Havurah Shalom wishes you a sweet and happy 5778!

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1 Havurah Shalom 825 NW 18th Ave Portland OR Non-Profit Org. US Postage PAID Portland OR Permit No Address Service Requested October 2017 Volume 39 Issue 12 Address label here Inside this Issue From the Rabbi. Page 1 From the Education Director..Page 1 Goose Hollow Shelter Update Page 2 Refugee Family Support Updates...Page 3 Adelante Update..Page 3 Literary Update....Page 4 In the Community... Page 4 Join Us....Page 5 Steering Report......Page 6 Green Empowerment Celebration..Page 7 Bulletin Board......Page 8 Tributes Page 8 Financial Contributions.Page 9 Calendar....Page 11 Havurah Shalom wishes you a sweet and happy 5778! 12 From the Education Director Receiving Each Others Faces: Attending to our Kabbalat Panim Shammai would say: Make your Torah study a permanent fixture of your life. Say little and do much. And receive every (hu)man with a pleasant countenance. Pirkei Avot (Mishnah) 1:15. The Pirkei Avot section of the Mishnah distills some of life s presumably most important lessons down to simple and easily memorized triplets of wisdom. We note that in the triplet above the way we greet each other (kabbalat panim) is put on par (or close to on par) PART II with Torah study. That is big time! Given that Shammai is often represented in the Mishnah and Talmud as the stern and unbending counterpoint to Hillel, the people s advocate for tolerance, his focus on interpersonal behavior is even more noteworthy. Numerous commentators deliberate about what a pleasant countenance really means. Rambam settles on this definition: a pleasant countenance is when he interacts with the creatures calmly and Continued on Page 6 From the Rabbi Being Vulnerable, Being at Home Not long after the final shofar of Yom Kippur, we move into Sukkot. After the days or weeks of self-reflection and examination, Sukkot is designed as a time for us to dwell in our lives, just as they are. It is a festival of homecoming. Traditionally, Jews literally build a home of sorts, and for a week spend as much time as we can in it. Mythically, the Sukkah is an echo of God s protective presence in the desert. Yet it is a structure that by definition is impermanent, a little rickety, and exposed to the elements. Sukkot, in this way, seems like a paradox between coming home and venturing out, between protection and vulnerability. Such paradox, perhaps, is in the nature of what it means to be at home in our lives. Life is impermanent, a little rickety, and full of vulnerability. We invest a lot of energy barricading ourselves from these inevitable realities, and in some ways that investment is healthy and even essential for our survival. But it can also sever us from life s fullness from the richness of experience and depth of relationship that life can offer. Sukkot comes to remind us that by opening ourselves to the winds of uncertainty and unpredictability, making room for the ways in which our lives are not as we might have designed them and at times involve profound discomfort and disappointment, we also make ourselves available for connection and joy. In Brene Brown s well-known work on vulnerability, she referred to those people most willing to tolerate vulnerability as living wholehearted lives. To refuse to open to vulnerability, then, is to live half-heartedly. It is not easy to venture into impermanence and precariousness on our own. Thus this festival of vulnerability is also our Festival of Ingathering. Historically the ingathering of produce at the end of the growing season, Sukkot became a festival of gathering in people family, friends and guests of all kinds into our temporary homes. Because, perhaps more than anything, it is the support of friendship and community that enables us to open to this impermanent and unpredictable journey we call life. Continued on Page 10

2 Calendar October 2017 Sunday 1 (11 Tishrei) Sukkah Building 11:00am Monday 2 (12 Tishrei) 9 (19 Tishrei) Erev Sukkot Sukkot Sukkot Chol Hamoed Sukkot Office Closed for Suk- Office Closed for Sukkot Text & Torah: New 8:30am kot Kabbalat Shabbat Ser- Beginnings The Torah Parent Orientation in vice for Sukkot 7:30pm Scroll 10:00am the Sukkah Shabbat School Middle School 3:00pm High School Parent-Teacher Workshop 3:10pm 14 (24 Tishrei) Bereshit 4 (14 Tishrei) 5 (15 Tishrei) Thursday 13 (23 Tishrei) 6 (16 Tishrei) Friday Tuesday 3 (13 Tishrei) 12 (22 Tishrei) Wednesday Simchat Torah Saturday Shabbat Mevarchim Community Minyan 10:00am 21 (1 Cheshvan) Noach 7 (17 Tishrei) Sukkah Decorating