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.
Willa Schneberg teaches (guides) a six-session overview of “Literature of Modern and Contemporary Jewish American Women Writers” through Literary Arts’ Delve Seminars begins Sept. 17.In this seminar, we will discuss the “other” Jewish American writers — not Bellow, Roth, Pinsky or Chabon, but work by Jewish American women writers who have created a different canon. We will discuss work by Susan Sontag, Cynthia Ozick, Adrienne Rich, Marge Piercy and others arguably of their stature. These Jewish women writers are not defined by the Jewish male writers’ gaze. They do not perpetuate stereotypes of the Jewish mother as martyr, or as the controlling Jewish woman. They are writers who may be mothers or child-free, partnered or not, straight or non-heterosexual, observant or secular, of Ashkenazi, Sephardic or Mizrachi backgrounds. We will explore the particular light Jewish women writers shine on the American Jewish experience and why their profound contributions to literature have often been overlooked.
READING LIST:
I, Etcetera: Stories by Susan Sontag
Cannibal Gallery by Cynthia Ozick
Split at the Root: An Essay on Jewish Identity by Adrienne Rich
He, She and It by Marge Piercy
A Few Words in the Mother Tongue by Irena Klepfisz
The Moon is Almost Full by Chana Bloch
Divinity School by Alicia Jo Rabins
Paper is White by Hilary Zaid
Getting Home Alive by Rosario Morales and Aurora Levins Morales
Willa Schneberg is a poet, ceramic sculptor, interdisciplinary artist, photographer and curator. She is the author of five collections and received the Oregon Book Award for In the Margins of the World. Her poetry and visual art have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies including American Poetry Review, Tricycle: The Buddhist Review and the Tikkun anthology.
Pizza in the Sukkah
Join friends and family for an evening of great food, schmoozing, singing, and storytelling!
Wednesday, October 16
5:00 – 6:30 pm
Cost: $15 per family.
Register by Oct. 13: oregonjcc.org/sukkah
In partnership with Portland Jewish Academy
Join us for music, fun and delicious food in the Kesser Sukkah! All ages are welcome!
Israeli Dancing
Join us for a fun, introductory Israeli folk dance class. All levels are welcome. Nine-week class. Six people needed to run class.
Wednesdays
October 16 – December 18
No class November 27
7:00 – 8:00 pm, CG100
Cost: $90 Members + Guests.
Drop-in Fee: $15 per class
Register: oregonjcc.org/registration
Wise Aging for 55+ (NEW SERIES!)
This workshop series, developed by the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, is designed to help participants explore the years beyond mid-life as an opportunity for growth and discovery. Each session will include opportunities for personal sharing, contemplative listening, basic mindfulness practice, and Jewish text study. Participants will need to read the book Wise Aging: Living with Joy, Resilience and Spirit by Rabbi Rachel Cowan & Dr. Linda Thal (not included in the registration fee). Instructors: Christine Gilmore and Naomi Harwin.
Thursdays, October 10, 17, 24, 31
10:00 am – 12:00 pm, SI100
Cost: $125.
Register: oregonjcc.org/registration
Come study and discuss the Bible with Rabbi Isaak at Neveh Shalom.
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. Register here, https://oregonboardofrabbis.org/introduction-to-judaism-class/
The biennial Oregon Summit is the foremost political conference in the Pacific Northwest. This one-of-a-kind event is a celebration of Democrats within the Party who champion change and who remain steadfast in their dedication to promoting a better future for Americans.
We’re proud and extremely excited to announce that the Keynote Speaker for The 10th Biennial Oregon Summit will be Congresswoman Sharice Davids from Kansas!
Visit OregonSummit.org for lodging information and more.
All previous Oregon Summits have sold out, so don’t wait: Get your tickets today!
The 10th Biennial Oregon Summit
Friday, October 18 – Sunday, October 20
Sunriver Resort
17600 Center Drive
Sunriver, OR 97707
To help ensure that as many Democrats who’d like to participate are able, we are offering affordability scholarships for the 10th Biennial Oregon Summit. Click here to learn more about the Oregon Summit Scholarship and to apply.
If you’d like to purchase tickets with Oregon state PAC money or make a non-federal contribution, please use this page