Event page | Download Full Event Flyer
What: A screening of the restored silent film “Hungry Hearts” (1922) preceded by a reception with a choice of three parallel 20-min lectures. Q&A with the composer, David Spear, to follow.
When: Sunday, November 5, 2017 | 5:30pm to 9:30pm
Where: Lincoln Recital Hall (LH 75) | Pocket Lectures in LH 75, LH 21, and LH 37
Cost: Free and open to the public. RSVP requested, but not required.
Contact: Stacey Johnston | judaicst@pdx.edu | 503-725-8449
Join the Harold Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic Studies for the Portland premiere of the recently restored and rescored silent film “Hungry Hearts” (1922), filmed on location on New York’s Lower East Side. Based on the short stories of Anzia Yezierska, one of the first immigrant authors to write about American Jewish women for a mainstream audience, the film focuses on the members of the Levin family who emigrate from Eastern Europe to New York City and captures the hopes and hardships of Jewish immigrants in the New World.
The National Center for Jewish Film at Brandeis restored Goldwyn’s original print, and with generous support from the Casden Institute, a new score was composed and produced by David Spear in collaboration with his students from the USC Thornton School of Music. The new score for “Hungry Hearts” premiered at the 2007 New York Jewish Film Festival in Lincoln Center.
The event will begin at 5:30pm with a “Feast for the Senses and the Mind.” You are invited to sample hors d’oeuvres alongside three “pocket lectures” (20 minutes each) on various aspects of the film’s cultural and historical context. The film will begin at 7:00pm and will be followed by a conversation and Q&A with the lead composer, David Spear, about the process of scoring a historic silent film and breathing new life into “old art”. (Full Schedule Below)
- 5:30 pm Welcome Reception with Food
- 6:00 pm Choose your own mini-lecture!
- LH 75 – Marat Grinberg, Reed College
- “At the Intersection of Screen and Text: American Jewish Culture Before the War”
- LH 37 – Joseph Butwin, University of Washington
- “Exile and Return: Anzia Yezierska Finds her Vocation”
- LH 21 – Amy Borden, PSU School of Film
- “Immigration and Nativism in New York’s Nickelodeon’s”
- LH 75 – Marat Grinberg, Reed College
- 7:00 pm Hungry Hearts Film Screening
- 8:45 pm Q&A with David Spear
- Soundtrack Producer & 2017 Artist-in-Residence
This is the first half of the 2017 Levy Event, which focuses on the nexus between East European Jewish immigrants to the U.S. and twentieth-century American film and music. For information about the second half of the 2017 Levy Event, visit the event page.
This event is sponsored by the Harold Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic Studies thanks to the generous support of Larry Levy and Pamela Lindholm-Levy. Cosponsored by the PSU School of Music + Theater and the Northwest Film Center.
Event Page | Download Full Event Flyer
What: A cabaret revue drawn from the American popular songbook with Artist-in-Residence David Spear, featuring PSU student and faculty performers. Preceded by lecture on “The Songs Are You: Jewish Songwriters of the Great American Songbook” with composer and musicologist Aaron Fruchtman.
When: Monday, November 6, 2017 | 6:00pm to 9:30pm (performance begins at 7:30pm)
Where: Lincoln Recital Hall (LH 75)
Cost: Free and open to the public. RSVP requested, but not required.
Contact: Stacey Johnston | judaicst@pdx.edu | 503-725-8449
The Harold Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic Studies and the School of Music + Theater present an evening cabaret performance featuring the songs of such Jewish composers as George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Kurt Weill, and Harold Arlen, performed by PSU students and faculty, local professional vocalists, and cantors. The revue will be punctuated by historical, cultural, and musical notes by musical director David Spear, the Judaic Studies Program’s 2017 Artist-in-Residence
Join us before the performance for a guest lecture “The Songs Are You: Jewish Songwriters of the Great American Songbook” with composer and musicologist Aaron Fruchtman.
- 6:00 pm Lecture w/ Aaron Fruchtman
- “The Songs are You: Jewish Songwriters of the Great American Songbook”
- 7:00 pm Intermission
- Free appetizers, Beer/Wine available for cash purchase
- Free appetizers, Beer/Wine available for cash purchase
- 7:30 pm Cabaret Performance
- Musical direction by David Spear
- Performances by: Dean Leroy Bynum Jr, Dr. Bonnie Miksch, Sherry Alves, John Gilmore, Cantor Eyal Bitton, Amy Hansen, Pamela South, Anders Tobiason, Danielle Barker, & Maeve Dahlen
- 9:00 pm Dessert Reception
- Desserts, Coffee, and Tea provided
This is the second half of the 2017 Levy Event, which focuses on the nexus between East European Jewish immigrants to the U.S. and twentieth-century American film and music. For information about the first half of the 2017 Levy Event, visit the event page.
This event is sponsored by the Harold Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic Studies thanks to the generous support of Larry Levy and Pamela Lindholm-Levy. Cosponsored by the PSU School of Music + Theater.
Nov: Neveh Shalom; Dec: Kol Shalom
Join our Emeritus Rabbi for weekly study of our sacred texts. Free.
Learn the art of Jewish storytelling with professional storyteller Brian Rohr. In this nine class course, Brian will teach the art and skill of performative storytelling, exploring the ancient stories, personal narrative and techniques on how to discover your own unique storytelling voice. Tuition for the three month course is: $150 CNS members / $200 Non-members.
PJA Open House for Infant through 8th grade.
Come see our school in action! PJA is an inclusive Jewish Community Day School that strives to ensure an academically rich environment which honors the whole child. PJA nurtures and inspires Jewish engagement, Kavod/respect, and responsibility for the world in which we live. PJA is project-based and accredited by NWAIS.


Exhibits Feb. 16- May 27
Vedem: The Underground Magazine of the Terezin Ghetto
Vedem Underground examines the literary magazine written by Jewish teens imprisoned at Terezin, a Nazi camp in Czechoslovakia during the Second World War. Using pop-art graphics, drawings and paintings, and the prose and poetry, these brave adolescents secretly wrote and illustrated the longest-running underground magazine in a Nazi camp. Vedem (Czech for “In the Lead”) documented their voices with defiance, humor and heartbreak. The exhibition breaks down their 800 original pages and reconstructs them in the form of a contemporary magazine. Curated by Rina Taraseiskey and Danny King.
To Tell The Story: The Wolloch Holocaust Haggadah
On view in the East Gallery: Commissioned by Helene and Zygfryd B. Wolloch, The Holocaust Haggadah is richly illustrated with lithographic prints by David Wander and calligraphy by Yonah Weinreb that link the story of liberation from ancient Egypt to the Holocaust.
This mini-course is for anyone who is aging, has someone they care about who is aging, or thinks they might grow old themselves! We’ll be using the book “Wise Aging” by Rabbi Rachel Cowan and Dr. Linda Thal. $36 includes book and materials.
Join us for a fun, introductory Israeli dance class. All levels are welcome. Six people needed to run class.
10 week class
No class on 11/22
Register at: www.oregonjcc.org/registration
Registration code: CG 101