We are all used to the saying, “50% of marriages end in divorce,” but recent research pins the figure between 42-45%. The main contributing factor seems to be that fewer people are getting married. Many are opting to live together instead of tying the knot. There is one demographic, however, where divorce rates seem to…
Planning for a bar or bat mitzvah can become practically a full-time job with all of the decisions that need to be made from the venue to the favors. We searched party planning sites, Pinterest and blogs to see what some of the hottest trends happening in celebrations for 2018 are. We are happy to…
As a nurse practitioner, Lisa Weiner’s favorite thing was patient education to help people make positive changes. When she and her husband, Andrew Cohen, had their first son, Ezra, 10 years ago, she decided to leave her practice to spend more time with her family. Now with Ezra and his younger brother, Reuben, 6, both…
As a nurse practitioner, Lisa Weiner’s favorite thing was patient education to help people make positive changes. When she and her husband, Andrew Cohen, had their first son, Ezra, 10 years ago, she decided to leave her practice to spend more time with her family. Now with Ezra and his younger brother, Reuben, 6, both…
Preparing for a bat or bar mitzvah in America today means more than simply learning your Torah portion, writing a drash or picking the DJ for your after party. Many synagogues also suggest their b’nai mitzvah students undertake some kind of community service, commonly known as a mitzvah project. Mitzvah projects range from fundraising for a…
Israeli filmmaker Rama Burshtein’s gripping debut, “Fill the Void,” focuses on the quietly dramatic domestic lives of religious Jews in Israel. Even more unusual, however, is that the director is a member of that community, an observant Jew – and, as you probably discerned, a woman. Born in New York and a selfdescribed “wild child”…
“Being a curator means having to drill down to where your subject really is,” says Shoshanna Lansberg, when asked to define what she does for a living. “It’s not just dry information; it’s the how and the why that a curator helps you understand. You have to be able to focus on the integral part…
It looks like any other business park. Then you turn a corner and come upon a different world. The Chabad Jewish Center of Clark County’s new home radiates warmth and light with elegant Northwest materials and architecture. Stop by for a cup of tea in the living room, grab a book from the library or…
A 20th anniversary deserves a celebration, and Jane Goldhamer is doing it right. As a founding member of Kol Shalom, she’s planning the party to coincide with this year’s J-West Conference for Cultural, Humanistic and Secular Judaism (j- west.net), which will be held in Portland Aug. 30 through Sept. 1. Hoping to attract supporters throughout…
On Nov. 4, 1995, Portland native Lee Gordon stood in Kings of Israel Square in Tel Aviv, where Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was addressing a peace rally in support of the Oslo Accords. At the end of the rally, Gordon, along with thousands of other Israelis, watched in horror as Rabin was assassinated by…
