On Friday, February 2, 6 PM Rabbi David Zaslow and Morah Cyrise Beatty Schachter will lead a musical Kabbalat Shabbat & Celebration of the Trees!! Tu b’Shevat, the most ancient ecological holiday, is celebrated with a ritual passed down by the 16th century mystics of Safed. Fruits and nuts will be tasted on the journey through the four worlds to celebrate the emergence from winter into the time of the awakening of the trees. Devorah Zaslow will tell a story of the season. Free. All are welcome. Donations gratefully accepted. Bring a potluck veggie dish to share and children are most welcome. The Havurah Synagogue is located at 185 N. Mountain Ave., Ashland. Call 541-488-7716 for more info.
Beit Haverim is having a Casino Night including Black Jack, Craps and Roulette. It should be fun and tasty! There are some spectacular prizes, including: a weekend at a beach house, Blazer tickets, a private party at Portland distillery, restaurant gift cards, wine tastings, Timber tickets, ice skating and bowling parties, clothing store gift cards and more!
Everyone is welcome, and the more we have, the more fun it will be.
This program has been cancelled. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Moments of the Heart is about the four relationships one should experience in their life-time! It is a book that encourages readers to live fully and wholeheartedly. Our heart has a tremendous influence on how we view life, how we act, and how we build relationships. In the Bible, the word heart—or in Hebrew, lev (לב)—is mentioned no fewer than 202 times. If one takes the first and last letter of the Torah, the word created is lev, heart. And so, my book is a compilation of entries that enable us to find inspiration, direction, concepts and encouragement to live a better life. It is about the universal experience of being human-through the Jewish lens. Join us to find out what are the four relationships that will help create the best YOU possible!
Portland Jewish Book Celebration – Author Talk: The Book Smugglers by David Fishman
Portland State University, Browsing Lounge (Room 238) Smith Memorial Student Union, 1825 SW Broadway.
Join author, David Fishman, as he brings a gripping and compelling book to life with his recounting of how he came to learn about this story, illustrated by many photographs. Free and open to the community.
This event is sponsored by Congregation Beth Israel, Mittleman Jewish Community Center, Portland State University’s Judaic Studies Program, and Congregation Shaarie Torah.
Monthly Mitzvah Project – February
Each month, the MJCC and PJA communities will collect items for the monthly mitzvah. These projects reflect the Jewish commitment to Tikkun Olam (repairing the world), providing opportunities to give back to our community.
Please drop off items in the blue bin in the MJCC Lobby.
February – Lunch + snack items for Portland Backpack
Family Flicks – An American Tail
Come to the MJCC for an afternoon of family fun! We will be playing a family classic, An American Tail (Rated G), on the big screen. Popcorn and snacks will be provided.
Cost: $10 per family
Tickets: oregonjcc.org/familyflicks
Monthly Mitzvah Project – March
Each month, the MJCC and PJA communities will collect items for the monthly mitzvah. These projects reflect the Jewish commitment to Tikkun Olam (repairing the world), providing opportunities to give back to our community.
Please drop off items in the blue bin in the MJCC Lobby.
March – Pillows for Purim for Community Warehouse
From award-winning novelist and memoirist Mary Morris comes the story of a sleepy New Mexican community that must come to grips with a religious and political inheritance they never expected. Morris is the author of numerous works of fiction, including the novels The Jazz Palace, A Mother’s Love, and House Arrest, and of nonfiction, including the travel memoir classic “Nothing to Declare: Memoirs of a Woman Traveling Alone.” She is a recipient of the Rome Prize in literature and the 2016 Anisfield-Wolf Award for Fiction.
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.