MAY 2012
Serving Oregon and SW Washington
Young Talented &Making Music Jessica Sindell
Highlights Getting Real with Real Estate Fit and Fabulous Seniors Introducing the NW Fashionista!
The End of Cancer is within Reach an evening with
Dr. Brian Druker
Director of the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute
Tuesday, May 15 at 7:30 pm Mittleman Jewish Community Center 6651 SW Capitol Highway, Portland
Dr. Druker is dedicated to making Oregon’s cancer death rate the lowest in the nation. Starting in the lab, he led the development and clinical trials of the drug Gleevec - the first of its kind, as a highly successful daily oral medication that targets damaged cells while leaving healthy cells alone with minimal side effects. Committed to promoting our vibrant community - highlighting excellence and innovation - the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland is proud to partner with Dr. Druker for this event - as we endeavor to improve the well-being and strength of our community.
Free of Charge - RSVPs encouraged Register at www.jewishportland.org/druker or call Rachel at 503.892.7413
Refreshments served - Open to all
Building a vibrant Jewish community. 503.245.6219 | www.jewishportland.org 6680 SW Capitol Highway | Portland, OR 97219
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Table of Contents
Volume 1/Issue 4
May 2012/Iyar-Sivan 5772
[COVER STORY/SYMPHONY]
26 30
Flute Fantasy: New principal brings young voice to Oregon Symphony Celebrated pianist Arnaldo Cohen returns to Portland
It’s time for Northwest Fashionistas to get ready for spring and summer. At right, Lauren Montelbano enjoys The Nines wearing a Calvin Klein dress from Macy’s. Below, Jessica Sindell is the new principal flutist at the Oregon Symphony.
PHOTO BY TATIANA WILLS
[REAL ESTATE]
24
16 Un-Real Estate Market: Recovery again gives homeowners sense that their home is their castle 20 First Came the Tram: Soon the OHSU Schnitzer Campus 22 Building owners, tenants reap rewards of professional property management [SENIORS]
36 42 45 47
How Fit Should a Senior Be? Fit enough to ‘do your own thing’ Century of Compassion: Dignity and honor define care of elders Senior events in full bloom Changing face of aging: Community explores ways to help seniors make wishes come true
26 At right, Tom Kramer seals a cap on a bottle of beer at the small Ambacht Brewery, where the two owner-brewers do everything by hand. Ambacht and Hair of the Dog Brewery and Tasting Room are featured in our Jews & Brews feature. This issue also offers an Israeli take on microbrews; be sure to read Amos Meron’s column on page 64. 6 MAY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
PHOTO BY TATIANA WILLS
[FEATURES]
12 State of Emergency: Doctor/lawyer/mom adds politics to her repertoire 34 Honoring Mothers: Chef puts Oregon twist on mother’s Jewish recipes 52 Jews & Brews 56 Let There Be Light … and Color! [Through the Ages]
58 Young Adult: Oregon college students attend J Street conference 59 Families: Mother’s wisdom is a lifelong gift 60 Teens: Where the teens are: JSU takes Jewish culture to area high schools [Columns]
24 32 51 62 64 65
52
Northwest Fashionista by Catherine Garvin Chef’s Corner by Lisa Glickman Ageless Advice by Elizabeth VanderVeer, M.D. An Oregonian in Israel by Mylan Tanzer An Israeli in Oregon by Amos Meron Life on the Other Side by Anne Kleinberg
[Connect]
66 Volunteers 67 Happenings
OR Jewish Life ad:Layout 1
4/23/12
9:58 AM
Page 1
Serving Oregon and SW Washington
Publishers Robert Philip and Cindy Saltzman
Advertising and Editorial Director Cindy Saltzman
Editor-In-Chief Deborah Moon
Sales Manager Cynthia Klutznick
Advertising Executive Debbie Taylor
Art Director Susan Garfield
Copy Editor Amy R. Kaufman
Cover Photography
“We are building on a legacy.” —Robin Runstein
Tatiana Wills
Columnists Catherine Garvin, Lisa Glickman Anne Kleinberg, Amos Meron Mylan Tanzer, Dr. Elizabeth VanderVeer
Contributing Writers Anne Koppel Conway, Joseph Lieberman, Liz Rabiner Lippoff, Lauren Murphy, Kerry Politzer, Sura Rubenstein, Elizabeth Schwartz, Victor Sharpe, Vanessa Van Petten How to reach us: Advertise@ojlife.com 503-892-7403 Art@ojlife.com Distribution@ojlife.com Editor@ojlife.com 503-892-7402 Publisher@ojlife.com 503-892-7403 subscriptions@ojlife.com
Oregon Jewish Life 6680 SW Capitol Hwy Portland, Oregon 97219 www.ojlife.com
A Prince Hal Production (TGMR18) The content and opinions in Oregon Jewish Life do not necessarily reflect those of the publishers, staff or contractors. Articles and columns are for informational purposes only and not intended as a substitute for professional advice. Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, Oregon Jewish Life, and its agents, publishers, employees and contractors will not be held responsible for the misuse of any information contained herein. The publishers reserve the right to refuse any advertisement. Publication of advertisements does not constitute endorsement of products or services.
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OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2012 7
Your mother’s strudel recipe The story of your family’s journey from the Old Country
Your passion for doing good What will you pass down to future generations? Sustain our vibrant Jewish community through a legacy gift to the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. Contact Laurie Rogoway at 503.245.6473 or laurie@jewishportland.org or visit www.jewishportland.org/jewishlegacy to find out how to begin. Building a vibrant Jewish community. 503.245.6219 | www.jewishportland.org 6680 SW Capitol Highway | Portland, OR 97219
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Editor’s Letter
Growing old doesn’t seem so scary anymore. When I was young, I often visited my grandmother in the nursing home where she lived after a series of strokes left her unable to live alone. While the nursing home was bright and clean, it felt like a hospital. After she died, I often heard my parents say they hoped they wouldn’t have to end their days in such a depressing environment. They were lucky. Both stayed home until they died in their 80s – my dad was healthy until the day he had a massive heart attack and my mom bought a house with my sister, enabling Mom to spend her final years in the comfort of her own home. Today, many seniors live longer, healthier lives. And society, perhaps driven by the aging baby boomers who don’t want to end up in a sterile nursing home, has recognized that more options are needed. Today, modern nursing homes are truly homes, not long-term hospitals. The sterile, depressing environment has been replaced by warm spaces with personal care. And retirement communities now offer a range of options including independent living, assisted living, rehabilitative services and skilled nursing care. Additionally, the proliferation of villages, aging-in-place communities and home-care options now allows many people to stay at home much longer than they did a generation ago. Inspired by the fifth commandment to honor one’s parents, the Jewish community has long had a progressive attitude toward senior care. This year, thanks to funding from the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, several agencies have created a variety of ideas to enrich the aging process. The menu of services they’ve cooked up will be the topic of their 15 Conversations with the Community. These focus groups will seek to find out what people want and need to make their lives and those of their parents more fulfilling into their 70s, 80s and beyond. This issue of Oregon Jewish Life includes stories about the past, present and future of senior care in Portland’s Jewish community. But the article I find most reassuring is the one that looks at two octogenarians and one nonagenarian who haven’t let age slow them down. Swimming, tennis, golf, racquetball and gardening are still enjoyable pursuits that they do well and often. Being active has its rewards. My own father-in-law is 90 and still hikes, bikes or walks every day. Last year he went on a 10-day hike in Italy’s Dolomites. This spring, he decided to skip the trans-Atlantic flight, which he said was the hardest part of last year’s adventure. Instead, he opted for an eight-day hike in the Grand Canyon. It’s all so inspiring. So, now I’m looking forward to those golden years when I’ll have the time to enjoy the leisure pursuits I now cram into evenings and weekends. If my father-in-law and the fit seniors in this issue are any indication, my evening and weekend cycling could be a passion I pursue for decades to come.
Deborah Moon Editor-in-chief
Congregation Shir Tikvah
5762 - 5772 Marking a decade of worship, education and celebration in an open, inclusive atmosphere on Portland’s East Side Come see, hear Erev Shabbat Celebration and experience Friday at 6:30 p.m. for yourself! Torah Study 621 NE 76th Ave.
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503.473.8227
Saturday at 9 a.m. Services Saturday at 10:30 a.m. www.shir-tikvah.net
OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2012 11
State of Emergency [up front]
by Lauren M. Murphy
Doctor/lawyer/mom adds politics to her repertoire
A
Drs. Sharon Meieran and Fred Cirillo with their, children Ella and Ben.
A glance at Dr. Sharon Meieran’s resume brings one word to mind: Superwoman. She’s a doctor, a lawyer and a mother of two; and this year Meieran is looking to add state representative to her long list of accomplishments. “I can’t remember a time when I haven’t done a lot of things at once,” says Meieran, with a laugh. Being busy is definitely when Meieran seems most at ease. After graduating from University of California, Hastings College of Law in her native San Francisco, Meieran worked as an intellectual properties lawyer helping Silicon Valley companies protect their inventions with trademarks. Though she enjoyed her work, Meieran felt increasingly drawn to the medical world and on her 30th birthday decided she would give medical school a try. She concentrated her studies on emergency medicine and graduated from the University of California, San Francisco with honors. After a stint in Cincinnati, Meieran and her husband, Fred Cirillo, a fellow doctor she met in medical school, moved to Portland in 2006 with their two young children. “I had many friends in Oregon and had visited Portland a lot. This was just a place I always thought I should be. That feeling never left me,” says Meieran. Since then she’s worked part time doing clinical shifts in hospital ERs throughout the Portland area and spends the rest of her time doing advocacy work and volunteering in her children’s school. 12 MAY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
Much of Meieran’s advocacy work revolves around education and public health care reform. Of particular importance to her is the growing crisis of prescription drug abuse. Over the past few years, she’s been a crucial voice pushing state legislation to monitor the prescribing of pain medication. In 2009, she helped gather a group of physicians to testify before the state senate in favor of a drug-monitoring program, which eventually passed. Since then, she’s been very proactive in setting statewide guidelines for how to prescribe such drugs in emergency departments. “There’s been tremendous support from public health agencies and hospitals. I’m very proud of that,” she says. It was during this time that Meieran caught the political bug and knew that when the time was right she would run for office. This turned out to be the right time for Meieran, and she began campaigning for state representative in House District 36 in August of 2011. Her medical background certainly gives her insight into the health care issues this state faces. Additionally, Meieran says the qualities that make for a good ER doctor also will benefit her in office. “You need to be a leader, but also a team player, and always be thinking on your feet,” she says. With health care transformation such a crucial issue facing Oregon and its residents, Meieran thinks someone with her background would be a perfect fit as a state representative. “There are nine lawyers in the House of Representatives, but not a single health care provider when this is such a crucial
issue at the moment,” says Meieran. “I bring experience in so many diverse areas – whether it’s mental health or women’s issues, public safety or children’s advocacy. You see all of this in the emergency room – it’s a real spectrum of everything that is going on in our society.” With two small children in the Portland public school system, education is another big issue for Meieran. “My kids go to our local school and I see firsthand through being in their classrooms what is happening. It’s really scary to me. We’re at a crisis point with the budget cuts and we have the potential to address the crisis,” Meieran says. “I think some of Governor Kitzhaber’s reforms are attempting to do that. One of the things I really love is his cradle-to-career approach and the integration of community colleges into public schools and a focus on vocational training, which I think is so important.” The respect is certainly mutual; Meieran is the only legislative candidate to have garnered Kitzhaber’s endorsement. “I’m so proud and honored to have that endorsement. Especially since he was a fellow emergency physician. I’ve learned a lot from him and admire his vision for health care reform,” she says. Another focus of Meieran’s campaign is the support of small businesses in Oregon, which Meieran calls the backbone of the community. “We need to do what we can to help them thrive,” she says. She believes that when small businesses thrive and expand so does our economy. As the primaries near, Meieran’s excitement builds, and win or lose she has no plans to slow down. In addition to her clinical
Gov. John Kitzhaber and Dr. Sharon Meieran both bring a background in emergency medicine to the table when they talk about health care reform.
shifts at Portland Adventist Medical Center, she also serves as president-elect of the Oregon College of Emergency Physicians, on the executive board of the Medical Society of Metropolitan Portland and on the Oregon Medical Association’s Legislative Committee. As if that weren’t enough, she also serves as copresident on the PTA board of her children’s school. Believe it or not, Meieran plans to continue all of these endeavors whether or not she becomes state representative. A recent Portland transplant, Lauren Murphy is a lifestyle writer and editor whose articles have been published in Los Angeles Confidential, Aspen Peak, Hamptons Magazine and The New Jersey Star Ledger. A native of the East Coast, she is enjoying getting to know her new city and writing all about it. She can be reached at laurmmurph@gmail.com.
Oregon’s Original Sephardic Synagogue Installation Dinner for Rabbi Kaplan
Sunday, June 3, 2012 Congregation Ahavath Achim 3225 SW Barbur Boulevard, Portland
• Services conducted in the Sephardic and Israeli Custom • Welcoming Jews of all background • Friday evening services every week at sunset
Hors D’oeuvres & Cocktails ~ 5:30pm Program & Dinner ~ 6:30pm Dinner under the supervision of Oregon Kosher
Couvert ~ $54 per person Sponsorship opportunities available Space is limited, please RSVP before May 20th For information call (503) 227-0010 www.AhavathAchim.com/dinner
• Shabbat morning services at 9 am, followed by lunch and festive Kiddush
Congregation Ahavath Achim 3225 SW Barbur Blvd Portland, OR 97239 www.AhavathAchim.com
Rabbi Michael Kaplan Office: (503) 227-0010 Cell: (503) 610-3850 rabbi@ahavathachim.com OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2012 13
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[REAL ESTATE]
-
Un
Estate Market Recovery again gives homeowners sense that their home is their castle by Victor Sharpe
The old saying that an Englishman’s home is his castle means, according to an 18th-century British Prime Minister: “The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the crown. It may be frail, its roof may shake, the wind may blow through it, the storm may enter, the rain may enter – but the King of England cannot enter.” In the United States, Englishman has been removed from the phrase but American homeowners have likewise viewed their home, however modest, as their castle. Until recently, they saw their “castle” increasing in value year by year almost as certainly as day followed night. The housing crisis, which began in 2008 with its continuing spate of tragic foreclosures and more and more homes worth less than the mortgage owed on them, created a dire situation that still plagues millions of homeowners throughout the United States. According to the February 2012 report by the National Association of Realtors: “The existing home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, slipped 0.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.59 million in February from an upwardly revised 4.63 million in January.” This may not seem like good news about the housing market, but such sales were actually 8.8 percent higher than
Portland Metro Residential Highlights
2012 2011
March
Change
March
Year-to-date March Year-to-date Year-to-date
In March 2012, the median sale price of Portland area homes increased .3% over the previous year and were sold an average of 26 days faster than in March of 2011.
16 MAY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
Real the 4.22 million-unit level a year earlier in February 2011. The report indicates that as of the end of February 2012, there is a six-month supply of inventory nationally at the current sales pace. But what are the conditions in the local Portland market and other cities in Oregon, such as Salem and Bend, and how do they compare with the rest of the country? Well, according to a recent segment on the Jeff Kropf show on KUIK radio, there is good news in the local real estate market. Dave Hopkins of Summa Real Estate told Kropf that he had “just enjoyed an amazing week of real estate sales with multiple offers in different parts of Portland.” Hopkins said that in Portland, “Realtors are seeing the lowest inventory levels since 2007, which contrasts favorably with much of the rest of the U.S.” Hopkins, however, bemoaned the fact that even with higher offers, local banks send out appraisers who value the properties at several thousand dollars less than the highest offer. With the normal capitalist truism that supply and demand rule, less supply must surely mean that prices go up. Right? “Local banks and appraisers,” Hopkins suggested, “are not recognizing such facts.” “Buyers and sellers make the market, but the banks,” as Hopkins points out, “are sitting on billions of dollars, yet are not giving appropriate appraisals, and it is a source of much frustration.”
Median Sale Price
Total Market Days
215,000
135
212,000
135
215,000
161
215,000
165
-3.3%
-16.3%
-1.4%
-17.9%
*Figures from Market Action, a publication of RMLS, The Source for Real Estate Statistics in Your Community — Residential Review: Metro Portland, Oregon March 2012 Reporting Period.
