Calendar

Sep
20
Thu
“Why commit suicide? After all, ‘Everything he hated was here!’: Philip Roth and Kitaj on Death, Sex, and Love” Roger Porter lectures on Philip Roth and R.B. Kitaj @ Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education
Sep 20 @ 7:00 pm

Philip Roth and R.B. Kitaj became good friends in London during the ’80s, and the painter influenced Roth in many ways, especially for the title character of Roth’s greatest novel, Sabbath’s Theater. Roger Porter, Professor of English and Humanities, Emeritus, Reed College focuses his lecture on Roth and Kitaj’s shared attitudes, or perhaps those of their characters and their painterly subjects, regarding desire, ecstasy, and the inevitable demise. The title of the lecture is a paraphrase of a quote by the protagonist Sabbath on the last page of Roth’s Sabbath’s Theater.

Jan
14
Mon
Used Book Collection @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Jan 14 – Mar 15 all-day

 

Support the MJCC and PJA communities by donating books for our annual Used Book Sale.

Book Collection Drive: January 14 – March 15. Donate your used books to the MJCC. Drop off at the front desk. Need a pickup? Email pjabooksale@gmail.com to schedule pickup. No encyclopedias, please.

The Book Sale will be at the MJCC March 31 – April 2
Free and open to the community.

 

Mar
10
Sun
Art + Spirit Workshop @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Mar 10 @ 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Art + Spirit Workshop

Willa Schneberg, poet and ceramic artist, will join us for a two-hour workshop based on poems by Jewish poets that are in part inspired by biblical texts. Discussion, prompts, visualizations and opportunities to write, sketch, move and imagine will be provided.

Cost: $18.
Tickets: oregonjcc.org/art-spirit

In partnership with ORA: Northwest Jewish Artists

Mar
31
Sun
Used Book Collection + Sale @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Mar 31 – Apr 2 all-day

Used Book Collection + Sale

Support the MJCC and PJA communities during our annual Used Book Sale. Find thousands of books at great prices!

Book Collection Drive: January 14 – March 15. Donate your used books to the MJCC. Drop off at the front desk. Need a pickup? Email pjabooksale@gmail.com to schedule pickup. No encyclopedias, please.

Book Sale: March 31 – April 2
Sunday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Monday 8:00 am – 7:00 pm
Tuesday 8:00 am – 7:00 pm

Free and open to the community.

Aug
1
Thu
Art + Spirit Workshop: Entering into the Shiviti @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Aug 1 @ 6:30 pm

Art + Spirit Workshop: Entering into the Shiviti

Through the traditional Jewish art form known as the Shiviti, we will study, contemplate and enter into artistic expression. Please bring the medium of your choice — visual and expressive arts, songwriting and composing, sculpture, glass, fabric arts and more. A half-hour talk on the history, mystical practice and examples of traditional and contemporary forms will be followed by Q&A, Shiviti gazing, time to create your own Shiviti art work and debriefing.

Rabbi Dr. Goldie Milgram is an artist, educator, author and spiritual guide honored by the Covenant Foundation and National Jewish Book Council for her innovative programs, books, and resources. Her new book release is Wisdom from Reb Zalman: Embracing the Jewish Spirit (Reclaiming Judaism Press).

Thursday, Aug. 1
6:30 pm

Cost: $18.
Register: oregonjcc.org/artandspirit
In partnership with ORA

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
1
Sun
ORA Holiday Art Sale @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Dec 1 – Dec 6 all-day

Looking for a great holiday gift? Local artists from ORA will be in the MJCC lobby all week selling all forms of artwork.
Sunday – Friday, December 1 –  6

Dec
14
Sat
Young Family PJ Havdallah @ Congregation Neveh Shalom
Dec 14 @ 5:15 pm – 7:30 pm

Young Family PJ Havdallah

Saturday, December 14, 5:15-7:30pm

Young families say goodbye to Shabbat in our PJs with dinner, stories, art and fun at Congregation Neveh Shalom

$30/family or included with the Shul Pass with RSVP required.

RSVP: nevehshalom.org/pjhavdallah

Please note: Programs are subject to change; please contact the office for more information: 503.246.8831 or visit the website at: www.nevehshalom.org

Aug
7
Fri
Virtual Film Screening + Discussion – Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel
Aug 7 – Aug 11 all-day

Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel
Directed by Seth Kramer, Daniel A. Miller, and Jeremy Newberger

A stirring story of sports, patriotism and personal growth, Heading Home charts the underdog journey of Israel’s national baseball team competing for the first time in the World Baseball Classic. After years of defeat, Team Israel is finally ranked among the world’s best in 2017, eligible to compete in the prestigious international tournament. Their line-up included several Jewish American Major League players―Ike Davis, Josh Zeid and ex-Braves catcher Ryan Lavarnway―most with a tenuous relationship to Judaism, let alone having ever set foot in Israel. Their odyssey takes them from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem where they are greeted as heroes, to Seoul where they must debunk their has-been, wannabe reputations. With their Mensch on the Bench mascot by their side, the team laughs, cries, and does much soul-searching, discovering the pride of representing Israel on the world stage.

Cost: Suggested Donation of $5.00 per Household
Register Here

Stream the film starting on August 7 until midnight on August 9 and then join us August 11 at 6:30 PM for a Zoom discussion of the filmmakers led by Daniel A. Miller and Jeremy Newberger.

The link to stream the film and invitation to join the discussion will be provided after the registration deadline on August 6.