Monthly Mitzvah Project – January
Each month, the MJCC and PJA communities will collect items for the monthly mitzvah. These projects reflect the Jewish commitment to Tikkun Olam (repairing the world), providing opportunities to give back to our community.
Please drop off items in the blue bin in the MJCC Lobby.
January – New and gently used socks for Janus Youth Programs
Support the MJCC and PJA communities by donating books for our annual Used Book Sale.
Book Collection Drive: January 14 – March 15. Donate your used books to the MJCC. Drop off at the front desk. Need a pickup? Email pjabooksale@gmail.com to schedule pickup. No encyclopedias, please.
The Book Sale will be at the MJCC March 31 – April 2
Free and open to the community.
Israeli Dancing
Join us for a fun, introductory Israeli folk dance class. All levels are welcome. Six people needed to run class.
Wednesday Evenings,
Dec. 26 – Feb. 27
Cost: $100 Members + Guests.
Drop-in Fee: $15 per class.
Registration information: CG105, oregonjcc.org/registration
Jewish Heritage Night with the Portland Winterhawks
Please join our community for the first Portland Winterhawks Jewish Heritage Night at Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday, January 23 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $16 and can be purchased here (promo code: jewishpdx). Watch Portland return to the ice for this mid-week game against the Tri-City Americans.
Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., will speak at Havurah Shalom on Wednesday, Jan. 23, about the Reconstructionist movement and resilience during our challenging political climate.The first woman rabbi to head a Jewish congregational union and a Jewish seminary, Rabbi Waxman became president of Reconstructing Judaism in 2014, and is the movement’s leading voice in the public square. She is a cum laude graduate of Columbia College, Columbia University, and a recipient of a rabbinical ordination and a Master of Arts in Hebrew letters from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 1999. She earned a Ph.D. in American Jewish history from Temple University in May 2010.
Rabbi Waxman is committed to visiting all Reconstructionist communities in the U.S. and has already visited more than 50. She is also the sister of Havurah member Andy Waxman.
Seniors and young families enjoy an inter-generational celebration of stories and songs each Thursday.
Join Kim Schneiderman for this weekly inter-generational story hour for young families with music, PJ Library books, and the residents of Cedar Sinai Park.
Come study and discuss the Bible with Rabbi Isaak at Neveh Shalom.
INTRODUCTION TO JUDAISM CLASS
Winter/Spring 2019 Session begins January 17. This 18-week course is taught by members of The Oregon Board of Rabbis, representing a variety of Jewish affiliation. A carefully constructed curriculum includes Jewish history, life cycle events, holidays, ritual and daily practice, theology, study of Torah and contemporary Jewish America. While not a conversion class, most OBR members consider it a prerequisite for students beginning study for conversion. Classes 7-9 pm, Thursdays, at rotating Portland area synagogues, course fee $360 includes class materials. Register online or contact JoAnn Bezodis, Class Facilitator, at 971-248-5465, or by email at info@oregonboardofrabbis.org. Website: http://oregonboardofrabbis.org/introduction-to-judaism-class/
Education Administrator
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The Tu B’Shvat Book Reading by Alicia Jo Rabins and Rebecca Clarren originally scheduled for Jan. 24 has been rescheduled for a Friday night to be announced soon. We apologize for the change in schedule.
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Havurah members Alicia Jo Rabins and Rebecca Clarren will read from their newly published books, Fruit Geode and Kickdown.
Alicia’s first collection of poems, Divinity School, won the APR/Honickman First Book Award; she is a poet, musician and Torah teacher, and will perform live music as part of the reading. You can hear an interview with her on OPB’s Think Out Loud by scrolling down this web page.
Rebecca is an award-winning journalist with extensive experience reporting on environmental issues; Kickdown, her debut novel, was shortlisted for the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction.
In the spirit of Tu B’Shvat, the authors will read passages from their books related to the natural world. The reading is sponsored by the Havurah Climate Action Team. RSVPs are appreciated.
The 14th Annual Gus and Libby Solomon Memorial Lecture will feature Rabbi Angela W. Buchdahl, who will speak on: Being a Stranger— a Story of a Wandering Jew.
Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl serves as the Senior Rabbi of Central Synagogue in New York City, the first woman to lead the large Reform congregation in its 180-year history.
Born in Korea to a Jewish American father and a Korean Buddhist mother, Rabbi Buchdahl is the first Asian American to be ordained as cantor or rabbi in North America.
Rabbi Buchdahl has been nationally recognized for her innovations in leading worship, which draw large crowds both in the congregation’s historic Main Sanctuary and via live stream and cable broadcast to viewers in more than 100 countries.
Rabbi Buchdahl has been featured in dozens of news outlets including the Today Show, NPR, PBS and was listed as one of Newsweek’s “America’s 50 Most Influential Rabbis.” She serves on the boards of Auburn Theological Seminary, Avodah Jewish Service Corps, and the UJA-Federation of NY.