Learn about :
- spiritually based peace work bridging Israelis and Palestinians
- history and wisdom that emerged from the encounter between the mystics of the Middle East
- share a circle for peace, with chants in the Jewish & Sufi Muslim traditions
Eliyahu McLean is director of Jerusalem Peacemakers, a network of religious leaders & grassroots peacebuilders in Jerusalem, which host events such as the Abrahamic Reunion: Christian, Jewish, Muslim & Druze religious leaders working together to re-claim religion as a voice for peace. Izzeldin Bukhari, son of the late Sheik Bukhari, who was head of the Naqshabandi Sufi order & of the Uzbek community in the Holy Land, splits his time between Portland & Jerusalem. He is continuing his father’s work as a Muslim peacemaker, building bridges of understanding between religions & cultures. Sponsors: P’nai Or, Portland Baha’i Center, J Street, Interfaith Council of Greater Portland, Shir Tikvah, Complementary Healing, St. Mark Presbyterian Church and more. Donations: a $5-$18 goodwill offering is appreciated. For a tax-deductible contribution, write checks to: ‘Center for Religious Tolerance’, make note on memo line: ‘for Jerusalem Peacemakers’ & leave in donation box or send to: The Center for Religious Tolerance, 520 Ralph St., Sarasota, FL 34242  Online Donations can be made here.  The First United Methodist Church is located at 1838 SW Jefferson St., Portland, OR 97201

Basic Rights Oregon’s Board of Directors released the following statement earlier this week:

“For three years, Basic Rights Oregon has led a proactive community education campaign to build public support for the freedom to marry for all caring and committed couples. We have reached out to our neighbors in communities across the state, engaged in thoughtful conversations, and shared our stories in TV ads and online.

This work is opening hearts and changing minds. Every day more and more Oregonians are coming to support the freedom to marry.

In Oregon, the only path to allowing same-gender couples to join in civil marriage is through the ballot. It is not a question of if we will cross this threshold, but when.

We have considered the possibility of putting this issue on the ballot for the 2012 election. However several factors, including the expense of waging a statewide political campaign in the midst of an economic crisis, led us to conclude that we are better off extending our education campaign and building momentum for a later election.

Ballot measures in Oregon have historically been used to attack the gay and transgender community. Today, we are finally in the driver’s seat, deciding when to go forward with a proactive ballot measure to achieve equality, instead of just fighting back. That presents our community with a tremendous opportunity and an immense responsibility.

To reach this decision, we evaluated a variety of data including an online survey with over 1,000 respondents from across Oregon. We convened a group of community leaders and campaign professionals, and held town halls in communities around the state.

The feedback we have overwhelmingly heard is that we must allow our education work to continue. The progress we’ve made in increasing support for the freedom to marry will only get better in the next two years.

Today we re-commit ourselves to this effort. We’re committed to opening a new dialogue with our friends, family and neighbors and, ultimately, winning the freedom to marry.”

– Basic Rights Oregon’s Board of Directors

Shir Tikvah is committed to the absolute equality of all its members, of all Jews, and of all people. Our support for Basic Rights Oregon is ongoing.
Thus we fulfill the mitzvah: tzedek, tzedek, tirdof, l’ma’an tikhyeh – “justice, justice you shall pursue, that you may live.” (Deut.16.20)

“Torah shall go forth from Zion and the words of HaShem from Yerushalayim….” but when the words go out via Shir Tikvah’s blog, they must travel through a WordPress installation on a Linux server. We’re upgrading the engine (WordPress 2.9 to WordPress 3.2.1.) It’ll be chrome wheeled, fuel injected, and stepping out over the line, so you may see some changes around here over the next few days, but in the end, the buttons should all work in pretty much the same way.

Don’t panic, and please excuse our dust.

November is Jewish Book Month in Portland. This year’s selection is Mitchell Kaplan’s By Fire, By Water. This book, out in paperback, follows Luis de Santángel, chancellor to the king of Aragon and a converso, as the Inquisition creeps closer and closer to him and his loved ones. Based on historical fact, the book makes history come alive.
Rabbi Ariel’s d’var Torah on Friday, November 11 will address the major themes of the book: history, identity and belonging.  Advertised in the Jewish Review’s calendar of activities, Rabbi’s presentation is open to the public. The support and participation of the Shir Tikvah community is welcomed and encouraged.
To learn more about the book, watch a video here, which details the plot while showing paintings of the Spain of the middle ages; you can also visit the author’s website. To see the Jewish Review article with all of the month’s activities, click here.

Our kehillah has developed a wonderful minhag over the years: for us, Simkhat Torah is a time to celebrate what is truly central to our learning congregation – the Torah! We’ll be dancing seven hakafot with our Torah scroll, and then opening it up completely (ever seen a completely unrolled Torah scroll? it goes around the room much more than once.) We’ll read the end of the Torah and follow that immediately with the beginning again. We’ll take breaks between hakafot to have a drink or a bite of something to keep our dancing strength up. The music will be fantastic, with more instruments and more voices this year.
Please bring wine, beer, or a dairy/vegetarian nosh to share.
Dancing shoes are required; prepare to blow off some High Holy Day Steam.
Everyone is welcome!

***Please note: erev Shabbat Tefilah for Oct 21 has been moved to a Shabbat at Home. Contact the office if you would like to host or be hosted!***