Jewish weddings have always been a community priority. The patriarch Abraham went to great lengths to arrange the marriage of his son, Isaac, to Rebekah. And the great medieval sage Maimonides included marriage in his listing of the 613 commandments incumbent upon Jews. Closer to home, no sooner had the first Jewish young men arrived…
Mazel tov to you, new bride! You may have been waiting for this day for a long time, and finally it has arrived. Get ready for your entire world to change because with the word “yes,” the whirlwind of happy, excited energy has just begun. There are a million and one things to think about,…
As education director of Havurah Shalom, Deborah Eisenbach-Budner knows about developing strong Jewish identity. When it comes to internationally adopted children, she also knows “what’s in a name.” Parents’ hopes for their child’s faith and sense of belonging, she says, are often revealed by the names they choose. RozaBess Aizhan, 4, the daughter she adopted…
The death of four commercial fishermen on Dec. 11, 2001, when their 40-foot aluminum fishing vessel Nesika capsized a half-mile west of Yaquina Head, marked a turning point for each of the men’s families. It was the first day that the Dungeness crab fleet put to sea that year – a cold, dirty day on…
He’s a klezmer violin virtuoso, a composer, an arranger, a filmmaker, the author of 13 books, a playwright and a photographer, and he has conducted original ethno-graphic and musical research in Eastern Europe. In short, Yale Strom is a one-man walking Jewish cultural storehouse. Strom started his multifaceted love affair with Jewish culture in the…
One of the greatest gifts of Jewish learning is how, in the hands of a gifted teacher, texts that were formulated centuries ago can be made relevant to modern lives. Case in point: “Overcoming Your Inner Pharaoh,” an interactive workshop series taught by Eugene’s Shmuel Shalom Cohen. The premise is simple but elegant. Shmuel posits…
For more than a decade, the Women’s Day of Jewish Learning has annually brought together a diverse group of women to study and explore Jewish texts with a nosh. This year Rabbi Dara Frimmer, of Temple Isaiah in Los Angeles, will help women “re-encounter the classic story of Esther retold through a contemporary lens.”“Rosh Hodesh,…
For young adults, going off to college can be a thrilling journey into the unknown. As exciting and liberating as that journey can be, it can also be a disorienting shift, and having a home away from home can be a big help. For many Jewish students, Hillel is that home. The largest Jewish campus…
Since the majority of teenagers take driver’s ed and many college- bound students take SAT prep courses, Portland’s NCSY now offers both courses specifically for Jewish teens. “Jewish Driver’s Ed and Jewish SAT Prep were designed for Jewish teens to meet each other without additional scheduling conflicts,” says Meira Spivak, NCSY’s Oregon teen programming director….
Nineteen-year-old Josh Israel was a typical Portland teenager. He spent most of his time studying, watching television or playing video games with his friends. A graduate of Portland Jewish Academy and Riverdale High School, he says during his senior year he realized he wanted to do something different with his life. “I hadn’t done anything…