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SOLD
That aside, Hopkins believes that the Portland metro area is now below three months in total inventory, which includes all the foreclosures in the market and the short sales. He pointed out that Salem is not as hot a market as Portland. Bend, because it is more of a recreational area, is still lagging. But when inventory finally is depleted, it is a market that has a tendency to fly back quickly. Nevertheless in both Bend and Salem, prices have trended down around 2% so far this year, he said. Hopkins added that in Bauer Woods, in northwest Washington County, “You can barely keep a house in the market and prices are up 5 to 6% there right now.” Other rising neighborhoods include Hawthorne, Fremont, Beaumont and Alberta Arts. So perhaps, at least in much of the Portland metro area, the old adage that one’s home is one’s castle may be coming true again, even though it was battered and breached by an unprecedented economic and financial storm in what, for so many, became an Un-Real Estate Market. Victor Sharpe is a prolific freelance writer with articles and essays published in FrontPageMag.com, Townhall.com, Outpost, The Jewish Press, American Thinker, Renew America, Israel News Daily, Family Security Matters, Canada Free Press, Jewish Voice & Opinion, Page One Daily, The Jerusalem Connection, Israel National News and many other publications.
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[REAL ESTATE]
First Came the Tram:
Soon the OHSU Schnitzer Campus
Courtesy of OHSU
by Victor Sharpe
Wherever two mighty rivers come together, a human settlement is eventually established and in time evolves into a city. So it has been for Portland, which from its earliest days established a thriving maritime trade. As far back as the mid-19th century, merchant ships sailed to Liverpool, England, and to China from their moorings on the Willamette River, passing into the broad Columbia and out into the oceans of the world. Both sides of Portland’s Willamette River saw businesses sprout up with grain terminals and shipbuilding facilities. Land on the west bank of the river became the center of industrial endeavors ranging from lumber mills to smelting plants. Interestingly, the city had its bad old days when the name Portland was synonymous with shanghaiing, the American equivalent of the English practice of the press gang, when innocent individuals suddenly found themselves dragged off the streets and forced to become sailors – practically slaves forced to serve on board ship. Bunko Kelly and the tunnels of doom leading down to the “slave ships” on the waterfront of the old Willamette are now, fortunately, long gone. Fast forward to the present – in the year 2000, the city of Portland realized its river frontage was not only the natural jewel in the city’s crown but an area with even more potential. Just as London celebrates its Thames, Paris has the Seine, Rome has its Tiber, and scores of cities around the world benefit from riparian tourism and the economic benefits it brings, Portland should boast about the immense benefits of the river flowing through its heart. What eventually became known as the River Renaissance project evolved and, in May 2007, led to an exciting plan, 20 MAY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
an integral part of which was the development of the South Waterfront district. The plan called for “mixed use” urban development, high-rise apartments, office buildings, parks and greenways. The development was designed to convert some 6,500 feet of riverfront that was formerly industrial land. A follow-up to the plan envisioned a 19-acre waterfront campus on centrally located land destined to become a new campus for the Oregon Health & Science University. Enabling the imaginative project to reach fruition was the 2004 donation of 20 acres of waterfront property to OHSU. This remarkable gift to both the university and to the City of Portland came from the Schnitzer Investment Corp. At the time, OHSU President Joe Robertson said, “Rarely does a gift create an opportunity to physically transform an institution. The Schnitzer family’s gift was just such an opportunity.” Not long afterwards, an anonymous donor pledged $40 million to further expand OHSU’s new campus, with special emphasis on helping to overcome the shortage of medical professionals in Oregon through training at the proposed South Waterfront campus. At the same time, it dramatically brought forward the timeline for construction of the campus. The Schnitzer Campus Vision created in May 2007 and the subsequent Strategic Framework Plan for its implementation was the impetus for OHSU to expand its long-term facilities plan and create a transformative graduate school of health and science on the banks of the Willamette River, just a tram ride from its Marquam Hill facility. Despite initial resistance, the Portland Tram, now an icon in 21st-century Portland, connects the OHSU campus on
Courtesy of OHSU
On Oct. 13, 2011, three of Oregon’s top universities broke ground on a unique project that will combine the resources of these nationally respected institutions to benefit all 96,000 square miles of the state. The Oregon University System/ OHSU Collaborative Life Sciences Building will place portions of Oregon Health & Science University, Oregon State University and Portland State University under one roof. The facility will extend partnerships between the universities, create new employment opportunities and expand the schools’ teaching facilities, class sizes and research activities.
Marquam Hill with the riverside campus. According to OHSU, “The tram cabins travel 3,300 linear feet between the South Waterfront terminal adjacent to OHSU’s existing Center for Health & Healing, and the upper terminal at the Kohler Pavilion on OHSU’s main campus. Traveling at 22 miles per hour, the tram cabins rise 500 feet for the threeminute trip over I-5, the Lair Hill neighborhood and the Southwest Terwilliger Parkway.” Supporters of the Schnitzer Campus hold that it is uniquely located relative to the rest of the city of Portland. Planners believe it provides a new and vibrant neighborhood on the northern part of the South Waterfront district, which will be easily accessible to downtown Portland and especially to Portland State University via TriMet. Critics are concerned whether TriMet will have enough capacity to carry the flow of students between PSU and the new campus. But the Oregon Legislature and media outlets across the state have praised the evolving collaborative project for its future impact. “This innovative project, brimming with economic potential … should be a no-brainer,” stated an early editorial in The Oregonian. “It could be the cornerstone of a powerful new economic engine and educational dynamo for all of Oregon.” In 2010, the OHSU Schnitzer Campus was the subject of a Blue Ribbon Panel of OHSU and community stakeholders who came together and decided that the new campus would be the ideal location to also construct educational and clinical facilities to replace Marquam Hill’s outdated School of Dentistry. The panel determined that building a new dental school within the emerging complex in the same time frame could leverage the investments, including an additional $27 million in donations. Much of OHSU’s future growth, particularly academic and outpatient facilities, will occur on the approximately 26 acres that the University owns along Portland’s South Waterfront District. Victor Sharpe is a freelance writer and author of several books including Politicide and The Blue Hour.
The 480,000-square-foot building will include lecture halls, classrooms, labs, specialty research centers, offices and a state-of-the-art facility for the OHSU School of Dentistry. The Collaborative Life Sciences Building will foster collaboration in undergraduate and graduate education between students and instructors from multiple institutions. The new facility is slated to open August 2013 for PSU’s Fall term with full completion by Spring 2014 for OHSU and OSU research and academic programs.
OUS/OHSU Collaborative Life Sciences Building will include: • Skourtes Tower: New cutting-edge learning space and clinic for the OHSU School of Dentistry
• PSU’s biology and chemistry lectures and laboratories • Education space for OHSU’s medical students (MS1-2) and dental students (DS1-4), physician assistants and radiation technologists
• OSU’s College of Pharmacy (3rd year of joint OSU/OHSU program)
• A state-of-the-art simulation center where clinical teams (doctors, nurses, PAs, staff) train side by side
• OHSU Center for Spatial Systems Biomedicine • Labs for research in basic and applied science and engineering
• Shared instrumentation labs with electron microscopy, NMR and other specialized, sophisticated instrumentation
• Ground floor retail space for lease
Learn with us on Tikun leil Shavuot May 26 at 8:30pm-midnight Guest speaker - The Honorable Michael H. Simon, U.S. District Judge Free event, all are welcome
www.shaarietorah.org • 503.226.6131 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2012 21
[REAL ESTATE]
Building owners, tenants reap rewards of professional property management by Deborah Moon Property ownership has long been considered a stable investment. With the stock market dive in late 2008, many investors fled volatile equities for real property. Though property values also fell, many still consider property a good long-term option. But owning rental properties and managing them are two very different prospects. Property management companies help investors protect their investment by ensuring the property is kept in good repair and also keeping rental income flowing in. “The property owner is removed from the day-to-day problems that arise in the operation of any property,” says Jeff Reingold, president of the 38-year-old Income Property Management Co. “Building maintenance, tenant relations, accounting, payroll, materials selection and purchasing, as well as supervision of on-site staff and compliance with applicable landlord-tenant regulations are but a few of the areas in which the experience of professional managers can be of benefit to a property owner.” Professional property managers also are tuned into the local rental market and can analyze and price rental units competitively to keep units rented.
Many owners especially appreciate not having to deal with the inconvenience of providing 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-aweek emergency response and urgent maintenance requests for residents. “Prompt response to repair requests is a critical aspect of management at which professional firms excel,” says Reingold. Ongoing relationships with a variety of vendors typically enable property managers to respond quickly to repair requests, which maintains the value of the property for the owners while making life easier for the tenants. “Well-maintained properties do hold their value better than those that have deferred maintenance,” says Reingold. “This is true on several levels. Generally, the better maintained and more attractive property is going to rent faster and to a better qualified resident than one that suffers from deferred maintenance. Not only that, the building owner will also benefit from more satisfied residents and a longer average tenancy (resulting in lower turnover costs) if the property is well maintained. “On another level, when the property owner is ready to sell or exchange the property, he or she will find that purchasers will place a premium on well-maintained buildings that do not show signs of significant deferred maintenance.”
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[FASHION]
Northwest Fashionista Five fun style trends for Spring & Summer
by Catherine Garvin
Fashion and fun don’t always go together in the Pacific wind and rain. In fact, getting motivated to wear anything besides athletic wear can be a style puzzler. So, what is the Northwest Fashionista up against? A closet full of clothes with nothing to wear; and how does she define the trends and translate “In Vogue” design elements? Fashion model Lauren Main shows off Bar III fashions from Macy’s.
Photos by Tatiana Wills Fashion and accessories courtesy of Macy’s Downtown Portland, with a special thank you to store manager Emily Flint Location: Thank you to The Nines in Portland Fashion Stylist: Lauren Montelbano
Catherine Garvin, fashion writer and playwright, writes about national fashion, Portland style and Portland music for www.examiner.com. Her fashion video series, “How I Found Myself in Vogue,” recreates million dollar style for the ambitious woman who dresses to dazzle at home, work and play right from the closet. Visit her on Facebook or www.examiner.com/stylein-portland/catherine-garvin, or follow her on twitter: @CatherineGarvin.
Accessories from Macy's.
Fashion Forward Design
For Sophisticated Soles…
Who is the Northwest Fashionista anyway? “She is interested in being unique in her style,” says Patricia Zanger Bonnet, boutique owner. “She’s independent, vintage inspired and versatile,” according to Sarah Bibb, a Portland fashion designer. I say, “She’s an ambitious woman who dresses to dazzle at home, work and play.” What do you think? Do you have an inner fashionista who needs a little fun? Let’s take on fashion and discover a few simple how-to strategies with five fun fashion trends for spring and summer. Bold Color: Bright, bold colors are everywhere and on everything, even pants. Pants? Yes, pants with bold colors are intimidating. So start small – wear a bold colored chunky watch, shoes and a skinny belt. Give your inner fashionista permission to live a little with colors like tangy tangerine, lemon yellow and passion pink. Whee, feels like fun already. Floral prints, painterly patterns and polka dots: This trend can be tricky. Floral prints and painterly patterns can overwhelm the figure and take over your personal style. Be sure to keep this trend in check – wear a floral or painterly print on a lovely dress or scarf and keep polka dots on shorts, bikini and/or a cute summer tunic top or blouse. Want to know what feels really good? Shop your closet for these trends first before spending any money. Yippee. Retro and vintage inspired: ’20s, ’40s, ’60s and ’70s trends are revisited in all areas of fashion this year. Want to be a Lucy and Desi look-alike? No problem. Portland is chock-full of vintage boutiques with great fashion finds, and dare I say this again? Fun … hee hee. Wedge ’70s shoe: Buy a pair. Why? Because this is a shoe you will wear with everything this year. Try on a traditional leather style or make a wide fashion turn and choose a wedge shoe with a floral print and/or bold color. Preppy pretty: Blazers, polo tees and ballet flats. The Northwest Fashionista can afford to invest in this trend because a blazer is classic and never goes out of style. Replace that worn out fleece zip-up with a classic blazer and feel a new sense of fashion confidence. Polo tees and ballet flats are keepers of the fashion flame and worth every penny. Find one of these in your closet or purchase one in a bold color and your inner fashion diva will smile.
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[COVER STORY]
Newly appointed principal flutist Jessica Sindell’s honeymoon period with the Oregon Symphony has spawned a surprising new passion: Playing pops.
“I thought they’d be a breeze, but rhythmically it’s more challenging to learn than a classical piece,” said Sindell, 23, an Eastman School of Music graduate who began her gig with the Portland orchestra in January. “We had a Benny Goodman concert and the conductor said in certain pieces he wanted us to just ‘swing.’ Everyone around me picked it up quickly. I did too, but I’m not used to the genre. I had to take it home and practice ‘swing.’ In this odd way, it’s more challenging and makes the classical easier.”
Sindell first picked up the flute in fifth grade. “I figured out how to vibrato on the instrument and ran to tell my mother. We got so excited. Then I auditioned for the school band.” Her father, who played cello, taught Jessica her first three chords on the piano.
Visiting recently from Cleveland, Steven Sindell joined his daughter mid-interview at a downtown Portland hotel, soon offering musical tidbits and chatting about his sister, violinist Carol Sindell, who teaches at Portland State University. He also reminisced fondly about family outings spent at a Cleveland Jewish community center with his wife, the Israeli-born pianist and entertainer Rachel Sindell; son Daniel, now 21; and Jessica, who loved participating in Jewish-styled theatrical productions. During what “could have been” her bat mitzvah year, Jessica visited Israel and met up with Grandma Tova, “who cooked like no other.” Tova Gilboa, an Auschwitz survivor in her 80s, has visited the family home in Cleveland.
Fantasy New principal brings young voice to Oregon Symphony by Greta Beigel
26 MAY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
While in high school, the aspiring flutist found great inspiration studying with Martha Aarons, Cleveland Orchestra’s then second chair. “I would go to concerts and hearing my own teacher play had a huge impact on me,” she recalled. “Martha was strict about what she wants from me, in terms of technique and sound, and knew exactly how to prepare me for college auditions.” Similarly, flutist Bonita Boyd, Sindell’s instructor at Eastman at the University of Rochester, NY, was pivotal in fostering her young charge’s leadership potential, encouraging Sindell to audition solely for principal slots.
“I felt if Jess plays in a principal position she will be heard,” said Boyd, a soloist who for 16 years occupied the first chair with the Rochester Philharmonic. “This is very important because her voice is so beautiful, so moving. “When you’re a principal you are heard as a soloist. This is very different to playing in a section which has its own demands, where part of the job is to blend and become a unit with the principal flute. It has to work that way.”
Receiving unconditional support from the ranks has proven yet another unexpected bonus for Sindell. “It’s a special experience to play with a second flutist who is so supportive,” she said of colleague Alicia DiDonato Paulsen. “This is not normally what happens in an orchestra. In my contract I can have relief and give up some pieces to my associate principal. But because I’m new to this job and what I know is limited she supports me in playing as much principal flute as possible.” She adds: “I want to play the solos. I want to show them what I’ve got. I want to tell my story.” Sindell, who signed a renewable one-year contract – then comes tenure – with the Oregon Symphony, remains free to pursue outside solo engagements,
“I felt if Jess plays in a principal position she will be heard. This is very important because her voice is so beautiful, so moving.” – Bonita Boyd, Eastman School of Music
OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2012 27
provided no scheduling conflicts arise. Counting concerti by Mozart, Ibert and Nielsen and more in her repertory, she deems concertizing a compatible path and cites as an example flutist James Galway, the one-time Berlin Philharmonic principal who went on to a stellar concert and recording career – classical, pop, film, you name it. For now, however, Sindell’s focus remains absorbing new works in advance of Oregon Symphony concerts. “I’m trying to learn works weeks ahead of time,” she says. “I can take a rest once I know it and come back closer to the dates. I’m not putting in too many hours of practice here, though. I have to be careful of my jaw; I have the rest of my life to worry about. Mental study has become major for me. I also listen and play with recordings. Yes, recordings can influence my interpretation, but if a conductor does not like it and tells me what he wants me to do, I’ll do it. It’s my job.” Oregon Symphony Music Director Carlos Kalmar remains cognizant of the learning curve she confronts. “It has to be understood that a lot of repertoire she has to play right now is brand new for her,” he indicated via e-mail. “She cannot rely on having played those pieces somewhere else. This makes her job more complex, but she has very experienced musicians around herself, and she is a quick study...” After a long practice routine, Sindell takes “mindless breaks” into social media. Yes, she absolutely has a Facebook page. No Twitter account. A friend updates her website. The flutist also likes to jam to self-created playlists on Pandora (internet) radio, and these days favors listening to French Café music. “There are so many different things I am taking in now,” she explains. “I have to sacrifice having fun like some of my college friends would typically do. In the end, when I feel really prepared on stage it is so rewarding; I did not get that sense of accomplishment in school. What a feeling to put a concert on the back burner when you 1/2 Page Ad / Oregonian Jewish Life: CL15/ACohen May Issue are finished and be able to say, ‘I just did that. I’ve really done that.’ And you get paid for it.”
