After decades of doing business in China, Michael Bloom thinks being Jewish there is an asset. “When the people who work for me in China say their boss is Jewish, I gain a few stages in recognition,” he says. “There are bestsellers like How to Become a Jewish Businessman. They think Jews are smart and…
You’ll find them almost any night of the week, from Sunday circles and couples at the Fulton Community Center to Wednesday night beginners at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center. Israeli folk dancing has been part of the local scene for more than 40 years. And for 20 of those years, a group led by Melba…
When West Albany High School teacher June Satak learned her students would represent Israel at this year’s Oregon Model United Nations program, she gave everyone thumbs up. The students’ top request? They wanted to separate fact from fiction by researching Israel’s stand on social and political issues. The students would be expected to debate relevant…
They grew up to be mensches, which is what their father hoped for. Today Ben Yablon, 21, and his brother Jonathan, 19, proudly serve their country – though it isn’t the same country. After making aliyah, Ben joined the Israel Defense Forces. And Jon, who always wanted to be a United States Marine, finishes basic…
“Tamar at the Crossroads” features a woman disguised as a prostitute who seduces her father-in-law. Can this biblical tale of ancient intrigue speak to women today? Through art, song, drama and discussion, this year’s Women’s Day of Jewish Learning hopes to help everyone learn more. Held Sunday, April 26, 2015 from 10 am to 1:30…
Rabbi Eve Posen looks forward to her first Passover in Portland and wants to help other women enjoy the holiday, too. As the new youth director and rabbinic educator at Congregation Neveh Shalom, Rabbi Posen’s “Inspirational Women’s Passover Experience” will explore central themes of the seder while providing tips and tricks. Open to Portland’s entire…
It was like a Kiddush cup filled to the brim with wine spilling over, says Eli Gregory, when asked about Passover 2014 at Moishe House, a Portland young adult organization. Sixty-five people crammed onto couches, giant beanbags and extra chairs borrowed from the Oregon Jewish Museum. They followed Eli’s socially conscious adaptation of the Haggadah…
Leonard Kaufman, 87, has plenty to look back on. Born in Portland in 1926, he remembers Depression-era hobo camps, World War II scrap drives and swimming lessons with Mickey Hirschberg at the Jewish Community Center on Southwest 13th Avenue. He reflects on his early Portland ancestors. His grandfather, merchant Isaac Kaufman, arrived in 1858. (The…
It was Marge’s idea. She had always enjoyed the huge Jewish Book Month in Florida, where she’d previously lived, but didn’t see anything like it in Portland. We needed one, too, she decided and got going turn- ing Jewish Book Month’s One Book, One Community into an annual event. This November is its fourth year…
One in eight women will get breast cancer in their lifetime. Inheriting the BRCA gene, prevalent among Ashkenazi Jews, means chances increase to more than 50%. A terrifying diagnosis at any age, young women might face a uniquely devastating loss. Chemotherapy may cause permanent infertility, and tamoxifen, the drug commonly used in long- term therapy,…
