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.
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
Internationally renowned jazz guitarist and oud virtuoso Amos Hoffman and world-class pianist/composer Noam Lemish will be touring the west coast of the US with their quartet to celebrate the release of their latest album. Pardes is an enchanting album offering an inspired blend of jazz, north African and latin rhythms as well as melodies that come from various Jewish communities across the Middle-East and Eastern Europe.
“Listening to Pardes…it’s easy to feel like you’ve been transported to a musically intoxicating garden of Eden” The Whole Note, May 29, 2018
“Exuberant jazz arrangements of Jewish songs” Canadian Jewish News, March 2, 2017
The tour is highlighted by an appearance at the historic Freight & Salvage in Berkeley and also includes concerts in San Francisco, Sacramento, Sonoma State University, Healdsburg and Portland. The quartet is comprised of a rhythm section featuring stellar Bay Area musicians Miles Wick on bass and Alex Aspinall on drums.
Hoffman
For years, Hoffman and Lemish have been collecting Jewish melodies from different parts of the world including Kurdish, Yemenite, Moroccan, Ladino, Russian and Israeli songs. The quartet’s lyrical and vibrant reimaginings of beloved Jewish melodies have been captivating audiences all across North America and their new album has been garnering rave reviews. In their two years of performances of the Pardes repertoire Hoffman and Lemish have played an array of festivals and venues in both the US and Canada including: Toronto Jazz Festival, numerous clubs in NYC, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Buffalo, Jewish Community Centers in Rochester and Columbia (SC) as well as to sold out audiences at UC Berkeley and San Diego State University.
Hoffman and Lemish, both of whom have roots in Israel but have spent much of their adult life in North America, began collaborating in January 2016. Lemish is deeply rooted in jazz and classical music and Hoffman is equally well-versed in jazz, Arab classical music, and North African vernaculars. Together they create a refreshing and compelling sound, filled with vibrant sonorities, unique instrument combinations and compelling arrangements.
Lemish
Their work together started when Lemish, who grew up admiring Hoffman’s pioneering blend of jazz & middle-eastern influences invited Hoffman for a series of performances in Canada. The two musicians clicked on their initial tour and decided to launch the Pardes project. The pairing of their unique talents and backgrounds brings about this truly exciting project.
The meaning of the word Pardes in Hebrew is “orchard” or “fruit garden”. The word also carries with it many layers of meaning in Jewish philosophy. Pardes is etymologically rooted in Farsi and is the origin of the word “paradise”. The songs presented in this project are both geographically diverse in origin and cover a wide-range of emotional terrain and sonic landscapes. The renditions are simultaneously faithful to the songs’ origins and rooted in the African-American and Afro-Caribbean musical traditions. The result is a joyous, uplifting celebration, texturally rich music, filled with groove, lyrical melodies and outstanding solos. In Pardes, Hoffman and Lemish breathe new life into gorgeous melodies that had been forgotten and create music that is appealing both to listeners completely unfamiliar with the melodies in their original context and to those who recognize these songs.