Havurah Sanctuary Committee 11 (21 Tishrei) Shmini Atzeret Yizkor Shemini Atzeret (with Yizkor) 8:00am Simchat Torah Celebration 10 (20 Tishrei) Hoshana Rabah 8:30am In the Sukkah Middle School and High School 20 (30 Tishrei) 19 (29 Tishrei) (28 Tishrei) 8 (18 Tishrei) Com8:30am mittee Middle School High School Ambiguity & the Multiple Narratives of Torah 26 (6 Cheshvan) Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan Candle Lighting Community Minyan 5:59pm 10:00am Tot Shabbat 10:30am Shabbat School 3:00pm Parent-Teacher Workshop 3:10pm 5th Grade Movie Night 5:00pm 27 (7 Cheshvan) 28 (8 Cheshvan) Lech Lecha Candle Lighting 5:47pm Bar Mitzvah of Ari Service to Address So- Mesulam 10:00am cial Justice and Climate Change in Portland Amira Darling-Budner plays with her Iraqi friend, Lathe. 2 Chol Hamoed Sukkot Chol Hamoed Sukkot Safety Committee Lev Tahor ( Pure Alter Rockers Happy Heart ) Chanting Hour and Dinner in the Sukkah 5:00pm Steering Committee 17 (27 Tishrei) Hakol Deadline 25 (5 Cheshvan) 16 (26 Tishrei) 24 (4 Cheshvan) Chol Hamoed Sukkot Transition Projects Grade 6 Maavar Committee 10:00am Folk Singing in the Sukkah 3:00pm 15 (25 Tishrei) 22 (2 Cheshvan) 23 (3 Cheshvan) Courtyard Mosaic Pro- Courtyard Mosaic ject 10:00am, 1:00pm Project 10:00am, 1:00pm, 6:00pm Last Thursday Wit8:30am ness IMIrJ I.C.E. Middle School Vigil 10:00am High School Ambiguity & the Multiple Narratives of Torah 31 (11 Cheshvan) Courtyard Mosaic Project 10:00am, 1:00pm Parents Night (Grades K-2) Book Discussion Group 30 (10 Cheshvan) The chance that this "guest" and her children will find housing is very high because that is one of the primary goals of PHFS. Upon moving in, they will receive a Welcome Basket. Tikkun Olam's High Holiday Tzedakah project this year is the collecting of items to go into these Welcome Baskets for both PHFS families as well as the refugee families we are working with though Catholic Charities. Looking for a place to give some time? Meet people on a different life path than yourself? Work with an organization, PHFS, which honors its volunteers? All it takes is an hourlong orientation, or not even that if you only want to help with the dinner meal. Next orientations: October 4 PM, and 5 PM at the shelter: 1838 SW Jefferson. Parking is behind the church. RSVP to PHFS volunteer coordinator: Bethany Rocci (bethany@pdxhfs.org) Questions: Gloria Halper (losninos6@gmail.com). By the way, PHFS' annual fundraiser Family Reunion is October 6. Havurah has a table. Join us. Contact John Devlin (john.t.devlin@gmail.com). 29 (9 Cheshvan) volunteers. Below is a perfect example of a simple, yet other"-focused question, enabling one of the PHFS guests to share openly and unabashedly. I want to thank Havurah volunteer Elayne Shapiro for her effective questioning and listening, and then willingness to share her experience with us. Elayne (volunteer extraordinaire), asking a guest one night at Goose Hollow, "So how is it going here? The guest, "I am just so grateful to have a place to put my head down at night. People at work say, 'Well, I'm heading home.' I could not say that. What I could say was, 'Well, I'm heading to my car with my child and my husband. We will find a place to park tonight.' It is very difficult to get back on your feet when you have nowhere to put your head down at night. Here we get to be together. We have a nourishing meal. Our children can play. We can access resources for permanent housing. To answer your question, it is going well." At our annual Committee retreat in June 2015, a conversation regarding "direct service" resulted in what is now our two-year volunteering with Portland Homeless Family Solutions/Goose Hollow night shelter. At the retreat, I offered to coordinate whatever direct service project was chosen. Several weeks later, I was scheduling our first Havurah-Adopt-A-Night at Goose Hollow. Admittedly, I had no previous experience with houselessness; I knew no one personally who was or had been without permanent housing, nor had I ever interacted with someone in this very difficult situation. We sometimes talk about putting ourselves in an uncomfortable position, in order to push ourselves, expand our experiences, broaden our views. I was very aware of my discomfort on my first volunteer evening, checking in with myself moment to moment. I sometimes still feel that way, less so some evenings than others. That little inner voice that says I get to go HOME, to MY home in a few hours, keeps me stable. There are also the amazing children I meet, the other volunteers, the staff who are always unlimited in patience, acceptance and straight messaging. And then there are the parents (guests). I was a parent and had been one for thirty-six years. Having a conversation with other parents was something I was used to as a former teacher. What could be so hard? I had read and re-read "Conversation Starters with PHFS Guests." It listed questions about favorite activities during different seasons, are they looking forward to something in the week, etc. How would these go over? I was thinking about me, not them. I am truly inspired by our Havurah Having the Conversation 10:00am Direct Service takes on new meaning

