Monthly Mitzvah Project – January
Each month, the MJCC and PJA communities will collect items for the monthly mitzvah. These projects reflect the Jewish commitment to Tikkun Olam (repairing the world), providing opportunities to give back to our community.
Please drop off items in the blue bin in the MJCC Lobby.
January – New and gently used socks for Janus Youth Programs
Support the MJCC and PJA communities by donating books for our annual Used Book Sale.
Book Collection Drive: January 14 – March 15. Donate your used books to the MJCC. Drop off at the front desk. Need a pickup? Email pjabooksale@gmail.com to schedule pickup. No encyclopedias, please.
The Book Sale will be at the MJCC March 31 – April 2
Free and open to the community.
Young children (0-5) and their parents celebrate Shabbat with singing, movement, blessings, and storytelling. We will touch on the main highlights of the Shabbat service: wonder, fun, song, listening to the world, dancing, and Torah. Afterward we will enjoy an informal oneg nosh and the chance to play and schmooze. Please RSVP here.
Rabbi Gary Ellison, who was the rabbi at TBS for 11 years, has offered to teach a 10-part class that he offered at Willamette University for all those who feel they would benefit from an introduction to Judaism course.
If you are interested in this course, please contact Rabbi Eli at rabbi@tbsholom.org.
This class will require a serious commitment from students: $200 for TBS members ($300 for non-members) and attendance at all 10 classes. There will be one textbook (Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, Jewish Literacy, $35 new/$8.50 or more used) required for the course.
Needs-based scholarships will be available upon request.
Class will begin on Sunday, January 27 at 11:00 am.
Portland Jewish Book Celebration – Author Talk: The Book Smugglers by David Fishman
Portland State University, Browsing Lounge (Room 238) Smith Memorial Student Union, 1825 SW Broadway.
Join author, David Fishman, as he brings a gripping and compelling book to life with his recounting of how he came to learn about this story, illustrated by many photographs. Free and open to the community.
This event is sponsored by Congregation Beth Israel, Mittleman Jewish Community Center, Portland State University’s Judaic Studies Program, and Congregation Shaarie Torah.
In November 1940, days after the Nazis sealed 450,000 Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto, a secret band of journalists, scholars, and community leaders decided to fight back. Led by historian Emanuel Ringelblum and known by the code name Oyneg Shabes, this clandestine group vowed to defeat Nazi lies and propaganda not with guns or fists, but with pen and paper. Now, for the first time, their story is told. Based on the book by Samuel D. Kassow, Who Will Write Our History mixes the writings of the Oyneg Shabes archive with new interviews, rarely seen archival footage, and stunning dramatizations to transport us inside the Ghetto and the lives of these courageous resistance fighters. They defied their murderous enemy with the ultimate weapon—the truth—and risked everything so that their archive would survive the war, even if they did not. With narration by Academy Award winner Adrien Brody and Academy Award nominee Joan Allen.
About the Archive: In 1999, three document collections from Poland were included in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register: the masterpieces of Chopin, the scientific works of Copernicus, and the Oyneg Shabes Archive. The Oyneg Shabes Archive is the richest cache of eyewitness accounts to survive the Holocaust. Despite its importance, the archive remains largely unknown outside academic circles. The theatrical release of Who Will Write Our History is about to change that.
Co-presented with the Portland Art Museum, Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, and Institute for Judaic Studies. Presented as part of International Holocaust Remembrance Day in partnership with UNESCO, World Jewish Congress, USC Shoah Foundation, Emanuel Ringelblum Institute, and YIVO.
Mah Jongg for Beginners
Learn to play this ancient game. It will give your mind a workout!
Tuesday Mornings
10:30 am – 12:30 pm, CG200
Cost: $100. Members: $85.
Register: oregonjcc.org/registration
Mah Jongg for Intermediate Players
Take your game to the next level and become an expert!
Tuesday Afternoons
1:30 – 3:30 pm, CG201
Cost: $100. Members: $85.
Register: oregonjcc.org/registration
Family Stories with storytellers Gail Mandel of Oregon Jewish Community Foundation and Freda Ceaser and Gary Cobb from Central City Concern.
Everyone loves a good story and in 2019 with the help of storyteller Cassandra Sagan, Maggid-Educator, OJMCHE is going to be storytime headquarters. Cassandra will be working with community members from across cultural and social service agencies to polish their stories for sharing and the audience will also have the opportunity to share in an open mic segment. The series includes Immigration Stories, Family Stories, and Stories of Resistance.
Israeli Dancing
Join us for a fun, introductory Israeli folk dance class. All levels are welcome. Six people needed to run class.
Wednesday Evenings,
Dec. 26 – Feb. 27
Cost: $100 Members + Guests.
Drop-in Fee: $15 per class.
Registration information: CG105, oregonjcc.org/registration