The Wings of the Dove Campaign will lift the Havurah community to new heights, expanding the potential of our congregation in new spaces where we will gather, work, learn, sing and celebrate for years to come.
To make a pledge to the Wings of the Dove Campaign contact Aaron Pearlman, Rachel Shimshak, or Herman Asarnow. (Log in to your Havurah member account to access our Member Directory.)
An Update from the Staffing Taskforce
You can read the full update from the Staffing Taskforce in the February Hakol.
In the last WOTD newsletter, three staffing models were shared. One model, the Spiritual Support Model (includes 8.5 FTE and 3 contractors), would bring in an Associate Rabbi or comparable position in addition to the music and teen coordinators.
The comparable position language was not included in the last update but is part of the model.
Steering requested a fourth model that includes an Executive Director position be developed.
The Staffing Task Force is now gathering input from staff, Steering, Gesher, and Leadership Development to define the scope of the Executive Director role, with plans to present the model to Steering around March.
There is strong agreement that any staffing expansion should strengthen Havurah’s participatory, creative community model and support increased engagement, learning, and programming—without replacing community involvement.
The Staffing Taskforce encouraged the Steering Committee to consider the following questions in evaluating the proposed models:
- How does the model respond to needs and aspirations identified through broad community and staff consultation?
- How does the model potentially support the participatory ethos of Havurah?
- How do new and/or revised positions add administrative, program, and/ or spiritual capacity within our community?
- How does the model impact the scope of responsibilities, supervision structure, and working conditions of current staff?
- What would be the impacts of not expanding staffing in the manner suggested by the model?
--Staffing Taskforce (Julia Lager-Mesulam, Adela Basayne, Shari Raider, Oren Kosanky, and Sarah Wetherson)
Shabbat School Art Projects
Anna Mafchir and Deborah Eisenbach-Budner have been gathering Shabbat School families together to engage in art projects to support the community-building element of the Wings of the Dove campaign.
Third and fourth grade families gathered to learn about the history of Hamsa from Deborah. Each family created a mosaic Hamsa to take home and a smaller one to be used for a future art installation at Havurah.
Anna is designing a work of art that will include some of the cyanotypes made by the 5th and 6th grade families. This compilation piece will be displayed at Havurah, and eventually, in our new congregational home.
Celebrating our multigenerational congregation!
The Wings of the Dove campaign brought our community together for a joyful, community-building celebration of our multigenerational congregation!
Rooted in joyful Judaism, more than 250 Havuraniks of all ages gathered to celebrate everything that makes Havurah so special.
The night was filled with music, delicious food, storytelling, dancing, and a surprise appearance by “Simon and Garfunkel” (aka David Kertzner and Noah Dor Lind!).
Huge thanks to our incredible staff, volunteers, and musicians who made this unforgettable evening possible.
L'Dor V'Dor Taking Flight Together: A community-building event
Wings of the Dove Family Night
On December 3rd and 6th, parents from Middle School, High School, and Shabbat School, gathered at Havurah for community building, Havurah Trivia, and to learn about plans for the Wings of the Dove Campaign. While the parents met, the Middle & High School teens participated in an art project related to Incantation Bowls - an ancient Babylonian practice of protecting your home by burying under the front step a bowl with incantations and drawings to ward off evil spirits. The 3rd & 4th Grade Shabbat Schoolers did a project with Hamsas, the hand-shaped amulet used in Judaism and Islam as a symbol of luck, health, and to ward off the evil eye. These projects helped our future generations to think about the importance of space as we dream of finding a space to meet our congregation's needs.
Update from the Staffing Taskforce
Havurah Shalom is exploring how to thoughtfully expand staffing over the next ten years, with support from the Wings of the Dove campaign and the expectation that new positions will gradually be absorbed into the budget as membership, annual fundraising, and the endowment grow.
Currently, Havurah has 6.5 FTE, one intern, and two contractors, and three possible models for expansion were presented to Steering on August 26. The Coordinator Support Only Model (7.5 FTE, one intern, four contractors) focuses on adding a community music coordinator and a teen bridge coordinator, with annual costs between $197,173–$256,173. The Administrative Support Model (8.5 FTE, one intern, one contractor) emphasizes strengthening behind-the-scenes systems by hiring an operations director along with the music and teen coordinators, with costs ranging from $232,885–$308,685. The Spiritual Support Model (8.5 FTE, three contractors) brings in an Associate Rabbi in addition to the music and teen coordinators, with costs from $275,885–$359,685.
Community feedback from the 2024 Community Engagement sessions has underscored the importance of addressing concerns about Rabbi and staff burnout, as well as volunteer fatigue, and ensuring that pastoral care needs are met. Many members have expressed that music defines Havurah and that hiring a music coordinator would bring the same kind of energy and consistency to music as hiring Deborah Eisenbach-Budner has brought to education. There is strong support for investments in music, youth programming , and pastoral care.
Conversations will continue through the rest of this year, with a decision anticipated in early 2026. The choice will guide how Havurah balances staffing and building investments, the timing of new hires, and the strategies needed to grow annual revenue so the community can sustainably support a larger and more vibrant staff team.
Pledges to the Wings of the Dove Campaign assure that we will have funds available as soon as staffing plans are finalized and approved.
The Two Wings of the Campaign for Havurah Shalom
Our Building
Addressing priority needs
The Wings of the Dove Campaign aims to invest $3.5 – $5 million in a community-approved plan to address building needs.
- More on-site Shabbat School classrooms
- Commercial kitchen to support community building, large events, and cultural learning for both children and adults
- Investment in safety, security, access, inclusion, and parking
- Welcoming outdoor and social spaces for play, schmoozing and moments of respite from the larger world
- Upgraded bathroom accessibility
- Adequate office spaces to meet our current and expanded staff
Our People
Expanding Havurah staff to better support our participatory community
The Wings of the Dove Campaign aims to invest $1.5 – $3 million in a Havurah Staffing Fund to support our current and growing needs.
Priority areas being explored include:
Not in priority order
- Music
- Rabbinic and spiritual life
- Youth and young adult programming Administrative support
- Salary equity within staff
For over 45 years, Havurah Shalom has thrived as a participatory congregation. You can tell we have something special, just look at our huge growth over the past 25 years. Since we moved into our current building our membership has soared from 180 to 500 households.
Havurah Shalom’s signature quality is its wide, inclusive participation. As it has been through every step of Havurah’s amazing history—hiring our Rabbi, buying and renovating our building, hiring our Educator, creating its endowment—only the participation of every member household can make Wings of the Dove take flight to ensure Havurah Shalom’s future and its ability to serve our needs.