3 From the Rabbi: Being vulnerable, being at home Continued from Page 1 We each need support in order to be at home in our lives. My hope is always that Jewish community is a place in which we can find that support. I know that for many of you, Havurah is a community that meets this aspiration. While I have just recently arrived here, I want to make it clear that I am present and available to support in whatever way I can amidst loss, struggle, or simply the everyday twists and turns of life. Some of you have already reached out to me as things have arisen. I want you all to know that my being present and available in whatever way I can for support and guidance is at the heart of my service to Havurah. Please do not hesitate to contact me as a need or inclination arises. This season is about coming home to our lives, to our most sacred commitments, to our authentic selves, and to one another. It is often not easy to come home in the ways we need to. So let s be there for each other in any way we can. Chag Sameah. May we each feel at home within Havurah, and within our lives. Rabbi Benjamin Barnett From the Education Director: Attending our Kabbalat Panim Continued from Page 6 want to catch up with them. We might feel that reaching out to others who we don t know so well is for their sake, not for our sake. Many of us are overwhelmed by social input, or what passes as social connections, in the age of Facebook and Instagram. We are busy, distracted, filled up. Some folks who are around a lot at Havurah notice who is new or not here often. But, for many of us this is not apparent. We aren t around enough to notice newcomers (no judgement intended). Another theory: what about a bit of DIY mentality gone extreme? I figured out how to find a place in this community. Others can too. Many of us have our introverted days or are usually introverts, so it isn t so easy to reach outwards in kabbalat panim. And, of course, there is the allergy that many of us have to superficial friendliness, the pasted on How are you? with no interest in the answer. Or, worse, the commercialization of friendliness and greeting that is what sales and networking are all about. Doing Kabbalat Panim isn t always so easy is it? Why should we attend to Kabbalat Panim? There are plenty of people at Havurah who do feel comfortable extending themselves, doing positive Kabbalat Panim. We can build on their efforts. There has been much effort on the part of Havurahniks who take leadership to pay attention to this important part of community building, structurally. Steering members take it upon themselves to be greeters at the doors of the Tiffany Center during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. In many different Havurah meetings there are moments for dyads or paired conversation. Some service leaders are experimenting with this on Shabbat. Havurah staff have been trying different ways to enhance our Kabbalat Panim. However, our Havurah community mirrors our larger society and it is becoming counter-cultural to do Kabbalat Panim, to receive each other in personal welcome. As Ron Wolfson writes in The Spirituality of Welcoming, "We are in danger of losing the art of hospitality [kabbalat panim]. We don t welcome strangers anymore; we are afraid of them. We don t invite people to our homes anymore; we entertain at restaurants or clubs. We don t greet people on the street; we avoid them. [By] visiting only those with whom we are already friends and talking only to those people we wish to talk to, we are slowly losing a part of our souls. Kindness to others is not simply an imperative to improve the lives of those who seek welcome. The act of hospitality improves the lives of those who offer it In short, the act of offering welcome is an act that humanizes us and nourishes our souls." 