Calendar

Dec
30
Fri
Coming Together in Dark Times @ Havurah Shalom
Dec 30 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

We invite you to join us on Friday, Dec. 30, to welcome Shabbat, spread the light of the Chanukah candles, and share our feelings, fears, and hopes for the difficult times we are facing as a country. For those of us who came together on the Sunday after the election, it was a powerful expression of community, and there have been requests to identify some next steps. It continues to feel premature to launch a specific action plan. Instead, it seems more appropriate to gather in community, listen to how we are doing, and continue conversations about our hopes and fears about areas such as immigrants and refugees, poverty and homelessness, climate change, equity, and gun control.

We will begin by lighting the Chanukah and Shabbat candles, sing some songs, and then spend our time talking and listening. There will not be a formal Friday night service.

Please RSVP here.

Nov
5
Sun
From the Shtetl to the Lower East Side – HUNGRY HEARTS: A Scored and Restored Silent film @ Portland State University - Lincoln Recital Hall
Nov 5 @ 5:30 pm – 9:00 pm

Event page     |   Download Full Event Flyer

What: A screening of the restored silent film “Hungry Hearts” (1922) preceded by a reception with a choice of three parallel 20-min lectures. Q&A with the composer, David Spear, to follow.
When: Sunday, November 5, 2017 | 5:30pm to 9:30pm
Where: Lincoln Recital Hall (LH 75) | Pocket Lectures in LH 75, LH 21, and LH 37
Cost: Free and open to the public. RSVP requested, but not required.
Contact: Stacey Johnston | judaicst@pdx.edu | 503-725-8449

Join the Harold Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic Studies for the Portland premiere of the recently restored and rescored silent film “Hungry Hearts” (1922), filmed on location on New York’s Lower East Side. Based on the short stories of Anzia Yezierska, one of the first immigrant authors to write about American Jewish women for a mainstream audience, the film focuses on the members of the Levin family who emigrate from Eastern Europe to New York City and captures the hopes and hardships of Jewish immigrants in the New World.

The National Center for Jewish Film at Brandeis restored Goldwyn’s original print, and with generous support from the Casden Institute, a new score was composed and produced by David Spear in collaboration with his students from the USC Thornton School of Music. The new score for “Hungry Hearts” premiered at the 2007 New York Jewish Film Festival in Lincoln Center.

The event will begin at 5:30pm with a “Feast for the Senses and the Mind.” You are invited to sample hors d’oeuvres alongside three “pocket lectures” (20 minutes each) on various aspects of the film’s cultural and historical context. The film will begin at 7:00pm and will be followed by a conversation and Q&A with the lead composer, David Spear, about the process of scoring a historic silent film and breathing new life into “old art”. (Full Schedule Below)

  • 5:30 pm      Welcome Reception with Food
  • 6:00 pm      Choose your own mini-lecture!
    • LH 75 – Marat Grinberg, Reed College
      • “At the Intersection of Screen and Text: American Jewish Culture Before the War”
    • LH 37 – Joseph Butwin, University of Washington
      • “Exile and Return: Anzia Yezierska Finds her Vocation”
    • LH 21 – Amy Borden, PSU School of Film

      • “Immigration and Nativism in New York’s Nickelodeon’s”
  • 7:00 pm      Hungry Hearts Film Screening
  • 8:45 pm      Q&A with David Spear
    • Soundtrack Producer & 2017 Artist-in-Residence

This is the first half of the 2017 Levy Event, which focuses on the nexus between East European Jewish immigrants to the U.S. and twentieth-century American film and music. For information about the second half of the 2017 Levy Event, visit the event page.

This event is sponsored by the Harold Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic Studies thanks to the generous support of Larry Levy and Pamela Lindholm-Levy. Cosponsored by the PSU School of Music + Theater and the Northwest Film Center.

Mar
18
Sun
“Living While Dying” – March Movie Night @ Havurah Shalom
Mar 18 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

During March Movie Night on Sunday, March 18, Havurah Shalom’s Ma’avar Committee will show “Living While Dying,” a film made by P’nai Or member Cathy Zheutlin.

Here is a brief description of the film: Death is a big mystery, and yet the outcome is 100 percent certain. How do you plan for the unknown? Filmmaker Cathy Zheutlin tells the stories of four friends with terminal illness who chose to live out their final days at home with creativity humor and courage. One might think that it would be depressing or morose. In fact, just the opposite – it is loving, hopeful and and full of joy. Despite cultural norms that death is meant to be vanquished, “Living While Dying” transforms sorrow and fear into inspiration and beauty. It honors what University of California San Francisco palliative care physician BJ Miller says, that “dying is a human act, not just a medical one.”

