KESSER KICKOFF – Above, Aki Fleshler, Kesser Israel president stands before a drawing of the new sanctuary at the kickoff event for Kesser Israel’s $1.5 million capital campaign on Jan. 11. The thriving Orthodox congregation is planning a needed expansion of its current building on Southwest Capitol Highway. The congregation has raised more than $1…
By Ygal Kaufman Josh Safran has built his life and his profession on rebellion. Though being a lawyer, an observant Jew and married father of three doesn’t normally scream “revolution,” for a man like Josh it’s all very much part of a life going against the grain. As he describes in elegant and often painful…
The Gan-Portland Jewish Preschool has earned accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children. NAEYC accreditation is a rigorous and transformative system that uses 10 research-based standards to collaborate with early education programs to recognize and drive quality improvement in high-quality early learning environments. “We’re proud to have earned the mark of…
PHOTO: Yossi Wilhelm, a third-grader at Maimonides Jewish Day School, and Sivan Safran, center, a fifth-grader at Portland Jewish Academy, read their winning essays. Photos by Rob ProPhoto Winners of the Chanukah Essay Writing Contest on “What Chanukah Means to Me” read their winning essays Dec. 12 the annual Chabad public menorah lighting in Director…
PHOTO: Movement disorders neurologist, Dr. Penelope Hogarth (right), and her study coordinator, Katrina Wakeman (left), chat with a couple who have been a part of the PPMI research study at OHSU for six years. Photo by Naji Saker Story by Puneet Rai You make lifestyle choices every day that affect your health. Perhaps you…
Pacific Northwest native files report from Colorado college town By David Kravitz The fourth annual “Interfaith Friendsgiving” was hosted by Colorado State University Hillel in partnership with the Geller Center, Lutheran Campus Ministry, Key Communities, Multifaith and Belief Student Council, and Fort Collins Interfaith Council. The Geller Center is a local organization that teaches nonviolent…
PHOTO: Oregon Hillel staff (from left) Loren Murphy, Brittany Lenhart, Rachel Chodorow-Reich and Andy Gitelson accept the Hillel International Campus Partner of the Year award on behalf of Oregon Hillel. Oregon and Greater Portland Hillel representatives were among the more than 1,100 Hillel professionals, partners and stakeholders who gathered in Denver Dec. 4-7 for…
By Rebecca Ross In the summer of 1997 when I was 8, my family moved from Miami to Givat Ze’ev, a large West Bank settlement northwest of Jerusalem. Part of my acculturation process involved learning to dislike both Arabs and Arabic. My six secondary school years in Jerusalem largely coincided with the Second Intifada. That…
By Leanne Dall My family joined Congregation Kesser Israel 20 years ago. As immigrants from South Africa, my parents appreciated the committed and welcoming community, as well as the traditional services. At that time, the 100-year-old synagogue was in its original location in South Portland, where it had been founded by immigrants who were committed…
