HAVURAH HAPPENINGS (1) Upcoming Shabbat - B'nai Mitzvah of Elijah and Levi Edelman (2) Book Discussion (3) Immigration Seder-Vigil (4) Looking for a Seder with Havurah Members? (5) Kabbalat Shabbat with Hand in Hand (6) Cultural Humility Training (7) New & Prospective Members Orientation (8) Not an Auction! Havurah Shindig

ANNOUNCEMENTS (1) Seeking Nominations for Steering Committee (2) Lotsa Helping Hands Expands (3) Shabbat School Registration Opens (4) Portland Homeless Family Solutions Welcomes Meals (5) Yom Ha'Aretz at Havurah (6) Rachel's Well (7) Art and Spirit: Finding Yourself in the Story

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HAVURAH HAPPENINGS

Passover is approaching. (Above photo is from Paramount Pictures.)

(1) Upcoming Shabbat - B'nai Mitzvah of Elijah & Levi Edelman, Saturday, March 24, 10:00 am-12:00 pm - This Saturday, Levi and Elijah Edelman, sons of Jonah Edelman and Charese Rohny, will be called to the Torah as B'nai Mitzvah. Please join us in celebrating with Elijah, Levi, and their family, and welcome them as members of our community!

(2) Book Discussion Group, Tuesday, March 27, 7:00-8:30 pm - Please join us for a discussion of Rivington Street by Meredith Tax. This sprawling historical novel follows the fortunes of four enterprising, courageous Jewish women on New York's Lower East Side. Hannah Levy masterminds her family's escape, despite her radical husband's objections, from czarist Russia after the Kishinev pogroms; elder daughter Sarah becomes a union organizer and a socialist while the younger Ruby rises to the top of the fashion design world; their friend Rachel abandons her ultra-Orthodox background to work for The Jewish Daily Forward. Through their lives, loves, and convictions, Meredith Tax draws the reader irresistibly into the explosive events that shaped women's possibilities in the early twentieth century. Sharon Reyes, who will lead the discussion, says, “this book, an engaging read, is a lovely complement to The Family that we read previously.” RSVP here.

(3) Immigration Seder-Vigil, Thursday, March 29, 10-11:00 am at 4302 SW Macadam - The Sanctuary Committee of Havurah Shalom, along with other Jewish congregations, will be hosting a symbolic Seder vigil at the ICE immigration building as part of the monthly IMIrJ (Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Rights) vigils. We will share how our Jewish story of being slaves in Egypt, to being refugees for a generation, to finally reaching liberation, is directly connected to the plight of immigrants in our country today. Passover comes at a time this year when decisions about DACA will be having a major impact on so many families. We invite you to attend this meaningful gathering and to lift our collective voices to denounce the persecution of immigrants and show our support. Questions? Contact marciasuttenberg@comcast.net.

(4) Looking for a Seder at a Havurah Home? - As a Havurah member, if you would like to join a seder at another Havurah member's home, please let us know soon, so seder matcher Gaby Saunders has time to link you with a seder. Last-minute requests will be considered, but to give your host or hostess time to prepare, you're strongly encouraged to complete the form linked below by noon on Monday, March 26.

If you're hosting a seder this year and are looking for planning ideas, you can find helpful resources on our Pesach web page, including traditional songs sung by Havurah member, Cantor Barbara Slader. This article, co-written by Education Director Deborah Eisenbach-Budner, provides interesting information about the origins of the folk ritual of placing an orange on the seder plate.

(5) Kabbalat Shabbat, Friday, April 13, 7:30-8:30 pm - We are excited to host three representatives from Hand in Hand, Center for Jewish-Arab Education in Israel, at our April Kabbalat Shabbat service. Noa Yammer, a senior Hand in Hand staff member, and Alma Saporta (who is Jewish) and Vicky Makhoul (who is Arab), both recent graduates of Hand in Hand’s flagship school in Jerusalem. They will join us for Shabbat dinner and will speak after the short Friday evening service. Hand in Hand was founded by Havurah member Lee Gordon, and it has established a network of integrated schools and shared communities for Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel.

The Kabbalat Shabbat service is preceded by a catered dinner at 6:30 pm, which requires advance registration. Due to space limitations, we must limit seats for the dinner, so please sign up as soon as possible to be assured of a seat. Registration will close when seats are filled; however, RSVP no later than noon on Wednesday, April 11. If your RSVP is being mailed, please let the office know. All are welcome to attend the service at 7:30 pm - no RSVP is required. Childcare is available.

Pictured above are students of Hand in Hand.

(6) Cultural Humility Training, Sunday, April 15, 3:00-5:00 pm, Havurah Shalom - Learn about best practices in communicating with people from cultural backgrounds different from ours. Lynn Reer will lead this training. She has a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics and has been working as a teacher trainer for many years. She will give us some tips on ways to challenge our cultural perspectives so we can honor individuals as they truly are, as members of a culture with customs and practices we may not be familiar with. We will bring in two "cultural informants," one whose native culture is Mexican, the other, Somali, to look at examples of communication misunderstandings. Please RSVP to Deb Kallen at debkall2010@gmail.com.

