The long-anticipated sequel to The Jews of Oregon: 1850-1950 received a rave review by the man who was the driving force in its creation. Rabbi Joshua Stampfer was speaking to a crowd that had begun arriving nearly an hour before the launch party for The Jewish Oregon Story 1950-2010 was slated to begin. “We are…
Portland’s Hadassah Chapter is important – so important that the director of Hadassah in Israel came to Portland to help re-invigorate the chapter. Barbara “BG” Goldstein hadn’t been in Portland for 38 years. But when her friend, Peg Elefant, president of Hadassah’s Pacific Northwest Region, asked, BG came. Peg has deep ties to Portland; her…
Robin Kirsch, 60, has been teaching exercise classes since 1985, when an aerobics instructor invited her to team-teach a class at the Baltimore JCC. For the past eight years she has used her 30+ years of experience to help seniors and others who want to improve their fitness level without high-impact or high-intensity workouts. Two…
You’ve followed your financial adviser’s advice on how much you need to save and how to invest it, and now you are retiring. The question is, what do you need to be aware of as you shift from saving to spending your investments? “There is a huge psychological shift in retirement,” says Kim Rosenberg, financial…
Judaism requires the utmost respect be given to the deceased. Volunteers at two burial societies (see box) in the Portland area provide the ultimate kindness at the end of life as they perform the traditional ritual of preparing individuals for burial. Chevra kadisha literally translates as “holy society.” “The chevra kadisha is dedicated to holiness,”…
Brian Suher and Arnold Roth share a connection no one wants to have – they both lost loved one’s to a terrorist bomb. Arnold Roth, whose 15-year-old daughter was killed in a 2001 bombing in Jerusalem, seemed a natural choice for the first Yoni Suher (z”l) Memorial Scholar-in-Residence program, according to Yoni’s uncle, Brian, currently…
Nili Yosha was raised in Israel and Hollywood immersed in both filmmaking and social action. But when she boarded a plane from Tel Aviv to New York Sept. 10, 2001, she wanted to put social activism aside, concentrate on her studies and do anything but make movies. The next day as she watched the Twin…
Anna Steckel thinks serving as house president of an extremely diverse household of 85 students at Smith College last year is excellent preparation for her new role as Tivnu residential advisor and madrikah (guide). Seven young adults arrived in Portland Aug. 31 for the Tivnu: Building Justice Gap Year of hands-on, Jewish social justice engagement….
Having served as a formal mentor for the real estate and Jewish communities, Jen Singer believes more people need to step up as both formal and informal mentors. “People mentor us every day,” says Jen. “A mentor is someone you rely on, trust, confide in; they take the time to listen and give insight back.”…
With more than 30 years as a theater professional to her credit, Linda Alper finds she often becomes a mentor to younger artists she works with. “It usually begins with a relationship of working together on a project,” says Linda, a resident artist at Artists Repertory Theatre. “I see younger artists I admire and watch…
