(1) Upcoming Shabbat: Kabbalat Shabbat Focuses on Pride, Saturday Bar Mitzvah (2) Portland Pride Parade (3) Free NW Film Center Tickets Available (4) Havurah Job Opening: Communications and Membership Coordinator (5) MACG Delegate Assembly & Annual Meeting (6) Mid-Year Planning Retreat (7) Interfaith Alliance on Poverty (8) Book Group Discusses Mornings in Jenin (9) Help Havurah Decide Which Hebrew Transliterations to Use (10) Portland Homeless Family Solutions (11) Shavuot Photos & Thanks
Above photo of the Unpresidented Brass Band at last year's Portland Pride Parade was taken by Rabbi Benjamin.
(1) Upcoming Shabbat
Kabbalat Shabbat, Friday, June 14, 7:30 pm – Come celebrate Pride! Incorporated into our monthly service will be ritual, songs, and kavanot that help us celebrate the LGBTQIA++ communities. Everyone welcome! Childcare will be provided.
Bar Mitzvah of Solomon Barnett, Saturday, June 15, 10:00 am – This Saturday Solomon Barnett, son of Karen and Andy Barnett, will be called to the Torah as a bar mitzvah. Please join us in celebrating with Solomon and his family, and welcome him as a new member of our community.
(2) Portland Pride Parade, Sunday, June 16, 10:45 am, NW Davis & Broadway – Join Havurah Shalom and Jewish Pride Greater PDX as we march in celebration of civil rights. We will gather at the corner of NW Davis and Broadway to claim our spot #75 at 10:45 am. Want to carry the Havurah banner or be a monitor? Contact adela@havurahshalom.org.
(3) Free NW Film Center Tickets Available – As a sponsor of the Portland Jewish Film Festival, Havurah has 10 tickets to give away to members! Valid through June 30, these tickets can be redeemed for anything on the NW Film Center schedule. Tickets will be given away on a first come, first served basis. Contact Rachel Pollak at rachel@havurahshalom.org to arrange pick-up. (The photo below is from one of the film festival movies, "Dear Fredy.")
(4) Please Spread the Word! Havurah Job Opening: Communications and Membership Coordinator – Havurah Shalom seeks a dynamic and culturally competent individual to be responsible for communications with our members and the greater Portland community. Collaboratively with our small staff and highly participatory community, you will produce weekly, bi-weekly and monthly print and e-mail newsletters, support the website and database, welcome new members, connect members to activities of interest, and support volunteers. You can find the complete job description and application process here. Position is full-time, with health insurance, 403(b), and vacation. Salary level: $36,000-46,000, depending on experience. Questions? Email adela@havurhashalom.org.
(5) MACG Delegate Assembly & Annual Meeting, Thursday, June 20, 7:00-9:00 pm, Saint Andrews Church, 5310 NE 42nd, Portland – Havurah is a member organization of MACG, Metropolitan Alliance for the Common Good. MACG is an alliance of faith, labor, health education and community organizations dedicated to building a base of leaders to effectively stand for change they want to see in their communities. MACG works with member organizations to develop campaigns and take action on issues of concern in the tri-county area. All Havurahniks are invited to attend this annual meeting of MACG member organizations to learn more about what MACG is doing and how you can get involved. Learn more at http://www.macg.org/. Questions? Email Andy Beers. You can find his email address in the online membership directory.
(6) Book Group Discusses Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa, Tuesday, June 25, 7:00-8:30 pm – The renowned Palestinian writer Susan Abulhawa describes the creation of Israel and what it meant for those who lived there before. Written as a fictional memoir, it follows a family forcibly removed from their olive-farming village by the new Israeli state, then displaced to canvas tents in the Jenin refugee camp. Cinderblock huts replace their tents. But amidst their loss and fear, hatred and pain, there is always the waiting to return to a lost home. The novel's story is told through the voice of the village patriarch’s granddaughter, a bright, sensitive girl. She makes it out of the camps, yet returns years later, to marry and bear a child. One of her brothers is kidnapped to be raised Jewish, and one will end with bombs strapped to his middle. Discussion led by David Newman.
(7) Mid-Year Planning Retreat for Everyone Planning Events & Programs for the Coming Year, Sunday, June 30, 9:30 am-12:00 pm – Come collaborate across clusters and gain insight and tools to make your program a success! RSVP TODAY (by 6/12). Contact Shelley Sobel with your name and the name of your cluster or committee. (Shelley's email address is in the online membership directory.)
(8) Interfaith Alliance on Poverty – Havurah Shalom is a member of the Interfaith Alliance on Poverty, a growing network of Portland faith-based communities that "work together to bring help and hope to men, women, and children living in poverty." Interested in IAP monthly meeting info or joining a subgroup of the IAP? Please contact Steve Rudman or Gloria Halper, whose email addresses are in Havurah's online membership directory. IAP's website: www.allianceonpoverty.org. Click here to read the June newsletter of Interfaith Alliance of Poverty.
