FROM OUR CALENDAR 1 Upcoming Shabbat 2 High Holidays Packet 3 Privilege Equity Meeting 4 Music Sharing 5 Jewish Mindfulness Meditation 6 Wednesday Morning Minyan 7 Kabbalat Shabbat Service with Rabbi Benjamin 8 Portland Homeless
Weekly Community Email, August 2
FROM OUR CALENDAR (1) Upcoming Shabbat (2) High Holidays Packet (3) Privilege & Equity Meeting (4) Music Sharing (5) Jewish Mindfulness & Meditation (6) Wednesday Morning Minyan (7) Kabbalat Shabbat Service with Rabbi Benjamin (8) Portland Homeless Family Solutions Updates (9) Havdalah & Potluck Picnic(10) Book Discussion of The Plot Against America
ANNOUNCEMENTS (1) Toda Raba to All Who Helped at Havurah (2) Healing & Transformation for the Days of Awe (3) Summer Concerts at MJCC (4) Jewish Pride PDX Happy Hour (5) If I Had a Hammer(er) (6) Shabbat Shira
Welcome, Rabbi Benjamin Barnett! Yesterday Rabbi Benjamin joined us as our new rabbi, and already he has met some of you who came for Tuesday meditation or Wednesday Morning Minyan. Please join us for our first Kabbalat Shabbat Service with him on Friday, Aug. 11!
FROM OUR CALENDAR
(1) Upcoming Shabbat, Saturday, Aug. 5, 10:00 am - This Saturday Jacob Hersh Wice-Budner, son of Leila Wice and Miriam Budner, will be called to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah. Please join us in celebrating with Jacob and his family, and welcome Jacob as a member of our community. Jacob's mitzvah project focuses on every kid's need to be listened to and heard. He is gathering donations for the financial aid fund at the Tucker-Maxon School, where hearing-impaired kids and hearing kids learn together.
(2) High Holidays Packet - Your High Holidays packet should arrive in your mailbox soon. Just as we have been for more than 30 years, we are opening our services to the greater community at the Tiffany Center. We look forward to seeing you there in September. As always, it takes a village to make our services happen. Please look through the many types of volunteer positions openat our SignUp website and see what fits you best. Thank you to all our volunteers!
Click here to find RSVP forms for Erev Rosh Hashanah Dinner, High Holidays childcare, and our Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur family services.
Photo below is from My Jewish Learning.
(3) Privilege & Equity Meetings - Those of us who were part of the six-week class last winter on Privilege & Equity invite you to join us at 7:00 pm on Thurs., Aug. 3, and 7:00 pm on Wed., Sept. 13, to form small groups to discuss options for our next steps. Learn more here about the meetings and the options that have come from our classes and meetings so far.
(4) Havdalah & Music Sharing Evening on Saturday, Aug. 5, 7:30 - 9:00 pm - Havurah Music Coordinator Ilene Safyan invites Havurah's Music Group to a Havdalah & Music Sharing Evening. Weather (and crowd) permitting, she hopes to host it at her home, so please let her know if you would like to come so she can plan accordingly.
Along with your voices and instruments, please consider bringing a song to share, and if you could print up words, chords, etc, to share with everyone, that would be wonderful. More details will be coming, once Ilene has a sense of who all might be able to join in. Please respond to Ilene privately by email here and she'll be back in touch with information about where and when, and any other details.
The photo below is of Havurah musicians in the Havurah Hakafot Orchestra at last year's Simchat Torah celebration. We hope the Hakafot Orchestra will help us celebrate Simchat Torah again this year!
(5) Jewish Mindfulness & Meditation - Our Jewish Mindfulness & Meditation group will continue to meet at noon on Tuesdays during the summer whenever at least two people can attend. Deborah will be at Havurah most Tuesdays. Please add your name to this doodle poll to indicate when you can come.
(6) Wednesday Morning Minyan - Our weekly Wednesday morning service from 8:30 to 9:00 am is for those who wish to incorporate daily practice in their lives and those saying Kaddish, or both. All are welcome.