10 How does doing Kabbalat Panim nourish us? Why is it so important? What might we gain individually by reaching out to folks that we don t know well when we see them? What opportunities might we miss when we don t? Perhaps we will be gifted with a positive experience with somebody once we reach out. Maybe a surprise connection or helpful encounter? There is always a small risk in reaching out. We might get the blowback from somebody s bad day, social discomfort, or insecurity. How is it for us to get more comfortable taking this risk? Is Kabbalat Panim for the shortterm comfort of those sharing a space? Or are there long-term benefits of mutual receptivity and, eventually, trust? Isn t our faith in the goodness of people enhanced when we feel connected, less isolated, stuck in our own small room of concerns? How do all the teeny tiny greetings and exchanges add up? Does a culture of Kabbalat Panim just mitigate isolation or can it add to the vibrancy of a community, its strength and its resiliency? Perhaps if we all give a bit more attention and intention to Kabbalat Panim this year, as individuals and as a community, we will be surprised at the difference however large or small that it makes. Deborah Eisenbach-Budner Updates from Refugee Family Support Havurah members are supporting refugee families through Catholic Charities resettlement program. Here are some updates: The Haas/Barbarasch family continues to host new families for short stays and to stay in touch with families that are settling in. They report: A woman from El Salvador, who we hosted last year, is "muy feliz feliz feliz" to welcome her daughter and sonin-law, scheduled to arrive in the next week especially since they're expecting a baby in November. (The woman's two teenage sons, who came to Portland with her, are super excited about becoming uncles.) A young couple from Congo who we hosted are expecting a baby boy next month. Meanwhile, we re kvelling over the first-grader in the Iraqi family we support as cultural navigators ; he was the first student in his elementary school ever to advance from Level 1 English (zero, basically) to Level 4 in just one academic year. Monica Moriarty has been visiting a family from DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo). A Havurah team helped this family move and get settled into an apartment this past spring. Feston, the father of the family, was widowed just before they were resettled in Portland. He parents his five children (three-and -a-half to fourteen) with help from his sister-in-law. Feston wants desperately to work, but has been unable, due to weakness from an illness. He speaks very little English. Monica has been supplying the family with clothes for the children, helping to find leads for employment for Feston, and looking for language classes where he can learn English. A brother and sister in our Congo family model new clothes. Rebecca Darling-Budner and her daughter have continued to stay in touch with the Iraqi family she has supported for the past few years. They are doing well, living in a new apartment and saving to buy a house. The children are attending a new school. Rebecca has also started working with a new family from Sudan. They are all adjusting to living in the US. Rebecca Our volunteers met a new family from Sudan. has helped them with transportation to doctor appointments. To learn more about Havurah s involvement in refugee support, or to get involved, please contact Rachel Oh (rachelohpdx@gmail.com) or Rebecca Darling-Budner (rbudner@yahoo.com). Adelante Update Adelante, a community engagement group within the Sanctuary Committee, has been busy meeting with clients from the Latino Women's Group at the Ortiz Community Center in NE Portland. Two Havurah volunteers, one English-speaking and one Spanish speaking, volunteer twice weekly by going out to the Ortiz Community Center for 2-hour meetings with individuals requesting help and support navigating tasks and services. The goal is to have close-up interactions with this community so as to help in small, significant ways. Soon we will be seeking more Havurah members who would like to volunteer to be at the Ortiz Center on an ongoing basis, as well as those within the Havurah community who may offer advice or consultation only for a particular situation because they have a specific skill needed to address it. For more information please contact Kathy Gordon (favergordon@gmail.com). 3

