Calendar

Jan
7
Sat
Shattered: Journey into a Silent Past @ Temple Beth Sholom
Jan 7 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

A Film by Walter Wehmeyer

This is the story of two very different families and the store that connects them in

Aachen, Germany. This documentary features the story of Salem’s Britta Franz. It follows the fate of her and Marianne who were Jewish in Germany in 1937. As two sisters, 9 and 12, they were forced to flee the town of Aachen. Their father, Curt Lion, owned a beautiful clothing store and sold it to the filmmaker’s grandfather. The filmmaker takes you back with Britta and Marianne as they travel back to visit their old family store and piece together the traces of their relatives who didn’t survive escaping the Nazis.

Britta, a longtime Salem resident, business owner and civic leader will be there to introduce the film and have a Q & A session afterwards.  She will have DVDs of the film available to purchase for $20 each.  We are honored to be bringing you this program.

 

Jan
10
Tue
January Lecture Series @ Rose Schnitzer Manor
Jan 10 @ 7:00 pm

Preserving the Past: The Legacy of Jewish Women is the theme of the
Lifelong Learning Lecture Series in January at Rose Schnitzer Manor at
Cedar Sinai Park.
RSM invites to community to come to the lecture series every Tuesday
evening this January. All lectures are open to the public and will be held
in Zidell Hall of Rose Schnitzer Manor.
The series begins Jan. 3 when Priscilla Kostiner speaks on “The Personal
Journey of a Jewish Woman.” Priscilla has spent her life as a Jewish lay
leader and professional in the Jewish world. Whether leading Shabbat
services at the Rose Schnitzer Manor, speaking about Judaism to high
school students or greeting new immigrants on the tarmac at Ben Gurion
Airport in Israel, Priscilla loves what she does, and is looking forward to
sharing her experiences with you.
On Jan. 10 Ellen Eisenberg speaks on “Whatever Happened to Old South
Portland.”
Ellen is the Dwight and Margaret Lear Professor of American History at
Willamette University and is the author of The First to Cry Down Injustice?
Western Jews and Japanese Removal during WWII, Embracing a Western
Identity: Jewish Oregonians, 1849-1950 and The Jewish Oregon Story,
1950-2015.
Cantor Ida Rae Cahana continues the series Jan. 17 with her talk, “Abi
Gezunt – As Long as You’re Well, You’re Happy!” Ida Rae was raised in
Pittsburgh, PA, where she made history and the local news at the age
of 17, when she became one of the first women to sing in a synagogue
as cantorial soloist. Ida Rae has since appeared on Broadway and in
concerts at Merkin Concert Hall and the 92nd Street Y. She made her
Carnegie Hall debut in 2012 and her Oregon Symphony debut in 2013.
Ida Rae is a featured soloist for two recordings from the Milken Archive
of Jewish music (Naxos label), of Yiddish Art Song, and on their latest
release of Jewish Wedding Music. With ordination from Hebrew-Union
College –Jewish Institute of Religion in 1993, she is the senior cantor for
Congregation Beth Israel. She says her greatest joy is to be the “ema on
the bima” for her four children, Sarit, Liora, Idit and David.
On Jan. 24 Jeannie Smith will share how “One Person Can Make a
Difference!” Jeannie is the daughter of Polish Rescuer, Irene Gut Opdyke;
who passed away on May 17, 2003. Irene received international
recognition for her actions during the Holocaust while working for a
high-ranking German official. Kimberly Marlowe Hartnett will speak Jan.
31 about “Jewish Women and Civil Rights: Behind the Scenes, Around
the Table, and on the Picket Line.” Kimberly is the author of Carolina
Israelite: How Harry Golden Made Us Care about Jews, the South, and Civil
Rights, the first comprehensive biography of Golden. Golden’s one-man
newspaper and hugely popular books including, Only in America and For
2-cents Plain, used wry humor and blunt observations to raise awareness
of the Jewish role in fighting for civil rights in this country.

Jan
12
Thu
Nosh + Drash with Rabbi Eve Posen @ Cafe at the J
Jan 12 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

A monthly discussion covering a wide range of topics that will draw on our experiences.
January’s topic: Parshat Vayechi: The meaning of “And He Lived”

Improv Comedy Club: 3rd-5th Grade @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Jan 12 @ 3:45 pm

Learn the basics of Improv Theater! Students will learn short-form games that teach the skills of listening and responding, working together as a group to create a story on the spot, and building self-confidence. The class will be working towards a demo that showcases their favorite improv games, and shows off their new comedy chops!

