Contemplative Shabbat Saturday, Oct. 5, 10 am - 12 pm
Covering less of the liturgy than normal, we will take our time chanting particular verses and leave plenty of room for silent prayer and meditation as an opportunity to remain immersed in the sacred work of this season of returning. We will engage in some reflective Torah discussion and share blessings through chanting a few aliyot from the portion. Rabbi Benjamin will be leading.
High Holidays
Tashlich: Potluck Lunch Sunday, Oct. 6, 12 pm, George Rogers Park
All services except Tashlich will be held at the Tiffany Center, 1410 SW Morrison, in Portland. Selichot and Second Day Rosh Hashanah services will be at Havurah Shalom, 825 NW 18th Avenue, in Portland. See schedule for Tashlich locations. All services are free and open to the public, without advance tickets or registration. You volunteering makes it all possible!
Questions? Email Rachel Pollak at rachel@havurahshalom.org.
Tikkun Olam
Monthly Meeting for Interfaith Alliance on Poverty Thursday, Oct. 3, 12 pm - 2 pm
1st Unitarian Church, 1226 SW Salmon, Eliot Center Buchan Conference Room
Living Cully will share information about the development of the Cully Land Fund, and there will be a review of the ECONorthwest report: Homelessness in Oregon - A Review of Trends, Causes, and Policy Options.
We also will be identifying some key projects for this fall.
Contact Gloria Halper for location and details.
Becoming Portland: Housing Policy Forum Thursday, Oct. 3, 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm, Redfox Commons 2638 Northwest Wilson St. Sponsored by Business for a Better Portland. Featuring experts and US Rep. Earl Blumenauer. Tickets available here from $10-35.
Contact Gloria Halper for details.
Street Roots Fundraising Breakfast Friday, Oct. 4, 7:30 am - 9 am, Oregon Convention Center
Tickets: www.streetroots.org/breakfast
Contact Gloria Halper for details.
PHFS: Family Reunion Fundraiser Friday Oct. 11, 5:30 pm - 9 pm
This year’s Family Reunion event will include local Oregon wines, seasonal food by Vibrant Table, family reunion games like plinko and putt-putt golf, fantastic prizes, and a live musical performance! It takes $1500 to shelter an average size family (4 people) for the average amount of time needed (2-3 months). A table of 10 at Family Reunion is $1,250. Your $125 ticket could be a donation as well as a terrific evening!
Contact Emma at emma@pdxhfs.org for location, details, and tickets.
Trainings: Love Where You Live - In Partnership with Storyline Community Tuesdays, October 8, 15, 22 & 29, 6:30 pm - 9 pm
Oak Grove United Methodist Church
The Neighborhood Projects seeks to build a more expansive picture of community engagement and civic responsibility, by equipping neighbors, community leaders, and organizations with the tools they need to love and engage exactly where they are. Register here. $20 per person, scholarships and group discounts available. Dinner and childcare provided.
Session 1: October 8
Voicing Our Story: How your story is a manifesto for change in your own backyard. Session 2: October 15
Leaning Into Story: The game-changing magic of listening with purpose. Session 3: October 22
Alchemy of Story: Leveraging a little bit of effort for a lot of transformation. Session 4: October 29
The Next Question: Considering what next step is needed to move from talking to innovation.
MACG October Training: Leadership Institute for Public Life Friday, October 18 & 19 7 pm - 9 pm AND Saturday, October 19, 9:30 am - 4:00 pm
Holy Redeemer 127 N Rosa Parks Way, Portland, OR 97217 Register here.
Contact Andy Beers for questions.
Inside Havurah
Bring Your Skhach to Havurah for the Sukkah!
The sukkah needs your Skhach. Bring your tree branches, long grasses, and drying flowers to the building after Yom Kippur and before Oct. 6. Ladder and twine will be available in the entry way if you can stay to hang it. Then come back during Sukkot for a meal and a song.
Shabbat School Begins: Celebrate 40 Years!
Shabbat School begins this weekend! Let’s hear and see your reflections. On December 7 at 4:00 pm, we will look back and marvel on 40 years of our unique and amazing family cooperative Jewish education model, while envisioning our future. Will you share some reflections, recollections, photos, memories of the Shabbat School experience for you, your children, your family? Deborah and Brad (Havurah’s new Communications and Membership Coordinator) will create a short film for our celebration. You can find out more by clicking here.
Later In October
Singing in the Sukkah Sunday, October 13, 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Join us and musicians on Sunday, October 13 from 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm to sing under the succah! We will gather again for this annual event that ushers in fall in a melodic way! Adults and children welcome! Musicians: Please come and bring your instruments! We’ll be using Rise Up Singing. And if the weather doesn’t cooperate, we will move inside. Light refreshments will be provided.
Contact Judy Heumann or Susan Rosenthall for information.
Happy Hour in the Sukkah Tuesday, October 15, 4 pm - 7 pm
Alter Rockers are planning a happy hour in the Sukkah on Tuesday, October 15. Come any time between 4 pm - 7 pm, and bring a little nosh of some sort to share with the group. Bring whatever you like to drink as well. If the weather cooperates, we will be in the Sukkah. If not, we will be inside.
Please RSVP with Sarah Rosenberg.
Sanctuary Committee Movie Night: Eternos Indocumentados Thursday, October 17, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm in the Sukkah
Havurah's Sanctuary Committee is organizing a movie night to provide us with more information about the realities at our southern border. Why are there caravans of asylum seekers at our southern border? As we all know, there are reasons why people leave their homes seeking safety and asylum. "Based on interviews with recently arrived Central Americans as well as interviews with organizers leading the struggle on the ground in Central America, this film captures the stories of Central American refugees and explores the root causes of forced migration. In the words of the late Salvadoran poet, Roque Dalton, as he says in his Poema de Amor, this film is about los Eternos Indocumentados (the Eternally Undocumented)." The movie will be followed by a panel discussion.