4 Steering, con d Literary Update Book Club to Visit The Best Place on Earth Please join us on October 24 for a geography lesson of the heart. Ruth Feldman will lead us in a discussion of The Best Place on Earth (HarperCollins Canada), a collection of short stories by Ayelet Tsabari. In 2015, this slim volume won the Jewish Book Council s $100,000 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature, which honors emerging writers who explore the Jewish experience and who demonstrate a potential to make significant contributions to Jewish Literature. A child of the 1970s and 1980s, Tsabari was born in Israel to a family of Yemeni descent. I grew up not seeing myself and my family in literature, she says, so writing The Best Place on Earth was a way to create the characters that were missing from my childhood stories. By portraying characters of Mizrahi background I was hoping to complicate readers' perceptions of Israel and Jewishness, Havurah Book Discussion Group Tuesday, October 24 7:00 to 8:30 pm at Havurah RSVP at the Havurah website and to expand and broaden their ideas of what a Jewish story and Jewish experience can be. Tsabari served in the Israeli army, has traveled extensively, and currently lives and teaches in Canada. Several of her short stories feature characters in their teens and twenties, whose immaturity, according to New York Times reviewer Lorraine Adams, can hauntingly simplify intricate moral conundrums. The eleven short stories go beyond Israel and investigate the complexities of immigration, identity, and belonging. As Adams writes, [J]ust try picking up this book without having your preconceived notions prodded into a mess of noisy contradictions. And it s all done so lightly. The Best Place on Earth wears its identity politics like a macramé bikini. So much of this book s illumination is done with so little wattage. In other words, a little bit goes a long way. As to the best place on earth, its geo-coordinates might surprise you. Please RSVP at the Havurah website. Ruth Feldman In the Community View works by local Jewish artists at the J Northwest Jewish Artists 12th annual Art Show & Sale will take place in the beautiful ballroom of Mittleman Jewish Community Center in Southwest Portland (6651 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR 97219). Be among the first to sample the art at the Taste of Art preview party, Saturday, Oct 28, from 7:00 to 9:30 pm. There will be live music, free food & drink samples, and guests will have first access to all the artwork for sale. This party is a blast! Or come Sunday, Oct 29, between 10:30 and 4:30 for the Celebration of Art, featuring the work of over 25 Jewish artists from all over the Pacific Northwest. Enjoy live music, free food & drink samples, raffle tickets, and special offers from Cafe at the J. Admission to both events is free. All artwork is for sale. Come meet the artists and purchase art for decor or gifts. Many media and price points. Art is life! 4 Save the Date The Institute for Judaic Studies Presents the 12th Annual Weekend in Quest Date: March 2-4, 2018 Location: Holiday Inn Express, Astoria, OR Program Title: Jewish Masculinity and Femininity in the Premodern World Professors Rena Lauer & Yiftakh (Kevin) Osterloh, both of Oregon State University Shabbat Services: Rabbi Joshua Rose of Congregation Shaarie Torah Website: for more information and to register. Questions: Contact Mimi Epstein (mimiepstein42@comcast.net) Continued from Page 6 our office staff. In early September we announced a new job offering for a Program Director. The position will be a member of the Havurah s leadership team along with the Rabbi Benjamin and Deborah. The vision is for this person to learn to take over most of the ACE (Assistant Coordinator of Education) functions, and also have overall responsibility for the successful implementation of our programs. The Program Director will work closely with committees planning activities (think Holidays, membership brunches, events, Kabbalat Shabbats, etc) to ensure that there is enough support to make each event a success. The Program Director will supervise office staff, and be a person to pick up overflow needs or fill in during vacations or illnesses. In order to make room for a new staff person we are in the process of determining how to reconfigure one of the large classrooms into an office space. Steering would also like to return to an old practice that made minutes of our meetings available to the congregation as a regular part of our communication. You will soon be seeing electronic links in our community e-newsletter to the steering committee minutes once they have been approved. It is hoped that this will make the work of the Steering Committee more transparent and accessible to those who are interested in what leadership is doing to keep things running smoothly. The Steering Committee is always looking for ways to