HAVURAH HAPPENINGS (1) Upcoming Shabbat (2) White Ally Trainings (3) Book Group Discussion (4) #ICEoutofNORCOR (5) Annual Cemetery Beautification (6) Havurah Shindig (7) Kabbalat Shabbat Honoring High School Graduates (8) Dorot Shabbat (9) Text & Torah on Shavuot (10) Tikkun Leyl Shavuot: A Night of Learning, Connection, and Cheesecake

ANNOUNCEMENTS (1) Program Director Opening (2) Video of Kabbalat Shabbat Service & Hand in Hand Presentation (3) Needed! Wine Rack (4) Lotsa Helping Hands & Hearts (5) Eastside Community Commons (6) Missing Tikkun (7) "Resisting Tyranny" Sara Glasgow Cogan Memorial Lecture (8) ORA Call for Artists

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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.

New & Prospective Members Orientation & Oneg, 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 spring orientation for new and prospective members. It begins with a vegetarian oneg lunch, and childcare will be available. You'll hear from Havurah leaders, including Rabbi Benjamin and Deborah Eisenbach-Budner, and have plenty of time to ask them questions. 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!

Shabbat School Parenting Workshop: Making Family Time Sacred, Saturday, April 21, 3:10 pm - Many of us are trying hard to balance parenting, working, other relationships, other responsibilities and commitments. Amidst all of that, how do we create the intention and the structure to touch base with why we chose to have kids, create families, in the first place? How can that be translated into enjoyable family time together? How do we set that up without it being a ‘set-up?’ We will take some wisdom from Jewish life and hear what other parents have figured out (or not). Led by Deborah Eisenbach-Budner. RSVP here.

(2) White Ally Trainings, Sunday, April 22, 2:30-5:30 pm, First Congregational UCC, and Tuesday, April 24, 9:00 am-noon, Muslim Education Trust (MET) - Learn tools and skills to effectively engage with people who don't think racism is real. 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 for several years, including the SURJ (Stand Up for Racial Justice) training we had for parents at Havurah in January. If several of us attend a training, our collective learnings will empower us all! For April 22, the cost is $15-$45, sliding scale. Register here. For April 24, the cost is $45 without lunch and $60 with lunch. Contact MET if you're interested in a sliding scale. Register here. Please email Susan Rosenthall if you register so Havurahniks can watch for each other at the training and possibly carpool. (Above photo of David Campt was taken by Erica Morrison/OPB.)

(3) Book Discussion Group, Tuesday, April 24, 7:00-8:30 pm - Reports of growing water shortages around the world underscore the urgent need to find solutions. Based on meticulous research and hundreds of interviews, Seth Siegel's book Let There Be Water reveals the history, methods, and techniques behind Israel’s ability to lead the world in cutting-edge water technology. Israel not only solved the water problem within its desert, but it also supplies water to others. This book also discusses how cooperation on water systems can forge diplomatic ties and promote unity. Phil and Marjorie Walters will lead the discussion, and Phil will offer a means to assess our own household water usage. Michael Heumann, who heads the Havurah Climate Action team, will add local perspectives about water issues on our horizon. Join us! RSVP here.

(4) #ICEoutofNORCOR, Saturday, April 28, 10:30 am-3:00 pm, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 1805 Minnesota St, The Dalles - NORCOR (Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facility) is a regional county jail in The Dalles that houses immigrant detainees from the Tacoma Detention Center. Conditions are terrible, and Oregon's jails should not be cooperating with ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement). Havurah is organizing to participate in an IMIrJ (Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice) statewide action to get ICE out of NORCOR. Clergy and lay leaders from around the state will convene on the one-year anniversary of immigrants' first hunger strike to protest conditions at NORCOR. We will learn from the local clergy and organizers who have been organizing since May 1, 2017 to get #ICEoutofNORCOR. We hope to have a big turnout from Havurah at this family-friendly event. Details can be found at the IMIrJ website here. Questions? Contact Bob Brown at rebrown47@gmail.com.

(5) Annual Cemetery Beautification Day, Sunday, May 6, 1:00-3:00 pm - We will gather at our cemetery, at 5656 SW Humphrey, to garden and honor our relatives who are no longer with us. You can find directions to the cemetery here.
 

(6) Havurah Shindig, Tickets Now Available Online, Sunday, May 6, 4:00-8:00 pm - Get your tickets now! Come party with your Haverim! CLICK HERE to purchase your tickets to our premier fundraiser event/party. Food, desserts, wine, and beer are included with the price of admission. You can also purchase raffle tickets and a seat at the casino tables. There will be plenty of opportunities to purchase more casino scrip, raffle tickets, specialty cocktail tickets, and wine wall "chances" at the event. Why are we doing this fundraiser? Because we care about our programming, our community, and each other. Buy your tickets now and support your favorite synagogue! Questions? Email Nancy Becker at nancyjbecker@gmail.com.

