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Portland's Eastside Synagogue
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Portland Winter Tent Drive led by Rabbi Ariel Stone
The city of Portland has refused to help unsheltered people remove trash - and housing is too slow to come by, as is shelter space. Tent Drive organizers say they plan to give the tents to responsible local social service agencies that have already established relationships with people who are homeless. They can determine best who needs a tent for temporary shelter. Tents, they say, are not a solution - but the solutions require state, city, and county leaders who prioritize those solutions. Those associated with the Winter Tent Drive say their goal is only to lessen the suffering for a few of their neighbors for a time, and to draw attention to the gap between what the city says is available for the homeless, and the more difficult truth of the matter. "Until there is shelter for everyone on the street, taking away the last piece of thin cloth between the houseless and the elements is a cruelty that I will not be part of," said Rabbi Stone. Thousands of dollars were raised from individuals and organizations (including Shir Tikvah) to support this act of compassion.
Listen to Emma Lugo of KBOO (and President of Shir Tikvah's Board of Directors) interview Rabbi Ariel Stone and Jason Renaud of the Mental Health Alliance - online or download: https://kboo.fm/
Prison Pipeline is a radio program dedicated to educating the public about the Oregon criminal justice system. Our goal is to present a unique understanding of the criminal justice system, address the root causes of crime, and challenge the status quo. We seek to promote awareness and activism in order to foster a safe, healthy, and just society.
Congregation Shir Tikvah is a mid-sized independent congregation. Our founders envisioned a participatory, learning community and we work hard to fulfill that promise. At less than 20 years old, we're the "start up" in Portland's Jewish Community.
Our neighborhoods are diverse and so are our supporters. They come from across the Jewish spectrum: Jew-by-birth, Jew-by-choice, queer, straight, trans, interfaith, atheist, devout believer. We welcome all who want to grapple with the beauty and contradictions of our sacred texts to better understand our faith, our world and our place in it.
Shir Tikvah means "song of hope". We gather strength from each other and our tradition, strength to hope and act for a better world, city, and community.
Until the Willamette River parts for Portland’s Jewish community to cross the divide, the liberal,
Independent Shir Tikvah remains the east side’s only full-time shul.
Rabbi Ariel Stone’s casual congregation is serious about social justice and
Torah Study, complete with fresh bagels and heated banter.
- Portland Monthly
We exist to create space for the central mitzvot of תורה Torah עבודה Prayer and Ritual גמילות חסדים Doing Kindness
For up-to-date listings of all of our gatherings for prayer, ritual, learning and activities, please check our calendar.
Guests: You are welcome to request Shabbat Zoom links, or sign up to join our weekly newsletter, by contacting our operations manager Amelia Schroth.
We follow the Jewish ethic of caring for the most vulnerable of our community; therefore continue to require vaccination and boosting. We will also provide high quality masks for those who require them in order to participate in our community
If you are feeling ill, please stay home and away from others.
Health authorities have recommended the following source for ongoing information about the pandemic.
A statement from our Rabbi
In the name of Elohim, of Allah, of G*d most merciful: we pray for the people of Palestine. May our Muslim and Christian Arab cousins be granted safety, success, love, security, and hope. May they enjoy the fruits of freedom and equality long denied them.
As Jews, we pray for their well-being in accordance with our Torah’s command: “you shall not stand by as your neighbor bleeds” (Leviticus 19.16. May we live to see the day when Jews and Arabs will live in the land we call holy, together, and in peace.
We pray that one day all the wanderers will come home in joy, and that the fruits of the peacemakers’ efforts will be shared equally among all.
Our freedom is bound up with the freedom of all others. We pray that Palestinians will be able to live lives free from violence and oppression. And we pray that we might be among those who work for that day.
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֖ים יְהִ֣י א֑וֹר וַֽיְהִי־אֽוֹר - Elohim said Let There Be Light, and there was light.
May we be the light that brings hope to our Palestinian friends and so to our ancestral home, and may we live to see peace over all Israel. Amen.
- Adapted by Rabbi Ariel Stone from a prayer created by Matah Adler, on ritualwell.org
Rabbi's Erev Shabbat Message
Tue, March 19 2024
9 Adar II 5784
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This week's Torah portion is Parshat Vayikra
Shabbat, Mar 23 |
Candle Lighting
Friday, Mar 22, 7:11pm |
Havdalah
Motzei Shabbat, Mar 23, 8:18pm |
Taanit Esther
Thursday, Mar 21 |