(7) New & Prospective Members Brunch Orientation, Saturday, April 21, 12:00-1:30 pm - Did you join Havurah during the past 18 months? Do you have questions about our history, our committees and affinity groups, and our future plans? If so, join us for our annual oneg brunch and orientation for new and prospective members. We will serve coffee bagels, lox, fruit, sweets, and more, and childcare will be available. Hear from Rabbi Benjamin, Deborah Eisenbach-Budner, co-presidents and cluster leads. You're also invited to the community minyan before the orientation, which begins at 10:00 am, and/or to Tot Shabbat, which is from 10:30-11:30 am. Please RSVP here by Wednesday, April 18, if you can join us for the brunch!

(8) Havurah Shindig, Sunday, May 6, 4:00-8:00 pm - Not an auction! Mark your calendar: May 6 is our Havurah Shindig, our mix and mingle fundraiser (4:00-8:00 pm). Lounge and schmooze in our nightclub, gamble at our casino, enjoy delicious appetizers, desserts and signature cocktails. Adults only. Buy tickets here! If you’d like to help in any way or if you have questions, contact Nancy Becker at nancyjbecker@gmail.com.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

(1) Nominating Committee Looks for New Steering Members - Havurah's Nominating Committee has started work to fill positions for next year's Steering Committee, Including Vice President and Limud (Education) Lead. We are looking for motivated Havurah members who want to be involved in a hands-on manner with our governance and planning. New Steering members will be presented for election following the Congregational Meeting on June 3. According to Havurah bylaws, there will be a 10-day period to submit additional nominations before the voting period. If you have questions about positions, please contact one of the Nominating Committee members: Eve Berry, berryev@yahoo.com; Janice Kettler, jket123@gmail.com; Julia Lager-Mesulam, lagermes@gmail.com; Aaron Pearlman, aaron@pearlmanoffice.com; and Debbi Nadell, debbinadell@gmail.com.

(2) LOTSA HELPING HANDS: What is it? How does it work? Who can use it? - Recently, the baton for LOTSA HELPING HANDS has been passed to new coordinators. We are Linda Appel, Ted Scheinman, Emily Kurzweil and Susan Lazareck. Lotsa Helping Hands enables Havurah community members to schedule and sign up for tasks to help members going through challenging times. This could include making and delivering meals, providing transportation to medical appointments, and making home visits. Tasks are posted on the Lotsa Helping Hands calendar by a coordinator and requesting member. Volunteers can easily see what is needed and sign up for individual tasks, and an email can be sent to the Lotsa Helping Hands network of volunteers, alerting them to the need for help. Regular reminders are sent to volunteers who sign up, so no one forgets their commitments. Read more here on the Havurah Shalom website.

(3) Shabbat School Registration Opens - Havurah Shalom Shabbat School is for Havurah families with children in grades K-6. This program is designed to bring families together for learning and teaching. With the direction and support of our education staff, parents work together in teams to plan and implement the curriculum and community building activities for their child’s grade. All levels of experience are welcome at Shabbat School – nobody knows too little (or too much) to be part of a teaching team! The cost for this year long program is $100 for one child, and $180 (total) for two or more children. Our Shabbat School program starts with our Family Summit on May 12 (3:00-5:00 pm). Each grade’s class also organizes various community building events throughout the summer. Parents are required to attend the summit. For more information, please visit the Shabbat School page of our website. Register for Shabbat School here.

(4) Portland Homeless Family Solutions Meal Making/Drop Off Option for PHFS Shelters - Prepare a meal that can be used when it’s most needed! Meals can be breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Food may be home-prepared, pre-made from the grocery store, or restaurant-made. Freezer-friendly meals are encouraged. This is a delivery-only position and is also a financial contribution. Thank you for your generosity! Please coordinate drop-off times with Volunteer Manager Bethany Rocci at bethany@pdxfhs.org.

(5) Yom Ha'Aretz at Havurah - Every day is Earth Day (April 22) at Havurah. We reduce food waste. It's a little harder when 400 families use "your" refrigerator, but you know what to do. If not marked otherwise, food is community property. Check the kitchen (freezer, refrigerator, counters, etc.) before purchasing food. Look for started items before opening new ones. Date items as you open them. Consider incorporating leftovers in the menu for class snacks, meeting refreshments, onegs. Cover "new" leftovers so they stay clean. Label items dedicated to a particular event and keep them together. Large quantities of leftover food can be donated. We will post addresses and hours of nearby agencies that accept food. MORE from the Climate Action Workgroup next week! Questions? Contact Adele Thompson at adeledt@live.com.

(6) Rachel's Well - Mikvah Now Open - Rachel’s Well Community Mikvah is open for contemporary and traditional ritual immersions. Celebrate, commemorate, observe tradition with Rachel’s Well. To learn more and make an appointment, visit jewishportland.org/mikvah or call 971-220-5580.

(7) Art and Spirit: Finding Yourself in the Story with Havurah Member Cassandra Sagan on Sunday, March 25, 2:00-4:00 pm, MJCC - Step into the Living Torah! Beginning in text, we’ll flow between simple, brief, incremental forms of “sacred play,” and time to create through our chosen art form, written or visual. Using voice, movement, story, stillness, and a bissel silliness, we’ll learn ways to cultivate personal midrash. Through embodied Torah study, we find ways to discover and express meaning, EVEN WHEN WE CAN’T ARTICULATE IT. Bring your own notebook or art supplies. Cassandra Sagan is an ordained Maggid, educator, poet, artist, songwriter, and InterPlay leader who is on the faculty of Reclaiming Judaism’s Maggid-Educator Training Program. Presented by ORA: NW Jewish Artists, MJCC, and Reclaiming Judaism. Learn more on this flier.

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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