(9) Help Havurah Decide Which Hebrew Transliterations to Use – If you are interested in participating in a process to help Havurah decide which Hebrew transliterations to use in our communications, please email info@havurahshalom.org using the subject line "Transliterations." We will contact you when we're ready to move forward. Thanks!
(10) Portland Homeless Family Solutions (PHFS) – The building in the Lents neighborhood purchased by PHFS is just a few months away from opening its doors to approximately 26 homeless families. These families will not have to move between two buildings for day and night shelter as in the past. Join our very dedicated, active group of Havurah volunteers at the Lents shelter by attending a PHFS orientation. Next one will be held at the Lents building on June 19 from 5:00-6:00 pm. RSVP at TC@pdxhfs.org. PHFS questions? Email John Devlin (Havurah member and PHFS board member) or Gloria Halper (Havurah member and PHFS coordinator), whose email address is in the online membership directory.
(11) Shavuot Photos & Thanks – Thank you for set up, clean up, and childcare support: Esther Zack, Karen Westerman, Nancy Weintraub, Eliana Temkin, Roza Bess Eisenbach-Budner, Shari Raider, and David Kertzner, as well as the greeters and bringers of blintzes, cheesecake, salads, and flowers and greens. Special thanks to Adela Basayne, who organized the evening and rallied the planners, and to our Shavuot teachers: Alicia Jo Rabins, Rebecca Clarren, Rabbi Benjamin, and Deborah Eisenbach-Budner, who took all these photos.
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Havurah Shalom is a vibrant, diverse, participatory Jewish community steeped in Jewish values promoting spirituality, learning, and acts of social responsibility.
(HYB) Shabbat Morning Shabbat, May 3rd 10:00a to 12:00p Led by community members and Rabbi Benjamin (who is on sabbatical until July 1, 2025), this service includes davening, Torah reading, and discussion. Join us afterward for a light community brunch provided by the Lunches and Noshes Committee! Free childcare is provided. For Zoom information, please email info@havurahshalom.org.
(IP) Shabbat School Shabbat, May 3rd 3:00p to 5:15p This program gives children a foundation for lifelong Jewish learning and engagement while integrating parents and children in a caring Jewish community.
(ZM) Progressive Israel Network Sessions Sunday, May 4th 11:00a to 12:00p Havurah Shalom is hosting a four-session series from the Progressive Israel Network. Come learn in collaboration with representatives from five to six of the participating Progressive Israel Network organizations, including T’ruah, New Jewish Narrative, Partners for Progressive Israel, New Israel Fund, J Street, and Reconstructing Judaism.
All perspectives on Israel-Palestine, as well as all curious people, are welcomed and encouraged. Our guests will give presentations and take questions. You can register for all sessions, below, but it's okay if you can't attend all three sessions.
(Reconstructing Judaism, the central organization of the Reconstructionist movement, of which Havurah Shalom is a part, is a member of the Progressive Israel Network.)
(IP) Writing for Peace and Reconciliation, Within and Between Us Sunday, May 4th 6:30p to 8:30p Commemorate the last day of Pesach and Yitzkor in community Passover not only invites us to retell our ancient story but to look at our current reality and ask: what is our mitzrayim today? The obstacle in our personal and communal life? Where can we break through in an act of courage and compassion? April 20th & May 4th, 6:30 PM at Havurah, join Harriet Cooke for a writing/drawing group to explore this theme along with Yitzkor, the Sephirot and Counting the Omer. (It is recommended to attend either just the first session or both sessions.)
(IP) Jewish Ethical Responses to the Problem of Racism Monday, May 5th 6:30p to 7:45p We will address topics such as countering white nationalism and antisemitism, Jewish perspectives on reparations, repairing Jewish pioneer memory, and responding to racial microaggressions. Facilitated by Karen Sherman and Adela Basayne.
(CANCELED) Collage Art with Jewish Symbols Wednesday, May 7th 6:30p to 7:45p This class has been canceled by the instructor. If you are interested in doing art at Havurah, please reach out to Adela Basayne (info@havurahshalom.org). Bring your crafts and creativity out for making collage art with Jewish symbols. We will create hamzas, stars of David, trees of life, and images for blessing the home. All ages are invited! Led by Carolina Martinez.
(IP) Hebrew as a Tool: Prayer and Torah (registration closed) Wednesday, May 7th 7:00p to 8:15p (This class will now be starting on January 8.) Using an in-depth, word-by-word approach, we discover literal meaning(s), ancient layers of understanding, and our own personal interpretations that stem from the nuances of the Hebrew text. Basic Hebrew decoding skills necessary.
