FROM OUR CALENDAR 1 Upcoming Shabbat - Please RSVP if You Can Come This Friday 2 Jewish Mindfulness Meditation 3 Hakol Deadline 4 Havurah Sanctuary Committee Meeting 5 Wednesday Morning Minyan 6 Tikkun Olam Committee Meeting 7 Portlan
Weekly Community Email, August 9
FROM OUR CALENDAR (1) Upcoming Shabbat - Please RSVP if You Can Come This Friday (2) Jewish Mindfulness & Meditation (3) Hakol Deadline (4) Havurah Sanctuary Committee Meeting (5) Wednesday Morning Minyan (6) Tikkun Olam Committee Meeting (7) Portland Homeless Family Solutions (8) Havdalah & Potluck Picnic to Welcome Rabbi Benjamin & His Family(9) Book Discussion of The Plot Against America (10) Courtyard Mosaic Project (11) Music Group Gatherings to Prepare for the Yamim Noraim
ANNOUNCEMENTS (1) Please Sign Up for High Holidays Volunteering! (2) Summer Concerts at MJCC (3) Thawing ICE: Mindful Walk for Immigrant Justice (4) How to Use the Havurah Online Directory(5) Jewish Pride PDX Happy Hour (6) If I Had a Hammer(er) (7) Shabbat Shira
FROM OUR CALENDAR
(1) Upcoming Shabbat - Kabbalat Shabbat Service on Friday, Aug. 11, 7:00 pm - Please join us this Friday, for our first Shabbat service with Rabbi Benjamin. The service will be led by Rabbi Benjamin and Ilene Safyan, and will start earlier than our traditional Kabbalat Shabbat services. Though we won't have a dinner in advance of the service, we will have a dessert oneg following the service. To help us plan the oneg, please RSVP here ASAP. Thank you!
Community Minyan, Saturday, Aug. 12, 10:00 am - Havurahniks Maria Lisa Johnson, Teri Ruch, Roger Brewer, Susan Brenner, and Michele Goldschmidt will lead, leyn and drash this Saturday as we explore Ekev. In this parsha, Moses tells the people that the land they are about to enter will overflow with milk and honey if they obey God's commandments and teach them to their children. Join us!
(2) Jewish Mindfulness & Meditation, Tuesdays at Noon - 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.
(3) Hakol Deadline, Tuesday, Aug. 15, at Noon - The deadline for the September Hakol is noon on Tuesday, Aug. 15. Please submit all articles and photos via email. If you have any photos of Havurah events over the last few weeks please send them to me. Many thanks, Rachel.
(4) Havurah Sanctuary Committee Meeting, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 7:00 pm, Havurah Shalom Social Hall - The mission of the Havurah Sanctuary Committee is to explore and plan actions of accompaniment and political actions that demonstrate our commitment as a Sanctuary Congregation.
At this meeting we will review our plans for relationship building and action with the community in the Cully neighborhood and hear about how we can accompany individuals to their ICE check-ins. We will also hear an update on the support we are providing to the Gorge ICE Resistance in opposition to the collaboration happening between ICE and the NORCOR county jail in The Dalles. In addition, we will discuss our actions at the upcoming High Holiday Services. All are welcome, and we hope you will join us. If you have questions, please contact Bob Brown, rebrown47@gmail.com, Kathy Gordon, farvergordon@gmail.com, or Shari Raider, shari.raider@gmail.com.
(5) Wednesday Morning Minyan, Aug. 16, 8:30 am - 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. (Please note that our Wednesday Morning Minyan on Aug. 23 will begin at 8:15 am for Rosh Chodesh Elul.)
(6) Tikkun Olam Committee, Thursday, Aug. 17, 7:00 pm - Havurah's Tikkun Olam Committee will meet at Havurah the evening of Aug. 17.
(7) 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.
(8) 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!
(9) Book Group Discussion on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 7:00 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.
(10) Courtyard Mosaic Project, Aug. 27, 28 & 29; 10:00-12:30 pm, 1:00 - 4:00 pm, 6:30 - 8:30 pm - We will meet at the same three times on each date. Come help with our mosaic art project! We will apply the tiles and glass that we made to the backing board in preparation for the installation of our new murals. We will work at all the times listed above. Let us know onthis doodle poll when you'd like to join us by selecting the time(s) and day(s) that work for you!
(11) Music Group Gatherings to Prepare for the Yamim Noraim, Wednesdays, Aug. 23 & Aug. 30, 7:00 – 8:30 pm, Havurah Shalom - Havurah will begin musical preparation for the Yamim Noraim in earnest the week of Aug. 21, when the new month of Elul begins, and we will spend the next weeks singing and feeling the rhythms of the upcoming holidays. The first couple of sessions will occur on Wednesday nights, and we will expand to accommodate anyone interested who is unable to make those times. Please contact Ilene Safyanif you can make it or if you are interested but can't make those dates.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
(1) High Holidays Volunteering - Your High Holidays packet should have arrived in your mailbox by now. 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 above is from My Jewish Learning.)
