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.
June – Fruit for Shavuot for Neighborhood House Food Pantry
HANS COPER—LESS MEANS MORE features the sculptural work of Hans Coper (1920-1981), a radical Jewish artist of the mid-twentieth century who was at the vanguard of British studio ceramics, pushing the boundaries of clay and forms of abstraction in his work. Guest curated by Sandra Percival, founding Director and Curator of Zena Zezza, the exhibition presents nearly 50 works by Coper including his Spade, Thistle, Ovoid and Cycladic forms drawn from an extensive collection of his work in England’s York Art Gallery, a rarely seen Portland collection, and a cluster of works from collectors and California institutions. Coper left Germany for England as a Jewish refugee in early 1939. The exhibition also includes works by celebrated ceramicist Lucie Rie, also a Jewish refugee, along with a small selection of related contemporary and modern artworks. Coper was described as “gentle, yet shattering” and Less Means More opens a conversation into the complexities and contradictions embedded in his life and work.
ALSO:
Betty LaDuke: EARLY WORK: curated by Bruce Guenther, Adjunct Curator for Special Exhibitions, features works created in the 1960s by one of Oregon’s most internationally recognized artists, Betty LaDuke, recipient of the Governors Art Award 1993. Centered in her identity as a first generation Jewish American, the early graphic works are based on memories of the vibrant street life of the immigrant neighborhoods of New York and stories from the Jewish bible. The works form a foundation for understanding the evolution of her long career as a narrative, image-based artist driven by deep social and political engagement.
Mah Jongg for Beginners
Learn to play this ancient game. It will give your mind a workout!
Tuesday mornings
May 28 – June 25
10:30 am – 12:30 pm, CG303
Cost: $100. Members: $85.
Register: oregonjcc.org/registration
Mah Jongg for Intermediate Players
Take your game to the next level!
Tuesday afternoons
May 28 – June 25
1:30 – 3:30 pm, CG304
Cost: $100. Members: $85.
Register: oregonjcc.org/registration
The rise to power of the Nazi Party in Germany in the 1930s was amplified by institutionalized propaganda and suppression of truth. Today, challenges to free expression of truth are threatening democratic values in the U.S. and around the world. Following a lecture by Professor Steven Wasserstrom (Reed College) on the repression of truth through organized propaganda, Dr. William Weitzer (Leo Baeck Institute) and Dr. Friderike Heuer will join him on a panel to discuss from the similarities and differences between then and now.
About Friderike Heuer: Born in post-war Germany and trained as a lawyer, Friderike Heuer immigrated to the US in 1981. She received her Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the New School for Social Research in 1986. After teaching for 15 years at the undergraduate and graduate levels at Lewis & Clark college and doing research focused on memory for emotional events, she retired in 2004 to pursue her interest in the photographic arts. Her montage work has been shown in both solo and group exhibits. She was a co-founder of Zeitgeist NW, an organization dedicated to bringing contemporary German culture to the Pacific Northwest. She writes for Oregon Arts Watch and also a daily blog dedicated to cultural and political discussion of national and European issues.
About Steven M. Wasserstrom: Steven M. Wasserstrom is The Moe and Izetta Tonkon Professor of Judaic Studies and the Humanities at Reed College in Portland, where he has taught since 1987. His books include Between Muslim and Jew: The Problem of Symbiosis under Early Islam, (1995) and Religion after Religion: Gershom Scholem, Mircea Eliade, and Henry Corbin at Eranos (1999). In 2003 he selected, edited and annotated The Fullness of Time: Poems by Gershom Scholem. The second edition, Greetings From Angelus Poems by Gershom Scholem was published in 2018. All Religion Is Inter-Religion, Engaging the Work of Steven M. Wasserstrom, with editors Kambiz GhaneaBassiri and Paul Robertson is forthcoming in July 2019. Wasserstrom has been an invited Fellow at The Institute for Advanced Studies at the Hebrew University (Jerusalem), an Invited Scholar at the Zentrum für Literatur- und Kulturforschung (Berlin), and member of the Working Group on Messianism, The Tikvah Project on Jewish Thought (Princeton). He is presently working on a study of Hans Blumenberg’s philosophy as the expression of a German Jew.
