Calendar

Sep
20
Wed
Rosh Hashanah with Rabbi Goldie Milgram & Chazan Bruce Morris @ Unity Portland
Sep 20 @ 6:30 pm – Sep 22 @ 4:00 pm

Please celebrate High Holy Days at P’nai Or.
Services will be led by Rabbi Goldie Milgram and Chazan Bruce Morris​.
No charge for seats.

Erev Rosh Hashanah: Wednesday, Sept. 20, 6:30 p.m. at Unity of Portland
Rosh Hashanah Day 1: Thursday, Sept 21, 10 a.m. at Unity of Portland
Rosh Hashanah Day 2: Friday, Sept. 22, 10 a.m. at St. Mark
Tashlich and Erev Shabbat Potluck Picnic: Friday, Sept. 22, 5 p.m. at George Rogers Park
Erev Yom Kippur: Friday, Sept. 29, 6:30 p.m. at Unity of Portland
Yom Kippur: Saturday, Sept. 30, 10 a.m. at Unity of Portland
High Holy Day Services will be led by Rabbi Goldie Milgram and Chazan Bruce Morris

Unity of Portland, 4525 SE Stark St, Portland, OR 97215
St. Mark, 9750 SW Terwilliger Blvd, Portland, OR 97219
George Rogers Park, 611 S State St, Lake Oswego, OR 97034

 

Rabbi Goldie Milgram is best known as the “rebbe-on-the-road,” for her travels world-wide as a seeker and teacher of Torah and Jewish spiritual practices. “She helps us to bring heart and soul to our involvement in Jewish life.” –Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (זצ”ל)​

Unity of Portland, 4525 SE Stark St, Portland, OR 97215
St. Mark, 9750 SW Terwilliger Blvd, Portland, OR 97219
George Rogers Park, 611 S State St, Lake Oswego, OR 97034

Mar
13
Wed
MJCC Author Series – Special Event with Mary Morris @ OSU Foundation
Mar 13 @ 4:00 pm
Author Mary Morris will read from her latest book, Gateway to the Moon, on Wednesday, March 13 at the OSU Foundation in Corvallis.

Her novel alternates between late medieval Spain and Portugal during the traumatic time of the Inquisition, and a very small town in New Mexico in 1992. The modern New Mexican characters are Catholics with peculiar habits. Nobody in town eats pork but they don’t know why. It is likely they are the descendants of conversos, Jews who converted during the Spanish Inquisition. The story weaves a connecting thread from the Iberian Peninsula to Mexico City and then on to the original settlers who moved into what is now the American Southwest. Five hundred years later, a young amateur astronomer wonders about the secret of the town he grew up in: Entrada de la Luna, or Gateway to the Moon.

Morris’ previous work, The Jazz Palace, won the Anisfeld-Wolf Book Award for important contributions to the understanding of racism in 2016. She also writes short stories and travel memoirs. Her many novels and story collections have been translated into six languages. She lives in Brooklyn, New York and teaches writing at Sarah Lawrence College.

Doors open at 4:00 PM to meet and greet the author. A one-hour author reading and discussion will follow beginning at 4:30 PM. Light refreshments will be served. Admission is free.

Co-sponsored by the Beit Am Jewish Community and the MJCC. Grassroots Bookstore will be there with copies of the paperback edition of Gateway to the Moon for sale and author signing.

Apr
19
Fri
Art Gallery Exhibit: The Passover Series @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Apr 19 – Apr 28 all-day

Art Gallery Exhibit: The Passover Series

Shlomo Katz, Polish/Israeli, 1937 – 1992
Born in Lodz, Poland, Shlomo Katz immigrated to Palestine when he was eight years old in 1945. Katz developed an original technique of oil painting on a gilded metal surface. The result recalls medieval icons on the one hand, and oriental miniatures on the other. These ancient resources combine to form a totally modern image with a light humorous touch and a noble character. It took a lot of experimentation to translate these images to the graphic art form. The metallic inks of the golden tones and the importance of absolute registration presented just a part of the challenge, but the Katz serigraphs became the ultimate in modern printmaking.
Exhibit on display April 19 – 28, MJCC Lobby

Sep
2
Mon
Big Truck Day @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Sep 2 @ 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Big Truck Day – SAVE THE DATE!
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
at the MJCC

Come out to see police vehicles, fire trucks, limos, race cars, construction trucks, and more! Enjoy food stations, games, and live music. Free and open to the community.

