—directly influencing legislation. The exchanges with legislators can be enlightening and potentially satisfying. This is also an unusual opportunity to have contact with other faith groups, which is especially meaningful right now. IN OUR COMMUNITY ... Jews of Portland Support You are invited to the first “Jews of Portland Support” on Tuesday, Dec. 27, the fourth night of Chanukah. Jews of Portland and our allies will gather at Pioneer Square in downtown Portland to show that we, as a community, will stand up for the rights and civil liberties of all humans, regardless of their race, religion, nationality, and sexual orientation. This will be an opportunity for us to let the country know that we care, and we will do as much as we can to protect the lives of humans, our beloved environment, and just as importantly, ourselves. If city permitting allows, we will also light the menorah and sing some songs of peace and celebration together. There will be time for community leaders to share a few words of inspiration. This event is family friendly and people from all walks of life are welcome. Questions? Call 954-980-0501. 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.
Pacific NW Reconstructionist Shabbaton Register online here 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!
See the attached flier for more details. RABBI CANDIDATE NEWS As most of you know, the Rabbi Search Committee selected two candidates for the position of rabbi at Havurah Shalom. Rabbi Benjamin Barnett visited Havurah on Dec. 2-3, and Rabbi Micah Becker-Klein will visit Havurah on Jan. 6-7. Please be sure to RSVP here for the events on Jan. 6-7 so you can meet Rabbi Becker-Klein. This blog post provides answers to questions that Havurah members have asked about the process of our rabbi selection. |
Photo taken by Rabbi Joey at Havurah's post-election gathering in November
