HAVURAH HAPPENINGS
(1) Upcoming Shabbat (2) Ambiguity & the Multiple Narratives of Torah (3) A Wonderful Simchat Torah (4) The Settlers (5) Courtyard Mosaic Project (6) Book Group Meeting (7) Erev Shabbat with Portland Just Energy Transition Initiative (8) PHFS Goose Hollow Direct Service Project (9) Refugee Support Meeting (10) A Broken Hallelujah - Tribute to Leonard Cohen on Kristallnacht (11) November Kabbalat Shabbat with Dinner

ANNOUNCEMENTS
(1) Awakening the Divine Jewish Spirituality Retreat (2) Weekend in Quest (3) Reconstructionist Podcasts (4) Developing an Eastside Jewish Commons (5) Jewish Pride Greater PDX Happy Hour

HAVURAH HAPPENINGS

(1) Upcoming Shabbat, Saturday, Oct. 21, Community Minyan, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm – Join Rabbi Benjamin, Barbara Slader, Roger Brewer, Chaim Wolin, Chris Coughlin, Laura Orgel, and Karen St. Clair this Saturday to daven, and to read and discuss Parsha Noah. Tot Shabbat families will join the minyan during the Torah service.

Tot Shabbat, 10:30 - 11:30 am – Young children and their parents celebrate Shabbat with singing, movement, blessings, and storytelling. We touch on the main highlights of the Shabbat morning service: wonder, fun, song, listening to the world, dancing, and Torah. Tot Shabbat is fashioned for the under-6 crowd, but older kids are welcome (and can help tell a story, etc.). Afterwards, we enjoy an informal potluck oneg nosh and the chance to play and schmooze. Led by Deborah Eisenbach-Budner. Please RSVP by Wednesday, Oct. 18.

(2) Ambiguity & the Multiple Narratives of Torah, Taught by Rabbi Benjamin, Wednesdays, 7:00-8:30 pm, Oct. 18, 25; Nov. 1, 8, 15, 29 - The Hebrew Bible is rich with ambiguity. While we carry many assumptions about its points of view, the Torah is in fact multilayered and nuanced. Through close readings of particular Biblical narratives, including those of Abraham, Hagar, Jacob, and David, and with the aid of ancient and contemporary responses, we will re-read the literature that is Torah, exploring its artistry and reflecting on the ways in which it expresses and comments upon the nature of humanity. Please RSVP here.

(3) Thank You For a Wonderful Simchat Torah! - Many thanks to all who made our Simchat Torah celebration so joyful: Rabbi Benjamin, Ilene Safyan, Deborah Eisenbach-Budner, Holidays Co-Chairs Patricia Schwartz and Gaby Saunders, Lead Simchat Torah Organizer Beth Shreve, and her team of Marian Rhys, Elise Granek, Sandy Ramirez, and Beverlee Cutler.

From Ilene Safyan to all the Simchat Torah musicians: "So many thanks to our “Havurah Party Band” that assembled for our Simchat Torah celebration. To Jacob Mandelsberg, guitar and vocals; Chaim Wolin, clarinet; Gabe Adoff, standup bass; Roger Brewer, guitar and vocals; Karen Stolzberg, percussion; Kate Dreyfus, vocals; Sacha Reich, vocals; Aaron Pearlman, guitar and vocals; Miriam Reshotko, vocals; Rabbi Benjamin, vocals and guitar ... your music put smiles on our faces, and raised our spirits, voices, and our energy! Thanks so much for the beautiful, spirited music. It added so much!"

(4) Israeli Film "The Settlers" Screening, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2:00 pm, Neveh Shalom, 2900 SW Peaceful Lane - Join us for a screening of the film, "The Settlers," previously shown at the Jewish Film Festival. “Opens a rare window into the reclusive and politically explosive ‘hilltop youth’ movement. … Chronicles the germination of the early settler movement after Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan in 1967, including the ideas and religious zeal that fueled it. … One of the first close-up views of the motives and personalities in a group that rarely opens up to outsiders.”- James Glanz, The New York Times. Refreshments and discussion to follow screening. Free and open to the public. This event is co-sponsored by Havurah’s Tikkun Olam Committee. Questions? Contact Nancy Becker at nancyjbecker@gmail.com. Learn more on this flier.

Above photo of tile making at Havurah was taken by Barbara Gundle.

(5) Courtyard Mosaic Project, Oct. 22-24 - Come help with our mosaic art project! We will apply the tiles and glass that we made several months ago to the backing board in preparation for the installation of our new murals. Let us know on this doodle poll, tinyurl.com/HSmosaic, when you'd like to join us by selecting the time(s) and day(s) that work for you.

(6) Book Discussion Group, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 7:00-8:30 pm - Please join us for a geography lesson of the heart. Ruth Feldman will lead us in a discussion of The Best Place on Earth (HarperCollins Canada), a collection of short stories by Ayelet Tsabari. A child of the 1970s and 1980s, Tsabari was born in Israel to a family of Yemeni descent. “I grew up not seeing myself and my family in literature,” she says, “so writing The Best Place on Earth was a way to create the characters that were missing from my childhood stories." Learn more and RSVP here if you can come.