In partnership with Portland Jewish Academy and Northwest Children’s Theater & School
Register: oregonjcc.org/registration; CG202

Jan
13
Fri
CBI’s MLK Jr. Shabbat Service @ Congregation Beth Israel
Jan 13 @ 6:00 pm
CBI’s Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Shabbat Service
Please join us as we celebrate the work of Dr. King and welcome our keynote speakers: Dr. Geneva Craig and Mary Liuzzo Lilleboe.
The lives of Dr. Geneva Craig and Mary Liuzzo Lilleboe were joined as teenagers in Selma, AL.
Geneva was attacked on Bloody Sunday as she marched on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Mary lost her mother, Viola Liuzzo, as she was murdered by the KKK at the
end of the Selma to Montgomery March. Together Geneva and Mary use their personal stories to inspire us today to fight for justice.
CBI’s annual Dr. Martin luther King, Jr. Shabbat service will include music from the
NW Gospel Choir and CBI’s Kol Echad Choir to celebrate Dr. King’s enduring legacy.
Jan
14
Sat
Shabbat Storytime @ Congregation Shir Tikvah
Jan 14 @ 9:45 am – 10:15 am

Join us on the 2nd Saturday of this month for our Shabbat gathering of toddlers and their caregivers.

Enjoy stories, songs and crafts that celebrate holidays and Jewish values. Stay afterwards for bagels and coffee with Rabbi – free play for the kids and schmoozing for the adults.

Best for kids up to age five, although older siblings are welcome too.

Jan
15
Sun
Lamaze Childbirth Class @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Jan 15 @ 9:00 am

Expectant mothers and their partners will learn about and prepare for birth through hands-on education. Practice comfort techniques and learn about the physiology of birth, routine medical procedures, breastfeeding and informed consent in a dynamic group setting. This course is designed to instill confidence and empower expectant parents, as well as provide expectant parents with a support group of peers. Lamaze classes are based on the most up-to-date research from the gold-standard Cochrane database. Three couples needed to run this class.

This five-session class meets on Sundays from Jan. 15 through Feb. 12.

Teacher: Elana Alpert, LCCE
Register: oregonjcc.org/lamaze

Jan
16
Mon
Israeli Folk Dancing anniversary @ Leedy Grange
Jan 16 @ 6:30 pm

Second Anniversary of Israeli Folk Dancing at Leedy Grange.
Celebrate our anniversary with special guest dance leader Allison Victor. Recall she danced with us
last year for our 1st anniversary. We are excited to have her back to teach!.

First, third (and fifth) Mondays each month enjoy Israeli Folk Dancing at Leedy Grange: Learn easy and intermediate level dances led by Sue Wendel. 6:30-7: beginners class; 7-8: easy dances; 8-9
intermediate dances. Leedy Grange, 835 NW Saltzman Road, Portland.
$6/$10 couples; first time free. pifdnews@gmail.com

 

