HAVURAH HAPPENINGS
(1) Upcoming Shabbat (2) Office Closures (3) Silver Falls State Park Hike (4) Book Discussion (5) ICE Vigil Led by Havurah (6) PHFS Goose Hollow Shelter (7) Chanukah Parenting Classes for Parents & Grandparents (8) Climate: Do We Need to Change? Can We Change? (9) It Takes a Village (10) Energy Efficiency In Dark Times (11) Joy & Light Chanukah Celebration & Kabbalat Shabbat (12) Save the Date - Jan. 20, 5:00 pm - for Rabbi Benjamin's Installation

ANNOUNCEMENTS
(1) Havurahniks Who Need Help - Pastoral Care Team (2) Awakening the Divine Spirituality Retreat Jan. 2-7 (3) Want to Be a Havurah Tutor? (4) Fair Trade Judaica Gelt (5) Video of Havurah and Tribal Youth, Photos of Water Is Life

HAVURAH HAPPENINGS

(1) Upcoming Shabbat - Text & Torah: The Torah and Gender Identification, Saturday, Nov. 25, 10:00 am - Come early to grab a breakfast nosh before we examine gender diversity in the Torah. Did you know that Classical Judaism identifies six categories of gender? We will read and discuss both ancient and contemporary Judaism’s views around non-binary genders.

(2) Office Closures for Thanksgiving - Havurah's office will be closed for Thanksgiving this Thursday and Friday, Nov. 23-24.

(3) Silver Falls State Park Hike, Tuesday, Nov. 28 – Are you interested in exploring Oregon’s natural areas with other Havurahniks? Join the new Havurah Naturalists Group! Jeff Gottfried will lead the group’s first hike on Tuesday, Nov. 28, in Silver Falls State Park. The group will leave Portland at 8:30 am from Jeff’s house, 7040 SW 84th Ave, and drive through Silverton to Silver Falls. Learn more here.

(4) Book Discussion, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 7:00-8:30 pm - Join us for a discussion led by Stacy Hankin of The Luminous Heart of Jonah S. by Gina Nahai. This book tells the story of an Iranian Jewish family that is tormented for decades by a crafty and unscrupulous financier who has futilely claimed to be an heir to the family's fortune. Forty years later he suddenly disappears. Learn more and RSVP on our website calendar to help the discussion leader plan. Questions? Contact marjoriewalters@gmail.com.

(6) Portland Homeless Family Solutions (PHFS), Goose Hollow Shelter Direct Service Project - Come to an hour-long orientation to learn how Goose Hollow offers families temporary housing and helps them become stable and no longer homeless. Orientations: Nov. 30 at 4:00 pm, Dec. 6 at 5:00 pm, at 1838 SW Yamhill. RSVP to Bethany Rocci. From a PHFS volunteer: “Being a Kid Time Host is more than just playing a game with the kiddos. You have the opportunity to offer emotional support, peer contact, confidentiality, and skill-building in self-assertion and conflict resolution. Kids need to know that the trauma is not their fault and that adults are working to fix it.” For more info re: PHFS please contact Gloria Halper.

(7) Parenting & Grandparenting Classes for Chanukah Dec. 2 & 7: Climate Change Activism with Our Children, Saturday, Dec. 2, 3:10-4:30 pm -
How can we engage ourselves, our families, our youth and our Havurah community in learning about, finding solutions and taking action on the Climate Crises? For those who are new to thinking about climate change to folks already taking action, this workshop is for you. An interactive workshop where we will get inspired, feel empowered and leave with a plan of action. RSVP here. December Dilemmas, Saturday, Dec. 9, 3:10-4:30 pm - Join Rabbi Benjamin for a frank conversation about what it means to parent in Jewish families at this time of year, be a Jew in Portland, be a non-Jew in a Jewish family. RSVP here.

(8) Climate - Do We Need to Change? Can We Change?, Thursday, Dec. 7, 7:00-8:30 pm - Please join Deb Lev for a presentation titled 'Climate – do we need to change? Can we change?' Deb is from the Climate Reality Project, and is an active member of 350PDX, and a Havurah member. The presentation is sponsored by the Havurah Climate Action Team, part of Tikkun Olam. There will be a Q&A session and discussion following the presentation. Questions? Please contact Steve Birkel at sjbirkel@gmail.com.

(9) It Takes a Village: A Tikkun Olam Committee Sponsored Event, Sunday, Dec. 10, 2:00-4:00 pm, Havurah Shalom - Do the problems of the developing world seem overwhelming? What can we realistically do to help? When there is so much that needs to be done in our own community, why should we help people who live far away? The Rafiki Village Project (RVP)  is a Portland-based non-profit that is working to help Gijega Village, a community of about 2000 people in Tanzania. Rooted in the idea that the problems associated with poverty in the developing world are less overwhelming when broken down to the village level, the RVP is partnering with the villagers to address their problems one project at a time. Please join us for a presentation and discussion about the RVP, economic justice, the problems facing Gijega and the meaning of Tikkun Olam. Learn more . Questions: David@rafikivp.org. (Above photo taken by David Newman.)

(10) Energy Efficiency in Dark Times, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 7:00-8:30 pm - This session, facilitated by the Lifelong Learning Committee, will offer reflection, encouragement, and renewal as we celebrate the second night of Chanukah. Please join us in community as we acknowledge challenges, tap into cultural sources that offer perspective, and find ways to mend, rededicate, and move forward. Tikkun olam comes in a variety of sizes, from the very personal to the global. Bring on the light! RSVP here.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

(1) Havurahniks Who Need Help - Pastoral Care Team - Earlier this year, Havurah members with pastoral care training and experience formed a Pastoral Care Team (PCT) to support members during the months when we had no rabbi. Rabbi Benjamin and the PCT have now begun a conversation about continuing their work to support him in providing pastoral care to our community. PCT Co-chairs Allan Cordova and Sandy Ramirez will meet with Rabbi Benjamin soon to lay the groundwork for this support system. Click here to learn about current developments and how to help Havurah members facing challenges right now, including Nick Fish and Patricia Schechter.

(3) Want to Be a Havurah Tutor? - Can you devote an hour or two once a week to tutor some of the neediest children in our city? As part of Havurah’s commitment to being a sanctuary congregation, we are partnering with the Baltazar Ortiz Community Center (6736 NE Killingsworth St), a Multnomah County health facility that works with refugees and immigrants and is a safe gathering place for the Latino and East African communities that surround it. Havurah has been asked to create an after school tutoring program for some of the neighborhood elementary school age children. Learn more here.

(4) Fair Trade Judaica Chanukah Gelt - This year support Kuapa Kokoo, a Fair Trade cooperative in Ghana who are co-owners of Divine Chocolate. Fair Trade standards prohibit the use of child labor. Learn more and order gelt here.

(5) Youth Video & Water Is Life Photos - The Stop Fracked Gas/PDX group worked with local youth, including two Havurahniks, Solomon Duke and Sandro Alvarez, to create this video to let Governor Brown know that we stand behind her in protecting the environment and saying no to any new fossil fuel projects in Oregon. Check out these photos Michael Heumann took at last week's 'Water Is Life' event at Havurah. Thank you, Jan Zuckerman, and many others for organizing the successful well-attended event featuring tribal and Havurah youth.

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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