Dear Helen: My life is stuck. I need 2013 advice that’s more than just join a gym and change your job. I need those but I also need a deeper makeover! Ready Dear Ready: Virtually no big change is linear, consistent or fast. Most folks start with some simple prayers: Make it easy. Make it…
If you’ve ever planted a cute little fir, pine or spruce in your yard only to pay hundreds of dollars a decade later to have a 40-foot monster cut down and removed, you may be leery of being fooled again. But, believe me, with the exciting array of dwarf and miniature conifers now available, pumping…
Editor’s Note: Full names or company names have not been used. The seaside town of Jaffa, Israel, just south of Tel Aviv, was once a regional hub of shoe manufacturing. In the past several decades, however, Jaffa’s footwear sector has become just another casualty of China’s industrial machine. While the local shoemaking supply chain has…
Last year 357 young adults from Oregon had what many describe as a life-changing Birthright trip to Israel, but 382 others were put on a waitlist. Birthright Israel Foundation Portland cochairs Dana Hunt and Alan Bacharach organized a gathering to help raise enough money for a half bus from Oregon, which costs $60,000. About half…
Cindy Kaplan and Mishelle Rudzinski met at an important time. Both were adopting children from Kazakhstan, although circumstances weren’t the same. Rudzinski, a speech therapist who specializes in cerebral palsy, had fallen in love with what looked like a severely handicapped 5-year-old girl. Kaplan and her husband expected to adopt a healthy 6-month-old boy. “When…
As education director of Havurah Shalom, Deborah Eisenbach-Budner knows about developing strong Jewish identity. When it comes to internationally adopted children, she also knows “what’s in a name.” Parents’ hopes for their child’s faith and sense of belonging, she says, are often revealed by the names they choose. RozaBess Aizhan, 4, the daughter she adopted…
The death of four commercial fishermen on Dec. 11, 2001, when their 40-foot aluminum fishing vessel Nesika capsized a half-mile west of Yaquina Head, marked a turning point for each of the men’s families. It was the first day that the Dungeness crab fleet put to sea that year – a cold, dirty day on…
He’s a klezmer violin virtuoso, a composer, an arranger, a filmmaker, the author of 13 books, a playwright and a photographer, and he has conducted original ethno-graphic and musical research in Eastern Europe. In short, Yale Strom is a one-man walking Jewish cultural storehouse. Strom started his multifaceted love affair with Jewish culture in the…
With a dozen members seated in a circle each Wednesday morning at Ashland’s Temple Emek Shalom, Rabbi Joshua Boettiger leads “Jewish Meditation.” Though in its silence, peace and community, it resembles Buddhism, it’s decidedly Hebraic in the brief introductory lesson. The silence of the meditators is already rich as they cross their legs and begin…
Neveh Shalom’s ALIYAH Jewish Learning program meets the needs of children from kindergarten through 12th grade. My favorite challenge is hitting the right balance of strong Jewish content and good fun. From many years of experience in Jewish education, I have seen that a strong, positive Jewish identity is built on skills and knowledge. Kids…
