Jan. 4 Community Email
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Rabbi Becker-Klein this Weekend, Solidarity With Our Muslim Neighbors
UPCOMING SHABBAT Meet Rabbi Micah Becker-Klein
Though there's a possibility of inclement weather later this weekend, all events with Rabbi Micah Becker-Klein will be held as planned. In the event changes must be made at the last minute, we will post the information on the home page of www.havurahshalom.org and in the voicemail greeting at 503-248-4662. On Friday and Saturday, Havurahniks will have an opportunity to meet the second candidate for our next rabbi, Rabbi Micah Becker-Klein. Click here to read Rabbi Becker-Klein's bio and his writings, and to view his videos. Click here to RSVP for the weekend gatherings that you plan to attend. We still need a few more small-bite desserts and especially fruit. Please bring your desserts or grapes, small oranges (clementine, mandarin, tangerine, satsuma), melons (cantaloupe and honey dew), and pineapples to the Havurah kitchen this week or Friday evening before the services begins at 7:30 pm. Read more here. NEXT WEEK AT HAVURAH Jewish Mindfulness & Meditation, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 12:00 noon We gather on Tuesdays, from 12:00 noon to 1:00 pm, to find some moments of quiet and shalom. Come when you can. Click here and scroll down to learn more, or contact Deborah for more information. Morning Minyan, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 8:30 am Please join us for this weekly focused minyan for people who are saying Kaddish and/or want to incorporate a regular prayer practice in their life. A Bird's Eye View of Judaism, Wednesday, Jan 11, 7:00 pm Havurahnik Roger Brewer, a life-long student of Judaism and Jewish History, will teach this four-session course, which begins with this class. Today is the last day to register, so RSVP ASAP! SOLIDARITY & KINSHIP GATHERING WITH MUSLIM NEIGHBORS Saturday, Jan. 14
The Muslim Educational Trust invites us to a solidarity and kinship gathering with our Muslim neighbors on Saturday, Jan. 14, at 5:30 pm. We’ll have ample time for socializing and light food, and we’ll watch the hour-long PBS film “Enemy of the Reich” together. The film is about Noor Inayat Khan, a courageous Muslim woman in Nazi-occupied Paris, who was recruited as a covert operative into Winston Churchill’s Special Operations Executive. She worked underground on behalf of the allies, was betrayed eventually by a French collaborator, resisted Gestapo interrogations, and escaped twice – only to be recaptured and sent to her death at Dachau. The above photo is from the Muslim Educational Trust website. TIKKUN OLAM 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. Read more here. Hands On Portland Weekend of Service – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Children's Book Bank and Portland Public Schools believe every child can learn to read. You can help support literacy in our community by volunteering to mend, clean, and organize the ~30,000 gently-used books recently collected during the Children’s Book Harvest book drive. Book “mending” involves erasing scribbles, taping tears, removing stickers, etc. The project begins with a detailed training process on how to mend books, so volunteers should plan to be on time. 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. to demand voting rights for African Americas 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."
Read more here about the minyan and the rally. Forging a Pro-Israel Agenda in the Trump Era Please join J Street and Havurah folks for an informative and thoughtful evening. Alan Elsner, J Street Special Advisor, will offer a program that will examine the American Jewish community’s response to the election of Donald Trump and how to respond to the new administration's appointments, especially his nominee for U.S. Ambassador to Israel. The discussion will focus on what a Trump presidency may mean for Israel, the region, and the two-state solution. Mr. Elsner will lead this informative program and subsequently open the session to discussion. For more information, contact Nancy Becker at 503-422-2482. "Raising Diverse Voices of Faith to Strengthen Oregon Communities" 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. The keynote speaker will be Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum. You can read more here about the issues to be addressed and the event's sponsors and endorsers. CHANUKAH THANK YOU & RECLAIMING CHANUKAH Click here to read "'You Don't Look Jewish': A Chanukah Tale" by Finn Plager (known as Allison as a child at Havurah), about (re)claiming Chanukah and Jewishness. Finn’s parents are Constance and Josh Plager.