(2) 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.
(3) Thawing ICE: Mindful Walk for Immigrant Justice, Organized by IMIrJ-member Buddhist Peace Fellowship - Thursday, Aug. 10, 12:00 - 1:15 pm, 4310 SW Macadam - Participants need not be Buddhists or members of any faith. Instruction in the practice of moving meditation will be given at the time of each walk. We invite ALL to join us in being present, offering witness, and making more visible the reality of the injustice happening every day in the South Waterfront district of Portland, Oregon. Havurah is longtime member of IMIrJ, and with IMIrJ, we are committed to an interfaith presence and witness at the Portland I.C.E. Office.
(4) How to Use the Havurah Online Directory -Havurah is fortunate to work with a website management and membership support system provided by a company called ShulCloud. It's relatively young as companies go, and it offers services to Jewish groups like ours that track yahrzeits and have other Jewish-focused needs.
It would be hard to calculate how much time our online directory has saved Havurah office staff during the past two years. We no longer have to dedicate several days in a row to creating a directory that is often outdated by the time it's completed, and we rarely have to look up contact information for members. Most of you are very independent and empowered!
Unfortunately, the online directory doesn't provide a way for households with different last names to be listed in multiple locations in its alphabetical lists. A simple solution is to look for people using the search feature at the top of the directory. At our request, ShulCloud recently highlighted this feature to make it easier to notice. Once you enter the name - first or last - of the person you're looking for, hit "return," and the listing for the person should appear. Please let our office know if you have trouble using the search feature or if you need assistance signing in as a member (which you need to do if you want to access the directory). We'd be happy to help.
(5) Jewish Pride PDX Happy Hour at Hobo's on Aug. 24, 6:30 pm - The first round of drinks will be on Jewish Pride PDX!
(6) 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.
(7) 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.
Please use this form to submit stories for this weekly community email. Submissions are due by noon on Tuesday each week.
Havurah Shalom is a vibrant, egalitarian, and diverse Jewish Reconstructionist community. Steeped in Jewish values, Havurah promotes spirituality, learning, and acts of social responsibility.
Naming the Unnameable: Exploring Theology and Practice through Rabbi Toba Spitzer’s God is Here Wednesday, Apr 17th 7:00p to 8:30p Facilitated by Rabbi Benjamin. In this class, we’ll be exploring various ways in which the Divine is represented and imagined in Jewish tradition. Beyond simply the intellectual, our lens will be more one of spiritual reflection and practice. In other words: As we encounter and interact with the metaphors that the tradition offers for experiencing and connecting with God/Spirit/Life, what do we notice within our hearts and minds? How do particular images shape our consciousness and perception? As a guide for this exploration we will read Rabbi Toba Spitzer’s book, God is Here, which should be purchased for the class (contact Rabbi Benjamin for a free copy if needed). RSVP here by March 1.
Hakol Deadline is April 18 Thursday, Apr 18th (All day) Click to learn how to submit your contributions to our monthly newsletter. The deadline for the May 2024 Hakol is Thursday, April 18.
Prayer Flags for Our Planet Thursday, Apr 18th 11:00a to 3:00p This exhibit is about science and art.
It is meant to be a learning experience, about the top 60 solutions to climate change, as researched by over 5,000 scientists.
And most importantly it is about hope.
It is about learning about these solutions to climate change and
changing the hearts and minds of those around us,
so that we can all work together.
Anne Nesse, 2024
(HYB) Shabbat Morning Shabbat, Apr 20th 10:00a to 12:00p Led by community members and Rabbi Benjamin, this service includes davening, Torah reading, and discussion. For Zoom link (Zoom Room Aleph), email info@havurahshalom.org.
(IP) Tot Shabbat Shabbat, Apr 20th 10:30a to 11:30a Young children (0-5) and parents celebrate with singing, movement, blessings, and storytelling. All are welcome.
Shabbat School Shabbat, Apr 20th 3:00p to 5:15p This program gives children a foundation for lifelong Jewish learning and engagement while integrating parents and children in a caring Jewish community.
(HYB) Meeting of Palestine Justice working group Sunday, Apr 21st 7:00p to 8:30p Our regular monthly meeting of the Palestine Justice working group will take place on the third Sunday of every month, at Havurah and in Zoom Room Bet. 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! Tuesday, Apr 23rd 7:00p to 7:30p [RSVP to be emailed a recording of the April 9 intro session.] The Omer is an ancient tradition marking time between the Exodus from the Narrow Place to the Expanse at Sinai. Explore tools and practices to facilitate your own learning and experience from Liberation to Revelation. We will have an intro class followed by half-hour check-ins, one for each Sephira. Led by Andrine de la Rocha. 7 pm, Tuesdays, Apr. 9 (Intro), 23 (Chesed), 30 (Gevurah); May 7 (Tiferet), 14 (Netzach), 21 (Hod), 28 (Yesod); Jun. 4 (Malchut) Led by Andrine de la Rocha.
