End of Life

In February and March this year, Havurah's Ma'avar Committee has been hosting "Having the Conversation: Workshops to Discuss What Quality Means at the End of Life." Discussing how you want the end of your life to be is one of the most important conversations you can have with your loved ones; it makes decisions at the end of life less painful and overwhelming. Guided by The Conversation Project, Havurah members trained in end-of-life care are helping people discuss their values around quality of life.

As several Havurah members weren't able to attend the February-March workshops, the Ma'avar Committee hopes to offer the workshops again. If you're interested, please email Havurah's office so we can add your name to the wait list.

If you're interested in learning more about the Ma'avar Committee, please contact Sidney Gold.

Above photo is from The Conversation Project.

A Chevra kadisha is a group of men and a group of women who perform the traditional Jewish ritual of preparing individuals for burial. This service is one of chesed shel emet (ultimate kindness). In order to maintain the dignity of the one who has died, the ritual is performed by chevra members who are the same gender as the deceased.

Havurah member Rochelle Rosenberg coordinates Chevra Kavod haMet, a chevra kadisha for several Jewish communities in the Portland area. The following Chevra Kavod haMet resources explain Jewish traditions concerning death and mourning and how you can arrange traditional Jewish burial rituals in the Portland area.

• Jewish Traditions Concerning Death & Mourning
• Arranging a Traditional Jewish Burial in the Portland Area

• Commentary and research by Diane Chaplin for our Text & Torah session on Feb. 4, 2017 about Jewish mourning traditions
• Books for Children and Families about terminal illness, aging and death, in a Jewish context
• Books for Adults About Death in a Jewish Context, which can be checked out from Havurah's library
• Reference Information from end-of-life workshops at Havurah by former Havurah member Rabbi Me'irah Iliinsky
• Video of Rabbi Iliinsky's Interactive Play at Havurah on Tahara

If you would like Havurah to notify you when the yahrzeit dates of your loved ones are approaching, you can log into your Havurah membership account and add the names and dates there.

If you haven't logged in as a member yet, click on the "login" link in upper right corner of our website, enter the email address where you receive Havurah correspondence, and create a password for yourself. You'll receive an email from Havurah confirming that your password has been received, and then you'll be able to log into your account any time. If you have questions, call 503-248-4662.

Havurah Shalom’s cemetery is located off the Sylvan Hill, just west of downtown Portland, at 5656 SW Humphrey Blvd. You can find directions to the cemetery here and earn more about our cemetery in this brochure.

On Sunday, May 7, we will meet at 10:00 am for our annual event to beautify our cemetery. If you can join us, please bring garden implements and wear appropriate clothing.

Havurah works closely with Holman’s Funeral Service to coordinate funerals at our cemetery. It is located at 2610 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, phone number 503-232-5131. Holman’s offers preplanning as a way to make the end of life less stressful.

These are some helpful resources for making burial arrangements:

• Cemetery Information and Costs
• Burial Plot Agreement
• Cemetery Debit Payment Authorization Form
• Havurah Cemetery Policies
• Metro Regional Cemetery Policies

Jewish burial services and preplanning are also offered at River View Cemetery on SW Taylors Ferry Road in Portland.