Nosh + Drash with Rabbi Eve Posen
A monthly discussion covering a wide range of topics that draw on our experiences.
Thursday, September 13
Topic: Rosh Hashanah Learning
Thursday, October 11
Topic: Noah and the Flood: Then and Now
Thursday, November 8
Topic: The Torah of Thanksgiving
Thursday, December 13
Topic: Texts of Inspiration
Free and open to the community.
In partnership with Congregation Neveh Shalom
Hike to support Novel Interventions in Children’s Healthcare, a program of OHSU to reduce costs and improve care and health in our most vulnerable youth.
This 18-week course is taught by members of The Oregon Board of Rabbis, representing a variety of Jewish affiliations. A carefully constructed curriculum includes Jewish history, life cycle events, holidays, ritual and daily practice, theology, study of Torah and contemporary Jewish America. While not a conversion class, most OBR members consider it a prerequisite for students beginning study for conversion. Classes 7-9 pm, Thursdays, at rotating Portland area synagogues.
In honor of National Coming Out Day, a Wider Bridge is bringing Captain Ofer Erez to Portland. Ofer is the first transgender service member to rank as an officer in the Israeli Defense Forces. During his army service Ofer led an historical change with regard to the army’s regulations on enlisting trans-gender soldiers and was an advisor on LGBTQ-related issues in the IDF and an adviser to the US and Canadian armies on inclusivity. This past spring Ofer completed his service with the IDF and became the CEO of the Jerusalem Open House, a long time LGBTQ community center in Jerusalem and the organizer of the Jerusalem March for Pride and Tolerance.
The Jerusalem Open House is one of seven LGBTQ grantees in Israel funded by a Wider Bridge with the generous support of over 1000 members across North America.
Doors open at 5:30 pm, show starts at 7. Come early to eat, come to drink, come to soak in the view from the lakeside deck … and come to laugh ’til you cry!
Lake Theater’s beer and wine lists represent the best in the industry, and are curated with care; and their cocktails feature seasonal ingredients mixed with never-bottom-shelf spirits. And the pizzas! New York style! Food and drink can be enjoyed in the theater.
The theater features cabaret-style seating on the main floor and traditional velvet seating in the balcony. We can bring the show to almost 100 people at a time!
Designed by celebrated local architect Richard Sundeleaf, the Lake Theater first opened its doors in 1940, charging 25¢ for admission.
(Photo by Pedro Greig)
White Bird welcomes Australian contemporary circus company, Circa, with their program HUMANS.
After an absence of five years, White Bird is delighted to present the return of the world-famous Australian contemporary circus company, Circa, with the West Coast premiere of their astonishing new work HUMANS. Since 2004, from its base in Brisbane, Australia, Circa has toured the world—performing in 39 countries to over a million people. As was the case in Portland in 2013, with their White Bird debut, Circa’s movement-based circus works have been greeted with standing ovations, rave reviews and sold-out houses across six continents. Under the direction of circus visionary Yaron Lifschitz, Circa’s HUMANS features an ensemble of 10 exceptional, multi-skilled circus artists whose physicality and artistry are put to the test in Lifschitz’ newest work.
Yaron Lifschitz
An article in the Australian Jewish News says: Lifschitz looks back on his career with lots of pride, as do his Jewish parents who may initially have preferred him to be a doctor.
Circa is at the forefront of the new wave of contemporary Australian circus—pioneering how extreme physicality can create powerful and moving performances. Circa pushes the boundaries of the art form, blurs the lines between movement, dance, theatre and circus, and leads the way with a diverse range of thrilling creations that ‘redraw the limits to which circus can aspire“ (The Age).
Over the course of 70 nail-biting minutes, HUMANS explores the limits of human physicality and perseverance. The stage remains stripped bare as the vulnerability of the artists is left exposed throughout this thrilling work. Seamlessly moving from one breathtaking acrobatic act to the next, HUMANS challenges both the artists and the audience members to answer the questions “what does it mean to be human? How can you express the very essence of this experience with your body, with the group and with the audience? Where are your limits, what extraordinary things can you achieve and how can you find grace in your inevitable defeat?” Lifschitz uses this work to report on what it means to be human. “In our limitations are our possibilities,” he says. It is “precisely because we are human that our physical achievements acquire dignity, meaning and poetry. It is in connection to our vulnerability that our strength finds its true articulation.”
In its glowing review, The Guardian (UK) sums up the power and beauty of HUMANS: “Circa’s brand new production Humans is the five-star favorite: a clear demonstration of the artistry of circus and its potential to draw together multiple theatrical forms. What I adored was its fluid take on humanity and gender roles: women caught men falling backwards; men leapt towards and were caught by men. As the ensemble moved themselves into sculptural, abstract shapes, reaching higher to the ceiling for the denouement, I felt moved by their vulnerable, collective humanity.”
Circa’s Artistic Director Yaron Lifschitz is a graduate of the University of New South Wales, University of Queensland, and National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA), where he was the youngest director ever accepted into its prestigious graduate director’s course. Since graduating, Yaron has directed over 60 productions including large-scale events, opera, theatre, physical theatre, and circus. His work has been seen in 39 countries and across six continents by over one million people and has won numerous awards including six Helpmann awards and the Australia Council Theatre Award. He is currently Artistic Director and CEO of Circa, and was the Creative Director of Festival 2018: the arts and cultural program of the 21st Commonwealth Games. In 2018, Yaron directed four new Circa creations, and a new production of Idomeneo which opened in Lisbon at The Teatro Nacional de São Carlos.
White Bird’s 21st season (2018-19) is supported by the Regional Arts & Culture Council, including support from the City of Portland, Multnomah County and the Arts Education & Access Fund; Work for Art; The James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, and Oregon Arts Commission.
The First Crusade and Jewish Martyrdom by William Chester Jordan, Princeton University
William Chester Jordan is Dayton-Stockton Professor of History and served as Chairman of the Department of History at Princeton University, where he teaches courses on the Middle Ages. Professor Jordan’s most recent books include A Tale of Two Monasteries: Westminster and Saint-Denis in the Thirteenth Century, Men at the Center: Redemptive Governance under Louis IX, and From England to France: Felony and Exile in the High Middle Ages.
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.