During the month of June, the MJCC and PJA communities will be collecting pet food and gently used towels for The Pongo Fund and Dove Lewis Animal Hospital. Items can be dropped off in the blue bin located in the MJCC Lobby.
Artists Sara Harwin, Kanaan Kanaan and Inga Dubay love letters. They explore the tradition of sacred letters in Hebrew, Arabic & English calligraphy in many forms of art expression. They each have a creative voice dedicated to peace & justice.
Their will be an opening forum for the exhibit at 7 pm June 2. This event is open to all.
“Inga Dubay, Kanaan Kanaan and I come from three different lettering traditions, yet when we each speak about our journeys, we seek to touch upon a sacred, spiritual path,” says Sara. “We will be speaking on the evening of June 2 at 7 pm preceding the Interfaith Iftar, traditional breaking of the fast during the month of Ramadan.”
Sara Harwin
Sara was feaatured on the February 2014 cover of Oregon Jewish Life in conjunction with the exhibit she created: “Illuminated Letters – Threads of Connection.”
Her love of both art-making and Jewish learning come from being raised in a home filled with Yiddishkeit, Her early Jewish education at the Sholem Aleichem Institute in Detroit, Michigan and many years at Camp Tamarack enriched her sense of Jewish community. Later, she studied Hebrew and art history of the Middle East at the University of Michigan where she completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. At Michigan she gained first-hand experience in printing under the tutelage of artist and author Emil Weddige. Upon her arrival in Portland, Oregon in 1969, she went on to study clay work with Wally Schwab at Marylhurst College, incorporating her figurative approach to art onto dishware and freestanding sculptures. Her work has been exhibited internationally in numerous group and one-woman gallery and museum shows, while her ritual items are widely treasured by individuals and communities.
Inga Dubay
Inga Dubay’s work encompasses calligraphy, painting, drawing and printmaking. She taught at the Oregon College of Art and Craft for twenty-five years and was Book Arts Department Head for six years. Inga currently teaches at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology. She has also taught at Portland State University for eight years and has conducted numerous workshops including as faculty at international calligraphy conferences. She has been a guest lecturer at Reed College’s Paideia, Scriptorium, and Art Department. She studied at Mills College and received a B.A. in Painting & Drawing from the University of Oregon with graduate study at the Art Academy in Oslo, Norway, the University of Oregon and the University of California at Berkeley. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally in juried and invitational exhibitions as well as shown in publications including Letter Arts Review, Lettering Arts and featured on Art Beat, Oregon Public Broadcasting. Her essay, The Write Stuff, appeared as an Op-Ed in The New York Times.
Kanaan Kanaan
Mr. Kanaan’s background is both interesting and diverse. He was born and raised in Amman, Jordan, in a Palestinian refugee camp. An artist by training, Kanaan studied at the College of Fine Arts at Baghdad University prior to immigrating to the U.S. in 1994. After moving to Portland, he obtained his bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and Graphic Design from PSU 1999, and in 2006, earned his Master of Fine Arts in Painting and Mixed Media from Warnborough University in Ireland. For the eight years, Kanaan was an adjunct professor in PSU’s art department where he’s taught courses in interactive media, Web design and computer graphics. Since 2011, he is serving PSU as the Middle East Student Retention Specialist. He continues to be an active artist, regularly participating in both solo and group shows.
Learn to play this ancient game. It will give your mind a workout!
Tuesday Mornings
Dates: June 26 – July 24
10:30 am- 12:30 pm, CG400
Cost: $100. Member Cost: $85.
First class held in the Beit Midrash, then in the Cafe at the J.
Take your game to the next level. It will give your mind a workout!
Tuesday Afternoons
Dates: June 26 – July 24
1:30 – 3:30 pm, CG401
Cost: $100. Member Cost: $85.
Cafe at the J
The film Built by Zidell tells the story of a riverfront industrial property and the four generations of a family of entrepreneurs on that site. Beginning with Sam Zidell, an early 20th century immigrant from eastern Europe, the family’s Jewish values, ethics and commitment to “giving back” have guided their business operations, as well as their resolution to undertake and successfully complete the largest privately-funded environmental remediation in Portland, Oregon. And now, after more than 50 years of building huge steel barges at the site, the Zidell family has embarked on their most ambitious project yet, building a new Portland neighborhood, Zidell Yards. Built by Zidell was directed and edited by David Bee of Lightmotive Films.
The film screening is sponsored by OJMCHE, LightMotive Films, NorthWest Ecosystem Services, Inc., and Sherry and Paul Fishman.
Join all of your friends from the JFGP, the MJCC, and the rest of our community! The Portland Thorns host the Sky Blue at Providence Park.
Tickets at: Jewishpdx.thornsfc.com
Use password JEWISHPDX to purchase discounted tickets, which include a swag item!
Cost: $18.
Artist Dana Lynn Louis will talk about her project Gather: Make: Shelter which gives people the opportunity for direct humanitarian engagement around issues of homelessness. As with all Brown Bag lunch programs, there will be ample time for a discussion. OJMCHE kicks off a new series of informal lunchtime conversations with scholars, museum professionals, historians, and others. Bring a lunch or buy a brown bag lunch in Lefty’s Cafe and join us in the museum’s auditorium for a lively give and take as we share and explore ideas, experience, and expertise.
About Gather: Make: Shelter
Gather: Make: Shelter is a citywide creative collaboration shepherded by artist Dana Lynn Louis to create a new model of engagement and connection between people experiencing homelessness and those more fortunate in Portland Oregon. The project bridges art making, skill building and philanthropy through direct humanitarian engagement within our community over the course of 8 months.
Gather:
We will gather, make art, food and break bread to create collaborative fundraisers in the form of community gatherings to share the riches of our labor that ultimately houses families in need this fall.
Make:
Hundreds of people are involved. Ceramic artists are making bowls to contribute to painting workshops for participants currently experiencing homelessness to paint. The workshops encourage creativity, mindfulness and entrepreneurial skill building. People experiencing homelessness receive a stipend to participate.
Shelter:
The project began in February 2018 and will be completed in September 2018. Gather: Make:Shelter culminates in engaging public gatherings to celebrate all participants, sponsors, and volunteers as well as highlight practical considerations from community liaisons that may help build bridges between diverse communities. The hand-painted bowls made at workshops will be sold and food will be provided. We will contribute our proceeds to house fellow citizens.
Kabbalah Meditation with Rabbi David Zaslow
Beginning on Thursday, June 21 from 5-6 pm, Rabbi David Zaslow will teach an introduction class in Kabbalah Meditation. Participants will learn to understand the chakra system in Judaism known as Sefirot. Rabbi David will uncover the secrets of Jewish mysticism in simple and accessible language, and in ways that can benefit daily life. Class will take place on four Thursdays: June 21 and 28, July 12 and 19 from 5-6 pm. Class fee is $30 and pre-registration is requested by calling 541-488-7716. Available via live streaming for those unable to attend in person. The Havurah Synagogue is located at 185 N Mountain Ave., Ashland.
Join us under the big tree in the center of Overlook Park to welcome Shabbat!
Pack a picnic and bring a friend! Live music starts at 6 pm; informal prayer and songs start around 6:30 pm.
Service animals welcome; please leave family pets at home.
From now through September, every Friday night (except 4th Friday) at Congregation Neveh Shalom, you can enjoy our beautiful NW summer evenings singing, praying and schmoozing outside on our upper plaza! If weather doesn’t allow us to be outside, we will meet in the Stampfer Chapel.