“When I feel really prepared on stage it is so rewarding. I did not get that sense of accomplishment in school.” – Jessica Sindell, Oregon Symphony principal flutist
Greta Beigel, a former Los Angeles Times staff writer and arts editor, recently published Kvetch: One Bitch of a Life, a memoir about growing up Jewish and a gifted pianist in South Africa. She is the author of Mewsings: My Life as a Jewish Cat, and a short work about her father, A Jew from Riga, which are available on www.amazon.com.
“…poetically and imaginatively intrepid.” Gramophone
Arnaldo Cohen
Plays Tchaikovsky
Sat, May 12 | 7:30 pm Carlos Kalmar, conductor
Sun, May 13 | 2 pm
Mon, May 14 | 8 pm
• Arnaldo Cohen, piano
Britten: Four Sea Interludes and Passacaglia from Peter Grimes
• Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 Dvorák: Scherzo capriccioso
Sibelius: Symphony No. 7
THESE CONCERTS TO BE RECORDED!
Tickets start at $26 – while they last! Groups of 10 or more save: 503-416-6380
Call: 503-228-1353 Click: OrSymphony.org Come in: 923 SW Washington | 10 am – 6 pm Mon – Fri A R L E N E
SC H N ITZER
28 MAY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
CO N CERT
HAL L
SPONSORED BY
SW Main & Broadway · Portland Center for the Performing Arts
Gerding Theater at the Armory 128 NW Eleventh Avenue
503.445.3700
pcs.org
Dream Envision Foundation
Jewish Theatre Collaborative presents
Presents
Meet the Playwrights – A Forum Sat, June 9, 2012 at 2:00 pm Atrium at Wieden+Kennedy, 224 NW 13th Ave.
Playwrights Arthur Kopit, Constance Congdon, Lee Blessing & directors Marshall Mason & Daniel Irvine explore the
by Donald Margulies
directed by Sacha Reich
playwright’s process, from inception to
Dance at the Lomans’ 1960’s Bar Mitzvah while this Brooklyn family comes apart at the seams. Features Willy! a musical rendition of Death of a Salesman.
production.
Moderated by Lue Douthit, Literary Director of the Oregon
May 10- June 2
Shakespeare Festival
Thursday-Saturday 8 PM, Sunday 2 PM
Tickets $30/Students $20
www.profiletheatre.org 503.242.0080 ■
Arena Stage at Theater! Theatre!
3430 SE Belmont Street • TICKETS $15-20 General Admission • $30 Opening Night Gala May 12 jewishtheatrecollaborative.org or 24/7 Ticket Hotline: 1-800-838-3006
Celebrated pianist Arnaldo Cohen returns to Portland
by Elizabeth Schwartz
“The piano is an instrument that has autonomy; it can mean anything,” declares pianist Arnaldo Cohen, who sees the connection between his Judaism and his musical career as an expression of independence. “This kind of Jewish influence is on a very unconscious level and comes from most of the experiences I had in my life that are linked with music,” Cohen explains. “I always heard from my father that the most important thing to develop were the things nobody could take away from me. As a pianist you are self-sufficient; you don’t need a ministry, a factory or anything. Also, historically Jews weren’t allowed to enter a lot of professions, and I was always aware of that.” Over the course of his celebrated career, Cohen has made the piano “mean” any number of things. Cohen’s official biography notes that he “has a reputation for astonishing his audiences with the musical authority and blistering virtuosity of his performances. His graceful and unaffected platform manner belies playing of whitehot intensity, intellectual probity and glittering bravura technique bordering on sheer wizardry.” Cohen is a versatile performer, able to interpret the outsized personalities of Rachmaninoff, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky with equal ease. Cohen’s ability to inhabit the music of diverse composers derives from his multicultural roots. The child of both Sephardi and Ashkenazi parents, Cohen grew up in a tight-knit Jewish community in Rio de Janeiro. “My father’s parents originally came from Persia, from Tehran, and then moved to Palestine. My mother was born in Ukraine,” Cohen explains. “At home it was more Sephardic, but at school most of my friends were Ashkenazic, so I was immersed in both cultures and enjoyed the best of both, especially the food.” Although Cohen describes his family as more cultural than religious, he grew up with some level of observance, including five years of Hebrew school and a bar mitzvah. “When my parents got married, there was a big war between the Sephardim and Arnaldo Cohen performs Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Oregon Symphony on May 12, 13 and 14 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. For more information, go to www.orsymphony.org. 30 MAY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
the Ashkenazim,” Cohen recalls. “My grandpa was against Dad marrying Mom, but eventually he came around.” Cohen began playing violin at age 5. His father, a dentist, had a patient who directed a local conservatory. In a 2006 interview, Cohen recalled, “She convinced my father it would be good for his children to send them to a conservatory for a classical music education. You have to understand; my father grew up very poor. He was a very hardworking man who knew nothing about music. In his mind a piano was for a girl and the violin was for a boy. I started to play my sister’s music by ear on the piano. It got her upset and she started to scream. Finally my mother went to the director and told her she has caused a problem with the kids fighting all the time. The director said that I should have my own piano lessons so I can have my work and my sister will have her work. In short, you can say I started to play the piano to annoy my sister.” As a Jew in Brazil, Cohen developed the “outsider” identity of most Jews, as a member of both a minority culture and a minority religion, and says his minority status gives him insight into other outsiders – like Tchaikovsky, a closeted gay man in 19th-century Russia. “I’ve always had some sort of attraction to differences. Father used to tell me a story whenever I wanted to do something different from everyone else. ‘Imagine 100 soldiers and 99 are marching right-left, and one is marching left-right. Either this guy is an idiot or a genius.’ Exceptions are what carry the world along.” May marks Cohen’s third appearance with the Oregon Symphony, and he is looking forward to returning. “When I think about Portland, I think of
A R T I S T S R E P E R T O R Y T H E AT R E
Carlos [Kalmar, music director of the Oregon Symphony], the Chamber Music Society, the friends I have there, people from the audience who always come to my concerts whose faces I can identify. I don’t feel like a stranger here; it’s a bit like going home, in a way. It’s a community that is quite sophisticated culturally compared to many others. There’s a touch of Europe in Portland.” Cohen has equally warm feelings about playing with the Oregon Symphony. “The orchestra here is very good. There are orchestras that are considered some of the best in the world, but when you go there you don’t have the sense of enjoyment you do when you play in places like Oregon. Here it’s like playing for friends, and Carlos is a great musician, one of the most competent conductors of our time. You couldn’t ask for more.” Elizabeth Schwartz is co-host of The Yiddish Hour on 90.7 FM KBOO Community Radio and a freelance writer living in Portland.
“Jefferson has experience managing budgets through tough times to prioritize front-line services.” -- Debbie Hussey, 911 dispatcher
Representative Mitch Greenlick Representative Michael Dembrow Representative Lew Frederick Portland Commissioner Randy Leonard Senator Chip Shields Multnomah County Commissioner Diane McKeel Mc Learn more at
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T IX G E T YO U R
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Book a n d Lyrics b y
Brian Yorkey
Rock musical Composed b y
A P R 24 - J U N E 3
Tom Kitt
“Like all good musicals, it breaks your heart without crushing your hope.”
Directed by Jon Kretzu
3 T O N Y AW A R D S PULITZER PRIZE
2012/13 SEASON
“I started to play the piano to annoy my sister.”
-- Los Angeles Times
AN D SO I T GOES. . . by
AARON POSNER, ADAPTED FROM KURT VONNEGUT, JR. • S E P T 4 – O C T 7
SEVEN GUITARS by
AU G U ST W I L S O N • O C T 9 – N OV 1 1
SHERLOCK HOLMES
AND THE CASE OF THE CHRISTMAS CAROL by J OHN LONGENBAUGH • NOV 27 – DEC 23
THE LOST BOY by
S U SA N M AC H • JA N 8 – F E B 1 0
RED HERRING by
MICHAEL HOLLINGER • F E B 1 2 – M A R 1 7
THE INVISIBLE HAND by
AYAD AKHTAR • M A R 26 – A P R 28
TEN CHIMNEYS by
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OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2012 31
[FOOD]
Chef’s
Corner
Ricotta pancakes perfect for Mother’s Day or Shavuot
Even if you work outside the home full time, mom duties are still 24/7. We have an 11-year-old son with a very busy schedule. He plays several sports, studies hard at school, practices on the piano every day and studies Hebrew to prepare for his bar mitzvah. It seems like just yesterday I was holding his hand and walking him to elementary school where I would kiss him good-bye and he would reluctantly let go of my hand to go inside. Now, he is eager to take on any challenge, and kissing and cuddling mostly happen when no one else is around. But he never forgets me on Mother’s Day. I keep his past Mother’s Day cards tucked away to glance at every now and then. This one is from around fourth grade:
Happy Mother’s Day My mother encourages My mother’s a dream My mother is amazing And she’s always on my team My mother cooks My mother cleans My mother is a lean machine And she never, ever, is mean I Love you Mom!
Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes ¾ cup all-purpose flour ¼ cup semolina flour (can use all-purpose flour) 1 teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt 4 large eggs, room temperature and separated 1 recipe homemade ricotta cheese (about 1 cup) 1 tablespoon melted butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup buttermilk 1 tablespoon sugar Fresh raspberries Powdered sugar for dusting Butter for griddle 32 MAY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
In a small bowl, combine flours, baking powder and salt. In a larger bowl, whisk together egg yolks, melted butter, vanilla extract, ricotta cheese and buttermilk. Add flour mixture and stir until just combined. In another bowl (preferably copper) beat egg whites until soft peaks appear. Add sugar to whites and whisk to combine. Gently fold egg whites into ricotta mixture. Heat griddle over medium heat and add butter. Drop batter using a ¹/3-cup measure to form pancakes. Place a few raspberries on top of each pancake. Cook until golden on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Serve immediately with liberal dusting of powdered sugar and lemon curd on the side.
Isn’t that about the most poetic thing you have ever read! OK, so he’s no Maya Angelou, but it made me well up. So, any kids out there feel free to plagiarize! This recipe is for my mother-in-law Joanne. She is a loving, supportive mom and still refers to her son as “Buddy Boy,” even now that he is in his 50s! That’s just what Jewish moms do. Joanne loves raspberries and lemon, so I have combined them to make these fluffy and delicious ricotta pancakes. It is super easy to make your own ricotta cheese and fresh lemon curd and they taste so much better than the kind you buy in stores. The buttermilk adds a rich and tangy flavor that makes these pancakes very special. The sweet dusting of powdered sugar balances the tart lemon curd making this a spectacular breakfast in bed for Mother’s Day. It also makes a great dairy meal to celebrate Shavuot.
Fresh Lemon Curd 4 lemons 1½ cups sugar ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened 4 eggs ½ cup lemon juice Pinch of Kosher salt Use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest from three of the lemons. Juice all lemons to create ½ cup juice and set aside. Place lemon zest and sugar in bowl of food processor. Pulse until zest is very finely minced into sugar. Cream the butter and sugar in a medium bowl. Add eggs, one at a time then add lemon juice and salt. Pour mixture into a 2-quart saucepan and cook over low heat stirring constantly until mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Pour through a strainer into a bowl pushing on solids as much as possible. Cool or refrigerate.
Homemade Ricotta Cheese 4 cups whole milk 1 cup buttermilk Kosher salt to taste Deep fry thermometer Cheesecloth Stack four large squares of cheesecloth in a colander, leaving overhang. Place over a bowl. Combine milk and buttermilk in heavy large pot. Attach deep-fry thermometer to side of pot. Place pot over high heat. Stir occasionally. As the mixture heats, curds (small clumps) will begin to form. When thermometer registers 175° to 180°, curds will separate from whey (liquid) and float to the top. Turn off heat. Using a large slotted spoon or skimmer, transfer curds to prepared colander. Gather cheesecloth around ricotta. Press gently, releasing some liquid (don’t press too much or the cheese could be too dry). Return ball of cheese to colander and let rest 20 minutes. Transfer ricotta to medium bowl. Sprinkle with kosher salt; mix gently. Can be made one day ahead.
Lisa Glickman is a private chef and lives in Bend. She is a contributing writer and teacher and also does a weekly cooking segment for COTV’s “Good Morning Central Oregon.” She can be reached via email through her website at lisa@lisaglickman.com.
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OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2012 33
[FOOD]
Chef Lisa Schroeder carries a bowl of her matzah ball soup.
HonoringMothers
Photo courtesy of Mother’s Bistro
by Kerry Politzer
Chef puts Oregon twist on mother’s Jewish recipes
A maternal atmosphere pervades Mother’s Bistro & Bar. The décor is rustic and homey, and the mugs entreat you to “call your mother.”
Chef Lisa Schroeder is not trying to make you feel guilty; she simply wants to envelop you in the delicious world in which she grew up. The child of a Jewish single mother who owned a tiny restaurant in Philadelphia, Schroeder was reared on a diet of matzah ball soup, chopped liver and roast chicken. Her mother was especially renowned for her vegetable soup, which contained flanken and beef bones, and diners clamored for her chopped liver and brisket. “My mom ran The Little Spot in Philadelphia,” recounts Schroeder. “It was about as big as Portland’s Blue Plate – that’s about three booths and six stools. She was a single mother, and she supported her two daughters – and her own mother – by cooking.” As a young woman, Lisa Schroeder entered the business world, but her mother’s recipes stuck with her. A lifelong passion for food transformed into a deeply cherished wish to open her own restaurant. Schroeder entered the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, at the age of 35. She would go on to eat and prepare the finest cuisine in Paris and New York City, but what she really desired was to honor her mother’s memory by serving her brisket recipe on Jewish holidays. Schroeder imagined a restaurant that was not in Manhattan, but it wasn’t until she found love in Portland that her vision coalesced. In 2000, she found a large, highceilinged space downtown, installed a picture of her mother at the entrance to the kitchen, and the rest is history. For the past 12 years, diners have flooded her dining room, finding a winning combination in Schroeder’s emphasis on reasonable prices and high-quality, local ingredients. Schroeder enjoys preparing Jewish favorites with an Oregon twist. At Passover, she uses her mother’s recipe for gefilte fish but swaps Pacific Northwest salmon for the pike and whitefish. The chef developed a newfound appreciation for local ingredients upon her arrival in Portland. “When I moved here, what was so amazing was how many Oregonians eat of the terroir. They’ve been eating locally forever; they were locavores before it was 34 MAY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
fashionable. In Burgundy, France, they have coq au vin – Oregonians are just like that. They drink pinot noir and pinot gris, eat marionberries, hazelnuts … I learned to eat and serve local from the people of Oregon.” At the same time, Schroeder is not of the “extreme foragers” camp. “No matter how many new restaurants there are that serve ashes on a plate, or a piece of wood, or a pine needle, that’s not what brings people back for a meal, day after day. Our guests want perfectly made mashed potatoes, six-hour pot roast and food made with love. I make the food that people in Portland want to eat.” Schroeder finds many ways to honor mothers at her restaurant. She has constructed a play area for toddlers at the window. “People come to Mother’s with babies,” the chef explains, “and I see that Mom has to hold the baby. I got the arms – I offer them! I’m known to carry babies around; we are not called Mother’s for nothing.”
The chef also features a Mother of the Month with recipes from that mother’s nationality. The chef also features a Mother of the Month with recipes from that mother’s nationality. Diners who want to celebrate Mother’s Day by brunching at Mother’s Bar & Bistro will find a variety of tasty, stick-toyour-ribs items like eggs Benedict, frittatas, lemon poppy seed pancakes, waffles with fresh strawberries and whipped cream, homemade cinnamon rolls, and smoked salmon scrambled with eggs, cream cheese, caramelized onions and dill. For readers who won’t be able to join Lisa Schroeder this Mother’s Day, the chef has graciously included her prized recipe for crunchy French toast. “Every mother deserves breakfast in bed!” she opines. Mother’s Bistro & Bar is located at 212 SW Stark Street. For reservations, call 503-464-1122.