encourage participation, and to develop new potential leaders for the future. We encourage you to speak with one of us about the many opportunities that exist, or ways that the congregation could use your skills, creativity, energy. May you be inscribed and sealed for a good and healthy new year. Ken Lerner Co-president Financial Contributions Information Each year the Committee makes financial donations to a small number of organizations that are important partners with our social justice work. Our goal is to make contributions to organizations that are in alignment with our current projects and with whom we have ongoing relationships to maximize our impact. We are able to do this because of the support of you and our community. Most of the donations are made from the line item in Havurah s Operating Budget. The Operating Budget is funded by our dues and fundraising revenue, and is approved by the congregation each spring. At this year s planning retreat in June the following allocations were approved from the FY Operating Budget: In addition, there is a separate line item in the Operating Budget for Metropolitan Alliance for Common Good (MACG) dues of $1,458. The Committee can also allocate funds from the Tribute Fund. The Tribute Fund is funded by donations from individuals. The following allocations have been approved from the Tribute Fund: MACG - $1,458 to support the remainder of our membership commitment for the year Green Empowerment - $1,000 in recognition of our long-standing partnership and Green Empowerment s 20th anniversary Community for Welcoming Congregations - $100 Lift Urban Portland - $200 Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice - $500 Portland Homeless Family Solutions - $500 Tivnu - $225 Outside the Frame - $225 There is more information about our partner organizations on the webpage or contact Chris Coughlin (chriscoughlin60@gmail.com) if you have any questions. 9

5 Join Us Bulletin Board Erev Shabbat with Portland Just Energy Transition Initiative Condolences November Hakol The deadline for submission of articles, pics, tributes, announcements, etc. is In the coming months Havurah Shalom will call to the Torah the following B nai Mitzvah: Tuesday, October 17 Saturday, October 28 Ari Mesulam Son of Julia Lager-Mesulam and Steven Mesulam submissions to Info@havurahshalom.org The Havurah Office Will Be Closed October 5 and 6 Sukkot Monday-Thursday 10am-4pm Friday 10am-3pm Ruth Grodjesk Newman, mother of David Newman, mother-in-law of Laura Orgel, grandmother of Seth Newman, Tamah Newman, and Jennifer Kemp Annette Cogan, wife of Edward Cogan, mother of Barbara Cogan Neidig, grandmother of Harper and Cecile, and sister-in-law of Nathan Cogan Saturday, December 16 Moriah Cordova Daughter of Lisa and Allan Cordova Please join us in celebration and welcome them to our community. MAZEL TOV! HaMakon Y nachem. May we all be comforted. Many thanks to...who once again cleaned all of Havurah's tallisim before High Holidays at no cost to Havurah in honor of Liz Schwartz and Beth Hamon. 45th Street Cleaners Tributes Cemetery Fund Nancy Spigal, Rachel and Curtis Shipley, and Anna and Adam Tarnoff, in memory of our beloved Harvey. Margie Rosenthal, in memory of my parents, Muriel and Burton Kieffer. Rabbi Discretionary Fund Betty and Jacob Reiss, in honor of Emily Simon: Thank you for your caring support of our grandson, Isaac Kerstetter, during his Bar Mitzvah preparations and for Mitzvah. leading Isaac's Bar Mitzvah service. Thanks for all you do for Havurah. Fund Margie and Elden Rosenthal, in honor Sandy Ramirez, in memory of my dear of Dave Weil: Mazel Tov to Dave friend, Irene Richman, my son, David Weil on reaching a quarter century! Akers, and my father, Leo Rodden. Carol Gelfer and Joe Sullivan, in loving Music Fund memory of Florine Gelfer. Betty and Jacob Reiss, in honor of Ilene Safyan: Thank you for all the Youth Education Fund wonderful music and support that Rachel Shimshak, in honor of Emily you provided our grandson, Isaac Simon, for generously leading shiva Kerstetter, on the occasion of his Bar for our Dad. 8 The Havurah Climate Action Team invites you to Erev Shabbat services at 7:00 pm on Friday, October 27. We will be joined by Jo Ann Hardesty, the President of the Portland NAACP, and Anais Tuepker, from 350PDX, who will lead a presentation Supplies for the Homeless For my B nai Mitzvah Project I am collecting items to give to those who are living on the streets. My mom and I created Ari's B nai Mitzvah Project Wish List on Amazon of items that we thought folks might need, such as