Aug. 14 - Welcome to Brad Pector, Tikkun Olam Trainings, Add Your Voice
(1) Upcoming Shabbat: Bat Mitzvah of Frances Springgate (2) Parking on Shabbat (3) Welcome to Brad Pector, Communications & Membership Coordinator (4) Photos from Shabbat in the Pool, Tisha B'Av, Turnout Time (5) Invitation to Add Your Voice to High Holidays (6) PHFS Orientation (7) MACG Leadership Trainings (8) Book Discussion Group (9) Two Spots Open for Trope Class (10) Hashiveinu: Musical & Spiritual Preparation for the Days of Returning (11) Have a Question About Havurah?
Barbara Gundle took this photo at the IMIrJ Tisha B'Av Candlelight Vigil at the Portland ICE Facility Saturday night.
(1) Upcoming Shabbat: Bat Mitzvah of Frances Springgate, Saturday, Aug. 17, 10:00 am – This Saturday Frances Springgate, daughter of Liza and Mark Springgate, will be called to the Torah as a bat mitzvah. Please join us in celebrating with Frances and her family, and welcome Frances as a member of our community.
(2) Parking on Shabbat – Do you sometimes wonder where to park so you can attend a Friday night or Saturday morning service at Havurah? For several years now, Legacy Health Systems' corporate office at 1919 NW Lovejoy has generously offered free parking spaces to Havurah members and guests on weekends. Learn more about where to park here on our website. Please note that parking at the Legacy Health Systems corporate office is available only on Friday nights, Saturdays, and Sundays, when Legacy employees aren't using the lot. So for the second day of Rosh Hashanah, which is on a weekday, Havurah members and guests need to park elsewhere or take public transportation to the services. (For the second year in a row, second day services will be held at Havurah instead of the Tiffany Center.)
(3) Welcome to Brad Pector, Communications & Membership Coordinator – Welcome to Havurah's new Communications & Membership Coordinator, Brad Pector, who joined Havurah's staff on Monday. Brad recently moved to Portland from Iowa City, Iowa, and is originally from the greater Chicago area. During his time in Iowa City, he earned a BA in Art and a Certificate in Writing from the University of Iowa, in addition to spending a lot of his time in local activist groups. Brad is passionate about community organizing and seeks to fuse the powerful moral and ethical teachings of Judaism and Jewish history with a renewed spirit in the realm of ongoing social justice movements. You can reach Brad at brad@havurahshalom.org.
(4) Photos from Shabbat in the Pool, Tisha B'Av, Turnout Time – Thank you to Adela Basayne, Monica Moriarty, and Barbara Gundle forthese photos taken at last weekend's events.
(5) Invitation to Add Your Voice to High Holidays – Havurahniks, we invite you to add your voice to our prayer and celebration at High Holidays this year by submitting a “mini-drash” or kavanah to be included in our services. These short reflections or sharing of life experience, two to three minutes long, can be either in response to this year’s theme “Hineinu” or connected to the annual themes of teshuvah (returning/renewal/repentance) or forgiveness. The writing can be your own, or it can be a reading that expresses something true for you. Depending on participation, we may not be able to include all of them in High Holiday services, but we hope to share each of them in one form or another. Through your contributions we will include more voices and reflect more diversity of experience. -Rabbi Benjamin Barnett ... The deadline for contributions is Labor Day. Send to Rachel (rachel.pollak@havurahshalom.org) with the subject line Mini-drash 2019.
(6) Portland Homeless Family Solutions (PHFS) Orientation, Thursday, Aug. 15, 5:00-6:00 pm – Havurah has been supporting PHFS on a monthly basis, filling all of the needed volunteer positions, since July 2015. Our PHFS Havurah volunteer list currently has over 70 families. Homelessness is something we all see daily in our city. An hour orientation is the first step to get involved. Orientations are at PHFS' new Lent location (address given when you RSVP). PHFS is just a few months away from opening its doors to approximately 26 homeless families; currently eight families are being housed there. These families 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. RSVP at TC@pdxhfs.org. Questions? Email John Devlin (Havurah member and PHFS board member) or Gloria Halper (Havurah member and PHFS coordinator). Their email addresses are listed in Havurah's online directory, which members who are logged in can access. Click here to learn how to access the directory.
(7) MACG Leadership Training Opportunities
Friday, Aug. 16, 7:00-9:00 pm & Saturday, Aug. 17, 8:00 am-2:00 pm, Columbia River Correctional Institution* in NE Portland, *Requires advance security clearance. Registration ends August 8.
Friday, Oct. 18, 7:00-9:00 pm & Saturday, Oct. 19, 9:30 am-4:30 pm, Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in NE Portland
Friday, Nov. 22, 7:00-9:00 pm & Saturday, Nov. 23, 9:30 am-4:30 pm, St. Andrew Lutheran in Beaverton
Havurah is a member of MACG, Metropolitan Alliance for the Common Good. MACG regularly provides leadership training based on the MACG organizing model. The training is focused on developing leaders to organize campaigns and actions that benefit the common good. There are three training opportunities coming up this year. The training sessions are free to all Havurah members.
You can see MACG's calendar on the MACG website: http://www.macg.org.
(8) Book Discussion Group: The Way to Spring, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 7:00-8:30 pm – The Way to the Spring: Life and Death in Palestine: Ben Ehrenreich, a novelist and writer for publications such as the New York Times Magazine and Harpers, lived in a particular West Bank village and documented its struggle against the Occupation. For this remarkable work of journalism, he received the National Magazine Award. The book has been praised as “a heartbreaking account of the brutal and often surreal realities of life under the Israeli occupation. After reading it, you don’t know whether to despair at the callousness and self-righteousness of human beings, or to wonder at their resilience and creativity.” (Yuval Noah Harari, The Guardian, Best Books of 2016) Discussion led by David Newman.
(9) Two Spots Open in Adult B'nei Mitzvah Fall Trope Class, Wednesdays, Sept. 4, 11, 18, 25 and Oct. 2, 7:00-8:15 pm – If you are able to read Hebrew, if you can attend all classes and agree to complete homework in between classes, this may be your opportunity to learn the fundamentals of leyning (chanting) Torah. Contact Deborah Eisenbach-Budner at deborah@havurahshalom.org for questions or for information about fees paid to teachers.
(10) Hashiveinu: Musical and Spiritual Preparation for the Days of Returning, Thursdays, Sept. 12, 19, 26, 7:00-8:30 pm – We will interweave singing High Holiday melodies with reflecting upon and discussing the themes and meaning of this sacred time. Everyone is welcome, whether or not you consider yourself a singer. Facilitated by Rabbi Benjamin and others. RSVP here.
(11) Have a Question About Havurah? – The Transparency/Inclusivity Committee welcomes your questions! We will find the answer and publish the question (but not the questioner) and answer in an upcoming Hakol. It is our intention at Havurah that what you know and understand about our congregation should not be a function of who you know. So if you find yourself wondering about something related to Havurah, or if someone shares their question with you, we hope you will send your question to transparency@havurahshalom.org. In June's Hakol, the question dealt with the issue of Havurah's growth. Our current co-presidents were interviewed to provide an answer. Questions? Contact Judy Steinburger or Fran Weick. Their email addresses are in our online membership directory, which you can learn how to access here.
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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.