Thank you to all who made our Chanukah celebration on Dec. 29 successful: Seth Kaplan, Patricia Schwartz, Gaby Saunders, Beth Hamon, Deborah Eisenbach-Budner, Rachel Devlin, Aaron Pearlman, Margie Rosenthal, Barbara Gundle, Jack Lazareck, Susan Lazareck, Leila Wice, Catherine Trevison, Susan Baillet, Sarah Rosenberg, Rick Schwartz, Shelley Sobel, Paul Zapp-Albin, Sandra Goetz, and Jessica Wyse, among others. If you took photos at the celebration, please consider sharing them with other Havurahniks by emailing them to teri@havurahshalom.org. Thank you to Wendy Weissman, Chris Coughlin and Layton Borkan, who organized and led our Dec. 30 Chanukah/Shabbat gathering, and to Bob Brown, Michael Heumann, and Steve Rudman for guiding small group conversations. In the photo above, Chris Coughlin gives a drash on Dec. 30. 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. Above photo is from www.theconversationproject.org. NEW YEAR, NEW JOB? New Year, New Job? We are still looking for an Office and Facilities Manager to replace Rachel. If you know of anyone looking for a job who has experience as an office manager, planning events, working with vendors, and excellent technical skills, please have them check out our job listing here. If you have questions about the job, contact Debbi at debbinadell@gmail.com. SET UP YOUR ACCOUNT ON HAVURAH'S WEBSITE With your own account, you can view your RSVPs for events, Yahrtzeit dates for your loved ones, and have access to the Havurah Membership Directory. If you haven’t logged in yet, follow these simple steps: 1. Go to www.havurahshalom.org. 2. In the top right hand corner, click on Log In. 3. Choose ‘forgot password.’ 4. Enter the email you use to receive our community email and other announcements. 5. Follow the prompts in the email message you receive to set your password. If you have any trouble, send a message to info@havurahshalom.org and we will help you out! RESCHEDULED CERAMIC GLAZING WORKSHOPS Sunday, March 19 Please come back & finish glazing your creations! IN OUR COMMUNITY ... Dare I Call You Cousin 8470 SW Oleson Rd, Portland
For those of you who missed the "Dare I Call You Cousin," exhibition at Havurah of poems, photographs, and videos, compassionate to the struggle of Israelis and Palestinians on both sides of the Green Line, and those of you who want to see it again, "Dare I Call You Cousin" will open on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017 at the West Hills Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in SW Portland, from 1:30 - 4:30 pm.
"Cousin" is a collaboration by three artists: Portland poet and Havurah member Frances Payne Adler, Jerusalem photographer Michal Fattal, and Tel Aviv videographer Yossi Yacov.
Frances Payne Adler will give a talk during the Fellowship Service preceding the opening, which is 10:30-11:45 am. All are welcome to come to the Sunday Fellowship. Viewing hours will be during the opening on Jan. 8 and on Sundays in January, before and after services: 9:00 - 10:30 am and 12:00 - 1:00 pm.
RITES: A One Woman Show The Siren Theater, 315 NW Davis, Portland Tickets are $12 in advance, $16 at the door Havurah member Marjorie Rosenthal Hutsell’s sister, Rachel Rosenthal, will perform during Bad Reputation Production’s “Lone Wolves: A Night of Solo Sketch Comedy,” at The Siren Theater on Jan. 27 and 28. Rachel’s show, “RITES: A One “Woman” Show,” is the second act. As described by The Siren Theater: Visiting from NYC, Comedian Rachel Rosenthal (The PIT, North Coast, Big Bang Improv) is bringing her bat mitzvah-inspired solo comedy show to Portland! The year was 1992 and Rachel was about to become a “woman.” Travel back in time to fluorescent scrunchies, Boyz II Men hits and Rachel Rosenthal’s own Bat Mitzvah - as she takes us on her journey to womanhood through true stories, bigger than life characters, and obviously - choreographed dances. What does it mean to be a woman? Learn more about the show here, and purchase tickets 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. 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. Photo below is of Astoria, Oregon, where Weekend in Quest is held.
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. Drawing below is of Camp Solomon Schechter, where the Shabbaton will be held.
Calling Young Jewish Artists! ORA Northwest Jewish Artists is proud to sponsor the first Young Artists Show, Sunday, Feb. 26 – Friday, March 3. The show will be held in the Mittleman Jewish Community Center’s lobby. It will be the first event to kick off the monthlong Jewish Arts Month which runs through the end of March and features art by ORA members. Children in grades 5-8 are invited to submit up to five pieces of art, of any medium, for jury review and consideration for the show. Prizes will be awarded in each grade level. Young artists must submit their artwork for jury consideration on Sunday, Feb. 12, between 10:30 am and 12:00 pm at Neveh Shalom, Room 105. Application and details can be found here. For more information, email youngartistsshow@gmail.com. RABBI CANDIDATE NEWS This blog post provides answers to questions that Havurah members have asked about the process of our rabbi selection. |
