Enid Traisman finds joy where some find only sorrow. As director of the Pet Loss Support Program at DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital, she’s learned the importance of belonging to a group and that grief shared is grief diminished. She knows bereavement is not species specific, and people who lose a beloved animal deserve support. “I’ve…
Eat your vegetables! A plea to young children, a demand to teenagers, who would skip straight to dessert if allowed, and a reminder to all of us that a steady stream of vegetables in our diet is just a darn good idea. I love to begin a meal with a fresh and tasty salad. Plain…
A Portland teen’s d’var Torah on marriage freedom has gone viral, getting more than 100,000 hits in its first two weeks online. Duncan McAlpine Sennett, who became a bar mitzvah at Congregation Beth Israel on Nov. 9, delivered his d’var Torah about parashat Vayetzei, which details Jacob’s marriage to Leah and Rachel. Duncan notes that…
A dream more than two years in the making became a reality for members of Congregation Shir Tikvah on Portland’s Eastside on Friday evening, Sept. 27. The congregation inaugurated a new Shir Tikvah-specific prayer book, or siddur, as part of its annual Simchat Torah celebration and honored congregants who went through a painstaking process leading…
James Phelps may be director of development at Portland Jewish Academy and the Mittleman Jewish Community Center, but when it comes to taxes, he has problems. He and his partner originally filed both state and federal returns individually. When Oregon passed the Domestic Partnership law, he filed state taxes jointly and federal individually, thereby confounding…
University of Oregon sophomore Erin Horwitz was recently awarded a campus fellowship with the anti-genocide organization Jewish World Watch for the 2013-14 academic year. Founded in 2004, JWW is a nonprofit organization that draws on traditional Judaic values while aiding in the fight against the ongoing crimes against humanity in Sudan and the Congo. JWW…
Vancouver teen Mitchell Kaiser, a senior at the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics, was only 11 when he became aware of the issue of clean water. Dismayed at the pollution in local rivers and streams, he began volunteering with StreamTeam, an initiative that improves the health of the watershed. In the ninth grade Mitchell…
This summer campers at Camp Solomon Schechter were introduced to a new challenge – a 45-foot climbing tower. The structure, nestled against the woods at the end of the sports field, features two different walls, one for beginner-to-intermediate climbers and the other for advanced-to-expert climbers. “Having some variability in the difficulty on each wall has…
Connections are something we seek as humans. They broaden our frame of reference, make us feel a part of something and help us understand the world we live in. Connections are a big component of camp – allowing kids to connect with friends, Judaism and different opportunities while offering the chance to disconnect from technology…
Holocaust Remembrance Concert Presented by the Jewish Community Orchestra Sunday, April 14th 3:00pm at the MJCC Elizabeth Byrd, cello Appert, Elegy for string orchestra Bruch, Kol Nidrei, op.47 Faure, Elegy, op.24 Schubert, Symphony No. 8 “Unfinished” Tickets available at the door $10 adults $8 seniors $5 students Children under 6 FREE www.jewishcommunityorchestra.org 503-806-2494
