Social Action – Moving Forward!!
November 29, 2010
Join us for the next Kabbalat Shabbat Dinner on December 10th. Online registration now available!
November 17, 2010
Second Friday Kabbalat Shabbat Services: December 10 at 6:30 pm
Did you miss it!? Or were you one of 140 standing through the opening niggun of the service, joining in song and prayer as we welcomed in the day of rest? We provided the food, and you provided the energy throughout a memorable evening.
The next dinner is scheduled on December 10th and is the Human Rights Shabbat, being celebrated across the country, on the 61st Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
A modestly-priced dinner will be incorporated into the service starting at 6:30 pm(contact the office for details). Water and Teas are provided so please bring your own wine and juice.
If you can’t attend dinner, please come to the service portion.
Future Dates: January 14, February 11, March 11, April 8, May 13
You won’t want to miss the next one. Send in your RSVP form and your check, and you can still make the December 3rd deadline for the December service. Or pay online, using this convenient registration website . Please note that there is a $1.00 service charge for each person for online registration.
And place this event on your calendar on the second Friday of each month.
Havurah Takes Donations On-Line
November 8, 2010
Anyone who wishes to make a donation to Havurah can now do so using our secure on-line link. You can use your credit card and you will be able to designate a Fund for the donation, indicate if the donation is in honor or memory of someone and even make it recurring! It’s very user-friendly, just go to this link. You will get a receipt e-mailed to you immediately and a copy goes to the Havurah office so that Tribute notes can still go out.
The link for these donations is also found on every page of our website. Look in the footer area for “Donate Securely to Havurah Shalom”.
Please remember that Havurah will pay a fee for credit card transactions, so consider adding a little to your donation to cover this. Typically, the fee is 3-4% (fees vary based on the type of credit card you use).
JRF & Havurah Shalom honor Emily Simon
October 25, 2010
A Morat Derech is a “teacher of the way,” someone who shows us the path, clears it, lights it, leads us along it–and often ends up building much of the path herself. Havurah Shalom has been blessed with wonderful contributions of time, energy, wisdom, learning, and kavannah from so many members; among them, Emily Simon stands out. On many Shabbatot and Yom Tovim, you’ll find Emily on the bimah chanting from the torah or leading the Congregation in study. She tutors our B’nei Mitzvah, and teaches a class every summer at Havurah High, guiding the students so that they are able to lead services and present an original midrashic play for the members. These artistic pieces are characterized by brilliant wordplay, tremendous humor, and thought-provoking insight, and are well loved by the entire Havurah Shalom community.
Make your contribution to honor Emily
Please join us at the Morei Derekh Reception at the JRF Convention, where we will honor Emily and all of the other Western Region honorees! November 12, 2010 at 3:30 pm at the Hyatt Regency in Newport Beach, CA.
Emily also brings the Jewish values of social justice to the larger Oregon community. Emily is an attorney and has been involved in ballot measure issues and litigation since the late 1980s. She has litigated numerous ballot title challenges in the Supreme Court. In 1992 and 1994 she was one of the principal speakers leading to the defeat of Ballot Measures 9 & 13, which would have limited the civil rights of gays and lesbians. Most recently Emily has been working to reverse the trend of mandatory prison sentencing. . From 1993-1998, Emily served on the Police Internal Investigations Affairs Committee (PIIAC). She is a leader and a visionary, a true trailblazer.
In Pirkei Avot, we read: “Who is wise? She who learns from all people, as it is written (Psalm 119:99) ‘I have gained understanding from all my teachers.’” Please join us in honoring Emily as our Morat Derech, our trailblazer and teacher.
Green Empowerment Update: Havurah Celebrated Sukkot With a Helping Hand to Nicaragua
October 19, 2010
On September 26th, Havurah celebrated Sukkot with a great event called Sharing the Bounty. 150 Havurahniks and friends came out to celebrate the harvest festival and join in the activities. We carried water and sounded the shofar reflective of ancient rituals surrounding this ancient holiday. We also celebrated the culmination of our fund raising efforts for a water project for a small town in Nicaragua, and honored four Havurah members who have shown leadership in social action within our community.
We’re hoping Sukkot will become an annual time when our community will honor those members who have shown leadership in social action. This year’s event honored Bob Brown who has chaired the social action committee for the past 8 years, along with three B’nai Mitzvot, Natalie Lerner, Mira Reichman, and Eliana Sullivan, who raised funds for Green Empowerment in support of the El Jocote water project in Nicaragua. Havurah had committed to raise $40,000 for this project and we were close to having achieved that goal before the dinner event. At the end of the evening, thanks to the great attendance, generous donations, and the raffle for a cedar rain barrel (won by Bill Kwitman), we raised almost $6000! Once we have the final accounting complete for the total project, we will announce the amount raised in the community email.