Sep
11
Wed
SilentHike @ Meet at Vietnam Veterans of Oregon Memorial
Sep 11 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
SilentHike @ Meet at Vietnam Veterans of Oregon Memorial
Join people from all over the Portland area for a SilentHike — a musical journey into mindfulness at Forest Park. SilentHikes are a new concept from MindTravel — an immersive music and meditation experience company created by composer and concert pianist Murray Hidary (check him out on his Tedx talk here). During the SilentHike session, MindTravelers will wear wireless headphones and embark on a hike with music, guidance and thoughtful commentary from Hidary. All the components – music, words, silence, visual cues – work synergistically to help participants connect with themselves and the world around them.
The SilentHike is free, but register in advance to reserve headphones.
Allow yourself to be carried away by the deep feeling of freedom and connection of the newest way to practice walking meditation – MindTravel SilentHike (mountains) and MindTravel SilentWalk (cities). This magical experience is led by MindTravel creator and composer, Murray Hidary.
Over the course of the MindTravel experience, you’ll join other MindTravelers exploring one of the world’s most beautiful gardens, parks and trails while guided by MindTravel music delivered through MindTravel headphones. The evocative, improvisational piano music ignites freedom and expansiveness that amplifies the healing and inspirational power of being surrounded by beauty.
After a short introduction and intention-setting, the group will venture forth on a guided meditative walk through the beautiful grounds of the garden for a contemplative and powerful creative journey — all while enveloped in the transcendent sounds of the beautiful, original MindTravel compositions.

SilentHikes are a new form of meditation in motion, combining music, verbal guidance, silence and nature to help participants find purpose and connection.  While traditional forms of meditation are an isolated experience, and constitute a sort of retreat, this one is an exercise in exploring and being present in the evolving world around us. Participants have described their experiences as “transcendent” and “rocking their world.”

Hidary is a composer and concert pianist and a former tech guru with a passion for physics.  His MindTravel concept draws on his expertise across all these disciplines. He loved music from an early age, but truly discovered its powers when it was the only thing that helped him heal after the tragic loss of his sister in a motorcycle accident.

July 15, 2019, article in the JERUSALEM POST described Hidary like this:

The 47-year-old Jewish-American multidisciplinary artist has performed the fruits of his creative continuum to all sorts of audiences in all sorts of locations. The concept of “release,” of relinquishing control and preconceptions about our lives and the physical world around us, is central to the thematic ethos. 

Dec
3
Tue
Free Krav Maga Trial Classes @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Dec 3 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Free Krav Maga Classes

Come and try for free, Krav Maga, a practical form of self-defense. It was pioneered by the Israel Defense Forces from a combination of boxing, wrestling, aikido, judo, and karate. This introductory course, taught by an IDF veteran of the special forces, will focus on providing you with the three pillars of Krav Maga: technique, conditioning, and situational awareness.
Instructor: Elias Stahl, former Israel Defense Forces SFC from 2012-2015

Tuesdays, December 3 + 17
7:00 – 8:00 pm

Register: oregonjcc.org/freekrav

Here’s what to wear and expect when you arrive:

  • Open to ages 16 – 60, on the condition that you are able to withstand strenuous physical activity.
  • Please arrive promptly and be dressed in gym shorts/long pants, a t-shirt, and running shoes/sneakers.
    No necklaces, bracelets, or earrings. Watches should be removed before class.
  • Please bring a water bottle in order to stay hydrated!
Dec
17
Tue
Free Krav Maga Trial Classes @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Dec 17 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Free Krav Maga Classes

Come and try for free, Krav Maga, a practical form of self-defense. It was pioneered by the Israel Defense Forces from a combination of boxing, wrestling, aikido, judo, and karate. This introductory course, taught by an IDF veteran of the special forces, will focus on providing you with the three pillars of Krav Maga: technique, conditioning, and situational awareness.
Instructor: Elias Stahl, former Israel Defense Forces SFC from 2012-2015

Tuesdays, December 3 + 17
7:00 – 8:00 pm

Register: oregonjcc.org/freekrav

Here’s what to wear and expect when you arrive:

  • Open to ages 16 – 60, on the condition that you are able to withstand strenuous physical activity.
  • Please arrive promptly and be dressed in gym shorts/long pants, a t-shirt, and running shoes/sneakers.
    No necklaces, bracelets, or earrings. Watches should be removed before class.
  • Please bring a water bottle in order to stay hydrated!
Dec
31
Tue
New Year’s Eve at Noon @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Dec 31 @ 11:00 am – 2:00 pm

New Year’s Eve at Noon

Join us for this fun family event as we ring in the New Year! Arts and crafts, games, bouncy house, dancing, snacks, pool float, and our annual countdown to 2020 at noon with the balloon drop!
Tuesday, December 31
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Pool Float from 12:30 – 2:00 pm

Free and open to the community.

In partnership with MJCC Day Camp

Jan
21
Tue
Film Series: Saving the Dead Sea Documentary @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Jan 21 @ 7:00 pm

The Dead Sea is dying. Since 1976, its level has dropped more than 100 feet, leaving the coastline pockmarked with thousands of sinkholes. NOVA follows scientists, engineers, and political leaders who have come up with a daring plan.
Tuesday, January 21
7:00 pm

Free and open to the community.
Sponsored by Jewish Federation of Greater Portland

Feb
9
Sun
JAM Art Show + Sale @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Feb 9 – Mar 6 all-day

JAM Art Show + Sale

Enjoy a rotating exhibit in the MJCC lobby all month. Members of ORA: Northwest Jewish Artists will answer questions, accept commissions, and sell their art. A portion of the proceeds benefits the MJCC.