HAVURAH HAPPENINGS (1) Upcoming Shabbat (2) Immigration Seder-Vigil (3) Lev Tahor (Pure Heart) Chanting (4) Kabbalat Shabbat with Hand in Hand (5) Cultural Humility Training (6) Everything You Don't Know About Electric Vehicles (7) New & Prospective Members Orientation (8) Tot Shabbat (9) White Ally Training (10) Havurah Shindig

ANNOUNCEMENTS (1) Passover Video from Tikkun Olam (2) "The Forbidden Conversation" on April 5 (3) Seeking Nominations for Steering Committee (4) Portland Homeless Family Solutions Future Plans (5) Yom Ha'Aretz (6) Shabbat School Registration

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HAVURAH HAPPENINGS

(1) Upcoming Shabbat - Community Minyan, Saturday, March 31, 10:00 am-12:00 pm - This Saturday, Ken Lerner, Natalie Lerner, Diane Chaplin, Maria Lisa Johnson, Chaim Wolin, Emily Simon and Sam Sirkin will lead, read Torah, and drash at our Shabbat Pesach Community Minyan. Join us!

(2) Immigration Seder Vigil, Thursday, March 29, 10:00-11:00 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.

(3) Lev Tahor (Pure Heart) Chanting, Monday, April 9, 7:00-8:30 pm - We will gather to lift sacred phrases through melody, harmony, and rhythm in order to open our hearts, clarify our minds, and cultivate qualities such as gratefulness and compassion. Interspersed with periods of silent meditation, the chanting will be guided by teachings and intentions from Rabbi Benjamin. Lev Tahor Chanting is open to anyone – no experience, musical ability, or commitment necessary. Lev Tahor Chanting is free for members; non-members are asked to make a small donation to Havurah Shalom.

(4) 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. Hand in Hand was founded by Havurah member Lee Gordon and 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 here 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 required. Childcare is available.

Pictured above are students of Hand in Hand.

(5) 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.

(6) Everything You Don't Know About Electric Vehicles, Monday, April 16, 7:00-8:30 pm - Paul Reno, retired faculty member of the Marine Science Center at Oregon State University, will present a brief history of electric cars. He will dive deep into what you need to know: types of EVs, cost, effect of weather and accessories on battery life, charging issues, environmental impact and more. He will also briefly discuss fuel cell vehicles. A question and answer period will follow. Co-sponsors: Northwest 350PDX and Havurah Climate Action Team. For additional information, contact Kahler Martinson at martinsonkahler@yahoo.com or Steve Birkel at sjbirkel@gmail.com.

(7) New & Prospective Members Oneg 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 orientation for new and prospective members. It will begin with a vegetarian oneg lunch, and childcare will be available. You'll 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 that morning. Please RSVP here by Wednesday, April 18, if you can join us for the orientation!

(8) Tot Shabbat, Saturday, April 21, 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 here.

(9) White Ally Training, Sunday, April 22, 2:30-5:30 pm, First Congregational UCC, or Tuesday, April 24, 9:00 am-12:00 pm, Muslim Education Trust (MET) in Tigard - Tools and skills to effectively engage with people who don't think racism is real. These trainings are led by David Campt, a nationally renowned trainer who developed the White Ally Toolkit. This is a continuation of the equity work Havurah has been doing over the last several years, including the SURJ (Stand Up for Racial Justice) training for parents held at Havurah in January. We hope a number of Havurah members will decide to attend one of these two trainings. Our collective learnings will empower us all! For the April 22 training, the cost is $15-$45, sliding scale. Register here. For the April 24 training, the cost is $45 without lunch and $60 with lunch. If you need a sliding scale, please contact the people at MET. Register here. Please email Susan Rosenthall at sarosenthall@msn.com if you plan to attend one of the trainings, so Havurah members can look for each other at the training and possibly carpool.

(10) Havurah Shindig, Sunday, May 6, 4:00-8:00 pm - Come eat, drink, enjoy old friends and make new friends, at the Havurah Shindig! We've made a commitment to raise $10,000 for our general funds and we're going to do it while having fun and getting to know each other better. We'll have music, a little gambling, perhaps some dancing - and a wine wall! We'll have a raffle and plenty of prizes to bid for (not an auction though!) Brief live entertainment for our Mitzvah Moment, featuring some of Havurah's cleverest performers! For babysitting, we will be setting up a concierge service. Watch for details. Registration will be open soon. Mark your calendars and be there or be square! Questions? Contact Nancy Becker at nancyjbecker@gmail.com.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

(1) Passover Video from Tikkun Olam - Havurah's Tikkun Olam Committee often sends members a reading to consider including in their seders. This year they are sending a link to this 14-minute video about American soldiers held as Prisoners of War during WWII. The committee isn't suggesting that everyone watch it during their seder, but it could stimulate discussion. While clearly about liberation and standing up to oppression, there is an extra clue to its Passover "connection" near the end. You can find many other resources for planning your seder here on our Pesach web page.

(2) "The Forbidden Conversation," J-Street Speaker Event, Thursday, April 5, 7:00-9:00 pm, Havurah Shalom - "The Forbidden Conversation," written and performed by Gili Getz, is a personal journey into the past and future, exploring the difficulty of talking openly about Israel. The one-act play will be followed by a conversation. Video clip & additional information here. Questions? Contact Fran Payne Adler at fpayneadler@csumb.edu.

(3) 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.

(4) Portland Homeless Family Solutions (PHFS) Future Plans - We are excited to let you know that PHFS has made an offer to purchase a building that will be used as a permanent shelter and administrative office. This new shelter will have room for 26 families – more than three times the current capacity of eight families. Because the 24-hour shelter will be in a single location, it will provide a much more stable and supportive experience for the families. PHFS also made an offer to purchase eight adjacent housing units to provide affordable housing and has launched a capital campaign to raise the money to buy the building. Learn more here.

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 - Last week we wrote about ways to decrease food waste at Havurah. This week it's what to do with the unavoidable "drek." Here's the scoop. Most liquids, such as juices, can be put down the drain. Solid food waste goes into the compost, not the garbage. Try bringing a dish to your classroom to collect the peelings and crumbs. These small quantities can be left in the little compost tubs in the kitchen. For bigger events you can put a bowl near the dirty dishes and tell attendees what this is for. Please take large amounts outside to the green bin in Havurah's locked garbage closet. Let your caterer know that Havurah follows city policy and composts food waste. Kids, show your parents; parents, teach your children. We believe that even these small actions are useful and important. More from your Climate Action Team next week.

(6) Shabbat School Registration - 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.

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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