For Jewish families of children in elementary and middle school, that often means deciding on both an academic program and a religious school program. Jewish students who do not attend one of the three Jewish day schools in Portland often enroll in a Sunday school, Shabbat school and/or afterschool Hebrew program to supplement their regular…
You could call them modern Jewish pioneers or parents struggling to keep tradition alive. Like parents in any town far from a synagogue, Hood River residents find it hard to raise their children with a sense of Jewish identity. For about 20 years, Columbia Gorge families have had a little help from “The Keeper of…
by Deborah Moon Ashland’s Temple Emek Shalom has hired Rabbi Joshua Boettiger as the congregation’s new rabbi effective Aug. 1. “This past year was one of transition for the congregation, but we see 2012/2013 as a year of exciting new beginnings,” says TES President Michael Schames, who took office July 1. “As a congregation, we are…
Everyone clapped when Luda Isakharov, 10, finished her presentation. Proud parents and children filled the bright, cozy room. It was the end-of-the year Hebrew school celebration, and each child talked about what he or she had learned during the year. Outside, a sunlit courtyard filled with children’s toys had the remains of the day’s festive…
by Amy R. Kaufman The first synagogue in Clark County, now rising near scenic wetlands, creates a visible Jewish presence on the skyline of Southwest Washington. In 2007, an anonymous donor stunned Congregation Kol Ami members by pledging $6 million to fund the building and maintenance of a synagogue. Now the Reform congregation will observe…
by Catherine Garvin Northwest Fashionistas, like Hollywood Glamouristas, love to dress like their favorite character in a movie or novel. This year, the vintage 1920s Art Deco period is all the rage on fashion runways around the world, including Milan, Paris, London and New York. Art Deco – a worldwide art, architectural and fashion influence…
“What’s up, Doc?” The man behind that question may be Oregon’s best-known Jewish export to Hollywood. Mel Blanc, “The Man of 1,000 Voices,” spoke for Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Sylvester the Cat, Tweety Bird and hundreds of other animated characters for Warner Brothers studios and other producers over a career spanning six decades….
In the first decades of the 20th century, two Jewish boys in South Portland took up the violin and became lifelong friends. Later, they would each make contributions to film music in addition to other achievements. Louis Kaufman, called “a violinist’s violinist and a musician’s musician” by the New York Times, was born in Portland…
Portland seems to be on the tip of everyone’s tongue these days. You’ll often find our great city and state featured in national and international travel magazines and publications as one of the top places to visit and live in the world. This year alone, Great Britain’s The Guardian put Portland on the top of…
Music has always been a constant for Cantor Ida Rae Cahana. Cahana, who officially begins her tenure as Congregation Beth Israel’s new senior cantor on Sept. 8, reflects that music, particularly Jewish liturgical music, has defined both her career and her personal life. “My way into Judaism had always been through music,” she says. Cahana…