Mother’s Crunchy French Toast Makes 4 servings; six 1-inch-thick slices
If I had to pick one breakfast dish that’s our signature, this would have to be it. People come from across the country wanting to taste it. The recipe has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and is requested over and over. French toast goes by the name pain perdu in France, which translates as “lost bread.” It’s a recipe created to save stale bread from being “lost” to the garbage by soaking it in eggs and milk to get it moist and tender again, and frying it up. Although you can certainly use whatever stale bread slices you have lingering in the fridge (except something strong-flavored like rye), you’d be missing out on the wonderful richness that fresh challah provides. A roll in cornflakes adds a wonderful, addictive crunch. 4 eggs ¾ cup heavy cream ¾ cup half-and-half ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 tablespoons granulated sugar Pinch ground nutmeg ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract 4 cups cornflakes (see Love Note 1 at right) 1 loaf egg bread (challah), sliced into 6 one-inch-thick slices (see Love Note 2) 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter (divided), preferably clarified Powdered sugar (optional) 1. If your pan isn’t big enough to cook all the French toast at the same time, preheat oven to 200°F. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, half-and-half, cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg and vanilla. 2. Place cornflakes in another larger bowl and crush with your hands until pieces are small (but not like bread crumbs) and somewhat uniform in size. Place a rimmed baking sheet nearby to hold the prepared bread. 3. Dip a slice of bread into the cream mixture, immersing both sides (saturate it, but do not let fall apart).
Crunchy French Toast. Photo courtesy of Mother’s Bistro Love Notes: 1. Challah (pronounced hall-uh) is a slightly sweet, eggy Jewish bread that’s becoming increasingly common at gourmet grocery stores and bakeries. Many bakeries carry it only on Fridays for Shabbat. If you can’t find it, substitute any soft sweet bread, such as brioche, Hawaiian bread or thick slices of Texas toast. 2. Clarified butter is important for this recipe because it allows you to cook the French toast at a high enough heat to get a proper sizzle going, ensuring the toast stays crunchy. If the butter isn’t clarified, the milk solids will melt and impart moisture that can impede crunchiness. And when the solids inevitably burn, they’ll impart a burnt flavor to the food. Food and travel writer and jazz pianist Kerry Politzer is a recent transplant from New York. She greatly enjoys the Portland food scene. She has written for WHERE Traveler, IN New York and Dessert Professional, and she publishes a blog on the Portland-NYC culinary scene, The Rose and the Apple.
4. Dip the slice into the corn flakes on both sides, pressing to adhere the flakes; set aside on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining slices. 5. Place a griddle or wide (preferably 14-inch) sauté pan over medium heat for several minutes. If using an electric griddle, set the heat to 350°F. 6. Sprinkle griddle with a few drops of water; they should bounce around before evaporating. If they sizzle away quickly, the heat is too high. If they just sit there and slowly steam, the heat is too low. When griddle is properly heated, add a tablespoon of clarified butter for each piece of French toast and tilt to coat the pan. 7. Add prepared bread in an even layer. Cook until golden on one side, about four minutes. Pick each toast up with a spatula and put ½ tablespoon butter in their spot. Flip the toasts onto the butter to cook the other side, about four minutes more. Repeat with the remaining slices of bread. Serve immediately or keep warm in oven until all the French toast is cooked. 8. Cut each piece of bread in half diagonally to make triangles. Arrange like shingles on serving plates, sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired and serve with softened butter and maple syrup.
Indian & Middle Eastern Cuisine Hours: Sun - Thurs 5 - 9 Fri - Sat 5 - 10 503.231.0740 www.bombaycricketclubrestaurant.com 1925 SE Hawthorne Blvd · Portland, OR 97214 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2012 35
?
[SENIORS]
How Fit Should a Senior Be
Photo by Peter Korchnak, Cedar Sinai Park
by Liz Rabiner Lippoff
Top left: Gerel Blauer volunteers a lot of time maintaining the gardens at Cedar Sinai Park, but she still finds time to play tennis and lift weights. Top right: Gerry Leshgold still plays a mean game of tennis at age 93. Bottom right: Jeanne Newmark’s Synchronized Swim Team left to right: Mary Hulme, Betsy Austin, Jeanne Steed, Maryanne Perrin, Jeanne Newmark.
I am ashamed of myself. I have always considered myself to be pretty fit. I walk steep hills several times a week and lift weights every other day. I’ve been the same size for decades. Hey, I’m turning 60 and my arm only hurts a little from all the patting myself on the back I’ve been doing. Now, however, my healthy diet must include a big piece of humble pie.
36 MAY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
Photo Courtesy of Oregon Jewish Museum.
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“ Exercise is for everybody. It has been shown that resistance training can enhance muscle mass and function even in 90-year-old subjects and is the most effective way to maintain the quality of life as we age.” – National Strength and Conditioning Association I interviewed three Oregonians for this story about fit seniors and learned that I am a slacker, a lazy bum. On the other hand, these amazing people did inspire me with their upbeat attitudes about staying fit. Gerel Blauer, 81, has always participated in sports. As a kid, she played tennis at Stroheckers, rollerskated on the sidewalk and rode her bicycle everywhere. “There were no helmets in those days,” she adds. Today, she has a definition of “fit” that works for her. “I still can do my own thing: garden, tennis, volunteer, drive at night and enjoy the outdoors.” That, though, only hints at a life that would exhaust someone half her age.
Take the gardening. When she was raising her family – four children in five years – she didn’t have time to exercise much, but she’d gotten the gardening bug from her dad so she turned to that. In 1986 she took a class and became a Master Gardener and a big fan of what she calls “manual work.” At Cedar Sinai Park she volunteers to create “healing gardens.” CSP’s Debbi Bodie calls her “a blessing.” Gerel also lifts weights and plays competitive tennis three times a week. “I think I’m the oldest woman player there. My dear younger friends don’t seem to mind, though, since I can still move pretty well.” Many in her family were avid golfers, but she gave it up because it took too much time from tennis. She misses cycling, which she used to enjoy, and no longer skis. My question is: when would she fit it in anyway? Why does she do it? “The world is so exciting,” Gerel says. “I want to be around for the changes. I want to enjoy my family.” And, of course, “It’s all so fun!” Jeanne Newmark, 82, is also fit and healthy. Like Gerel, she swears by weight training. Her physician sent her to the gym nine years ago to fight her osteoporosis. Now her twice-weekly sessions with a personal trainer are a part of her life. She got much stronger and her balance improved; her osteoporosis and the medications she needed for it are no more. Jeanne also loves to swim. She first learned, as did so many others, in Mickey Hirschberg’s classes at the Jewish
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Community Center. She later swam on the Lincoln High swim team. For the past 25 years, though, she has been on the masters synchronized swim team at the Multnomah Athletic Club. The ladies practice two hours, twice a week and have won the national title in their age group for the past 14 years. Six years ago, in the 70-80 (average age) category, they placed higher than the groups in their 60s. Last year they were the first group in the country to compete in the 80-90 age class. Next year will be a challenge, but it is one Jeanne is “thrilled” to take on. Her team will compete in a younger category because they added three younger swimmers – one of them is Jeanne’s daughter Phyllis, 57. “The coach is putting together a mother-daughter routine for us,” Jeanne told me.
How many people meet their 80-something mother twice a week … for competitive swimming? Gerry Leshgold’s wife, Evelyn, says that their friends in Portland call Gerry a “fitness idol.” And no wonder. Gerry, 93, plays golf two to three times a week and tennis three times a week when they’re in the desert. He plays a little less tennis when they are in Portland. Here he often prefers racquetball. “I’m always the oldest guy,” Gerry admits. His Portland golf buddies – David Lippman, Bill Galen and Irv Leopold – are youngsters in their 80s. His desert tennis friends are in their late 70s and early 80s. On the racquetball court, he has to dip even lower.
“The National Institute on Aging gathered some of the top experts on exercise for seniors and discovered that, for the most part, when older adults lose the ability to do normal activities of daily living on their own, it’s not due strictly to age. It is more likely that they have become inactive. We know that an active lifestyle enhances quality of life at any age. Seniors just beginning an exercise program absolutely must first consult with their physician.” – Robert Reames, a certified strength and conditionings specialist, nutritionist and personal trainer
CE DAR S I NA I PA R K rose sc hnit ze r t ower
40 MAY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
“I have to play with kids who went to school with my kids,” he says. “There’s nobody my age left!” Gerry admits he has been in locker rooms all his life. In high school he played basketball, baseball and football. He used to play handball at the old JCC. But he is quick to say that anybody can “go in there and tune up your body.” He cites the “great fitness center at the MJCC” as one entry point for people who don’t know how to get started. Gerry also gives Evelyn a lot of the credit for his good health. They’ve been married more than 70 years and, he says, “She takes good care of me.” I know what you’re thinking. These people are athletes. They’ve been doing this all their lives. But while that’s true, each of them stressed that anybody can make themselves stronger and fitter with even a little bit of the right exercise: “Look at your future. You can make it better.” – Gerel Blauer, 81
“Any little first step would be wonderful. Don’t think about a three mile hike. Just walk around the block.” –Jeanne Newmark, 82 “You are never too old!” – Gerry Leshgold, 93 I’m feeling a whole lot better about all this. It’s not too late for any of us!
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OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2012 41
[SENIORS]
Century of Compassion
by Sura Rubenstein
Mrs. Hannah Robison, seated center, celebrates her birthday in 1940. Her sons, Charles and Edward, later made a major donation to the campaign for a new Jewish home for the elderly, which was named in her honor when it opened in 1955.
TIMELINE 1916 – The Jewish Women’s Endeavor Society remodels its Southwest Portland building and makes it available to elderly persons needing shelter. 1920 – The society combines efforts with the Old Men’s Hebrew Fraternal Organization, which purchases a large house on SW College Street and opens the Jewish Old People’s Home. A sisterhood also organizes. 1945 – The home’s name is changed to the Jewish Home for the Aged. 1954 – Groundbreaking for a new home in Southwest Portland. 1955 – The Robison Jewish Home, named in honor of Mrs. Hannah Robison, opens. 1981 – May Terrace Apartments for retirees opens on the Robison campus. 1996 – Campus is renamed Cedar Sinai Park 1998 – Rose Schnitzer Manor, assisted living facility, opens. 1999 – Adult Day Services program opens, providing flexible respite care to families. 2002 – The Shlim Wing, an addition to Rose Schnitzer Manor, opens. 2007 – Sinai Family Home Services is launched to support in-home care of elderly. 2007– Rose Schnitzer Tower in downtown Portland, offering affordable housing for seniors and people with disabilities, joins the Cedar Sinai family of programs. In development: Kehillah Housing, 14 affordable housing apartments for adults with developmental disabilities, on the Cedar Sinai campus. “A Place to Call Home,” a new nursing home for 48 residents in a home-like setting, also on the Cedar Sinai campus. Sources: Cedar Sinai Park, The Jews of Oregon: 1850-1950 by Steven Lowenstein 42 MAY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
Founded in 1920 as “The Old Men’s Hebrew Fraternal Association,” the original Jewish Old People’s Home at Southwest Third Avenue and College Street had 16 rooms, including a chapel. Courtesy of Oregon Jewish Museum
Dignity and honor define care of elders For nearly a century, Portland Jews have organized to take care of the community’s elderly in ways that maintain dignity and honor. From the first efforts to the most recent plans, the emphasis has been on the highest standards of care, and the importance of providing a place that can be home. “Elders – and particularly elders with cognitive issues – do better in a setting that is home, or home-like,” says David H. Fuks, chief executive officer of Cedar Sinai Park, the umbrella organization for a growing number of services for older people and others in need of community support. In fact, Cedar Sinai’s newest facility – a nursing home Fuks hopes to open in 2015 – has the working title “A Place to Call Home.” It’s being designed for 48 residents, each in “living groups” of 12, with private rooms, common areas and dedicated staffing. “Living in households is familiar,” Fuks continues. “All of those simple things – kitchens, refrigerators, living rooms – help us be oriented. And we can help people to access their capabilities even as they face issues of decline.”
The new is not a return to the old “Jewish Old Peoples Home,” Fuks said. But it is a return to a home-like setting. And it will continue the community’s commitment to provide the best care it can. That commitment began in 1916, when the Jewish Women’s Endeavor Society, a charitable group, remodeled its building at 647 SW Fifth Ave. to house older people in need. And it was strengthened when the women’s group joined forces with a group of men who in 1920 formed the Old Men’s Hebrew Fraternal Organization in Old South Portland. That group, whose first president was Leib Shank, bought a 16-room house on Southwest Third Avenue and College Street – asking price $11,000 – that became “The Jewish Old Peoples Home.” Steven Lowenstein, writing in The Jews of Oregon: 18501950, noted that “the home provided individual, pleasant rooms for each elderly resident, served kosher food at a large dining room table and maintained a chapel for worship.” A sisterhood group, also organized in 1920, helped to raise money for and provide services to the home. “Compassion was the motivation,” says Donna Jackson, president of the Robison Jewish Health Center Sisterhood, the current name of the sisterhood group. Jackson remembers going to sisterhood “Silver Teas” as a child with her mother and grandmother. “Sisterhood provides the extras,” she adds, “whether it was lemon drops and handkerchiefs, or furniture for the Home’s living room.” She says the Sisterhood raises about $20,000 annually. The current nursing home, the Robison Jewish Health Center, opened in 1955 and was named in honor of Hannah Robison, a remarkable woman who supported an array of local and international Jewish organizations.
Minutes from 1920 meeting of Old Men’s Hebrew Fraternal Organization.
The minutes from the last meeting was read and approved. To settle a question which was raised by some of the members about having the minutes written in Yeadish for the benefit of certain members which they do not understand English, a motion was made and carried, that the president shall appoint a special secretary which shall write a duplicate of the minutes in Yeadish and have it read to the members if they so desire, and S. Faveluke was appointed to that office…”
OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2012 43
A 1939 brochure shows the features of the Jewish Old Peoples Home.
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Fuks recounts a story: “During the Depression, Mrs. Robison used to walk around her block in Old South Portland with a couple of bags in her hand. If people had something extra, they’d put it in the bag. If they needed something, they’d take out. But no one knew who was taking and who was putting in. I love it that we do business in honor of someone like that.” Fourteen people, ranging in age from 77 to 107, were the first residents at the new home, which could accommodate a total of 44. Over the years, infirmary and Alzheimer’s wings were added, and the campus expanded to include retiree apartments and assisted living, as well as adult day care, respite and home care services. Today, Cedar Sinai Park also operates a downtown Portland residence for low-income elderly, and is planning to add apartments for adults with developmental disabilities to its campus.
“ You should rise before the elderly and honor the aged.” (Leviticus 19:32)
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44 MAY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
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Throughout, there’s been strong community involvement. The late Harold J. Schnitzer recalled going to the old Home in South Portland with other students at the Portland Hebrew School to conduct weekly religious services. “It was a very good experience for both the young and the old,” he said. “The compassion and care that we try to give to our senior citizens is the embodiment of the highest ideals of our religion.” Schoolchildren continue to visit, a religious services committee sees to it that spiritual needs are met, and volunteers help with everything from arts and crafts to social activities and gardening. “We are in the business of taking care of each others,” says Fuks. “And every individual should be able to live with dignity.” For most of the past century, the “Jewish Home” – its predecessors, its successors and its extended family – has helped to make that possible.
4/6/12 11:48 AM
[SENIORS]
Senior events in full bloom by Deborah Moon
Local seniors can choose from a wide array of activities, including a Garden Gems talk by noted horticulturist Dan Heims at 2 pm, May 6 at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center. In conjunction with Heims’ talk, the Association of Professional Landscape Designers Oregon Chapter will hold a sale of native plants and ornamentals at the center from 11 am to 4 pm. Photo courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc. (www.terranovanurseries.com)
Portland’s Jewish community provides a wide array of activities and programs to engage the growing population of robust and active seniors. When Mittleman Jewish Community Center underwent a major overhaul in 2005, many of the senior programs it had hosted were dispersed to sites such as Cedar Sinai Park and synagogues. “A number of programs got scooped up by other organizations in the community,” says Jordana Levenick, MJCC operations manager. “That has allowed us to come up with new ideas and fresh offerings at times that seniors have let us know they want to be using this space and in ways they want to be using it.” For instance, bridge and mah jongg groups now meet at the center regularly. Many of the free fitness classes for members – such as Tai Chi for Better Balance, Gentle Yoga and Gentle Pilates – attract seniors. The Arthritis Exercise and Ai-Chi classes in the warm water therapy pool also are popular with the senior set. “One of our foundations is intergenerational opportunities that attract grandparents, parents and children in any combination,” says Levenick, pointing to Friday Night Light Shabbat celebrations. Recognizing seniors’ natural attraction to plants and gardening, she also expects seniors to join the audience at the May 6 program “Garden Gems,” a 2 pm talk by horticulture expert Dan Heims. Children of aging parents might want to attend the 7 pm, May 8 lecture, “Unexpected Caregiver: How to Keep Mom and Dad Active, Safe and Independent.” A national speaker on aging, Kari Berit will share her insights into ways to ensure healthy aging. Sponsored by Cedar Sinai Park, the lecture will be at the MJCC.
