People and connections. They are our focus at Oregon Jewish Life. They are what a Jewish lifestyle magazine is all about. While I think every issue is motivated by the desire to share individual stories with universal messages, this month’s issue seems especially rich in personal journeys. In this issue, our freelance writers share stories…
We Jews have good reason to worry. We worry about all sorts of threats: the threat to Israel of a nuclear-armed Iran; the threat of terrorism against vulnerable Jewish institutions; the threat of anti-Semitism, which is on the rise in Europe; and the threat of assimilation, which, here in the diaspora, is diminishing our numbers….
Seth “The Dreidel” Hill hopes the spinning and jumping techniques he honed on Oregon sidewalks and ski slopes will carry him to the first Olympic snowboard slopestyle competition in February. “Basically slopestyle is a full run down the hill with different obstacles – three to four jumps and two or three rails or jibs,” explains…
Portland has become the darling of the national food media. The city’s chefs and restaurateurs routinely collect accolades and awards. Local haunts are featured in Bon Appétit Magazine and The New York Times. But for every restaurant that attracts an onslaught of frenzied foodies, another quietly goes about the business of satisfying customers without receiving…
For the past 12 years two Portland sisters have been training companies to use today’s presentation technology to communicate better. Of course in this rapidly evolving era in technology, today’s technology changes constantly, but the sisters and their team stay ahead of the curve. Janine Kurnoff and Lee Lazarus co-manage The Presentation Company, which now…
Tradition (just ask Tevye) is intimately intertwined with Judaism. Yet in Judaism tradition is always evolving and changing (again – ask Tevye!). In our Seniors special section this month, Golde Barde recalls the Old South Portland neighborhood where so many Jewish families lived. The richness of that close-knit community was scattered across the metro area…
Dear Helen, I am 54 and recently reconnected with my first true love on Facebook. We were a couple in high school and would probably have gotten married except for my mother’s interference. Insert vivid fights with her, and bad relationships for me, until I finally met my husband, who reminded me of my first…
For Beit Haverim student Emily Anderson, who has loved to read since she was very little, figuring out what to do for her bat mitzvah project was easy – she wanted to find an opportunity where she could help at-risk kids with their reading skills. “I thought I’d be helping kids who were at the…
For Beit Haverim student Emily Anderson, who has loved to read since she was very little, figuring out what to do for her bat mitzvah project was easy – she wanted to find an opportunity where she could help at-risk kids with their reading skills. “I thought I’d be helping kids who were at…
For variety and versatility, it’s hard to beat the cheese plate. A typical plate involves a celebration of tastes, textures and ingredients. In Portland you can enjoy a top-quality cheese assortment at wine shops, bistros and even food carts. Following are some of our favorite plates around town. Blackbird Wineshop & Atomic Cheese Bar Much…
