Rabbi Benjamin Barnett

Benjamin Barnett (he/him) joined Havurah in August 2017. Prior to that he served as rabbi of Beit Am in Corvallis, Oregon. Originally from the Chicago area, he received his BA in English from the University of Michigan and his rabbinic ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia.

Prior to entering rabbinical school, Rabbi Benjamin worked in treatment programs for people diagnosed with serious mental illness, and led wilderness trips for teenagers. He has lived and learned in Jewish communities across the religious spectrum, both in the U.S. and Israel. During his time in Israel he has also traveled extensively in the West Bank, where his life and leadership were transformed by witnessing life under occupation, and through his many human encounters with both Palestinians and Israelis. He was involved as a facilitator and initial board member with the organization Encounter, which brings Jewish leaders into Palestinian communities, and he seeks always to behold the human experience at the heart of conflict. Rabbi Benjamin is also engaged locally with multi-faith partnerships and networks working to build a more just and caring world. In recent years he has been actively involved with Together Lab, which builds community power through relational organizing.

Rabbi Benjamin is also a devoted practitioner and teacher of contemplative prayer and meditation. He is an alum of the rabbinic cohort of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality as well as the Kol Zimra chant leader’s training, and has practiced and learned with a diverse collection of teachers in the Jewish community and beyond. In his rabbinate he strives to listen deeply and to co-create communities of belonging.

benjamin.barnett@havurahshalom.org

Noah Lind, Rabbinic Intern

Noah Dor Lind (they/them), Rabbinic Intern, is a rabbinic student, artist, and storyteller. Their Torah is decolonial, abolitionist, queer, and earth-centered. Noah is passionate about eco-burial, the agricultural cycles of Jewish life, and trans halakhah. They teach art-making as a spiritual practice because they believe that every person is made b'tselem Elohim, in the image of the Creative Source. Noah meets the Divine along many paths: hiking, cleaning, singing, dancing, and rest.

noah.lind@havurahshalom.org

Adela Basayne, Program Director

Adela Basayne (she/her), Program Director, joined the Havurah staff in 2018, bringing with her experience as an educator, trainer, mediator, organizational development consultant, and body-centered therapist.  Adela earned a BA in Theater Arts, minor in Religious Studies, from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and an MA in Whole Systems Design/Organizational Systems Renewal from Antioch University, Seattle.  In all her different arenas of work, the through line has been commitment to nurturing the human capacity to make and sustain desired changes, supporting growth, and diminishing suffering; Adela is passionate about group process and systems analysis. 

Adela moved from New York to Portland in 1987 and has been a participatory member of Havurah Shalom ever since, celebrating life cycle events, teaching in Shabbat School, serving on countless committees, including a stint as co-president.  Adela brings excitement and joy to her role with Havurah.  She and her husband, Nick Iliinsky, have three adult children, Noah, Alexis and Megan.

adela@havurahshalom.org

Deborah Eisenbach-Budner, Education Director

Deborah Eisenbach-Budner became Havurah Shalom’s first Education Director in 2001. Since then, she has worked with hundreds of Havurahniks of all ages, enabling them to connect more deeply with Judaism. She has created and nurtured a wide variety of educational programs, generated innovative holiday and Shabbat experiences, and contributed to the vibrant growth of the community.

Deborah is passionate about making Judaism and Jewish life accessible and enriching. She has experienced and witnessed the transformative power of Jewish narratives, practices, values, and community. But, more importantly, she employs Judaism as a tool to cultivate our humanity and to provoke us to become the most whole people we can be. Read more here.

deborah@havurahshalom.org

Rachel Pollak, Office and Facilities Manager

Rachel Pollak (she/her), Havurah Shalom’s Office and Facilities Manager, moved to Portland in 2007 from Los Angeles and got to know the Portland Jewish community through the Melton School, where she was operations manager and then director. She earned her BA in English and political science at American Jewish University in Los Angeles (back when it was the University of Judaism), and her MA in English in 2012, right here at Portland State, where she has also earned a project management certificate. In 2025 she earned a graduate certificate in Jewish educational leadership from Hebrew College. She started at Havurah in January 2017.

rachel@havurahshalom.org

Shari Raider, Finance Manager

Shari Raider (she/her/hers) and her family have been members of Havurah since 2007. In July 2023, Shari joined Havurah staff as the new Finance Manager. Working collaboratively across the organization, Shari tends to the finance and accounting side of Havurah.

shari@havurahshalom.org

Tara Anderson, Participation and Publications Coordinator

A Havurah Shalom member since 2019, Tara Anderson joined Havurah’s staff in the spring of 2023. In her role as Participation and Publications Coordinator, Tara’s work within Havurah centers on coordinating and facilitating meaningful access, inclusion, and involvement among prospective, new, and long-standing members and producing Havurah Shalom’s print and online communications.

tara@havurahshalom.org

Carrie Kirschner, Youth Education

and B'nei Mitzvah Program Coordinator

Carrie Kirschner (she/her), Youth Education and B'nei Mitzvah Program Coordinator, or Madricha (guide), is known to Shabbat School, Middle School and High School families as the go-to person for administrative and curriculum support. In August 2022, she added b’nei mitzvah process coordination to her portfolio. She works closely with families to ensure they have the resources and logistical guidance they need. 

carrie@havurahshalom.org

Joey Wolf, Rabbi Emeritus

Rabbi Joey built a career based on mediating Torah – imaginative teaching, cogent ideas, responsibility for the earth and its people – over 30 years at Havurah Shalom. Involvements and leadership roles in T’ruah - The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, American Jewish World Service, Institute for Jewish Spirituality, Americans for Peace Now, Black Parent Initiative, and as a co-founder of the local Muslim-Jewish Dialogue attest to his priorities towards building bridges.

His relationships within the community have encouraged honest reflection and a commitment to justice and are reflected in the kindness, truthfulness and good humor of the people around him. He stands at a crossroads where traditional elements of prayer and study stimulate a new celebration of human spirituality. Mining Jewish ideas and minding Jewish practice are for him ongoing sources of enthusiasm, and he honors this wonderful community for its pursuit of what it means to be Jewish in the world. Taking care of that world and the people who remain on the fringes are an abiding concern for him, as are the ancestral queries and adventures that have led him on the path of learning over a lifetime. You can read more about Rabbi Joey, who retired in April 2017, here in The Oregonian. You can hear his drash on Rosh Hashanah 5282.