The Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon invites you, your family and friends to its upcoming program “Jewish Life in Poland” by Avraham Groll.
Description: Part 1 (10th-15th centuries) will explore patterns of Jewish migration to Poland between the 10th-15th centuries. We will discuss when and why the major shifts happened, where the Jews settled and their involvement in the Poland’s development. This presentation is designed for beginners, and is not a workshop. Maps, pictures, and documents will be displayed. Handouts with further information and a bibliography will also be distributed.
Part 2 (16th-18th centuries) will explore patterns of Jewish migration to Poland between the 16th-18th centuries. We will discuss the “Golden Age of Polish Jewry,” the reaction to Shabtai Tzvi, and how the Jewish experience in Poland helped set the stage, in part, for the eventual rise of the Hasidic movement. This presentation is designed for beginners, and is not a workshop. Maps, pictures, and documents will be displayed. Handouts
Bio: Avraham Groll, the Director of JewishGen.org, is passionate about connecting people with their Jewish roots, and helping them experience what it means to be part of the Jewish people. Avraham holds an MBA from Montclair State University, an MA in Judaic Studies from Touro College, and a BS in Business Administration from Ramapo college, and spent two years studying at Yeshiva Ohr Yeruslahayim in Israel. He is a frequent lecturer on a variety of Jewish genealogical and historical topics.
Mussar with Rabbi Joshua Rose
Mussar is an approach to self-awareness and personal development that is grounded in deep reflection on Jewish texts and on spiritual practices that guide us toward greater control over our thinking and behaviors.
Monday, September 17
Monday, October 8
Monday, November 12
Monday, December 10
2:30 – 3:25 pm. Free and open to the community.
In partnership with Congregation Shaarie Torah

Get Fit Israeli Dance with Dorice Horenstein
Tuesdays, Oct. 9-Dec. 11 (no class Nov. 20)
Weekly beginning and intermediate level Israeli dance class helps you get in shape, learn new moves, and listen to fun, Israeli music.
$90 for 9 weeks or $12/week drop-in. Contact JoAnn at: jbezodis@nevehshalom.org
- 9:15 am: Beginning Level—learn Israeli dance steps for novice dancers, lower impact workout.
- 10:15 am: Intermediate Level—for those familiar with basic Israeli dance and ready for higher impact workout.
Mah Jongg for Beginners
Learn to play this ancient game. It will give your mind a workout!
Registration Information: CG101, oregonjcc.org/registration
Cost: $100. Member Cost: $85.
Mah Jongg for Intermediate Players
Take your game to the next level!
Registration Information: CG102, oregonjcc.org/registration
Cost: $100. Member Cost: $85.
Election 2018: City Council Candidate Forum
Featuring Jo Ann Hardesty and Loretta Smith, the top two candidates from the May primary, are vying for the open seat on the Portland City Council being vacated by Dan Saltzman.
Free and open to the community.
In partnership with Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, Jewish Community Relations Council, and MJCC.
This is the first in a three-part series that focuses on the art and craft of storytelling. The workshops can be taken independantly and in this first workshop the focus is on Family Stories. Cassandra Sagan is an ordained Maggid, a Jewish teacher/preacher/storyteller through the lineage of Reb Zalman Schacter-Shalomi z”l all the way back to the Baal Shem Tov. She has devoted her life to helping others access and express creative brilliance through story, poetry, song, and InterPlay, which she calls “play as a spiritual practice.”
Cassandra is a designated Leitzah Kedushah, Holy Clown, on the faculty of JSE, the Jewish Spiritual Education Maggid-Educator Training Program where she teaches Personal Narrative and InterPlay Torah study. She has hosted, taught, and told stories at local schools, libraries, synagogues, churches, and travels around the country to teach and tell. Cassandra shares, “I’m a student of Kabbalah and a mosaic artist and I love to make beauty out of brokenness. Through Story we enter the timeless realm, we can lift up/redeem joy from the past and transform the present and the future. Breishit b’ra Elohim: in a beginning, God starts creating. When we engage our creativity, we begin to know God, which is the goal of Judaism. When we tell our story, through words or silence or song or art, we make a tikkun, we help to repair this world. What’s not to love?”
Chai Baby + PJ Library Indoor Playground
For parents/caregivers and their children up to 5 years old. Play. Meet friends. Run. Have a Kosher snack. Sing + listen to stories. Have a blast!
Second Wednesday of each month
September 12
October 10
November 14
December 12
Free and open to the community.
In partnership with PJ Library, Chai Baby, Portland Jewish Academy
Israel Film Series
Calling all filmgoers! Join us for an array of Israeli films focusing on the topic of homelessness. A discussion with Q&A will follow each film, please see film details for specifics. Films to be announced soon!
Lost Boys of Portlandia
Wednesday, October 10
7:00 pm
Meet local Israeli filmmaker, Nili Yosha and Executive Director for Outside the Frame. In a riff on Peter Pan, homeless youth of Portland debate if and how to return to mainstream society while creating their own film version of the iconic story.
Diplomat
Tuesday, October 16
7:00 pm
The Hotel Diplomat in Jerusalem was once a five-star hotel. For nearly 20 years it is home to 600 immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Never having integrated into Israeli society, its residents have created their own little island, secluded from the outside world.
Zrubavel
Tuesday, October 30
7:00 pm
The personal dramas of the immigrant Zrubavel family and the universal intergenerational cultural struggles that come with assimilation are depicted in this first feature film made by Ethiopian Israelis.
Purchase tickets at oregonjcc.org/film
In partnership with the Institute for Judaic Studies