(7) Kabbalat Shabbat, Friday, May 11, 6:30 pm Dinner, 7:30 pm Service - Join one of Portland’s most musical and spirited Shabbat gatherings, led by Rabbi Benjamin and Havurah musicians. At our May service, we will honor our High School seniors. The service is preceded by a catered dinner, which starts at 6:30 pm and requires advance registration. Dinner registration will close when the maximum number of seats have been filled, or at noon on May 9, if the maximum number isn't reached by then, so RSVP here soon! Whether or not you attend the dinner, we hope you will join us for the Kabbalat Shabbat Service at 7:30 pm. All are welcome at the service, and no RSVP is required. Childcare is available.

(8) Dorot Shabbat, Friday, May 18, 6:00 pm Service, 6:45 pm Potluck - Join us for this casual, family-friendly, and music-filled service. Beginning with candle lighting, Kiddush and challah, the service continues with prayers and music, followed by a vegetarian potluck dinner. Led by Jacob Mandelsberg, Sarah Shine, Gabe Adoff, Tanja Lux, and Ilene Moss. Please RSVP here. (Photo below was taken at a Dorot Shabbat.)

(9) Text & Torah on Shavuot, Saturday, May 19, 10:00 am-12:00 pm - This Torah text study about Shavuot will be led by Diane Chaplin, followed by a shortened Saturday morning service. We will serve breakfast and coffee, including bagels and lox and gluten-free options. Please arrive early to eat before the study begins at 10:00 am. Childcare is available.

(10) Tikkun Leyl Shavuot: A Night of Learning, Connection, and Cheesecake for Teens and Adults, Saturday, May 19, 7:30 pm to Late - Please join us as we celebrate the festival of Shavuot by connecting with the wisdom of our tradition and with one another. Deborah Eisenbach-Budner will lead off the evening with “The Book of Ruth: Witnessing Personal and Spiritual Change.” At the same time, David Feder will facilitate some meaningful discussion for teens. At 9:00 pm we will all break for cheesecake, followed by more learning into the night for those who have the energy. Rabbi Benjamin will lead us in exploring texts and images of Revelation and Witness, and how we might understand the notion of revelation as progressive Jews today. Please RSVP here.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

(1) Program Director Position - Help us recruit Havurah's next Program Director! This position will be a key member of Havurah's leadership team along with Rabbi Benjamin and Education Director Deborah Eisenbach-Budner and work in close coordination with our 400 families to help the community meet our congregational goals. You can see the job desription here. All interested applicants should submit a resume and cover letter to havurahjobpost@gmail.com.

(2) Video of Kabbalat Shabbat Service & Hand in Hand Program - In case you missed last Friday's Kabbalat Shabbat service and the Hand in Hand presentation after it, you can watch this video of the evening. Thank you, Steve Birkel, for making the recording.

(3) Needed! Wine Rack - We are having a Wine Wall at the congregational Shindig. In the past this has been a very successful money maker. We need wine racks to construct the wall. If you have a rack we can borrow for the event, please contact Dave Weil at dave3082@aol.com or 503-293-6806. (Please leave a message.) Thanks.

(4) Lotsa Helping Hands - “Lots of Helping Hands” and hearts have been reaching out to our Havurah families in this past month. Meals were prepared and delivered. Home visits and caregiver breaks provided the kind of support that families needed to catch a breath and renew themselves for the days of recovery ahead. And those who could not pitch in with meals or visits made phone calls to break up the long days. Cards were sent to cheer and remind folks that they are remembered. Thank you to the volunteers: cooks, phone callers, note writers, and sit and chat-ers. By the way, just because you “don’t cook,” doesn't mean you can't help. You can go to New Seasons or Whole Foods to buy a ready-made meal and then you can say, “I brought it with my own little hands."  Remember that it is a mitzvah to help another in need, and it is a mitzvah to allow another to help you. Learn more here.

(5) Eastside Community Commons - The Eastside Community Commons has approached Havurah about our interest in being a partner in their dreams of creating a Jewish community space on the Eastside of Portland. The vision for the project is to have a shared space used by many community organizations.  You can learn more here. The Steering Committee will have conversations over the next few months about whether we should partner in the visioning of what the Commons might become. If you are interested in seeing Havurah have a role in the Commons and/or have ideas of how we could be a part of this effort, please email Aaron Pearlman at aaron@pearlmanoffice.com.

(6) Missing Tikkun - The Tikkun reference book for Havurah's library has been missing for several weeks. If you have it, please return it to our library. Many Havurah members use it when preparing for a Torah reading. Thanks!

(7) “Resisting Tyranny: Lessons from the European 20th Century," Sara Glasgow Cogan Memorial Lecture, Yale University Professor Timothy Snyder, Wednesday, April 25, 7:30 pm, PSU - Havurah's Alter Rockers are attending this lecture. If you are interested in attending, RSVP here soon, as the lecture may fill quickly. The recommendation is to arrive by 7:00 pm to ensure early admission and a seat with your RSVP.

(8) Call for Artists, ORA, Northwest Jewish Artists - Submissions for October Celebration of Art event are due May 25 (Jury date is June 3) – Many Havurah members participate in ORA, which is calling for original art and fine craft in all media. Print and complete the application, and mail it with your jury fee of $25, made out to ORA, to the address on the application. Applications must be received by May 25. For the complete application, visit northwestjewishartists.org and click on “About Us.”
 

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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