The film will be followed by a panel discussion with some experts in end-of-life care, many of whom are Havurah members.

Panelists include:

  • Rabbi Benjamin
  • Charles Blanke – Havurah member and OHSU oncologist specializing in end-of-life care and death with dignity
  • Karen Erde -Havurah member and palliative care physician
  • Susan Hedlund – Manager of Patient and Family Support Services at the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute. She has over 30 years of experience in oncology and hospice care, and worked on the original task force to legalize death with dignity.

A suggested donation of $10 will directly help the filmmaker so she can continue to pay for the production of this very beautiful and important film.

Please RSVP at tinyurl.com/Live-HS.

Nov
7
Thu
Memoir Writing Workshop @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Nov 7 @ 11:00 am – 12:30 pm

Memoir Writing Workshop – Write Your Own Story Now!
with Dorothy Dworkin
Every life is unique, interesting and special, and everyone has a story to share. No writing experience is necessary to join fellow storytellers in writing your story. In this workshop, you will be helped to remember the events of your life and write your memories in a supportive, non-threatening environment with a professional writing coach.
Thursdays, November 7 – December 19
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
No class on November 28

Cost: $60.
Register at oregonjcc.org/memoir

Nov
14
Thu
Memoir Writing Workshop @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Nov 14 @ 11:00 am – 12:30 pm

Memoir Writing Workshop – Write Your Own Story Now!
with Dorothy Dworkin
Every life is unique, interesting and special, and everyone has a story to share. No writing experience is necessary to join fellow storytellers in writing your story. In this workshop, you will be helped to remember the events of your life and write your memories in a supportive, non-threatening environment with a professional writing coach.
Thursdays, November 7 – December 19
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
No class on November 28

Cost: $60.
Register at oregonjcc.org/memoir

Nov
21
Thu
Memoir Writing Workshop @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Nov 21 @ 11:00 am – 12:30 pm

Memoir Writing Workshop – Write Your Own Story Now!
with Dorothy Dworkin
Every life is unique, interesting and special, and everyone has a story to share. No writing experience is necessary to join fellow storytellers in writing your story. In this workshop, you will be helped to remember the events of your life and write your memories in a supportive, non-threatening environment with a professional writing coach.
Thursdays, November 7 – December 19
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
No class on November 28

Cost: $60.
Register at oregonjcc.org/memoir

Dec
5
Thu
Memoir Writing Workshop @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Dec 5 @ 11:00 am – 12:30 pm

Memoir Writing Workshop – Write Your Own Story Now!
with Dorothy Dworkin
Every life is unique, interesting and special, and everyone has a story to share. No writing experience is necessary to join fellow storytellers in writing your story. In this workshop, you will be helped to remember the events of your life and write your memories in a supportive, non-threatening environment with a professional writing coach.
Thursdays, November 7 – December 19
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
No class on November 28

Cost: $60.
Register at oregonjcc.org/memoir

Dec
12
Thu
Memoir Writing Workshop @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Dec 12 @ 11:00 am – 12:30 pm

Memoir Writing Workshop – Write Your Own Story Now!
with Dorothy Dworkin
Every life is unique, interesting and special, and everyone has a story to share. No writing experience is necessary to join fellow storytellers in writing your story. In this workshop, you will be helped to remember the events of your life and write your memories in a supportive, non-threatening environment with a professional writing coach.
Thursdays, November 7 – December 19
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
No class on November 28

Cost: $60.
Register at oregonjcc.org/memoir

Dec
19
Thu
Memoir Writing Workshop @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Dec 19 @ 11:00 am – 12:30 pm

Memoir Writing Workshop – Write Your Own Story Now!
with Dorothy Dworkin
Every life is unique, interesting and special, and everyone has a story to share. No writing experience is necessary to join fellow storytellers in writing your story. In this workshop, you will be helped to remember the events of your life and write your memories in a supportive, non-threatening environment with a professional writing coach.
Thursdays, November 7 – December 19
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
No class on November 28

Cost: $60.
Register at oregonjcc.org/memoir

Jan
15
Wed
Author Series: Giraffes on Horseback Salad by Josh Frank @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Jan 15 @ 7:00 pm

Join us for a conversation with author Josh Frank. Frank has worked with some of the most innovative musicians, filmmakers, producers, and artists in the industry including Black Francis, David Lynch, and Harold Ramis.
Wednesday, January 15
7:00 pm

Cost: $10. Member Cost: $8.

Sponsored by the Jewish Book Council, the Schwartz Charitable Foundation, and Portland Jewish Book Celebration

Register at oregonjcc.org/frank