Each quarter, CSP’s Rose Schnitzer Manor offers a themed lecture series to provide lifelong learning opportunities for residents and the greater community. Past series have explored alternative wellness therapies, consumer fraud, choices about end-of-life care, maintaining healthy brain function, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, ethical wills, and sexuality and aging. This quarter’s series, “From Glaciers to Gardens: Our Changing Planet,” explores the earth’s ecology and the impact humans have on the changing conditions of our planet. Lectures begin at 6:45 pm, Tuesdays in May, in RSM’s Zidell Hall: • May 1, Creating Communities of Opportunity in the Portland Region: Mara Gross, policy director for the Coalition for a Livable Future, will discuss promoting an equitable and sustainable Portland for all residents. • May 8, Global Warming 101: The Scientific Basis for Understanding Climate Change in the 20th and 21st Centuries: Dr. Christina Hulbe, professor of geology at Portland State University, will discuss global climate change. • May 22, The Growing Problem of Cyanobacteria in Lakes: Arick “Kit” Rouhe, a PhD student at PSU, will discuss his research into lake conditions that may keep cyanobacteria from growing too rapidly and destroying the natural ecology of a lake. To contact organizations about programs in this story: Mittleman Jewish Community Center: 503-244-0111 Rose Schnitzer Manor: 503-535-4004 Congregation Neveh Shalom: 503-246-8831 Congregation Beth Israel: 503-222-1069 Congregation Shaarie Torah: 503-226-6131
OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2012 45
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• May 29, Reduce Your Waste, Reduce Your Impact: Betty Shelley, an operator with the Metro Recycling Program Hotline, will give tips on how each of us can leave a smaller footprint on the Earth. RSM’s next series is in August and will be the second annual series focusing on “Epicurean Delights.” While much synagogue programming focuses on youth education and young adult engagement, many large congregations across the country have found their membership demographic skews heavily to the baby boomer population and up, according to Congregation Neveh Shalom Program Director Jennifer Greenberg. In response to the national recognition of the need for synagogues to better engage adults in this age group, Salon Hazak was born at Neveh Shalom. With a film group and travel-log group and many adult study options already in place, Salon Hazak planners decided to add programs around cultural activities and outdoor pursuits. They’ve hosted a successful Port of Portland Tour and a presentation on Lithuania’s Jewish history. Visits to dance and theater performances, as well as outdoor activities, are in the works. Salon Hazak also opened doors for a group of writers who wanted to come together and support each other’s work. Professor of Literature Sherryll Mleynek facilitates a writing group that meets every few weeks to discuss writing issues and to read and critique each other’s work. At Congregation Beth Israel, Friends Over Fifty plans events for empty nesters ages 50-70, many of whom live in the Pearl or other close-in areas. Most programs are arts-based, but the group also has hosted onegs in conjunction with adult education speakers or presentations. Congregation Shaarie Torah also has an empty nester group of “very active and wonderful seniors.” They have built a group that supports each other as they go through the different milestones in their lives, creating a community within a community.
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46 MAY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
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[SENIORS]
Changing face of aging by Deborah Moon
Community explores ways to help seniors make wishes come true
Driven by a commitment to honor elders, a population aging faster than the general U.S. population and seniors who stay healthy and active longer than previous generations, the Jewish community is exploring new ways to serve seniors.
Seniors today are living longer, more active lives than earlier generations, notes Cedar Sinai Park CEO David Fuks: “Today’s 75-year-olds are thinking about vacations, who to play tennis with and how they can participate in their community.” “We will continue to develop our (CSP) campus and other housing options to meet the needs of those with chronic disease and dementia or people who require temporary care after a medical incident,” said Fuks. “But we recognize the desire for any elder to live at home as long as possible. How can we help elders reach that goal?” With funding from the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, CSP has taken the lead to plan a future to help seniors live the lives they want. CSP, Jewish Family and Child Service, Sinai Family Home Services and Mittleman Jewish Community Center have created potential service options that they will present to 15 focus groups this year. The goal is to find out what seniors, their families and aging baby boomers want the community to offer in the future.
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OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2012 47
Villages help seniors age at home Two former Jewish communal workers, who now have their own company, have launched a pro bono project to help people interested in creating local villages. Chana and Richie Andler left their jobs at Jewish Family and Child Service and Oregon Jewish Museum, respectively, to create Andler Resource Group. When they heard about the village movement, the two baby boomers thought it was just what they wanted for themselves to be able to remain in their own home as they age. To bring the national movement to Oregon, the duo launched villagepdx.org. “Most of the villages are grassroots things,” says Chana. “People who are in an area and want to age in place come together and form a board for a 501(c)3 and then form a membership organization. People in the area can join the membership organization.” Services and programs offered by villages vary but often include fitness programs, political groups, social activities, transportation and “vendor vetting” – a list of screened plumbers, electricians, home care workers and other professionals who are safe to have in your home and who often provide discounted rates due to economies of scale. Perhaps most important, the villages create a social network of people who help, and check up on, each other. “People who are interested in being founders tend to be younger (usually 50 plus) and join to create an organization that will be there when they need it,” says Chana. Launched last October, the website offers support, ideas and resources for people who want to explore village life. A series of parlor meetings over the next few months will share materials and resources and help people find others in their neighborhoods who want to create a village. For more information, email info@villagepdx.org.
“Our hope is not simply to offer home health care options, but also to help seniors stay socially connected to the Jewish community,” says Fuks. “The MJCC is the living room of the community so they have been a big part of the conversation.” MJCC Executive Director Lisa Horowitz believes the key to serving elders effectively will be listening to what elders have to say about their own wishes, dreams and desires. “The key focus for the MJCC has been in exploring ways that we can support our community’s elders through social, arts and cultural activities as well as fitness and health,” she says. “The MJCC is a unique community resource that offers such a wide range of programs and possibilities. Serving our elders is an important part of our community commitment and one that deserves our attention.” Horowitz hopes the focus groups will provide the agencies with concrete ideas to help form a roadmap to forward motion. JFCS Executive Director Marian Fenimore envisions a Jewish shtetl based on the nationwide trend to create cooperative communities for people ages 50 and up (see “Village” story). “I hope we are able to put together a menu of services. Seniors want to stay in their homes and be independent, but they know they will need access to services over time,” she says. Initially seniors might just turn to the shtetl for social events and referrals to trusted vendors who provide home repair, dog walking, tax preparation or other services. As they age, seniors might need to access housecleaning, shopping help, transportation and home health care. “Thinking about the needs folks have at different times, we’ve created a menu,” explains Fenimore. “The different focus groups will tell us what they think of the service options.” JFCS already offers counseling to help people solve individual concerns, bereavement support, transportation, shopping, socialization programs and in-home help for seniors. JFCS Mensches in the Trenches corps of volunteers help seniors with tasks such as home and yard work, paperwork and shopping. Advances in technology are another area the planners want to take advantage of to help keep seniors safely at home. Technology can be used to remind seniors to take their medication on schedule and to provide a range of safety-related support through video cameras, Skyping and embedded technology. “We (CSP, JFCS, SFHS and MJCC) have the talent and skills to do all this,” says Fenimore. “We can provide wraparound services that care for the whole person – their physical, emotional, social and medical needs.” To make these dreams come true, elders and their family members are needed to participate in Conversations with the Community in late May and early June. For more information, email discussion@cedarsinaipark.org or call 503-535-4393.
The most recent National Jewish Population Survey in 2000 revealed that the Jewish population is aging – and doing so faster than the general population. The percentage of adults 65 and older in the Jewish population was 19% compared to 12% in the total U.S. population.
48 MAY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
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50 MAY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
[BEAUTY]
Ageless advice
If you forget to prevent sun exposure, there’s still help for ‘age spots’ by Elizabeth VanderVeer, M.D.
Have you ever looked in the mirror and noticed the ponem (face) your bubbe used to pinch has drastically changed? Gone is the clear skin atop apple-shaped cheeks, replaced by dull, dry skin peppered with age spots and melasma (that beautiful “mask of pregnancy!”) Many of us wake up one morning later in life and feel like our skin has changed overnight. Brown spots and age spots seemingly appear out of nowhere. What may seem like it is the result of a recent suntan is actually the appearance of deep sun damage accumulated over decades of exposure – starting when we were tots playing at the Bronx Zoo; to the teen years of baby oil and iodine, (wonder no more how I know about that combo!) and on to our use of tanning beds and our need to come back from any sunny vacation with a tan. The brown damage we see on our skin is the result of repeated exposure to the sun and stimulation of the cells that make melanin – thus producing a brown spot. These spots can be prevented, managed and cured. First: Prevention. The truth hurts: There is no such thing as “safe” sun, including tanning beds. The only sunscreen I use and
recommend is clear zinc oxide (such as Epionce SPF 30 or 50). Zinc is the only ingredient in sunscreen that provides 100% protection against both UVA and UVB rays. The good news is that we can now get clear zinc oxide – we no longer have to look like the Jones Beach lifeguard with the white stripes. Zinc reflects the sun off our skin rather than absorbing the sunlight. Even a baby can safely wear zinc sunscreen. I recently took my own “babies,” now 14 and 17, on a sunny vacation and despite the protests, I slathered them with zinc sunscreen before they ventured outside. It was well worth the complaining to avoid the agony of a teenage burn! Second: Management. Once damage has occurred, you have several options to manage mild sun damage (don’t forget to use a zinc sunscreen daily to prevent future damage.) You can lighten some melasma and brown spots with a variety of prescription and over-the-counter products. You also can use medical peels and medical microdermabrasion to keep the discoloration at a minimum. I recommend wearing a liquid foundation daily to give your face an even tone and protect your face from further UV radiation (my personal favorite is Lancome – it makes your skin look and feel like velvet). Finally: “Cure.” The definitive treatment for removing sun damage is a variety of devices including noninvasive, nodowntime lasers such as Intense Pulsed Light, which lifts the damage in a safe, effective way, leaving you with dewy, spotless skin. You can also get more aggressive treatment of sun damage with an ablative laser, such as the Erbium Pixel Laser or the CO2 Fractionated Laser, which involves downtime. Lasers are highly effective, but have associated risks that need to be discussed with your health care provider. In summary, the sun and its damage should be taken very seriously. It is the number one cause of skin aging, and melanoma is sharply on the rise each year. Always get an annual skin check up with your doctor, and use the above tips to keep damage to a minimum. Even if you envy the deep, brown tan of another, you will be the envy of all when you age gracefully with creamy, spotless skin!
Elizabeth VanderVeer, M.D. is a board-certified internist and president/ medical director at VanderVeer Center. A native Oregonian, she is a fourthgeneration doctor who has dedicated her practice exclusively to aesthetics for many years and specializes in non-surgical cosmetic medicine. Dr. VanderVeer is a published author, and a sought after international lecturer as well as a national trainer for numerous industry leaders.
OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2012 51
[BUSINESS]
52 MAY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
Story and Photos by Deborah Moon
It all began with Adam.
At Ambacht Brewing (top left), everthing is done by hand; the two part-time brewers fill bottles four at a time, then cap each bottle and set it out to dry before putting it in cases. Above, Alan Sprints distributes about 5,000 cases of beer annually from his Hair of the Dog Brewery and Tasting Room. When he opened his tasting room, far left, two years ago, he decided he wanted to serve food too since enjoying food and beer together "elevates both."
Alan Sprints was a home brewer when Portland’s microbrew revolution began in the late 1980s. He joined the ranks of professional brewers in 1991 and then opened his own Hair of the Dog Brewery in 1993. Since he planned to brew strong beers of 10% or higher alcohol level, Sprints named his brewery Hair of the Dog in reference to the folkloric hangover cure. His first brew – Adam, named for a strong German ale that was no longer brewed – was inspired by a reference in an 1880s book on beer (see page 55). But the name had another meaning for Sprints, “Adambier seemed like an appropriate beer to use as my first beer since it was called Adam.” Genesis was perhaps on his mind because his wife, Eliana Temkin, was at the time the director of Jewish cultural enrichment at Mittleman Jewish Community Center, where their children attended preschool. Adam is still one of his most popular beers. In fact he still has bottles from that first batch on his tasting room menu – even at $75 a bottle, he still sells a couple bottles a month. “At the time, I didn’t have any idea I’d give all the beers I made names,” he says, “but they are all individuals, not like beers other people make.” “I’m a small brewer, so it’s hard to compete in price and volume. So I try to make beer that is unique and make more money on the beer I make instead of making more beer.” About 20% of his beers are aged from six months to six years in barrels before being bottled. As he bottles a beer, he adds a touch of recently brewed beer so that the beer re-ferments in the bottle. “Our beer is high in alcohol and is meant to improve with time. With our process it will improve for 10 to 20 years in the bottle.”
OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2012 53
Tom Kramer and Brandy Grobart, right, enjoy a taste of last year's Matzabrau, which they brew each year using unopened boxes of matzah.
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54 MAY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
Subsequent beers have been named for “people who have influenced me.” Ruth, named for his grandmother who wished him lots of luck, has mazel (luck in Hebrew) on the label. Lila is named for his mother. And Blue Dot is named for Mother Earth since “from outer space we are just a pale blue dot.” The next beer due to hit distributors’ shelves also draws its name from Jewish writings. Michael is named for the famous Jewish beer writer Michael Jackson, who died in 2007. Michael is a blend of 10 barrels of beers made in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Sprints tapped several of the 180 barrels in his brewery to decide on the right blend to honor the famed “Beer Hunter” from England who wrote The World Guide to Beer. While most beers on the market are mechanically filtered and hit shelves about two weeks after brewing, Sprints relies on gravity to filter his beer. His beer takes a minimum of five weeks from brewing to sale. He and his assistant brewer spend 24 to 26 hours one day a week brewing beer – 26 hours? They start at 5 am each Tuesday and don’t always finish the batch by 5 am Wednesday. In addition to the beer they serve on tap in the tasting room, Hair of the Dog distributes about 5,000 cases of bottled beer every year in eight states. Hair of the Dog Brewery opened a tasting room two years ago. It would have been easier and cheaper to open just a beer bar, but Sprints said he felt it was important to serve food too. “It’s nice to eat and drink together. The combination elevates both,” he says. Hair of the Dog Brewery and Tasting Room is open 2-8 pm Wednesday through Sunday at 61 SE Yamhill St., Portland. (503-232-6585, hairofthedog.com). *** Inspiration and barrels have traveled across the river and into Hillsboro, where
two other Jewish brewers have moved from home brew to microbrew. Drawing on the Oregon microbrewery movement, which was in no small part pioneered by Hair of the Dog, Tom Kramer and Brandy Grobart opened Ambacht Brewing in 2009 with equipment purchased from Congregation Kesser Israel. The congregation purchased Tuck’s Brewery, where Kramer had been volunteering as a brewer’s assistant, and converted the building into an Orthodox shul, making the brewing equipment obsolete. Kramer spends about three-quarter time at the small Hillsboro brewery and Grobart devotes one to two days a week to the brewery, where everything is done by hand. Bottling is a two-person job with one man sterilizing bottles and then crating the bottles that his partner has filled and capped four at a time. Ambacht Brewery produces lighter Belgian-style ales, which is where Hair of the Dog’s barrels come in. For some of his stout brews, Sprints uses old bourbon barrels to age his beer. But after aging one beer for three to four years, they wouldn’t produce the same flavor again. At Ambacht, using fresh bourbon barrels would overwhelm their lighter ales, so they buy used barrels from Hair of the Dog to age their Honey Triple Ale. “With barrels from a good brewery like Hair of the Dog, we get honey, bourbon and just a tiny hint of Adam,” they say finishing each other’s sentences. The brewers rely primarily on local ingredients to produce their Dunklweizen (dark wheat) beers brewed with Belgian yeast. They incorporate a variety of other flavors including locally produced honey, some from Kramer’s hives, to enhance their “dark beer with a light taste.” A new addition to their lineup is the G++ brew based on their golden ale, but incrementally better. They said they hoped the computer programmers down the road at Intel would get the play on words. C is a programming language and C++ refers to increment variables. At last year’s Cheers to Belgian Beer in Portland, the pair’s entry made the top seven out of 40 beers sampled and voted on by attendees. “We were the first to ‘blow,’” said Grobart, who said they were
so excited that their keg was the first one tapped out by samplers, that they didn’t initially realize that meant no one could taste their beer for the final three hours of the event. Who knows how high they would have ranked if more people could have sampled their brew! For a Jewish twist, the pair brew a Matzabrau each year after Passover. Using donated unopened boxes of leftover matzah, they brew a wheat beer. This year those who donate unopened boxes of plain or wheat matzah by May 15 will have their name on a “brick” around the bottom of the beer label. Anyone interested in donating matzah or sampling Ambacht Ales, can visit the brewery, 1055 NE 25th Ave., Suite N, Hillsboro, on Thursdays from 4 to 6 pm. Over the summer Ambacht also will have booths at four Farmer’s Markets – Beaverton on Saturday, Orenco Station in Hillsboro on Sundays, Downtown Hillsboro’s Tuesday Market and Woodstock Market in Southeast Portland every other Sunday. Ambacht is also sold at a number of markets including John’s Market in Multnomah Village, Bailey’s Taproom and most New Seasons in Oregon. (503-828-1400, ambacht.us)
On the Origin of the Adambier Style
One more special variety may be noted, and that is the strong 10-years-old ale known by the people of Dortmund as “Adam.” It is mentioned by Corvin in An Autobiography, who relates that “When King Frederick William IV of Prussia visited Dortmund a deputation of the magistrates waited upon him, one of them bearing a salver with a large tankard filled with Adam. When the King asked what it was, and heard that it was the celebrated beer, he said ‘Very Welcome, for it is extremely warm,’ and drained off the contents of the tankard at a draught. The members of the deputation, smiled at each other, for they knew what would be the result. His Majesty was unconscious for more than twenty-four hours.” from The Curiosities of Ale & Beer, An Entertaining History by John Bickerdyke, Spring Books, London, first published in 1889, reprinted 1965.
OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2012 55
[ARTS] “To me it’s all about opening heart and soul to the divine,” she says. “My goal as an artist is to work directly with individuals to create meditation pieces that reflect their spiritual process and evolution.” Like many artists, Rosenau doesn’t take credit for the content she produces, but views herself as a vessel through which the art flows. “It’s partly a dialogue between me and a higher power, and partly between me and the tools and process,” she says. “Kabbalah Glass is for the part of us that walks the mystic path.” A perfect example is her hanging glass Etz Chaim or Tree of Life panels, which she calls “moving mandalas.” She has several hanging in her own garden. “They’re a beautiful focus for awareness, intention and spiritual direction,” she says. “Each is designed to meet a longing for holy silence, to resonate with the stillness of deep prayer.” Rosenau says that when she melts glass layers together to create fully fused glass, “I can’t always control the results, so I Helen Rosenau with one of her Tree of Life stained glass consider the process a kind of alchemy.” creations. She used that method to create a social justice award commissioned by Temple Beth Israel’s GLBT community for Rabbi Maurice Harris when he left his position at the Eugene congregation in 2011. “The artist statement I wrote for Rabbi Maurice told how he strengthened our community by supporting and promoting equality and visibility for all,” Rosenau says. “The artwork … is entitled Hineini. It’s what Moses says to G-d at the burning bush. It means, ‘I am here. I am present. Amidst the chaos, mystery and beauty of this world, I am here. I accept what you are asking of me.’” Photo and story by Joseph Lieberman Rosenau considers her pieces sacred art, whether they are Spring encourages us to look optimistically toward Oregon’s privately commissioned or designed for public spaces like synaprecious months of sunlight. gogues and gardens “that inspire people to sit down, to breathe That light has been married to color in the kabbalah Glass deeply and to listen for what they want and need to hear.” studio of Eugene artist and advice columnist Helen Rosenau for Rosenau has become increasingly involved in Eugene’s the past decade. Jewish community life including giving several d’var (sermons) Rosenau straddles two arts – glass-making and writing – at TBI. Her glass art includes customized Parshah Panels, Trees both of which draw on her Jewish spirituality. “I’d always been of Life and protective hamsa – spiritual hand symbols – india cultural Jew, not a practicing Jew. But shortly after I began vidually designed after discussions with people “to whom the art my stained glass studies, I encountered the mystical context speaks.” The finished products come with a set of meditations of the Hebrew alphabet and that became my doorway back drawn from the kabbalistic tradition. into the profound nature of Judaism. Then I began to examine “It’s always fun to share art with folks who have attained a Kabbalah. I consider it an antidote to darkness.” certain level of consciousness,” she says. “The biggest test of its Both of Rosenau’s parents were German Holocaust survivors, value is if it sticks with you. Not me talking about it, but the and their experience helped form her childhood. colors and imagery of the tiles – the feeling of it as well as the “My primary identity is as a seeker,” Rosenau says, noting visual.” that in the ’60s, she might have described herself as a “New Age Rosenau recalls a moment 20 years ago when she “heard a Buddhist-pantheist with variations.” She now feels very right voice” asking what she wanted of life. “In my heart, I answered and back at home in the Jewish tradition of her family. “Those ‘goodness, joy, creativity.’ But my spirituality is an evolving proother journeys … inform me, but my path is very much in the cess, as is the art. I put my intentions into glass, and through it, tradition of kabbalah and Torah.” I find out who I am, and, hopefully, help others find themselves Not all the art Rosenau creates is Judaic, but she finds that as well.” when she develops Jewish themes, it becomes both a reflection of where she is and a conductor of spiritual energy.
Let There Be Light...
and Color!
For many Israelis, the Jewish State turning 64 isn’t the only miracle worth celebrating this year.
Magen Magen David David Adom’s Adom’s fast fast response response to to medical medical emergencies emergencies saves saves the the lives lives of of thousands. thousands. This Yom HaAtzma’ut, let’s rejoice in Israel’s birthday and all the Israelis This Yom HaAtzma’ut, let’s rejoice in Israel’s birthday and all the Israelis who who are are miraculously with us to celebrate. miraculously with us to celebrate.
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[THROUGH THE AGES/YOUNG ADULT]
Oregon college students attend J Street conference by Anne Koppel Conway
Oregonians visit Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) on the last day of the J Street National Conference. From left are (back row): Austin Weisgrau, Karen Abravanel, Hannah Fishman and the Rev. Wayne Smith; (front row): Bonamici, Anne McLaughlin, Marcia Danab and Elinor Gollay; and front: Joshua Shulruff.
J Street – a liberal pro-Israel, pro-peace nonprofit lobbying organization – has captured the hearts and imaginations of some Oregon college students. Thirteen of the 24 Oregonians who attended the J Street National Conference, March 24-27, were students, mostly from Reed and Lewis & Clark colleges. One student at the conference in Washington, DC, was Hannah Fishman, a Reed sophomore majoring in political science. Growing up, she said, “Israel was the way I connected most to my Jewish identity, because there aren’t that many Jews in Port Angeles (WA). For my parents, who are secular, learning about Israel was the way they inculcated their sense of being Jewish. As I grew older, I became more uncomfortable accepting Israeli politics. I still connected with and wanted to defend Israel, but some of those traditional defenses became false to my ears.” In 2008, when still in high school, she learned about J Street and felt she “could get behind a lot of the principles they stood for.” When she started college last year, Fishman joined J Street U on campus. She attended last year’s national conference where she “became inspired” and more invested in the organization. She was named the West Coast representative to the J Street U board.
58 MAY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
She went to Israel over winter break “with the goal of experiencing things” to become better informed. “So going to the conference was in many ways the culmination of a lot of work” she put in throughout the year. She believes “the current path that Israel is on is unsustainable in many ways. I love Israel and I really want it to continue being a Jewish democratic state that represents the ideals I hold dear.” Another conference attendee, Reed freshman Austin Weisgrau said, “My family, especially my dad, has always supported Israel and is involved in AIPAC.” Last year, Weisgrau spent five months in Jerusalem. Like his family in San Diego, the environmental studies major is concerned about the IsraeliPalestinian conflict and wanted to get involved. For him, J Street is the way to do that. “I really appreciate AIPAC’s strong support and defense of Israel regarding unfair propaganda,” he said, but he disagrees with their position on the Palestinian issue. He became involved with J Street because it brings a lot of knowledgeable people together and encourages relevant conversations. It “acts as a bridge for the pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian communities” and encourages “more communication (between these groups), which is absolutely essential in any conflict resolution,” he said. “But it’s hard to say how this communication will affect internal politics in Israel.” About 2,500 conference attendees – 650 of whom were students – lobbied members of Congress on March 27. Fishman said, “We stressed the need to allow time for sanctions and diplomacy to work against an Iranian nuclear weapons program. …We reiterated the importance of a two-state solution, and the necessity of American leadership to reach that goal.” “Our team got to meet with Oregon’s entire congressional delegation,” said Weisgrau. “All the meetings went really well! Both Democrats and Republicans seemed really receptive to what we had to say. I think it’s their job to be receptive, but a few of them were really on the same page as us.” Anne Koppel Conway is a freelance writer in Portland.
Conference video to be screened May 22 Would you like to learn more about what happened at J Street's "Making History" conference? J Street Portland invites you to a showing of selected conference presentations by prominent Israelis and Palestinians, including Amos Oz, Ehud Olmert and Mustafa Barghouti. A discussion on "The Future of Pro-Israel" will follow the videos to be screened at 7 pm, May 22, at Havurah Shalom, 825 NW 18th Ave., Portland. Free admission. For more information, contact 503-929-5544 or portland@jstreet.org.
[THROUGH THE AGES/FAMILIES]
Mother’s wisdom is a lifelong gift
alone, says Linda Cohen, author of the lovely book, 1,000 Mitzvahs: How Small Acts of Kindness Can Heal, Inspire and Change Your Life. “No matter what stage your children are in – the wonderful or the challenging – everything will change,” says the author. She also encourages moms not to feel guilty asking for help or getting support. In addition to discouraging ‘mother guilt,’ she brought up another important theme – food. “Share food together, meal time is Linda Cohen with her children Solomon, 11, and Gabrielle, 14. crucial and valuable.” by Vanessa Van Petten Allison Sherman, mother of two teenagers, also cheers My grandmother used to say that a mother’s wisdom is the family mealtime but cautioned, “Do not be a short order cook. world’s greatest gift. Of course, she would often remind me of Serve one thing for dinner and that’s it. Don’t worry – they will this right before ‘gifting’ me her advice on everything from the eat when they get hungry enough.” benefits of fiber, to how to keep a husband, to the best way to Referencing the wisdom of King Solomon – “Educate a clean my kitchen floors. child according to their path” – Brodkin says, “We have the In honor of my late grandmother, I asked five local Jewish opportunity to see what is unique about our children. Our mothers to share their wisdom for Mother’s Day. Practical, parenting has to reflect the ‘path’ of each unique kid.” humorous and philosophical, their advice also sheds light on the Barbara Cohen says Jewish wisdom also tells us: “Our chilJewish perspective of motherhood. dren are a gift on loan to us from G-d ... with strings attached.” Rabbi Kenneth Brodkin of Congregation Kesser Israel For her, strings are finding the balance between protecting them explains Judaism and motherhood go hand in hand. As a mother and letting them become self-reliant – one of the most difficult cares for her child, she plants the sense of a greater being who challenges for a parent. loves them. “This is why a mother, an Eim, is the figure who Feldman believes mothers can find the balance by standing plants the seeds of Emunah, or faith, in a child,” says Brodkin. firm in their principles. “If you model the behavior you want Faith was a common theme in my interviews. Jen Feldman, in word and in deed, then you have passed on to them a truly a mother of two and the development director at Congregation strong moral compass.” Beth Israel, says she tells her children they must have faith their Predictably, many of the women echoed my grandmother’s lives will turn out even better than they imagined. “I repeatedly sentiment by wishing they had listened to their own mothers tell my kids to remember that life is a party and everyone is just a bit more. Feldman reminisces, “My own mother gave me waiting to be invited,” says Feldman. great love, advice and support. In hindsight I wish I had better Barbara Cohen, mother of two, shares the importance of hav- believed what my mother told me was the emet, the real truth.” ing faith in your parenting skills. “Trust your instincts! Mothers And, of course, the real truth is that motherhood is one of receive lots of advice, just take a deep breath and trust your the few gifts that keeps on giving. maternal instincts, they won’t fail you.” Having faith in the maternal instinct also helps prevent a Vanessa Van Petten is a freelance writer and speaker who lives in Portland. very Jewish problem – motherly guilt. Mothers should never feel She specializes in human relationships with a focus on youth and family. OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2012 59
[THROUGH THE AGES/TEENS]
Where the teens are
JSU takes Jewish culture to area high schools
by Vanessa Van Petten
Spivak provides weekly kosher lunches to participating JSUs and helps student leaders facilitate Jewish-related discussions. “The students run the group, they pick topics like Israel, the Holocaust or Jewish holidays and then they lead activities and discussions while eating the kosher lunch we bring,” said Spivak. Not only is Spivak approached constantly by new schools wanting a JSU club, but she has seen a growing trend of Jewish students branching out to attend other Jewish events for the first time. Matan Horenstein is the co-president of the JSU club at Wilson High School. “For some of the students, JSU is their only Jewish outlet,” he says. “Teens not only learn about Jewish holidays, traditions and values, but also about Israeli history and its right to exist.” Students at St Mary’s celebrate Purim.
Meira Spivak is trying to solve a major problem facing the Jewish community today – how to reach unaffiliated Jewish
“Unaffiliated teens are not willing to come to a program outside of school.”
Many wonder what stops unaffiliated Jewish teens from going to Jewish community events on their own. Spivak explains teens. As NCSY’s Oregon teen programming that many students think they are not “Jewish enough” to attend director, Spivak is in charge of local Jewish events. “Our biggest challenge is trying to reach the 3,200 Jewish students around Oregon who have no connection Jewish Student Unions – Jewish culture to Judaism. We want to be approachable for them,” says Spivak. clubs in high schools. NCSY hosted its first regional Shabbaton in Portland March JSU has more than 300 clubs across North America and has 9 and drew more than 100 attendees – many from local JSUs. “It was such a success; kids had a really good time. We had a expanded to nine schools in Oregon since launching here in Havdallah with the NCSY rock band and an all-nighter at the 2005. family fun center. Kids came from all over the Pacific Northwest JSU takes a unique approach to reaching youth. Its mission to attend,” says Spivak. states, “By fostering a social atmosphere, presenting engaging Spivak hopes to sign up more schools and to bring in another and entertaining educational programs, and lowering the barriemployee to help reach more students. “My motto is to make ers to participation, JSU reaches all types of teenagers from the Judaism fun and approachable for as many students as possible.” under-engaged to the already involved.” To find out if JSU is in your local school or to help sponsor a Spivak says that JSU works because it goes where teens club, contact meira@ncsy.org or 503-757-3037. already are. “Unaffiliated teens are not willing to come to a program outside of school. So we bring innovative and fun events teens will actually want to attend,” explains Spivak. This approach is working. According to Spivak, JSU programs in Vanessa Van Petten is a freelance writer and speaker who lives in Portland. Oregon reach about 200 teens per week and during the Jewish Her latest book for parents, Do I Get My Allowance Before or After I’m Grounded?, won the 2012 Mom’s Choice Award. holidays the numbers are even higher. 60 MAY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
Jewish Federation of Greater Portland is proud to present as part of our 92nd Annual Meeting
Soviet refusenik Israeli statesman Human rights activist
Hero
keynote speaker
Natan Sharansky Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel
Tuesday, June 5 at 7:00 pm The struggle for freedom and the struggle for identity are the same struggle. - Natan Sharansky
Congregation Neveh Shalom 2900 Peaceful Lane, Portland
Sharansky is the face of our modern day Exodus - a legendary hero who’s freedom led to the rescue of one million Jews from the former Soviet Union and forever changed the future of Israel and Jewish lives around the world. He is the recipient of both the Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Free of Charge - RSVPs encouraged Register at www.jewishportland.org/sharansky or call Rachel at 503.892.7413
Refreshments served - Open to all
Building a vibrant Jewish community. 503.245.6219 | www.jewishportland.org 6680 SW Capitol Highway | Portland, OR 97219
JewishPDX
[ISRAEL/An oregonian in israel]
Jewish and Palestinian teammates beacon of hope despite fan violence
A Berni Ardov, Walla! Sport
A few weeks ago, the Sports Center on ESPN’s international channel began a soccer segment with a spot on Portland Timbers fans. Anytime I get a glimpse of Portland from halfway around the world, my local patriotism gets aroused. If it involves sports, the feeling is even more profound (the regular disappointments of the Blazers notwithstanding). As someone who has lived more than 30 years in a country where soccer is king and worked in sports media for more than 20 years, I long ago gained an appreciation for the unbridled passion of soccer fans. In America, you follow, support and root for your team. In Europe, South America and the Middle East, soccer is your life, and your team is your religion. A few years ago, the then owner of the Hapoel Tel Aviv soccer club Moshe Te’umim succinctly summed up this fact when he told me people convert to a different religion far more often than they change their allegiance to a soccer team. The short clip from Portland’s Jeld-Wen Field was the first time that I had ever seen this kind of international soccer fever
Ahmed Sabah, captain of Israeli premier league team Maccabi Netanya and league leading scorer, celebrates during a recent league match. Sabah, one of 55 Palestinian Israelis in the top flight of Israeli soccer, likely will be invited to the Israeli National team, which has almost always included Israeli Palestinian Arabs. 62 MAY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
by Mylan Tanzer
in the U.S. The nonstop singing, chanting, flag-waving and drum-beating by several thousand fans wearing Timbers Army shirts, hats and scarves is precisely the expression of support commonplace in stadiums around the world. My joy was tempered because fan-related soccer violence in Israel hit a new low that same weekend. It occurred in the always hotly contested Tel Aviv rivalry between Hapoel and Maccabi. This latest incidence of violence is the ugly flipside of fan passion seen in stadiums around the world. While fan-based violence is nothing new to football (as most of the world calls soccer), the recent frequency of these incidents is sad and shocking. The famous English saying that “Rugby is a hooligans game played by gentlemen, while soccer is a gentlemen’s game played by hooligans” seems to be especially relevant as fans join the ranks of hooligans. Soccer-fan violence is a well-documented social phenomenon. It can stem from the unemployed or marginally employed, alienated youth or minorities seeking the only stage available to them. In Israel, these factors are intensified by tension from Israel’s ever-present security threat and the highly charged political atmosphere. For many supporters, their only source of happiness is when their team wins; a loss is tantamount to being slapped in the face. In either case, the resulting behavior is often violent. As the image of Israeli soccer deteriorates, the peaceful majority of fans stay away from stadiums and the governing body of Israel soccer appears impotent. The problem needs to be dealt with by the police (who are not in the stadiums for budgetary reasons) and the courts; but the government has not displayed the necessary resolve. Unlike England, where government action put an end to violence, the issue here has not been a priority. But despite this grim picture, in Israel, where there is despair, there are always reasons for hope. It is one of our most important assets. Three points offer hope for Israeli soccer. First, Ironi Kiryat Shmona won the Premier League Championship. Since the 1980s, thousands of Katyusha rockets have bombarded the primarily North African and Russian immigrants of this northern town nestled between Lebanon and the Golan Heights. A low socio-economic structure and insufficient infrastructure made this town the least likely candidate to assemble a championship team. Yet for the past 20 years, a visionary businessman has donated huge sums of money and resources to the town and helped bring this dream to life. This is the first time the Israeli championship has been won by a team outside the four major cities. This wonderful achievement has given happiness and hope to an entire segment of the population who are all too often forgotten and marginalized.
