Rabbi Joseph Wolf
Rabbi Joseph Wolf
Rabbi Joseph Wolf came to Havurah Shalom in 1987, where he discovered a community hard at work at teaching Torah in a contemporary idiom, along with inventing a spiritual path that took pluralistic cultural opportunities into account. What’s more, he was immediately engaged by activist leaders intent on developing a collaborative model for decision-making and participation. Joey is fervently committed to the idea that all Jews determine what it means to pray and do meaningful work in the world, not just the professional clergy. While teaching texts and both traditional and innovative spiritual practices, he has brought local and global social change issues to the forefront. In particular, he has been a supporter of conflict reduction in the Middle East, and has advocated for strategies to combat poverty.
He grew up in Boston, and he received his BA from Brandeis University in 1973, his MA and ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1979, and an honorary doctorate from that institution in 2005. Additionally, Rabbi Joey also spent two separate years studying at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, during 1971-2 and 1976-7. He credits his early years growing up around Boston, time spent with extraordinary peers and mentors in a hotbed of radical inquiry and experimentation, as formative for the work that he does today.
He has served on numerous commissions and boards in the metropolitan Portland area, including an involvement with workers’ rights panels for Jobs With Justice, the Metropolitan Alliance for the Common Good (a coalition of faith-based communities and labor unions working on healthcare, livable wage and housing issues), the founding board of Black Parent Initiative. In 2001, he was a co-founder of a local dialogue group which probed relationships and affinities between Jewish and Muslim and Arab leaders in the community. Joey was recently a member of the national board of Rabbis for Human Rights and serves on the Rabbinic Advisory Cabinet for J Street. He participated in one of the original rabbinic cohorts of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. In this context, he has invigorated his work to ground Jewish identity in the study of deep texts and intentional spiritual practice. He has led trips to Israel, on which fellow travelers have met with like-minded progressives who pride themselves on their own critical social discourse. In 2008, he led an American Jewish World Service work service trip of Havurahniks to eastern Uganda, which initiated an examination of what it might mean for Jews to confront the extraordinary challenges of a developing world in a way that is honest and meaningful.
Rabbi Joey considers it a privilege to serve alongside the vibrant and creative chorus of voices in Havurah, whose ideas – intellectual, spiritual, political – spark his own. In his spare time, he loves to hike, do yoga, meditate, cook, listen to music, and read and write – and then read some more. He lives in Hillsdale with his wife Lisa, and is the proud father of four children – Simeon, Sarah, Amelia and Gavriella.
Sat, July 27 2024
21 Tammuz 5784
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Havurah Updates
Hineinu: Pride Shabbat in the Park This Friday, Call for Visual Art, and More
Havurah's Pride Shabbat in the Park
6:30 pm to 8:30 pm (6:30 pm Service, 7:30 pm Potluck Dinner), Friday, July 19
Upcoming Events
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Saturday ,
JulJuly 27 , 2024
Shabbat, Jul 27th 10:00a to 12:00p
Led by community members and Rabbi Benjamin, this service includes davening, Torah reading, and discussion. For Zoom link (Zoom Room Aleph), email info@havurahshalom.org. -
Monday ,
JulJuly 29 , 2024
Monday, Jul 29th 6:00p to 7:30p
We will resume our monthly letter writing on the last Monday of each month to write letters to our lawmakers for Israel/Palestine justice. Questions? Contact David Lewis. Havurah members and non-members welcome. RSVP for Zoom info. -
Thursday ,
AugAugust 1 , 2024
Thursday, Aug 1st 5:30p to 7:00p
The Havurah Ma’avar Committee is offering a six-week grief process-support group for Havurah members. Each group session will be held virtually Thursday evenings, 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm, beginning July 11 through August 15. Chaplain Candi Wuhrman will facilitate the group with a focus on the dying experience, the impact of the relationship, the things unsaid, making peace within ourselves, forgiveness, and continuing the relationship after death. -
Saturday ,
AugAugust 3 , 2024
Shabbat, Aug 3rd 10:00a to 12:00p
Led by community members and Rabbi Benjamin, this service includes davening, Torah reading, and discussion. For Zoom link (Zoom Room Aleph), email info@havurahshalom.org. -
Monday ,
AugAugust 5 , 2024
Monday, Aug 5th 1:00p to 4:00p
We are excited to bring mahjong back to Havurah. It is a fun, social activity that builds community, encouraging new friendships and cementing old ones. And while some of us may play elsewhere as well, we all agreed that restoring its place as an ongoing congregational activity will be a good fit for Havurah and those of us who play or want to learn the game. So please don't hesitate to join us! For Havurah members and prospective members. -
Monday ,
AugAugust 5 , 2024
Monday, Aug 5th 7:00p to 8:15p
A gender-inclusive New Moon group, learning and celebrating each Rosh Ḥodesh with ancient and contemporary ritual. Open to any and all genders, inviting each to connect with our closest heavenly body, the Moon. An introductory meeting will happen on the full moon of Elul on Wednesday, Aug. 30 outdoors—weather permitting—in North Portland. Subsequent meetings will be on or near the new moon of each month either in person in North Portland or on Zoom, depending on seasonal shifts in the weather. Attend any or all sessions. RSVP to be updated on location and other details throughout the year. -
Thursday ,
AugAugust 8 , 2024
Thursday, Aug 8th 5:30p to 7:00p
The Havurah Ma’avar Committee is offering a six-week grief process-support group for Havurah members. Each group session will be held virtually Thursday evenings, 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm, beginning July 11 through August 15. Chaplain Candi Wuhrman will facilitate the group with a focus on the dying experience, the impact of the relationship, the things unsaid, making peace within ourselves, forgiveness, and continuing the relationship after death. -
Friday ,
AugAugust 9 , 2024
Friday, Aug 9th 10:00a to 12:00p
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Saturday ,
AugAugust 10 , 2024
Shabbat, Aug 10th 10:00a to 12:00p
Please join us in welcoming Sebastian Mellman as a Bar Mitzvah and member of our community. -
Monday ,
AugAugust 12 , 2024
Monday, Aug 12th 8:00p to 9:30p
Tisha B’Av is a powerful holy day in our cycle of Jewish time. Yet, it is often overlooked, considered as just a day of mourning for the destruction of the temples. We will look at how Tisha B’Av came to be the collecting point of Jewish loss, grief, and displacement as well as what Alan Lew calls “the moment of turning, the moment when we turn away from denial and begin to face exile and alienation as they manifest themselves in our own lives...Teshuvah – turning is the essential gesture of the entire High Holiday season.” We will also commemorate Tisha B’av with a short ritual that helps us being the process of Teshuvah. All are welcome. Stay tuned for an update on the location/medium of delivery: This event will be at Havurah Shalom and/or on Zoom. Havurahniks, please contact Deborah Eisenbach-Budner, deborah@havurahshalom.org if you would like to help plan this ritual.