Tikkun Olam: Habitat for Humanity Report
May 3, 2011
On Sunday, April 24, about a dozen chavurahniks contributed their time to help build a single family home for Habitat for Humanity in northeast Portland. The group ranged in ages from 16 to 60. Steve Eisenbach-Budner from Havuurah and Ev Hu from Habitat helped supervise the day’s work. The group erected scaffolding, installed insulation, did some tricky interior framing and worked carefully on laying out and installing hardware for front porch posts and beams. While it sprinkled on and off throughout the day, spirits remained high. Thanks to all for contributing their time, energy and passion to this effort!
At lunch the group was joined by Rabbi Joey and Steve Rudman, who spoke about affordable housing and the wider implications of housing, justice and civil society and a Jewish approach to helping your neighbor, be they friend or enemy. The conversation gave context to the work, connecting local efforts to the larger picture.
One of the volunteers, Beverlee Cutler, noted that while the work was tiring, it was satisfying to put it a hard day’s work on the project and be able to step back and see their concrete accomplishments. In particular, she is grateful Havurah community members like Steve E-B and Steve Rudman are participating in efforts at repairing the world.
If you’re interested in volunteering on a similar project, there are still openings to volunteer on a construction project on Sunday May 15th at the Oregon Farmworkers union PCUN in Woodburn. Kids as young as 14 may participate. For details contact Steve Eisenbach-Budner or Ben Walters
Weatherize for Good: Comfort, the Environment, Jobs, and Fundraising
April 22, 2011
A four-in-one opportunity! What if you could make your home more comfortable, take action to mitigate climate change, support living wage jobs AND fundraise for Havurah?? Come to a house meeting on May 1st to find out about this wonderful opportunity, called the “Weatherize for Good” campaign.
From presenters Bob Brown and Michael Heumann, you will learn how the program works, what kinds of improvements and finance options are available (including tax credits and incentives), and about the High Road Contractor and Community Alliance, a contractor collaborative working with MACG. Getting started in this process is easy and an initial energy audit is free.
Households that complete their agreed-upon contract will earn a credit (up to $300), that goes to Havurah. While the program benefits Havurah (and the environment, and the community, and you), this gathering is NOT limited to Havurah households so please invite your friends. May 1st, 7-9 pm, RSVP to Gretta Siegel, for address and directions. This event is brought to you by your Social Action Committee.
Havurah Tikkun Olam: Build a House and a Community Center
March 22, 2011
Do you want to:
Work with your body AND mind?
Contribute something tangible to low-income housing and economic justice?
Here are two great opportunities!
April 24, 9:30 am – 3:00 pm, Habitat for Humanity
NE Portland; work on a single family home; minimum age 16;
sign up by April 8 (6-10 participants)
May 15, 9:30 am – 3:00 pm, Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (Oregon’s largest Latino organization, representing 4500. farmworkers, nursery and reforestation workers)
Woodburn; help build a leadership development center; lunch provided, minimum age 14; sign up by April 25 (6-22 participants) Woodburn is only 35 minutes from Portland; we’ll organize car-pooling.
SIGN UP NOW!
Contact us if you would like to participate.
Havurah Shalom Celebrates Purim: Saturday, March 19
February 28, 2011
Costumes, hamentashen, singing, and a special Purim Shpiel (play)…Purim is on the way! All ages are invited.
This year our celebration will focus more on kids, but will incorporate many of the familiar elements from years past, including:
2:45-3:30 Make Hamantashen and/or Masks:
3:30 – 5:00 Purim Spiel, Costume Parade, Singing: A kid-friendly rendition of the Purim story with lots of laughs and audience participation.
Hamentashen Bake-Off: Calling all bakers! Do you favor apricot filling? Prune, poppyseed, Nutella? We love ‘em all and there’s never too many. Please bring a batch to share. Our distinguished panel of judges will be on hand.
Noise-making: Although we won’t have a complete reading of the Megilla, there will be plenty of opportunities to drown out the name of you-know-who. Like last year, we’re supporting the CommunityWarehouse by asking folks to bring new or used pots and pans, spatulas, wooden spoons, and silverware (especially forks and knives) to bang as noisemakers (then we’ll donate them)
Costumes: Raid the dress-up box and parental closet (no need to buy something!)
Light finger foods will be provided, but this year there’s no potluck, so we encourage kids (and parents) to eat something beforehand.
PLEASE RSVP by March 15 with your family names and ages of any children.
Read the Torah of Wisconsin
February 28, 2011
The Torah of Wisconsin
BY ELISSA BARRETT AND ARYEH COHEN
In the streets of Madison, we can hear the echoes of Torah. From Moses to Maimonides to modern day Rabbis across the country, Jews have a long and lively history of supporting the rights of working people. Rabbis Bonnie Margulis and Jonathan Biatch recently reported from Wisconsin that standing for worker’s rights is “absolutely” the Jewish thing to do. Now is a good moment to ask ourselves, why?
For the past 150 years, labor unions have formed the backbone of progressive movements for social change. In Egypt, the winds of change blew hardest when workers from Alexandria to Aswan joined the youth revolution. In America, unions are woven into the story of empowerment for countless generations of immigrant workers, Jews among them, and the struggle of American minorities-from the sanitation workers of Memphis in the 1960s to the janitors of Los Angeles today.
The issue in Wisconsin is no longer about budgeting or steep cuts in wages and benefits-the unions and Governor Scott Walker are in full agreement there. When Governor Walker began targeting the ability of public employees to bargain collectively for their common good, he targeted our country’s most fundamental labor right: the right to a voice on the job. Our Jewish tradition urges us to see this as a shofar call to action.
It is no coincidence that the first lessons we receive after being freed from slavery in Egypt are on the treatment of workers. “You shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer, whether a fellow countryman or a stranger. You must pay him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets. else he will cry to God against you and you will incur guilt”
(Deuteronomy, 24:14-15). The third century mishnah and tosefta instructs employers to meet or exceed local custom in terms of wages and benefits, and the Babylonian Talmud gives town residents the right to intervene between a local employer and a worker to insure that wages are fair. All this is codified by centuries of commentaries, Talmud scholars and jurists.