(7) Kabbalat Shabbat Service, Friday, Aug. 11, 7:00 - 8:30 pm, Havurah- We look forward to our first Shabbat service with Rabbi Benjamin as our new rabbi on Friday, Aug. 11. The service will start earlier than our traditional Kabbalat Shabbat services, at 7:00 pm, and will not include a dinner in advance. We will have a dessert oneg following the service. Please join us!
(8) Portland Homeless Family Solutions (PHFS) Goose Hollow Direct Service Voluntary Project News - Havurah began the PHFS Adopt-A-Night volunteering direct service project a few years ago as a way to do this kind of work locally. We fill all of the needed volunteer positions once month. Our list of volunteers continues to grow, as well as the need for shelter. Come be a part of this experience. The only requirement other than your willingness to put yourself in what may be a new, sometimes uncomfortable situation, is a one-hour orientation.
Next orientations: Aug. 14 at 5:00 pm, Aug. 24 at 4:00 pm. All orientations are at the shelter, 1838 SW Jefferson. Please let Gloria Halper know if you are planning on attending on one of these two dates: losninos6@gmail.com.
(9) Havdalah Picnic to Welcome Rabbi Benjamin & His Family, Saturday, Aug. 19, 5:30 - 8:00 pm at Laurelhurst Park in SE Portland - At this potluck picnic and Havdalah celebration, we will welcome Rabbi Benjamin and his family. We will have games for children, potluck dinner, music and Havdalah. Come at 5:30 pm to start the games, and dinner will begin around 6'ish. Please RSVP here if you can come!
(10) Book Group Discussion on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 7:00 - 8:30 pm - Join us as Arleen Slive leads a discussion of The Plot Against America by Philip Roth. This book presents the 1930s and 1940s in the U.S. The twist occurs when Roosevelt is not re-elected in 1940 but rather the election is won by Charles Lindbergh, who makes a better hero and lightning rod than a leader. It goes downhill from there. Charles Lindbergh negotiates a cordial "understanding" with Adolf Hitler, and the new government embarks on a program of folksy anti-Semitism. It is horrifying to realize that this book, published in 2004, so perfectly describes our current political climate. Some commentators describe Roth's book as "eerily prescient." RSVP here if you can come.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
(1) Toda Raba to All Who Kept Havurah Going (& Growing) This Summer - At last Saturday's Community Minyan, Emily Simon spoke about the amazing way our community comes together whenever our spiritual leader is on sabbatical or we are without a spiritual leader for other reasons, as we were in May, June and July this year. During those three months we had many B'nai Mitzvah, our Wednesday Morning Minyan continued to meet and daven each week, and our Community Minyan and other Shabbat gatherings were not just steadily attended but also led by a growing group of capable leaders, leyners and drash givers. In addition, our Tikkun Olam work, book discussions, and other activities drew increasing numbers of leaders and participants. We are grateful to all of you who made this possible.
Speaking of growing, Barbara Gundle has spent hours (literally) watering our new trees and caring for the plants that our gardening team planted in our courtyard earlier this year. During this heat wave, watering is especially critical. Our Havurah gardeners have made our community home beautiful and welcoming. Toda raba!
(2) Healing & Transformation for the Days of Awe - Havurah member Harriet Cooke is leading a ten-week process of healing and transformation, "T'shuvah 5777-5778." Through study meditation, writing, and energetic therapies, the class will climb to new, passionate, and inspired ways of living. Read more about Harriet and her class on this flier.
(3) Mittleman Jewish Community Center Summer Concert Series - Havurah supports the MJCC's Summer Concert Series. The next concert features Nefesh Mountain on Thursday, Aug. 10, at 6:30 pm, on the grounds of the MJCC. The group Nefesh Mountain pioneers a new sound in which Jewish Spirit and Soul meet with Bluegrass and Old-time musical traditions. Founders, husband and wife team Eric Lindberg and Doni Zasloff, blend their love for both of these rich traditions and have created a new genre that marries these two seemingly disparate worlds. They are winning the hearts of audiences nationwide. Learn more and buy tickets here.
