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Havurah Initiative: How Do You Want to Gather?

How Do You Want to Gather? Interest Form
CBI's Havurah Initiative
 

“Havurah: An Experiment in Jewish Gathering” is an initiative hosted by Congregation B’nai Israel which provides support to individuals and families who are interested in gathering and building community with others. We want to support you in developing homegrown, peer-led, Jewish gatherings.  The goal of this initiative is to provide a platform for people to fill in gaps they experience in current Jewish programming and offerings.

In these times, we know gathering has it's barriers, and that staying connected is key. We want to support our community in finding connective and safe ways to gather this winter and beyond. And, there are many ways for us to gather with others to find meaning at the intersection of our Jewish identities – as parents, young adults, spiritual seekers, members of the queer community, as an outdoor adventure group, cooking or gardening group. The possibilities are endless, the next step is to gather.

Fill out the interest form below and let us know how you may be interested in gathering. From there you wil be connected to a Havurah Connector or to our Havurah Coordinator, Molly Bajgot, to learn more. 

Our Havurot 

The Havurah Initiative (HI) encourages and provides funding for the formation of ongoing, intimate, peer-led groups that share and explore a Jewish focus of their own choosing. Havurot bring a richness of Jewish experience, personal meaning and interpersonal connection to their members. Havurot are groups of 10-15 people who gather monthly.

Some of our on-going Havurot are currently full, such as our Caregivers Havurah (a group for people who take care of loved ones who are ill or differently-abled) and our Shabbat Dinner Havurah (a group that gathers monthly to enjoy Shabbat dinner together). If you are interested in this Havurot, you can indicate so below.

Current open Havurot are as follows:
  • Hearing Our Voices, Knowing Our Stories: Interested in learning about the stories of women in Jewish texts? Wondering what their relevance is to us today? Join for a monthly discussion of Jewish women in text. We'll read, learn, and explore the stories of these powerful ancestors.
  • Interfaith Havurah: Did you grow up mixed-heritage? Are you in a mixed-faith household now? Do you have a blended family or background? The Interfaith havurah is a gathering space for folks with a variety of religious backgrounds or experiences to come together to connect and celebrate the beauty and the tension found there.
  • First Friday Havurah: First Friday Havurah is an egalitarian minyan that comes together once a month for a Shabbat service and meal together. First Friday celebrates all leadership abilities and styles and encourages active participation of young-adults. 
New Havurot
 
We are excited to develop 3-5 new Havurot this year to create more spaces for connection and gathering in the CBI community. We're interested to find out what ways you'd like to gather in these coming months and years.

Please indicate below any and all Havurot that you would be interested in being formed at CBI. Your expressed interest does not assume your participation, it helps us to understand which Havurot have the most interest from the community. 

Connectors: Connectors are people who support the formation of the Havurah by reaching out to individuals who are looking for connection; listen to the community's interests and ideas; help the group develop expectations around scheduling, communication, and decision-making and facilitate the members of the group taking full ownership of all aspects of the havurah. If you are interested in this stipended role, please indicate below. 
 
Thank you for your interest in the Havurot Initiative at CBI! We are excited to continue to support our community to gather. We will be gathering information from this form and being in touch with you in the next coming weeks.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Molly Bajgot at molly@cbinorthampton.org.
Mon, December 6 2021 2 Tevet 5782