About William H. Weitzer: William H. Weitzer, Ph.D. became the executive director of the Leo Baeck Institute in January, 2013. Dr. Weitzer, formerly the Executive Vice President at Fairfield University in Connecticut, has over 30 years of experience in academic administration, budget and finance, fund raising, community relations, and program evaluation. The Leo Baeck Institute is a research library and archive that documents the history and culture of German-speaking Jewry, primarily in the 19th and 20th centuries, but also including documents dating back to the middle ages. It was founded in 1955 as a repository for the books, papers, photos and documents that were salvaged from Central Europe after World War II and donated to the Institute. Dr. Weitzer succeeded Carol Kahn Strauss, who has become the Institute’s International Director.
Presented by The Leo Baeck Institute – New York | Berlin and The Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education
Chai Baby + PJ Library Indoor Playground
Join us on the second Wednesdays of every month from September to June for Chai Baby Indoor Playground, with kosher snacks, storytelling, friends and fun!
For parents/caregivers and their children up to five years old.
Please mark your calendar for our 2019 dates, held on the second Wednesdays each month:
January 9
February 13
March 13
April 10
May 8
June 12
Free and open to the community.
In partnership with PJ Library, Chai Baby, and Portland Jewish Academy.
Teacher and writer Rob “Butch” Freedman will read from his latest book Beach Bum: A Life in Pieces and lead a discussion about writing Jewish memoir. Freedman’s work has been published in Drash, Tikkun, Philadelphia Stories, Still Crazy, Under The Gum Tree, North Coast Squid, and Purple Clover. One of his short stories was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. He has facilitated writing workshops for Havurah Shalom, Write Around Portland and the Multnomah Arts Center.
This is part of the OJMCHE series of informal lunchtime conversations. Bring a lunch or buy a brown bag lunch in Lefty’s Cafe and join us in the museum’s auditorium for a lively give and take as we share and explore ideas, experience, and expertise.
Join us for a fun, introductory Israeli dance class. All levels welcome.
Six people needed.
Wednesdays
March 27 – June 26
No class 4/24, 5/1, 5/8, 5/22 due to holidays
7:00 – 8:00 pm, CG300
Cost: $100 Members + Guests
Register: oregonjcc.org/registration
Share the joys and challenges of breastfeeding, feeding and new parenting! Join the group if you are breastfeeding, formula feeding, pumping, bottle feeding or supporting a breastfeeding parent. Group moderated by Lara Greenberg, a board certified lactation consultant (IBCLC). Expert guest speakers will join us for two of the groups to share knowledge on hot parenting topics, including infant gum/tooth care and postpartum mood disorders. Healthy snacks and activities for older siblings provided.
Thursdays
May 30, June 6, 13, 27 (NO CLASS: JUNE 20)
10:00 – 11:30 am, CG305
Cost: $20 Members + Guests.
Drop-in: $6 per class
Register: oregonjcc.org/registration
Cedar Sinai Park, would like to invite you to a festive Hiring Event on our scenic southwest Portland campus this Thursday.
We will be interviewing and making offers on the spot! Everyone who completes a CSP employment application and has an interview will receive a $25 Amazon gift card. There will be massages and a raffle for an amazing gift basket just for attending! Right now we are offing a $200 sign on bonus for new hires, details apply!
CSP will be hiring RNs, LPNs, CNAs, culinary services, housekeeping and other staff. Please see our website for all open positions. https://cedarsinaipark.org/careers-in-healthcare/
Our mission is to provide residential and community-based care to our elders and adults with special needs, allowing them to live with comfort, independence and dignity in a manner and in an environment based on Jewish values.
We have been part of the community for 99 years, come be part of the tradition and be here next year to celebrate our 100 year milestone with us!