water, nutrition bars, toothbrushes, toothpaste, sanitary pads, hand wipes, etc. We have already received a lot of donations. My mom and I have filled up our car with these items a couple of times and delivered to folks we encountered living on the streets. It has been a great experience and something I hope you can help me continue to do. You can donate something from the wish list and it will be mailed directly to my house. If you do that please make sure you send a gift note with your purchase so I can be sure to thank you! You are also welcome to bring items directly to Havurah on the day of my Bar Mitzvah on 10/28. Thanks for your support! Ari Mesulam after services about the Portland Just Energy Transition Initiative. The initiative has been developed by a diverse group of local organizations representing communities of color and the climate movement in Portland that have worked for over a year and half to craft a viable approach to begin to meaningfully address climate change in a framework that is focused on promoting racial and social justice and equity. Come and learn more from the principle sponsors, and find out how you can help make it happen. Singing in the Sukkah! Join us for an afternoon with singers and musicians, to sing folk songs in the sukkah! We'll sing together on Sunday, October 8, 3:00-5:00. Bring your voices, your instruments and your spirit! We will have some copies of Rise Up Singing to guide us. Questions? Contact Susan Rosenthall (sarosenthall@msn.com) or Judy Heumann at (mjheumann@gmail.com). Learn with Rabbi Benjamin: Ambiguity & the Multiple Narratives of Torah Wednesday, October 18, 7-8:30 pm at Havurah The Hebrew Bible is rich with ambiguity. While we carry many assumptions about its points of view, the Torah is in fact multilayered and nuanced. Through close readings of particular Biblical narratives, including those of Abraham, Hagar, Jacob, and David, and with the aid of ancient and contemporary responses, we will re-read the literature that is Torah, exploring its artistry and reflecting on the ways in which it expresses and comments upon the nature of humanity. Lev Tahor ( Pure Heart ) Chanting Monday, October 9, 7-8:00 pm at Havurah We will gather to lift sacred phrases through melody, harmony, and rhythm in order to open our hearts, clarify our minds, and cultivate qualities such as gratefulness and compassion. Interspersed with periods of silent meditation, the chanting will be guided by teachings and intentions from Rabbi Benjamin. Each of these gatherings is open to anyone no experience, musical ability, or commitment necessary. 5

6 It is another new year, and a time to reflect on where we have been and where we are headed. So much has gone on and so much is new that it might be easy to miss all of the exciting developments. We hope that you are all taking an opportunity to meet Rabbi Benjamin, either at services, at the welcoming picnic, at a march, or in some other way. His first month is now behind him and he is learning a lot about who we are as a congregation, and what we as individuals have to offer. Please take some time to introduce yourself to him, think about gathering families together for a coffee or dinner with him, or contact our Rabbi Transition team leaders Stacy Hankin or Amanda Coffey for suggestions about how you Steering Report What Has Steering Been Up To? Continued from Page 1 with pleasant and sweet words. Later commentators pick up on this theme with: "One should greet every human with a friendly countenance... if a person gives to his/her friend all the gifts in the world, but their face is sullen, it is like they gave nothing. But one who greets his/her fellow with a friendly countenance, even if s/he gives no gifts, it is like s/he gives all the best gifts in the world" (Avot d Rebbi Nosson, Ch. 13; gender language adapted). The Sifsei Chaim explains that what people want more than anything is for others to show an interest in and care about them. A gift is an indication that the giver thought about the needs of another and intended to bring comfort or joy can help ease his transition into our community. The Steering Committee is making a special effort to quickly integrate Rabbi Benjamin into our congregation. By the time you read this we will have had a facilitated integration meeting with him and many of our leaders, as a rapid way for him to get to know many of us, and us him. In this process we expected that he would get to know what our hopes are, what we are proudest of, what we are worried about, and provide an opportunity for us to consider deeply how to