(4) Jewish Pride PDX Happy Hour at Hobo's on Aug. 24 at 6:30 pm - The first round of drinks will be on Jewish Pride PDX!
(5) If I Had a Hammer(er)- Are you good with tools, small repairs, and solving problems? Havurah is seeking a handy-person who can be on call for odd jobs related to the building and grounds. This can be either a paid or volunteer position, depending on your preference. For more information, please email Rachel.
(6) Shabbat Shira, Nov. 2-5 - OSRUI (URJ Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute) announces that registration will open soon for Shabbat Shira, OSRUI's music experience for adults - a great opportunity for spiritual renewal and making community through music. This flier provides more information.
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Havurah Shalom is a vibrant, egalitarian, and diverse Jewish Reconstructionist community. Steeped in Jewish values, Havurah promotes spirituality, learning, and acts of social responsibility.
Rose Haven Walk (register at their 2025 Reigning Roses Walk site) Sunday, May 11th 10:00a to 1:00p Rose Haven supporters and guests will unite to stride a beautiful route through NW Portland on Mother’s Day at the 12th Annual Reigning Roses Walk. Walk with, or in honor of, a special woman in your life – a mother, grandmother, daughter, partner, or friend. 10 am check-in, 11 am begin walking. (We've cancelled the Havurah Teen Engagement plan for this event; just go to the Rose Haven 2025 Reigning Roses Walk website to register!)
(IP) Jewish Ethical Responses to the Problem of Racism Monday, May 12th 6:30p to 7:45p We will address topics such as countering white nationalism and antisemitism, Jewish perspectives on reparations, repairing Jewish pioneer memory, and responding to racial microaggressions. Facilitated by Karen Sherman and Adela Basayne.
(HYB) Steering Meeting Tuesday, May 13th 6:30p to 8:30p Steering members and staff will meet to consider matters of governance. All Havurah Shalom members are invited to attend Steering Committee meetings. For Zoom join links, visit havurahshalom.org/zoom (must be logged in) or call the office in advance for assistance (503-248-4662).
(IP) Hebrew as a Tool: Prayer and Torah (registration closed) Wednesday, May 14th 7:00p to 8:15p (This class will now be starting on January 8.) Using an in-depth, word-by-word approach, we discover literal meaning(s), ancient layers of understanding, and our own personal interpretations that stem from the nuances of the Hebrew text. Basic Hebrew decoding skills necessary.
(IP) B’nei Mitzvah Drash and Service Workshop Thursday, May 15th 7:00p to 8:00p Students and parents are guided through responding to Torah in a drash. You will also take a walk through the Shabbat Morning service. Led by Sarah Shine.
(HYB) Text and Torah Shabbat: "Forgotten" Jewish Rituals Shabbat, May 17th 10:00a to 12:00p One hour of text study with Diane Chaplin on special topics, followed by a brief service. Join us afterward for a light community brunch provided by the Lunches and Noshes Committee! Free childcare is provided. For Zoom information, please email info@havurhshalom.org.
(IP) Shabbat School Summit Shabbat, May 17th 3:00p to 5:15p Summit for all Shabbat School Families. At least one parent/adult from each familiy needs to attend. If you have two adults and children in more than one grade, it is best to have one adult attend per grade.
(IP) New(ish) Member Brunch Sunday, May 18th 10:00a to 12:00p A schmear & schmooze brunch at Havurah Shalom from the Havurah Welcoming Committee for new members, newish members, and any Havurahniks who would appreciate being welcomed in again and learning about new ways to become more connected within the community. Questions? Email Wendy Castineira. Please RSVP!
You can also reach out to Tara Anderson, Havurah's Participation and Publications Coordinator (phone: 503-248-4662, ext. 4; email: tara@havurahshalom.org).
When you register, please let us know in the Notes section about any relevant dietary needs (vegan, gluten-free, etc.)