Eastside Jewish Commons Sukkot Gathering Sunday, October 20, 4 pm - 6 pm, 5107 SE 35th Ave.
Havurah members have partnered with the newly-formed Eastside Jewish Commons (EJC) to host one of the special Sukkot gatherings, focused on the theme of housing insecurity. We will share the Tikkun Olam work we are doing with the Portland Homeless Family Solutions, the Interfaith Alliance on Poverty, and Lift UP—focusing on ways individuals can take action. Hosted by Sacha Reich and Aaron Pearlman. Vegetarian Potluck. RSVP here.
Contact Sacha Reich with questions.
Book Group Discusses They May Not Mean To But They Do Tuesday, Oct. 22, 7 pm - 8:30 pm
This novel by Catherine Schine is about family, loss, aging and resilience. Joy’s husband’s fall through palliative care to hospice to death takes a toll on her, their children and grandchildren. While mourning her husband and her life, Joy’s health suffers and she begins to feel "out of date, obsolete, left-behind." Discussion led by Maud Naroll.
Il Violoncello Capriccioso Sunday, October 27, 5 pm at Havurah
Havurah member and cellist Diane Chaplin presents a recital for solo cello, Il Violoncello Capriccioso. The program will include music by Jewish composers as well as virtuoso works for cello. Admission is free, although donations will be accepted at the door. The event is open to the public and will be followed by a reception.
Contact Diane if you’d like to contribute anything for the reception.
Jewish Life and Learning
Bend the Arc's Jeremiah Fellowship
Applications are open for the 2020 cohort of the Jeremiah Fellowship, Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice’s national leadership program for young adult Jews who want to mobilize their community to fight for progressive change. Click here to start your application.
Reconstructing Judaism Newsletter
From now on, we will be incorporating Reconstructing Judaism's newsletter into our weekly emails. Here's this month's newsletter!
Have a Question About Havurah?
The Transparency and 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. If you find yourself wondering about something related to Havurah, or if someone shares their question with you, we hope you contact us.
Send your questions to transparency@havurahshalom.org.
You can also contact Judy Steinberger and Fran Weick.
Please use this form to submit stories for this weekly community email. Submissions are due by noon on Tuesday each week.
Havurah Shalom is a vibrant, diverse, participatory Jewish community steeped in Jewish values promoting spirituality, learning, and acts of social responsibility.
(IP) HCAT & Partners' Climate Action Fair at MJCC Sunday, Apr 28th 12:00p to 4:00p HCAT invites you to continue with our climate action month by attending a community wide Climate Action Fair at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center. Cosponsored by the MJCC and the Jewish Federation’s Climate team, meet dozens of environmental organizations and discover resources for actions you can take. A series of speakers will talk about forestry, electrification, native plants and climate friendly foods. (And let Elianne Lieberman know if you can give someone a ride or are seeking a ride!)
Passover Minyan (Yizkor) Tuesday, Apr 30th 8:00a to 9:15a For all who want a regular prayer practice and for people saying Kaddish. We will observe Yizkor today as well. We meet both in person and streaming online in Zoom Room Aleph. All are welcome. Please email info@havurahshalom.org for join info.
Experience the Omer: Making it Count! Tuesday, Apr 30th 7:00p to 7:30p [RSVP to be emailed a recording of the April 9 intro session.] The Omer is an ancient tradition marking time between the Exodus from the Narrow Place to the Expanse at Sinai. Explore tools and practices to facilitate your own learning and experience from Liberation to Revelation. We will have an intro class followed by half-hour check-ins, one for each Sephira. Led by Andrine de la Rocha. 7 pm, Tuesdays, Apr. 9 (Intro), 23 (Chesed), 30 (Gevurah); May 7 (Tiferet), 14 (Netzach), 21 (Hod), 28 (Yesod); Jun. 4 (Malchut) Led by Andrine de la Rocha.
(ZM) Book Group: Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders Tuesday, Apr 30th 7:00p to 8:30p February 1862. The Civil War is less than one year old. The fighting has begun in earnest, and the nation has begun to realize it is in for a long, bloody struggle. Meanwhile, President Lincoln’s beloved eleven-year-old son, Willie, lies upstairs in the White House, gravely ill. In a matter of days, despite predictions of a recovery, Willie dies and is laid to rest in a Georgetown cemetery. “My poor boy, he was too good for this earth,” the president says at the time. “God has called him home.” Newspapers report that a grief-stricken Lincoln returns, alone, to the crypt several times to hold his boy’s body.
From that seed of historical truth, George Saunders spins an unforgettable story of familial love and loss that breaks free of its realistic, historical framework into a supernatural realm both hilarious and terrifying.
Prayer Flags for Our Planet Thursday, May 2nd 11:00a to 3:00p This exhibit is about science and art.
It is meant to be a learning experience, about the top 60 solutions to climate change, as researched by over 5,000 scientists.
And most importantly it is about hope.
It is about learning about these solutions to climate change and
changing the hearts and minds of those around us,
so that we can all work together.
Anne Nesse, 2024
(ZM) B'nei Mitzvah Event Planning 101 Thursday, May 2nd 7:00p to 8:30p We will break the event planning process into manageable steps. Led by Chari Smith. We will meet in Zoom room Gimel
