People and connections. They are our focus at Oregon Jewish Life. They are what a Jewish lifestyle magazine is all about. While I think every issue is motivated by the desire to share individual stories with universal messages, this month’s issue seems especially rich in personal journeys. In this issue, our freelance writers share stories…
Friendly House, a nonprofit neighborhood center and social service agency, has created a Community Concierge program to offer a wide range of in-home services for adults 60 and older who reside on Portland’s west side. “There are 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 every day in our country. That translates to another 43,000 Oregonians reaching the…
Connections are something we seek as humans. They broaden our frame of reference, make us feel a part of something and help us understand the world we live in. Connections are a big component of camp – allowing kids to connect with friends, Judaism and different opportunities while offering the chance to disconnect from technology…
I recently read the results of a survey on how much women spend on their clothing and was taken aback. On average, women spend $125,000 in their lifetime on their style! Roughly, the report continued, that works out to between $180 and $480 per month. That’s a lot of money each month! But that’s not…
We Jews have good reason to worry. We worry about all sorts of threats: the threat to Israel of a nuclear-armed Iran; the threat of terrorism against vulnerable Jewish institutions; the threat of anti-Semitism, which is on the rise in Europe; and the threat of assimilation, which, here in the diaspora, is diminishing our numbers….
Seth “The Dreidel” Hill hopes the spinning and jumping techniques he honed on Oregon sidewalks and ski slopes will carry him to the first Olympic snowboard slopestyle competition in February. “Basically slopestyle is a full run down the hill with different obstacles – three to four jumps and two or three rails or jibs,” explains…
Last year Jewish Family and Child Service’s annual Thanksgiving food box gala had all the makings of success. Falling smack on the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland’s Community Action Day, the number of volunteers jumped threefold compared to typical years. But this year, stars have aligned to pair Hanukah and Thanksgiving on the same day….
Homemade hostess gifts a nice alternative to wine And you thought Hanukkah came early last year? This year the festival of lights begins on the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 27, creating the rare need to multitask by lighting the second candle in our menorahs while simultaneously basting the Thanksgiving turkey! This unusual situation has not…
Who doesn’t love reading Leviticus? Well, most liberal Jews it seems, for while that section of the Torah does contain some gems like loving thy neighbor (19:18) and laws commanding social justice and compassion, much of the rest is instructions for the ritualized handling of animal innards and the spattering of blood, diatribes against gay…
Historic book sparks interfaith dialogue A book about historical Jesus is probably not a topic that comes to mine when one thinks of contemporary and cutting-edge works. But a new book about “re-Judaising” Jesus is bridging two topics that may seem like they lie on opposite ends of the spectrum. Written by Ashland Rabbi David…
