OJMCHE looks back at the determination, resilience, and leadership that have brought Portland’s Conservative congregation through 150 years, preserving tradition while embracing modernity.
In 1869 a group of Polish and Prussian immigrants settled in Portland and founded the city’s second synagogue, Ahavai Sholom, blending traditional religious practices with modern American customs, struggling to find stability in their early days. Three decades later a group of Russian immigrants faced the same challenges when they founded Neveh Zedek Talmud Torah. The two congregations eventually merged, becoming Neveh Shalom in 1961. Always ready to adapt and innovate, today the congregation stands at the forefront of social justice, carrying forward the Jewish values which light their way.
The exhibit gives visitors a view into the history of Neveh Shalom, highlighting some of the events and people who shaped its growth, drawing personal connections between devotion to tradition and the progressive outlook which has characterized the congregation from its very beginning.
CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ON THE ISRAEL360 TALK at Neveh Shalom March 12.
Mel Bochner: Enough Said from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation
Mel Bochner (b.1940) consistently probes the conventions of painting and language. Bochner’s text-based works will be on view.
From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundations, this body of recent works, 2007-2018, challenge audiences to reflect on the nature and structure of everyday language. Curated by Bruce Guenther, adjunct curator for special exhibitions, the exhibition explores language as image and idea through Bochner’s long-held interest in complex printmaking techniques.
“Bochner’s historic use of language and words as both a linguistic system of inquiry and as a formal visual vocabulary of his painting practice has found new focus in the last decade through the artist’s intense engagement with printmaking and his exploration of the relationships of words as image, text, voice and thinking,” says Guenther. “He plumbs English and Yiddish for language’s power to establish identity, to command respect, or to attack in works of unpredictable emotionality and humor.”
“Mel Bochner is one of the most important conceptual artists of our time. His word art makes us smile, laugh, frown and jeer – but always forces us to think,” says Jordan D. Schnitzer. “He seduces us with emotions, words and phrases that we all have used. Whether we laugh or frown experiencing his art, we are forever moved.”
Born in 1940 to an Orthodox family in Pittsburgh, the artist attended Hebrew school and was exposed to art early through his father, who was a sign painter with a workshop in the family’s basement. Displaying an early talent for drawing, Bochner participated in the Carnegie Museum of Art’s innovative children’s art classes, eventually winning a scholarship to Carnegie Melon University.
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Many of the most beloved, uplifting, and romantic songs in musical theater history have one thing in common: The incomparable writing team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. A Grand Night For Singing collects over 30 treasured hits from Rodgers and Hammerstein shows such as Oklahoma!, South Pacific, The Sound of Music, Carousel, The King and I, and Cinderella; and invites audiences to experience these classics anew through artful arrangements and clever interpretations. It’s “something wonderful” for any lover of classic musical theater.
Directed by SHARON MARONEY
Music by RICHARD RODGERS • Lyrics by OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II • Musical Arrangements by FRED WELLS
Orchestration by MICHAEL GIBSON and JONATHAN TUNICK • Conceived by WALTER BOBBIE
Originally produced by Roundabout Theatre Company, New York City, in 1993.
Spring Monthly Mitzvah Projects
Each month the MJCC and PJA communities will collect items for the monthly mitzvah. Drop off items in the blue bin in the MJCC lobby. Check the display for how you can participate and donate to these worthy causes.
This project reflects 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.
April – Pet Toys for Cat Adoption Team and Oregon Dog Rescue
Art Gallery Exhibit: The Passover Series
Shlomo Katz, Polish/Israeli, 1937 – 1992
Born in Lodz, Poland, Shlomo Katz immigrated to Palestine when he was eight years old in 1945. Katz developed an original technique of oil painting on a gilded metal surface. The result recalls medieval icons on the one hand, and oriental miniatures on the other. These ancient resources combine to form a totally modern image with a light humorous touch and a noble character. It took a lot of experimentation to translate these images to the graphic art form. The metallic inks of the golden tones and the importance of absolute registration presented just a part of the challenge, but the Katz serigraphs became the ultimate in modern printmaking.
Exhibit on display April 19 – 28, MJCC Lobby
The Chichester Psalms, one of Leonard Bernstein’s most frequently sung choral works, is adored by singers and audiences alike. Performing the beloved work will be the Choir of Girls, Boys and Adults from Trinity Episcopal Cathedral with organist and Director of Music Bruce Neswick and CBI’s own Kol Echad choir! The performances will be conducted by Ethan Sperry, acclaimed head of the PSU Choral program.
Performance repeats at 10 am, May 12 at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral
Portland Jewish Educator Turned Author Launches First Book
Book Available Now for Pre-Order; Community Launch Celebration Drawing from more than 30 years of personal experience as a Jewish educator and leader, Dorice Horenstein’s Moments of the Heart: Four Relationships Everyone Should Have to Live Wholeheartedly, will be published by Morgan James Publishing (www.MorganJamesPublishing.com) on Nov. 5, 2019. This book examines the four chambers of the heart in connection to the four different types of relationships we experience as humans: with ourselves, with others, with the Creator, and with special once-in-a-lifetime moments that define us and give us the essence of who we are. To celebrate this milestone, Horenstein invites the community to celebrate the book release at Congregation Neveh Shalom on April 22, 2019, at 6:45 pm.
Moments of The Heart began with Horenstein’s thought of making her sister smile and feel good about the future when she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in 2014. As she was fighting for her life in Israel, Horenstein wondered how to cheer her up living 10,000 miles away in Portland. Horenstein decided to post positive Facebook video messages every Saturday night, all connected to Jewish thought based on her education and profession. Fast-forward three years and this experience has been transformed into a book so that others can grow and develop in their own knowledge, spirituality and improve their relationship with others.
In Moments of the Heart, available now for pre-order on all major retailer sites, Horenstein brings readers into the universal human experience through a Jewish lens. The four sections of the book correlate to the four chambers of the heart, each chamber addressing the corresponding and issues relationship and issues as they relate to Jewish thought and practice. More importantly, Horenstein uses her expansive Hebrew knowledge to highlight relational themes utilizing the unique and mystical structure of Hebrew words and sentences to probe deep, explore, and bring to light important concepts. At the end of each entry, Horenstein gives readers tools to further explore personal experiences and thoughts.
“The book is very powerful and very beautiful,” said Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, best-selling author of more than 15 books on Jewish ethics and literacy. “What I have read is passionate, very spiritual, and well-reasoned, three things that don’t always go together. I particularly love the analysis of the word matzpun [conscience] and its variety of related meanings, and I was profoundly moved by the journey you took and how you came to write this book.”
You can pre-order the book on Amazon here!
Mah Jongg for Beginners
Learn to play this ancient game. It will give your mind a workout!
Tuesday Mornings
April 16 – May 14
10:30 am – 12:30 pm, CG301
Cost: $100. Members: $85.
Register: oregonjcc.org/registration
Mah Jongg for Intermediate Players
Take your game to the next level!
Tuesday Afternoons
April 16 – May 14
1:30 – 3:30 pm, CG302
Cost: $100. Members: $85.
Register: oregonjcc.org/registration
Join us as Cedar Sinai Park commemorates the victims of the Holocaust on the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. Established by the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, in 1951, the State of Israel marks this day of remembrance with public observances and country-wide minutes of silence. We can do no less than observe this solemn anniversary. Come share your thoughts as we light a yizkor or memoral candle in Rose Schnitzer Manor’s main lobby and gather near the fireplace as we read kaddish and observe our own moment of silence for the 6 million lost.