Jan
17
Tue
January Lecture Series @ Rose Schnitzer Manor
Jan 17 @ 7:00 pm

Preserving the Past: The Legacy of Jewish Women is the theme of the
Lifelong Learning Lecture Series in January at Rose Schnitzer Manor at
Cedar Sinai Park.
RSM invites to community to come to the lecture series every Tuesday
evening this January. All lectures are open to the public and will be held
in Zidell Hall of Rose Schnitzer Manor.
The series begins Jan. 3 when Priscilla Kostiner speaks on “The Personal
Journey of a Jewish Woman.” Priscilla has spent her life as a Jewish lay
leader and professional in the Jewish world. Whether leading Shabbat
services at the Rose Schnitzer Manor, speaking about Judaism to high
school students or greeting new immigrants on the tarmac at Ben Gurion
Airport in Israel, Priscilla loves what she does, and is looking forward to
sharing her experiences with you.
On Jan. 10 Ellen Eisenberg speaks on “Whatever Happened to Old South
Portland.”
Ellen is the Dwight and Margaret Lear Professor of American History at
Willamette University and is the author of The First to Cry Down Injustice?
Western Jews and Japanese Removal during WWII, Embracing a Western
Identity: Jewish Oregonians, 1849-1950 and The Jewish Oregon Story,
1950-2015.
Cantor Ida Rae Cahana continues the series Jan. 17 with her talk, “Abi
Gezunt – As Long as You’re Well, You’re Happy!” Ida Rae was raised in
Pittsburgh, PA, where she made history and the local news at the age
of 17, when she became one of the first women to sing in a synagogue
as cantorial soloist. Ida Rae has since appeared on Broadway and in
concerts at Merkin Concert Hall and the 92nd Street Y. She made her
Carnegie Hall debut in 2012 and her Oregon Symphony debut in 2013.
Ida Rae is a featured soloist for two recordings from the Milken Archive
of Jewish music (Naxos label), of Yiddish Art Song, and on their latest
release of Jewish Wedding Music. With ordination from Hebrew-Union
College –Jewish Institute of Religion in 1993, she is the senior cantor for
Congregation Beth Israel. She says her greatest joy is to be the “ema on
the bima” for her four children, Sarit, Liora, Idit and David.
On Jan. 24 Jeannie Smith will share how “One Person Can Make a
Difference!” Jeannie is the daughter of Polish Rescuer, Irene Gut Opdyke;
who passed away on May 17, 2003. Irene received international
recognition for her actions during the Holocaust while working for a
high-ranking German official. Kimberly Marlowe Hartnett will speak Jan.
31 about “Jewish Women and Civil Rights: Behind the Scenes, Around
the Table, and on the Picket Line.” Kimberly is the author of Carolina
Israelite: How Harry Golden Made Us Care about Jews, the South, and Civil
Rights, the first comprehensive biography of Golden. Golden’s one-man
newspaper and hugely popular books including, Only in America and For
2-cents Plain, used wry humor and blunt observations to raise awareness
of the Jewish role in fighting for civil rights in this country.

Jan
18
Wed
Places of Remembrance @ Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education
Jan 18 @ 6:30 pm
Participatory Discussion Focuses on the Antisemitic and Dehumanizing Laws of Nazi Germany 
OJMCHE presents a participatory discussion that focuses on the antisemitic and dehumanizing laws passed in Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945, which led from the gradual loss of rights to a full-scale genocide during the Second World War. The program is based upon Places of Re­membrance (Orte des Erinnerns) a memorial to the Holocaust designed by Renata Stih and Frieder Schnock, which was inaugurated in 1993 in Berlin.
April Slabosheski, OJMCHE Holocaust Educator, will discuss the legislative and social process that led to the passage of these laws and offer a comparative analysis of U.S. gov­ernmental processes and the potential for our own civic engagement today.
Places of Remembrance is a public art memorial for a former Jewish district of West Berlin known as the Bavarian Quarter. At the time it was built, Germany had just been reunified, and it was one of the first major efforts to give permanent recognition to the ways the Holocaust reached into daily life in the German capital. The competition called for a central memorial on the square, but the artists Renata Stih and Frieder Schnock instead proposed attaching 80 signs hung on lamp posts throughout the Bavarian Quarter, each one spelling out one of the hundreds of Nazi laws and rules—ranging from “Jews are not allowed to own pets” to “Jews can only buy food between 4 and 5 o’ clock”—that gradually dehumanized Berlin’s Jewish population. It has been called Berlin’s most unsettling memorial.
“This is the first public program in our new facility,” said OJMCHE Director Judy Margles. “We had not planned to open our doors to programming until the museum opens to the public in June.  However, given the turbulent climate and the rise in hate crimes, we felt compelled to provide substantive programming. As the historian Howard Zinn said, ‘Education becomes most rich and alive when it confronts the reality of moral conflict in the world.‘”
OJMCHE’s Holocaust education team led by Holocaust Educator April Slabosheski and members of the Speakers’ Bureau have presented this fall programs in over 40 schools, libraries and churches, led workshops, and offered guided tours of the Oregon Holocaust Memorial. Along with scheduled visits, OJMCHE is a quick response resource for schools that experience instances of hate speech.
April Slabosheski started work as Holocaust Educator at the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education in 2014. She received her Master of Arts degree from the University of Michigan in Judaic Studies and her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin in Community Education & Engagement.
The Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education has recently moved into new facilities at 724 NW Davis Street and administrative offices are open. The Grand Opening of the museum is scheduled for June 2017. During the ensuing months while the museum is closed, OJMCHE is participating in collaborative public programming across the city. Founded in 1990, the mission of the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education is to interpret the Oregon Jewish experience, explore the lessons of the Holocaust and foster intercultural conversations. www.ojmche.org