Second, proposed legislation would allow the minister of internal security to invoke administrative detention for soccer hooligans. This somewhat controversial tool in Israel’s fight against terrorism allows Internal Security to immediately remove from circulation those thought to be “ticking time bombs,” to interrogate them and file charges after detention.
In Israel, where there is despair, there are always reasons for hope. The proposed soccer legislation would be a much lighter form of administrative detention, but almost certain arrest and incarceration would effectively deter offenders who currently believe they can act with impunity. Finally, Israeli soccer is the one place where Jews and Palestinians truly coexist. This year, the Premier League has 55 Palestinian players, around 20% of the league total. The National Team almost always has at least one, and often two or three, Palestinian players representing Israel in the most important and prestigious international matches. The largest concentration of Palestinian players (11) is at Bnei Sachnin, an Arab Israeli city. Six Palestinians play for last year’s champion, Maccabi Haifa, and four each for Hapoel, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Kiryat Shmona, the new champion. Many are star players for their teams. The current leagueleading scorer is Ahmad Sabah, a Palestinian who plays for Maccabi Netanya. The prominent role of Palestinian Arabs in Israeli soccer is remarkable considering the ongoing conflict. Terrorist attacks, retaliatory operations, security measures and other manifestations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have not damaged the bond between Israeli players of Jewish and Palestinian backgrounds.
Does this mean that Israeli Palestinians see themselves as Israeli first and Palestinian second? I doubt it. It has more to do with Palestinian youth who see soccer as a way to escape the cycle of rural poverty. But once Jews and Palestinians become teammates, backgrounds and political opinions play little, if any part. These players truly become teammates and work harmoniously. The trash talk that can spill over into unnecessary roughness, shoving, even fighting, never occurs for racial reasons, but rather between opposing players in the heat of competition. Does this successful coexistence transfer into Israeli society? Not really. But as long as it continues, Jewish-Palestinian soccer coexistence will remain a beacon that can provide badly needed guidance and inspiration. As bad as the current situation is in Israeli soccer, it still provides hope and joy. I sincerely hope the government will show the necessary resolve so I will be able to take my kids to games and know that we will have fun like I did when my father took me to games in Portland. Mylan Tanzer is a Portland native who moved to Israel in 1981. He was the founding CEO of the first Israeli cable and satellite sports channel. Since 2005, he has launched, managed and consulted for channels and companies in Israel and Europe. Tanzer lives in Tel Aviv with his wife and five children. He can be reached at mylantanz@gmail.com.
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[ISRAEL/AN ISRAELI IN OREGON]
Land of wheat and barley by Amos Meron If you ask the average Israeli to describe what Israeli beer means to him in one word, he would probably reply, “Goldstar.” Goldstar is a dark lager beer brewed in Israel by Tempo Industries. The beer is by far the most popular local beer in Israel; in fact, it has 27% of the entire beer market in Israel. Every year more than 40 million bottles of Goldstar are sold in Israel, which makes Tempo the largest beer manufacturer and distributor in Israel. Tempo also distributes other beverage brands like Pepsi and Heineken (Heineken International owns 40% of Tempo). It is the second-largest beverage company in Israel (just after CBC Group, the local distributer of CocaCola). Goldstar is also my favorite beer. Goldstar was introduced in 1950 and today is brewed in a big brewery in Netanya, a coastal city north of Tel Aviv. The same complex brews two other well-known Israeli beverages – Maccabee and Nesher Malt. Maccabee started in 1968 in Migdal HaEmek in northern Israel. Today Maccabee is much more popular in the U.S. and Europe than in Israel. Here in the States, I’ve heard people mention this beer countless times. Nesher (Eagle in Hebrew) was the first industrial beer in Israel’s history and goes back to 1935. Today the nonalcoholic version of it – Nesher Malt – is the popular version. A malt-type beverage, it is the equivalent of American root beer. Growing up on Nesher, trying American root beer in the States was a traumatic experience – it tasted like cough syrup! Luckily, I was able to find Nesher Malt at a local grocery store in Portland. For the past six decades, this was essentially the entire scope of the beer industry in Israel. In the last few years however, a new trend is gaining ground – microbreweries. For Portlanders,
this might sound like old news, but the first two microbreweries didn’t open in Israel until 2006. The wine industry in Israel experienced a revolution in the 1980s and ’90s, and now a similar revolution is under way for beers. For years, Carmel Winery – a company founded in 1882 by Edmond de Rothschild with wineries in Rishon LeZion and Zikhron Ya’akov – had a virtual monopoly in the wine making market. Then in 1983 the Golan Heights Winery opened unleashing a rapid expansion from four wineries to more than 350 today. Rothschild was also the original owner of Nesher, which was brewed in Rishon LeZion next to the winery. Just as the Golan Heights launched the wine revolution, the first microbrewery opened there in 2006. That seems to be an innovative region when it comes to drinks. Today people estimate as many as two dozen breweries dot the holy land. Part of the challenge is defining a brewery – it can range from beer made in the family kitchen to a company that sells its brew nationwide. This rapidly growing market has a remarkable variety of types and flavors. I visited the first major local beer festival in Israel in January 2011 at Nokia Stadium (home of Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team). This event changed many minds about what “an Israeli beer” can be. The festival included a passion fruit beer from the Negev Desert, a wheat beer brewed in the Valley of Elah near Jerusalem (where David and Goliath played) and a golden ale made at a Palestinian village near Ramallah (the beer holds a kosher certificate from the rabbi of Ofra, a neighboring settlement). There were truly amazing things to see and taste. So next time you visit Israel, instead of having Maccabee again, ask the bartender to give you a taste of an exceptional local beer. L’Chaim! Amos is the Israeli shaliach (emissary) to the Jewish community of Portland, and can be reached at amos@jewishportland.org or on Facebook (Amos Meron Shaliach).
Nesher beer factory in Rishon LeZion, 1941. Alexander is one of many new microbrews in Israel.
Nesher beer factory in Rishon LeZion, 1941. 64 MAY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
Alexander is one of many new microbrews in Israel.
Life on the Other Side by Anne Kleinberg
‘We’ don’t eat that!
Passover has passed. Shavuot is still to come. Food, food and more food! As I sat at my friend’s seder table I was surprised at how different our customs were. We had a roasted shank bone on the seder plate, she used a raw bone wrapped in aluminum foil. We made charoset from walnuts, apples, cinammon and red wine. Hers was composed of nuts and dates. No gefilte fish! No matzah ball soup! But there was mafroum (potatoes stuffed with chopped meat) and chicken with artichokes. What’s going on here? The issue of different culinary customs brought back some funny memories. I started to think about the way I was raised – and what “we” did and didn’t eat. Did you know that white bread is not Jewish? What about Brussels sprouts? Pumpkin pie? Blue cheese dressing? We Jews definitely didn’t eat those foods! Sound ridiculous? It is, but that’s how I grew up. We did not eat certain foods, not because they weren’t kosher, but rather because it just didn’t seem right. Those were the foods eaten by the gentiles and we ate differently from them. Growing up in New York, we Jews ate rye, pumpernickel or challah. And slathered on it was butter or cream cheese, maybe mustard and a slice of salami. Non Jews? They were smearing their white bread with mayo and on top of that – bologna! We ate tuna mixed with Hellman’s mayonnaise; they used Miracle Whip. We ate gherkins and garlic half-sours; they ate bread and butter pickles. We had tuna casserole, they had tuna stroganoff. We ate American cheese and muenster, they ate gouda and cheddar. A friend reminded me of how far this mishegas could go. “They ate butterscotch candies, we ate sour cherry balls. When we had sore throats we went to the box of Ludens cough drops, they had Smith Bros. – although the two guys on the box sure did look like rabbis.” I can’t write those words without feeling that I’m committing some awful politically incorrect sin. The thought that food was abstained from because it wasn’t associated with our people rings absurd. All these years later, the differences among folk of the same religion are still out there. People like to stick with what they know, and there seems to be a fear of venturing too far from the familiar. Here in Israel, its very obvious. I, for one, dislike bamya (meat and okra stew). No amount of kitchen skill will convince me to forfeit my okra aversion. Does that make me anti-Sephardic? I also dislike ptshah.
Does my gag reflex when seeing jellied calves’ feet make me anti-Ashkenazi? You know what I think? To hell with it all! Let ’em eat cake! And bamya! And white bread with mayo! Mix it up. Just jump in and try that food you’ve seen but never tasted. It’s time to step out of our culinary comfort zones. Go on a gastronomic journey and live it up. Life is short – learn to say, “We do eat that!” Anne Kleinberg, author of Menopause in Manhattan and several cookbooks, left a cushy life in Manhattan to begin a new one in Israel. Now she’s opened a boutique bed and breakfast in her home on the golf course in Caesarea. For details, visit www.annekleinberg. com and www.casacaesarea.com.
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[CONNECT/VOLUNTEERS]
Cathy Shoel delivers groceries to Store to Door client Ina Kingsley.
Volunteer MaveNs Store to Door provides ‘Groceries and more: A friend at your door’
Manned by a few staff and a small army of volunteers, Store to Door (S2D) takes individual grocery orders over the phone every Tuesday, shops on Wednesday and Thursday mornings at the Stadium Fred Meyer, and delivers the groceries and goods later each day. First-time volunteer shoppers should call ahead to schedule a training, after which they can shop all morning every week or just drop in for an hour or so now and then. Shoppers run the gamut from teens and parents with toddlers to empty nesters and seniors. Jean Pierce, who is 86, shops a couple of hours every week, taking care of people much younger than she is who just can’t get out. “I do it because it makes me feel good to volunteer. And I get to walk. It’s my exercise!” Delivery volunteers must make a weekly commitment and have a background check, but it can be very satisfying. They often go into the home, visit a bit and help put away the groceries. For some S2D clients, this visit is their only social interaction all week. S2D delivery people are also trained to be alert for signs the resident may need additional help. Helen can then call someone in her network of senior service providers. David Fuks, CEO of CSP, believes in the value of S2D. “We are working to provide services for our elders who want to stay home as long as possible. The inability to get groceries and other supplies can be the deal breaker for some. Store to Door gets the job done.” “A lot of people who can’t get out are pretty much invisible to the rest of us and behind a lot of doors are people who are in need of services, attention, social interaction … life,” says Helen.
Liz Rabiner Lippoff is a medical marketing conEven before she became a senior, Store to Door Executive Director Helen Bernstein sultant, freelance writer, Cedar Sinai Park board loved seniors. member and a fan of Store to Door. www.LizInk.biz In 1979, Helen taught the first fitness classes in Manhattan designed specifically for seniors. She later went to the 92nd Street Y as director of the senior adult program. She chaired the Eastside Council on the Aging, a group focused on creating and maintaining senior Store to Door is a non-profit that provides low-cost, services in the community. personalized grocery shopping and delivery for Portland When Helen came to Portland to be near her family in seniors and people with disabilities who can’t shop for 1996, she put all those skills to work here – first as a volunteer themselves. To volunteer: Call Cindi Price at and later as a board member at Cedar Sinai Park and then as 503-200-3336 or visit www.StoreToDoorOfOregon.org. executive director of Store to Door. She is an active participant in a growing network of senior service providers. 66 MAY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
Honorees
May 17: Arden and Lois Shenker receive Stampfer Award Arden and Lois Shenker will be awarded the 14th annual Rabbi Joshua Stampfer Community Enrichment Award, May 17, at the Benson Hotel. Created in 1999 to honor Stampfer on the 50th anniversary of his ordination, the award honors an individual, family or organization who has enriched Jewish cultural, educational and/ or community life with the dedication that is exemplified by Stampfer’s example. Stampfer is rabbi emeritus at Portland’s Congregation Neveh Shalom. Lifelong Portlanders, Lois and Arden Shenker were both born and raised by families steeped in Jewish life. Married 51 years, they have three married children, 10 grandchildren and two greatgrandchildren. The Shenkers’ dedication to Jewish life embraces the Portland Jewish community, national service, world Jewry and their deep connection to Israel. Lois and Arden have served on nine Jewish organization, agency and synagogue boards. Their extensive community participation includes serving on countless committees and supporting countless programs and projects. “This award reflects our family past, present and future and the community of which we are part,” said Lois Shenker. “Arden and I are so humbled, in large part because of its association with Rabbi Stampfer – we think so very, very highly of him. We do what we do because we think it’s the right thing to do.” The evening begins with a no-host bar at 6 pm followed by dinner at 6:30 pm. Cost is $65. For reservations or information, call 503-246-8831 or email Meverett@nevehshalom.org. May 20: Nemer Service Award honors Tenners Congregation Shaarie Torah presents the Harry R. Nemer Service Award to Dori Tenner and the late Robert Tenner on May 20. The award is presented to Shaarie Torah members for outstanding volunteer service to the congregation. Dori and Bob Tenner gave decades of service to the congregation in leadership roles as committee members and officers of the synagogue. Their accomplishments will be the focal point of the event. Event chairs are Richard Cohen and Steph Kotkins. The dinner begins with cocktails at 6 pm at Shaarie Torah, 920 NW 25th Ave., Portland. The cost of the event is $36; proceeds support educational programs at Shaarie Torah. Sponsorships are available. For information and reservations, call Congregation Shaarie Torah at 503-226-6131.
