Calendar

This class focuses on giving contemporary parents the tools they need to bring holiness into their daily lives. We’ll begin by taking a look at the soul planted within us and how we can integrate it into other aspects of our life. We’ll rediscover the spiritual side of food and eating; and appreciate the wonder of the human body. We’ll explore the many blessings that invoke holiness at bedtime, when we awake, and when we are outside appreciating the wonders of nature. We’ll learn the central core at the heart of every Jewish prayer service. Each class will introduce blessings and prayers with an explanation of their meaning and their accompanying melodies. Come be inspired and have your joy of life expanded and enriched.Taught by Natan Meir. Free to Neveh Shalom members, $36 for non-members. (no class on Oct. 11)

In honor of Jewish Book Month, come celebrate Books and Bagels in our beautiful PJA library. For ages 3 – 8. Sponsored by MJCC, PJ Library, PJA

Children ages 18 months – 8 years of age, and their favorite family members, are invited to the PJ Library’s Be a Mensch Tzedakah Party at the Medford Public Library on Sunday, Nov. 8, from 2 to 3:30 PM. There will be a song circle, puppetry, storytelling and a craft project. Every child will make a Tzedakah Box to take home. It’s never to early to learn about the mitzvah of giving. The event is free and open to all and will take place in the Carpenter Room in the library, 205 S Central in Medford. For more info call 541-292-0805. Co-sponsored by Temple Emek Shalom and Havurah Synagogue.

Come to Beit Haverim for a bagel and coffee and “A Taste of Melton”.  Get a sample of what the Melton courses can do for you!  Everyone is welcome!

Jewish Community Orchestra will present the first concert of it’s 41st season at 3PM on Sunday, November 8th, 2015. The concert will be presented at Mittleman Jewish Community Center, 6651 SW Capitol Hwy., Portland.

Tickets at the door. In partnership with the MJCC.

Tivona Reith, Rabbinic Chaplain and Spiritual Director, will lead us through a different kind of meditation each week. This is an introductory class.

Mondays, Oct. 19 – Dec. 7
7:00 – 8:30 pm

Cost: $72. Six people needed to run class.

Register: oregonjcc.org/meditation

Russian-born American pianist Kirill Gerstein returns to Portland for a performance of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with conductor Carlos Kalmar and the Oregon Symphony Orchestra on November 7 and 9 at 7:30 pm. A frequent performer of Rachmaninoff, Mr. Gerstein will be the featured soloist on a program that also includes works by Portland composer David Schiff (husband of Congregation Beth Israel cantor emeritus Judith Schiff) and Tchaikovsky.

Mr. Gerstein has proven to be one of today’s most intriguing and versatile musicians, with a masterful technique, discerning intelligence and a musical curiosity that has led him to explore repertoire spanning centuries and numerous styles. He is the recipient of the 2010 Gilmore Artist Award and received the First Prize at the 2001 Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition in Tel Aviv.

During the 2015-16 season, Mr. Gerstein will perform Scriabin’s Prometheus: Poem of Fire with Ricardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony and Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 1 with the Cleveland Orchestra. He also returns to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as the Cincinnati, Colorado, Dallas, Oregon, Toronto, and Utah symphonies, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. He returns to 92nd Street Y in New York in the spring to perform a recital program that has a dual focus on the exploration of the fantasia and the conversation between the music of Central Europe and that of his Russian heritage with works by Beethoven, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Mussorgsky, and Balakirev.

A significant highlight of recent seasons was the release of Mr. Gerstein’s first orchestral CD: an ECHO Klassik Award-winning world premiere recording of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in the composer’s own 1879 version of the score, and Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin led by James Gaffigan and released by Myrios Classics. Mr. Gerstein will perform this version of the concerto this season with the London Philharmonic, Iceland Symphony, and on a European tour with the Czech Philharmonic.

For tickets, visit  tickets.orsymphony.org

Learn to play this ancient game. It will give your mind a workout.

Tuesdays, Oct. 20 – Nov. 17
10:30 am – 12:30 pm

Cost: $85. Member Cost: $72. CG103 Register: oregonjcc.org/registration

We will gather each week to find some moments of quiet. We’ll start with a brief teaching and/or song, and then sit together in silence. We’ll end with brief optional hevruta (Jewish study) sharing. This is for folks with experience in meditation, those with curiosity but no experience, and those who wonder what happens when Jews aren’t talking the whole time. The group will be led by Deborah Eisenbach-Budner and community members. Please call 503-248-4662 ext 5 with any questions. Come when you can.

Sephardic Winter Film Series