Portland singers Margie Rosenthal and Ilene Safyan have re-released their award-winning children’s recording, as the title says, “Just in Time for Chanukah!” The CD won the 1995 Parents Choice Magazine Gold Medal Award for Excellence, was featured and recommended in the Hadassah Magazine, LA Times, Entertainment Weekly, the American Library Association, Long Island Parenting News…
Emilia Wolf, 17, drew on her grandfather’s story as “a symbol and a reflection of the history of Jewish people in the diaspora” to write an award-winning essay earlier this year. Emilia’s essay was one of six high school essays out of 500 entries to be honored by the Morris J. and Betty Kaplun Foundation’s…
Next year in Jerusalem Seven Portland teenagers had the time of their lives in Israel last summer. Now they are encouraging friends and classmates to sign up for next summer’s The Jerusalem Journey. Isabel (Izzy) Dreyfus says she promotes the trip “every chance I get. I’m already working on convincing one of my friends.” Mai…
The practice of yoga is on the rise. More than 20 million adults reportedly practice yoga, and now even preschoolers are getting in on the myriad benefits of the activity. Yoga for the youngest set is offered in at least two Jewish Portland settings. The Mittleman Jewish Community Center offers several sessions of kids’ yoga…
While becoming a bar mitzvah is as ancient as the Jews themselves, bar mitzvah projects are relatively new. Today many synagogues include tzedakah projects in their bar and bat mitzvah preparations. To them, mitzvot include both commandments and social action. In Portland, the projects are as varied as the multitude of synagogues and interesting people…
Isaac Vergun knew about climate change before meeting Bill McKibben – co-founder of 350.org and author of Oil and Honey: The Education of an Unlikely Activist – in front of 400 people in Vancouver, WA. When Isaac asked Bill, “Do you think that an 11-year-old like me with a supportive family could get a local…
Ask Helen Dear Helen: My son has attended 10 b’nai mitzvah in the last two years. Each required a gift and new clothes, expensive for parents of a growing-too-fast-to-believe preteen. There seems to be not very subtle competition among parents about who can produce the most impressive shindig (with the loudest/biggest band, most expensive caterer,…
PARTY PLANNERS BLC Events 02380 SW Military Road Portland, OR 97219 503-310-4467 blcevents.com BLC Events is an event concierge and planning company. We handle all sorts of events including weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs and corporate parties. We are best known for our creative ideas, unique touches and attention to every last detail. It’s the details that…
Portland teen Yosef O’Brien has begun an elite education program in Israel for students gifted in science. Yosef, 14, is the only U.S. student in this year’s Anières Elite Academy program. Other than one student from Canada, the 30-student class is made up of teens from the former Soviet Union. Anières, a program for gifted…
Photo: A bat mitzvah party in Ashland. PARTY PLANNERS BLC Events 02380 SW Military Road Portland, OR 97219 503-310-4467 blcevents.com BLC Events is an event concierge and planning company. We handle all sorts of events including weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs and corporate parties. We are best known for our creative ideas, unique touches and attention to…