help make this transition to a new rabbi a success. Another project that the Steering Committee has begun is a leadership planning retreat to take place in early November. This (Moadim, 3rd Chelek, p. 275). When we make eye contact or greet somebody with care we show that we notice their existence. We show concern for their well-being. This is so fundamental that it is often overlooked or lost on us. We often don t even realize that we are giving or receiving this care until it doesn t happen when we come to a Havurah service and nobody says hello to us or acknowledges us, for example. Why is Kabbalat Panim sometimes tricky at Havurah? What do you think about these guesses? Do you have any theories or observations of your own? For many of us, to feel that we can be a welcomer, one who receives another s presence, we need to feel that we have a solid place from which will give us a good amount of time to think together about where we are, and where we want to be in a year or two. What is going well? What needs improvement or change? How do we accommodate our growth? How do we spread the professional resources we have in Rabbi Benjamin and Deborah to offer more vibrant programming, and meet the needs of the congregation? Can we do more to be welcoming to new members, or to those who are not connected to a group or circle within the congregation? And can we accomplish all that we want without burning out our hardworking staff? After much consideration, the Steering Committee decided that we need to increase From the Education Director Attending to our Kabbalat Panim at Havurah Continued on Page 9 to welcome others. We need to feel comfortable in the synagogue or with Judaism, like it belongs to us. Many of us don t yet feel that comfort or confidence. We might feel unfamiliar with the rituals, the Hebrew, or the melodies. Or we are still building connections socially; we don t yet feel like we are sufficiently known. One might feel that other folks are in the inside circle and I am still in the outside circle. So how can I welcome somebody else into the community if I myself barely feel part of it? And then, of course, for those who are comfortable socially and culturally/religiously, there is the matter of limited social time, generally hectic lives. It is natural that when we see our friends we Continued on Page 10 6 Green Empowerment celebrates 20th year Free tix available for October Passport to Empowerment event On October 14, Green Empowerment will celebrate 20 years of work with NGO partners and communities in Latin America and Asia to bring electricity, clean water, and other sustainable energy resources to remote villages. In recognition of our 10-year partnership with Green Empowerment, Havurah Shalom s Committee voted in August to be a sponsor for Passport to Empowerment which will take place at The North Warehouse in North Portland. As a benefit of our sponsorship for this event, Havurah Shalom has received 10 free tickets for the VIP event and party. If you would like one or more of these free tickets, please contact Linda Boise (boiselinda48@gmail.com). During this event, attendees will learn about Green Empowerment s history through project stories from the past 20 years. Havurah Shalom will be recognized for its work to raise funds for the solar water system installed in El Jocote, Nicaragua, in Since then, our support for El Jocote has continued through service trips where Havurah members worked Date: Saturday, October 14 At: The North Warehouse, 723 N Tillamook St. Portland VIP event ($100) 5-8 pm Party ($40) 7:30 pm-12 am For free tickets to VIP event & Party: Send to Linda Boise (boiselinda48@gmail.com) Havurah Shalom members helped build grey-water catchment basins to irrigate patio gardens in El Jocote, Nicaragua. alongside residents to construct fencing around patio gardens and grey water collection systems; visits to learn about health resources available to El Jocote and to assess the beneficial effects of the water system on nutrition and health; and by raising additional funds to build latrines, clean cookstoves, and to support a community resident to serve as technology promoter. At the VIP event you ll be able to sample food from countries Green Empowerment works in; participate in an auction; and hear from Christine Ervin, an expert on green building and clean energy. She was the first president and CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council and Asst. Secretary of Energy under President Clinton. Come join the celebration! For more information on this event, go to greenempowerment.org. 7