(7) Erev Shabbat with Portland Just Energy Transition Initiative, Friday, Oct. 27, 7:00 pm - The Havurah Climate Action Team invites you to this Erev Shabbat service, where we will be joined by Jo Ann Hardesty, President of the Portland NAACP, and Anaïs Tuepker, from 350PDX, who will lead a presentation after services about the Portland Just Energy Transition Initiative. The initiative has been developed by a diverse group of local organizations representing communities of color and the climate movement in Portland. Come, learn more, and find out how you can help. Questions? Contact Michael Heumann (503-880-2226) or Elianne Lieberman (503-422-6402). Learn more and RSVP here.

(8) Portland Homeless Family Solutions (PHFS) Goose Hollow Direct Service Project - If the concept of direct service, that is meeting face to face with the people you intend to help, has meaning for you, check out PHFS. How? On their website or by attending a very short orientation -- only 1 hour. Next orientation: Oct. 25, at 5:00 pm, at the Goose Hollow shelter, 1838 SW Jefferson. RSVP to Bethany Rocci at bethany@pdxhfs.org. An even simpler way to see how the program is run and to meet other Havurahniks, as well as staff and some of those families being served, is to sign up to help with a meal. Meal Providers do not need to attend an orientation! Contact Elayne Shapiro, elayneshapiro@gmail.com or Leonard Shapiro, lenshap@gmail.com. All other questions: Gloria Halper, losninos6@gmail.com.

(9) Refugee Support Meeting, Thursday, Nov. 2, 6:30 - 8:00 pm -  This is an opportunity for new and veteran Catholic Charities volunteers from our congregation to meet for support, information, and inspiration. Please join us, even if you aren’t yet a volunteer and are simply curious. Questions? Email Rebecca Darling-Budner at rbudner@yahoo.com. Please RSVP here.
 

(10) “A Broken Hallelujah,” Tribute to Leonard Cohen on The Night of Broken Glass (Kristallnacht), Thursday, Nov. 9, 7:00 pm, Congregation Beth Israel, 1972 NW Flanders St - A community gathering of music, poetry and reflection, with Cantor Ida Rae Cahana and Ilene Safyan, and with special guests Sacha Reich, Wendy Westerwelle, Courtney Von Drehl, Ralph Huntley, Andrew Ehrlich, Ji Tanzer, and Ben Sandler. Sponsored by the Institute for Judaic Studies, Beth Israel, Havurah Shalom, Neveh Shalom, and the Oregon Jewish Museum & Center for Holocaust Education. Light reception and discussion to follow. Suggested donation of $10.

(11) Kabbalat Shabbat Dinner & Service, Friday, Nov. 10, 6:30 pm Dinner, 7:30 pm Service - Our catered, vegetarian Kabbalat Shabbat Dinner begins at 6:30 pm, followed by a musical Kabbalat Shabbat Service at 7:30 pm. For dinner, we offer dairy-free, gluten-free, and nut-free choices, and you’re invited to bring wine or juice to celebrate Shabbat. Childcare is available for kids age 2 to 8. Please RSVP here for the dinner by Nov. 6. Cost adjustments are available at 503-248-4662.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

(1) Awakening the Divine Jewish Spirituality Retreat, Jan. 2-7 - Rabbi Benjamin will co-lead this five-day retreat on the East Coast in January, alongside other skilled teachers of contemplative Jewish practice. Rabbi James Jacobson-Maisels, the retreat’s lead teacher, is one of the foremost teachers of meditation in the Jewish world today. This is Rabbi Benjamin’s third year teaching at this retreat, and he would be happy to answer any questions for those who are interested. You can learn more on this flier.

(2) "Jewish Masculinity and Femininity in the Premodern World" with Professors Rena Lauer and Yiftakh (Kevin) Osterloh of OSU, March 2-4 - The Institute for Judaic Studies presents the 12th Annual Weekend in Quest at the Holiday Inn Express, Astoria. Shabbat Services led by Rabbi Joshua Rose of Congregation Shaarie Torah. Learn more and register at  www.weekendinquest.org. You can download a flier here. Questions: Contact Mimi Epstein at mimiepstein42@comcast.net.           

(3) Reconstructionism Today Podcasts - Click here to listen to podcasts from the RRC/Jewish Reconstructionist Communities.

(4) Developing an Eastside Jewish Commons - Community leaders have been actively discussing developing a shared Jewish community space on Portland's Eastside. The Jewish Eastside Commons initiative envisions a large enough space to accommodate multiple programs at the same time. The project team is seeking input from the Eastside Jewish community. Please join one of three community conversations: Sunday, Oct. 22, 4-6 pm, Mt Scott Community Center, 5530 SE 72nd Ave; Sunday, Nov. 12, 2-4 pm, Taborspace, 5441 SE Belmont St; Tuesday, Nov. 14, 6-8 pm, McMenamins Kennedy School, 5736 NE 33rd Ave. RSVP at http://bit.ly/2xJlUjj as space is limited.

(5) Jewish Pride Greater PDX Happy Hour & Trivia Game Night, Thursday, Oct. 26, 6:30 pm, Hobo’s Bar, 120 SW Third Ave, Portland – First drinks and appetizers are on Jewish Pride PDX!

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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.

Find our calendar and learn more at www.havurahshalom.org.

825 NW 18th Ave, Portland, OR 97209
503-248-4662