Monthly Mitzvah Project
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.
October
Welcome Basket Items for teens moving out of homelessness
• Second Home (Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon)
Leonard Bernstein at 100 celebrates the life and work of Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990), the great Jewish American composer and conductor who dedicated his life to making classical music a vibrant part of American culture.The exhibition features photographs, personal items, papers, scores, correspondence, costumes, furniture, and audio and video recordings. A vocal booth gives visitors the chance to sing lead in West Side Story. The exhibition is the most comprehensive retrospective of Bernstein’s life and career ever staged in a museum setting.
Curated by the GRAMMY Museum at L.A. Live ® in collaboration with The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and the Bernstein Family. Presented in cooperation with the Bernstein Family, The Leonard Bernstein Office, Inc., Brandeis University, and the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
Generous support for this exhibition is from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation and the Collins Foundation.
Join Shomrei Teva for our annual Tashlich hike in an old-growth forest. We’ll learn and use Jewish nature prayers followed by a Tashlich service along the banks of the beautiful Sandy River. Meet at CNS at noon to carpool or at Oxbow at 1pm. Dress for the weather and bring water and a snack. Given the season, we may even be able to find spawning salmon! Good for all ages, but dogs aren’t allowed in the park. RSVP to Yaakov Epstein, yaakovm@comcast.net, 503-245-6580.
This event is free with museum admission, free for members.
4 Days in Clint is a firsthand account of what Willamette Law professor and international children’s rights expert Warren Binford discovered when she and her colleagues walked into the Clint Border Patrol Facility on a routine monitoring visit outside of El Paso, Texas, in June 2019. Over the course of four days and through interviews involving approximately 70 children, the team came to realize that hundreds of children were being unlawfully warehoused by the US government in a state of filth, hunger, sickness, and sadness, without any meaningful adult care. Some children reported being assaulted by Border Patrol while many reported being forced to sleep on concrete floors, including infants and toddlers, in overcrowded jail cells, a loading dock, and a windowless warehouse. Professor Binford will explain what had changed in their observations about the government’s treatment of the children in its care that compelled them to go to the media for the first time in 22 years of Flores monitoring visits. Professor Binford will explain the legal framework that applies to migrant children in custody, highlighting both the legal violations by the US government, as well as the loopholes that need to be closed to ensure the humane treatment of children, and how the average U.S. resident can help. Professor Binford’s talk will include direct quotations from the children’s sworn declarations to ensure that their voices and stories are known to and amplified by the American public.
Warren Binford is Professor of Law and Director of the Clinical Law Program at Willamette University. An internationally recognized children’s rights expert, Professor Binford was invited by legal counsel in Flores v. Barr to help conduct a series of site inspections of especially concerning government facilities where migrant children have been detained since 2017, including the former Wal-Mart, the Tornillo tent city, and most recently, the Clint Border Patrol Facility, among others. Professor Binford was selected as both a Fulbright Scholar in 2012 and the inaugural Fulbright Canada-Palix Foundation Distinguished Visiting Chair in Brain Science, and Child and Family Health and Wellness in 2015. She holds a B.A., summa cum laude with distinction, and an Ed.M., from Boston University, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Gates of Light: A New-Old Approach to Torah and Kabbalah
Jewish mysticism helps us understand the Torah, the world, and ourselves. Delve into the core teachings of the majestic Kabbalistic tradition. Red bracelets aren’t going to do it – dig deep into the texts and into ourselves. Join Rabbi Joshua Rose for a look into the book Sha’arei Orah – Gates of Light.
Monday, September 9
Monday, October 7
Monday, November 4
Monday, December 9
2:30 – 3:25 pm
Free and open to the community.
In partnership with Congregation Shaarie Torah
Unity Through learning.
Study Torah with a partner and make connections with Jews from across Portland. Hot drinks, light snacks, and study resources will all be made available.
Join Portland as we learn one on one. Bring your learning partner or ask us to provide one.
You are invited to join Havurah Shalom for our Kol Nidre Service. All of our High Holiday Services are free, and no registration or tickets are required. Learn more here.
You are invited to join Havurah Shalom for our Yom Kippur Services. No payment, advance registration, or tickets are required. Learn more here on our website.
Join us for an awesome kids’ program for children age 2-11. Kids will have tons of fun playing games, singing songs, and learning about Yom Kippur.
Free of Charge and all are welcome!
For more info please email Jodi at jodi@kesserisrael.org.