[HAPPENINGS/PREVIEW] May 30: MJCC honors Jerry Sadis The Friends of the Center Dinner 2012 – Magical Moments at the MJCC – will honor Jerry Sadis. Beginning at 5:30 pm, May 30, at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center, the evening will feature Grand Prix World Champion Magician Shawn Farquhar. Born in Seattle, Sadis graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. During his career at Fred Meyer Inc., he rose from assistant controller to executive vice president. “When I left Fred Meyer in 1987, I had a lot more time and dedicated it to giving back to the community,” says Sadis. Since then he has served as president of MJCC and Portland Jewish Academy, Congregation Beth Israel and Oregon Jewish Community Foundation. He has also served on the boards of the Robison Jewish Health Center and the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. He was on the JFGP board in 2005 during the MJCC’s financial crisis. The federation asked him to use his financial expertise to assess the problem and then participate in crisis management. For the past seven years, he has served on the MJCC board. “It’s remarkable. In seven hectic years, membership is up … PJA has a stable home – all told, it’s a success story.” Sadis said the MJCC is still “the perfect venue to reattach people to their roots.” Tickets are $90; proceeds benefit the MJCC. RSVP by May 10 at www.oregonjcc.org/dinner or contact 503-535-3600 or dinner@oregonjcc.org. June 3: Song of Miriam honorees The Jewish Women’s Round Table announces its 20th Annual Song of Miriam honorees, women who volunteer their time and energy to ensure the continuity and vibrancy of the Jewish community of Oregon and Southwest Washington. The awards brunch will be 10 am-12:15 pm, June 3, at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center, 6651 SW Capitol Hwy., Portland. The 2012 honorees are: Dena Gutterman of Congregation Beit Haverim/SMJC, Connie Cambreleng of Congregation Beth Israel Sisterhood, Rachel Pollak of The Florence Melton Adult Mini-School, Miriam Brewer of Havurah Shalom, Dr. Dale Oller of Jewish Family and Child Service, Barbara Cohen of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, Carol Glauber of Congregation Kesser Israel, Enid Beck of Congregation Kol Ami in Vancouver, Roberta Hellman of Congregation Kol Shalom, Sheila Weiner honoree of both MJCC and Portland Jewish Academy, Lauren Fortgang of Congregation Neveh Shalom, Miriam Greenstein of the Oregon Holocaust Resource Center, Lynn Taylor of Congregation P’nai Or, Barbara Enkelis of the Robison Jewish Health Center Sisterhood, Teri Giangreco of Shalom Chapter of Hadassah-SW Washington, Melissa Cohen of Congregation Shaarie Torah Sisterhood and Miriam Levitt of Congregation Shir Tikvah. For more information, visit www.jwrt.org. For questions, call Jerrie Roth at 503-246-4367 or e-mail Ellen Bick at ellenbick@comcast. net. Reservations: $21 if postmarked by May 24; $30 thereafter; $10 for 12 and under; and $36 for patrons. Send check made out to JWRT with names of attendees to Jerrie Roth, 1231 SW Texas St., Portland, OR 97219.
OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2012 67
[HAPPENINGS/PREVIEW]
JTC’s Loman Family Picnic opens May 12 The Jewish Theatre Collaborative presents The Loman Family Picnic by Don Margulies, a hysterically funny drama/musical of a 1960s’ Jewish family coming apart at the seams as they struggle for the American Dream and prepare for their son’s bar mitzvah. It’s 1965. Herbie is chronically overworked and underpaid; his wife, Doris, tells herself she loves her life even though as the play begins she is shredding her wedding dress; Stewie, their older son, eagerly awaits his bar mitzvah with an eye on the potential loot to be gained in gifts; all while Mitchell, 11, notes parallels between his family and Arthur Miller’s fictional Loman Family. The stellar cast includes Jill Westerby as Doris, Jason Glick as Herbie, Bryce Earhart as Stewie, Dylan Earhart as Mitchell, and Sara Fay Goldman as the deceased Aunt Marsha. It features set design by Mark Loring, costumes by Elizabeth Huffman, lighting by Jeff Woods, musical orchestration by Mark La Pierre, and musical direction and sound design by Jen Raynak. Director Sacha Reich says, “Comedy is an inviting doorway into the human psyche and complications of life. Family life can push you to the edge and these nutty, compelling characters are trying desperately to rewrite their ending.” Opening night is May 12 with preview performances May 10 and 11. Facilitated talkbacks follow every performance. Special talkbacks include: May 13, Mother’s Day reflection on the role of mothers in the ’60s; May 17 and 20, bar mitzvah tutors discuss navigating this important coming of age process; and June 3, recent b’nai mitzvah discuss the experience. 8 pm, Thursdays-Saturdays, and 2 pm, Sundays, May 10-June 3, at The Arena Stage at Theater! Theater! 3430 SE Belmont, Portland. Tickets, available at www. brownpapertickets.com, are $20 adult, $18 senior, $15 students and $10 preview.
The Loman Family – portrayed by (from left) Dylan Earhart, Jill Westerby, Bryce Earhart and Jason Glick.
Lag B’Omer returns to Alpenrose May 10 This year’s Lag B’Omer celebration at Alpenrose Dairy will be 5-7 pm, May 10. The annual event traditionally draws hundreds of participants of all ages to enjoy entertainment, games and kosher food in the quaint Alpenrose Dairyville, 6149 SW Shattuck Road, Portland. Wheels of Unity in the Community is presented by Chabad of Oregon with sponsorship from the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. See bicycles from City Bikes, known for their re-use and renew bikes; motorcycles from Harley Davidson; Ferrari from Ron Tonkin Gran Turismo; fire trucks; armored vehicle; police car and motorcycle; unicycles; and skateboarders. The event is free, but donations are appreciated. Kosher meals, ice cream and drinks for sale. Gypsy Jazz West performs at 6 pm. Celebrating the unity of the Jewish people is especially appropriate on Lag B’Omer, says Chabad of Oregon Rabbi Moshe Wilhelm. During the time of the Mishnah, some 24,000 of Rabbi Akiva’s students died between Passover and Lag B’Omer. The deaths ended that day with the restoration of unity. Organized by Over the Top Events, Heidi Holmes, 503-201-5799.
The 2012 Global Business Awards Luncheon benefiting Special Olympics Oregon Wednesday, May 16, 2012 Portland Hilton and Tower—Pavilion Room gathering at d 11:30 am lunch and awards ceremony d 12:00-1:30 pm
Please join us as we recognize Oregon’s outstanding international business and honor the legacy of Oregon civic and business leaders
coordinator
master of ceremonies
Serge D’Rovencourt
honorees
Dick Alexander Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown Clayton Hering State Senator Betsy Johnson Dr. Cheryl Roberts Dr. Herb and Shirley Semler 68 MAY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
Gerry Frank
special guests
Ken and Joan Austin (2012 Awards Presenters)
Kerry Tymchuck (Presenter of Tributes)
In memorium
U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield
Roger S. Meier
Harold Schnitzer
Stanley M. Samuels
COURAGE by Zoe Fanning, St. Clare Middle School, Portland, was the Grand Prize Art Winner in this year’s Sala Kryszek Art and Writing Contest of the Oregon Holocaust Resource Center. Fanning was also the grand prize winner for her writing entry, One Word Can Change a Life. Each year the Oregon Holocaust Resource Center sponsors an art and writing contest named in honor of Sala Kryszek, a Holocaust survivor who immigrated to Portland, where she lived until her death in 1986. The objectives of the competition are to encourage today’s youth to evaluate history; foster an awareness of the Holocaust; broaden their minds in the areas of art, history, civics, sociology and literature; and to connect the Holocaust to events in today’s world. The prompt for this year’s contest was: Create a piece of writing or a work of art which through its message will enable readers and/ or viewers to understand that the courage to act in the face of injustice, even at great personal risk, is a choice open to each of us. This year, Zoe Fanning of Portland’s St. Clare Middle School was the grand prize winner in both the writing and art contests. St. Clare also had the top three students in the middle school art competition: 1st, Cav Lefor, Courage; 2nd, Isabel Trily, Speak Your Voice; and 3rd, Lauren Covell, Believe. Honorable mention was Margot Flynn, Faces of Courage, from St. Ignatius School. High school art winners were: 1st, Michelle Coblens, Hidden Instincts, Westview High School; 2nd, Kalila Fuller, The Joker, Lake Oswego High School; 3rd, Lexie Yadon, Do You Know What’s Happening on the Other Side of Your Perfect World? Clackamas High School; and honorable mention: Tina Smith, Overcome, Ft. Vancouver High School. Middle school writing winners were: 1st, Blaise Johnson-Stevens, Letters, St. Clare School; 2nd, Lindsey Orr, What Did We Do Wrong? Mark Twain Middle School; 3rd, Miriam Barnes, Courage to Act, St. Ignatius School; and honorable mention, Ally Schmidt, Timid Choices, Mark Twain Middle School. High school writing winners were: 1st, Felicia Nguyen, Reason for Change, Clackamas High School; 2nd, Mary Reitmann, When Faced with the Choice, Choose to be Courageous, Ione High School; 3rd, Christine Trinh, Broken, De La Salle North Catholic High School; and four honorable mentions: Karen Garcia, The Pathways of Life, Culver High School; Makenna Ridenour, Choices, and Mikalah Ball, Survivor, both of St. Helens High School; and Alicia Dougherty, Dear Graduates, Ft. Vancouver High School. Winners will be honored at 11 am, May 6 at the Multnomah Athletic Club. Tickets ($15) for the luncheon are available from the OHRC, 503-245-2733 or info@ohrconline.org. Vases by Deborah Shapiro, one of at least five Jewish potters participating in the Ceramic Showcase, will be on display May 4-6 at the Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE MLK Blvd., Portland. Shapiro (whose work will be on display at booth #D9) presents a free demonstration at 10 am, May 5 on the Demo Stage. The Ceramic Showcase is the largest sale and show of clay in the U.S. Info: www.ceramicshowcase. com or 503-222-0533.
[HAPPENINGS/REVIEW]
Gov. John Kitzhaber signs HB 4110, a bill introduced by the Community Relations Committee of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. The bill strongly encourages the Oregon Investment Council to divest from multinational energy companies operating in Iran’s oil and gas sectors. Commenting on the three years of hard work it took to get the bill passed, the governor remarked, “It’s about time!” Standing from left are Michael Selvaggio, representing State Treasurer Ted Wheeler; Jameson Gideon, legislative aide to Rep. Jim Weidner (R); Bob Horenstein, CRC director; Ken Kwartler, co-chair of the CRC’s Israel Advocacy Subcommittee; Sam Katz, U of O law student; and Rep. Val Hoyle (D). The bill’s cosponsors (not pictured) were Democrats Rep. Mitch Greenlick and Sen. Ginny Burdick.
Dancing with the Tree of Life Friend-Raising Celebration and Auction
Sunday, May 20th
Doors open at 5:30 pm Hors D’oeuvres a Dancing a Silent & Live Auction $18 advance/$24 at the door Please email rivkagevurtz@comcast.net, subject line “Auction Access”, to purchase tickets online and for online bidding.
Held at: The Madeleine Church 3123 NE 24th Ave., Portland, OR 97212 Also join us for Shavuot, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 26, with Rabbi Debra Kolodny at P’nai Or, 9750 SW Terwilliger, Portland, OR 97219 (503) 248-4500 • www.pnaiorpdx.org OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2012 69
[HAPPENINGS/PReview]
MAY CALENDAR May 1
May 9
May 22
Relations Between the Generations in Jewish Poetry, Melton class with Deborah Eisenbach-Budner. 10:45 am, Tuesdays, May 1-29, at Shaarie Torah, 920 NW 25th, Portland. www.meltonportland.org
Victory Day Dinner Party celebrates defeat of Hitler and honors Soviet veterans. Sponsored by PortlandKhabarovsk Sister City Association. 6 pm at Ararat, 5716 S.E. 92nd Ave., Portland. Includes open bar, authentic Russian cuisine, traditional Russian holiday music, festive singing and dancing, and a commemorative Victory Day program to honor Soviet veterans in region. Free for Soviet veterans; adults $25; seniors $20; high school/college students $15; free. www.pksca.org
Rabbi Kerry M. Olitzky, one of Newsweek’s 2012 top 50 Rabbis and outreach innovator, dialogues on the future of the North American Jewish community. JFGP cosponsors this 7 pm program at Congregation Neveh Shalom, 2900 SW Peaceful Lane, Portland. Contact Jamie Allen Black at Jewish Outreach Institute 212-760-1440
Our Changing Planet lecture series Tuesdays in May. Page 45
May 3 Portland Melton presents Celebration of Sephardic Culture with music, food and learning. 7 pm at Congregation Ahavath Achim, 3225 SW Barbur Blvd. $36. 503-384-2476 or learn@ meltonportland.org
May 6
May 10
Friday Night Lights family Shabbat party. 5:30 pm at the MJCC. RSVP by May 22: 503-244-0111
May 12
May 30
OJM’s 2012 Annual Gala: Let’s Have a Ball! at the Tualatin Country Club. Gala dinner, hosted bar and silent auction begins at 4:30 pm. Tickets www.ojm.org or 503-226-3600 Jewish Home Herbal Remedies: a free workshop on how to make medicines from wild plants growing in Portland and Jewish texts and values that emphasize self-care and medicinal knowledge. Portland Tuv Ha’aretz program from 3-5 pm. For location, info: rosehipmedics@gmail.com or visit portlandtuv.org
May 13
Join members of the Oregon New Sanctuary Movement – an interfaith coalition of individuals, faith leaders and congregations, who are taking action to create justice for immigrants – at this event co-sponsored by P'nai Or. 1-3 pm at St. Philip Neri, 2408 SE 16th Ave., Portland. See and discuss two short films: Dying to Live: A Migrant’s Journey and Scenes from a Youth Movement. ONSM at 503-550-3510 or portlandsanctuary@gmail.com
Young Adult Film Screening of in-progress documentary Outside the Box with the director Lacey Schwartz. 7 pm at Oregon Jewish Museum,1953 NW Kearney St., Portland. 503-226-3600 or education@ojm.org
Robison Sisterhood annual celebration of donors. 10:30 am at Rose Schnitzer Manor, 6140 SW Boundary St., Portland. 503-535-4000 or info@rjhcsisterhood.org Garden Gems talk and plant sale. Page 45
May 8 The Unexpected Caregiver: How to Keep Mom and Dad Active, Safe and Independent. Cedar Sinai Park presents author Kari Berit’s lecture at 7 pm at the MJCC. $15; First 40 reservations receive a free copy of Berit’s book The Unexpected Caregiver. RSVP by May 7: 503-535-4422 Diversity of the Orthodox World, Melton class with Dr. Sylvia Frankel. 7 pm, Tuesdays, May 8-June 5, at Shaarie Torah, 920 NW 25th, Portland. www.meltonportland.org
70 MAY 2012 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
May 25
Lag B’Omer at Alpenrose. Page 68 Opening night for Jewish Theatre Collaborative’s The Loman Family Picnic. Page 68
Call for Artists deadline for jury selection for ORA Northwest Jewish Artists Celebration of Art Show Fall 2012. Membership info: Ellen Shefi elfstudios@ gmail.com; Jury info: Laura Fendel jazzfens@ comcast.net or visit www.northwestjewishartists.org
J Street’s “Making History” conference video. Page 58
Brazilian Jewish Pianist Arnaldo Cohen performs at Oregon Symphony. Page 30 OJM Sunday Music Project, features local Northwest musicians. 2 pm in OJM’s 50-seat auditorium, 1953 NW Kearney St., Portland. 503-226-3600 or education@ojm.org
May 14
May 15 The End of Cancer is within Reach: JFGP hosts an evening with Dr. Brian Druker, director of the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute and lead researcher for anti-cancer drug Gleevec. 7:30 pm at MJCC. Free, but RSVPs encouraged: www.jewishportland.org/druker or 503-892-7413
May 16 Urban Compositions: Author Kathleen Dean Moore and Oregon Poet Laureate Paulann Petersen read from a new collaborative book project featuring original writings influenced by selections from the photographic archive of Alfred Edelman. 7 pm at OJM. RSVP: www.ojm.org or call 503-226-3600
May 17 Rabbi Joshua Stampfer Community Enrichment Award. Page 67
May 20 Harry Nemer Service Award. Page 67
Mittleman Jewish Community Center, abbreviated in calendar items as MJCC, is located at 6651 SW Capitol Hwy., Portland. Jewish Federation of Greater Portland is abbreviated as JFGP.
Friends of the Center Dinner-Magical Moments at the MJCC. Page 67
June 3 Song of Miriam Awards. Page 67
Oregon Jewish Museum May Exhibits: Transport: Works by Henk Pander & Esther Podemski; Jaap Pander: Let There Be Light; The Dawn of Tomorrow: Oregon Jews and Woman Suffrage Exhibit Opening: June 6 Opening Reception “Take me out to the Ball Game!” coincides with the first inductions into the Oregon Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. June 7-Sept. 30 In The Game exhibit examines the significance and importance of sports and sportsrelated activities as viewed through lens of the Jewish experience in Oregon. Oregon Jewish Museum, 1953 Kearney, Portland. 503-226-3600
SUBMISSIONS Oregon Jewish Life accepts brief submissions about past and future events. Photographs for the Review page of Happenings should be at least 4 inches wide at 300 dpi. Captions should include a description of the event, when and where the activity occurred and names of people in the photograph unless it is a large group. To submit an upcoming event for the Previews section, send date, time, location, event name with short description and contact information. All submissions should be sent to Deborah.moon@ojlife.com.
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