Calendar

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

Following 6 pm Shabbat services, raise a glass to celebrate the retirement of Beth Israel Executive Director Sydney Baer’s retirement. The celebration will begin about 7 pm, immediately following services. The festive oneg will be held in the Goodman Hall of the Schnitzer Family Center.

RSVP to Tracy at tracy@bethisrael-pdx.org or 503 222 1069

Rabbi Iliinsky has had extensive experience in the Bay Area mobilizing a new constituency on Jewish life and death practices. She is also an adored past member of Havurah, an expert educator and hospice mentor, and friend.

Shabbat Service led by Rabbi Joey & Ilene Safyan, Drash by Rabbi Iliinsky
10:00 am – 12:00 noon

In her drash, Rabbi Iliinsky will pose the question, “What does our life look like when we face death?” She will explore how Jacob is different before and and after his encounter with “the angel” and how his story helps us understand others and ourselves as we confront illness and dying. No RSVP is required for this service.

Vegetarian Potluck Lunch
12:00 noon – 1:30 pm

Please bring a vegetarian dish to share, in a container suitable for serving. RSVP@havurahshalom.org for the potluck, please!

Study Session
1:30 – 3:00 pm

Rabbi Iliinsky will help us understand the liturgy that accompanies Taharah, the ritual washing of the body after death. Through role playing and study, we will feel how the liturgy carries Taharah participants through the challenging task of encountering death face to face. We will also explore what the liturgy says about a Jewish view of the “afterlife.”

Please RSVP@havurahshalom if you plan to attend the study session.

Craft and fine artists will share their treasures. Live music and latke lunch at Cafe at the J in MJCC. 2:00 pm – 2:45: story time for ages 3 – 8.
Book Store sponsored by OJMCHE. Sponsored by MJCC, Jewish Women’s Round Table

An introduction to MyHeritage.com, the biggest family network on the web. Learn how to build an online family tree for free, enter detailed information with sources and citations, navigate across the tree, generate charts and posters, create full reports, invite and share information with family members in 43 languages and get calendar alerts on family events. Set the privacy of your site from completely private to completely public, download a copy of your material or use the backup option.  Door prizes will be awarded.