Oregon Jewish Life May 2016 Vol.5/Issue 4

MAY 2016

WANDER NO MORE

SPECIAL SECTIONS: Seniors: A Golden Age

Oregon taste of

Oregon's Hot Restaurants & Cool Local Produce

Vote for

Shira Einstein Cancer Survivor, Medical Student & Woman of Year Nominee

This Yom HaAtzma’ut, celebrate red, white, and blue.

Magen David Adom, Israel’s largest and premier emergency medical response agency, has been saving lives since before 1948. And supporters like you provide MDA’s 27,000 paramedics, EMTs, and civilian life guardians — more than 90% of them volunteers — with the training, equipment, and rescue vehicles they need. So as we celebrate Israel’s independence, make a difference in the health, welfare, and security of the Israeli people with your gift to MDA. Please give today.

AFMDA Western Region 6505 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 450 Los Angeles, CA 90048 Toll-Free: 800.323.2371 western@afmda.org

www.afmda.org

速

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 3

Inside

Features COVER STORY

May 2016/ Nissan-Iyar 5776 | Volume 5/Issue 4

14

Cancer survivor comes full circle as medical student….……………………20 Vote for Shira Einstein as Woman of the Year………………………………….24 CALL TO ACTION Ambassador: Use pride to counter anti-Semitism………..……………………8 BUSINESS Ins & Outs………………………………………….……………………………………10 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Play’s biblical allusion feel fresh……..…....…………………………………….41 Art and writing winners………………………………………………………………42 MOTHER’S DAY Join the conversation on women’s wisdom….…………………………………44 YOUNG ADULTS South African students talk apartheid …....…………………………………..46 HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE Miriam Greenstein and perseverance …....……………………………………48 ISRAEL A trio of spring holidays ……………….…....……………………………………..50 Oregon’s Israel celebrations……………….………………………………………51 Oregon-Israel ties ………………..…………………………………….…………... 52 Environmental issues cross borders……..…………………………………….. 55

44

Intergenerational senior connections…..……………………………………….... 36 Help mom plan for future housing………………………………………………….. 39 Senior advertiser directory………………….…………………………………………40

JKids & Teens too/CAMPS Dirt is good for you…………..........…………………………………………………...56 Driving to adulthood………..…..………………………………………………………58 Kids and Teens Calendar…..…………………………………………………………..59

JLiving Rabbi Ariel celebrates 25 years……………………………………………………...60 FACES from recent events …….……………………………………………………….62 Previews of things to come …….…………………………………………………….64 Calendar …….……………………….……………………………………………………65

Columns 14 Chef’s Corner by Lisa Glickman

AConnecting Taste of Oregon local fresh food and Judaism...………………………………..….12

16 NW Nosh by Kerry Politzer 37 Ask Helen 58 Family Time by Debra Rich-Gettleman

Chef’s Corner: Wine adds nuance to meal …....………………………………14 NW Nosh: Cookbook spotlights salmon….……………………………………..16 Restaurant Profiles……………………………………………………………………18

COVER PHOTO: Shira Einstein

Seniors A golden era for seniors…………………..…..…………………………………….26 Ida bakes up fun in Bend……………….…………………………………………..30 UO honors Harry Glickman…..……………….…………………………………….33 Store to Door honors volunteers………..………………………………………..34 Menashes talk about legacies…………..…………………………………….....35

4 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

46

Haven’t made your gift yet to the 2016 Annual Community Campaign? Do it today and join us!

Go to jewishportland.org/donate ®

THE STRENGTH OF A PEOPLE. THE POWER OF COMMUNITY.

Call 503-245-6219

6680 SW Capitol Hwy | Portland, OR 97219 503-245-6219 | www.jewishportland.org

JewishPDX

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 5

™

Spring has arrived, and all the bounty of Oregon is on full display in this month’s issue.

Our Taste of Oregon section focuses on the local produce and local products sure to get your taste buds eager to meet the season’s flavors. From farm fresh veggies and orchard fruits to the region’s beer and wines, delicious and healthy eating is easy to find. Restaurants offer their twists on classics from New York, Israel and beyond.

Chef ’s Corner columnist Lisa Glickman shows us how to add nuance to a meal with wine from Oregon’s Willamette Valley vineyards. Since we are in the heart of the salmon run on the Columbia, Willamette and Rogue Rivers, NW Nosh columnist Kerry Politzer has found a salmon cookbook to help prepare your next feast with the Northwest’s iconic fish.

Bountiful options also are springing up for this generation of seniors. In fact, there are so many options for housing and services that Cedar Sinai Park and Jewish Family & Child Service are developing a senior concierge service to provide a one-stop hotline. Aging in place, wherever you call home, just keeps getting easier. Our Senior Section offers a preview of what’s on the horizon, but it also features plenty of seniors who have taken hold of life and continue to engage in all Oregon offers.

Our cover gal, Shira Einstein, is making the most of life for herself and disadvantaged children in Latin America. Her diagnosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma at age 15 barely slowed her down. She had chemotherapy on Fridays so she could recover over the weekend and not miss any school. Now eight years later she is in medical school and volunteering around the world to truly make the world a better place. Read her inspiring story and be sure to vote for her as Leukemia Lymphoma Society Woman of the Year by May 10.

By the way, Shira’s family moved to Portland from Israel at age 8. She is just one example of the Israeli immigrants who are enriching our community. You can read mini-profiles of other immigrants in our Israel section. The section also profiles several Oregonians who have made aliyah and are now enriching the Jewish homeland.

Our two communities have strong ties and many mutual interests. Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer was in Portland to talk about concerns we both share – especially the rise in global anti-Semitism. Read his call to action in this issue.

Ah the beauty, flavors and challenges of spring! Be sure to step out and enjoy them all.

6 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

Publishers Robert Philip and Cindy Saltzman Advertising and Editorial Director Cindy Saltzman Editor-in-Chief Deborah Moon Social Media Editor Debra Rich Gettleman Webmaster Karl Knelson Regional Sales Manager Debbie Taylor: debbie.t@ojlife.com Art Director Philip Nerat Columnists Debra Rich Gettleman, Lisa Glickman, Kerry Politzer and Helen Rosenau Contributing Writers Liz Rabiner Lippoff, Gail Mandel, Polina Olsen, Nancy BenAsher Ozeri, Shuly Wasserstron and Teddy Weinberger

How to reach us: Editorial: 503-892-7402 Advertising: 503-892-7403 Subscriptions: 503-892-7403 Publisher: Publisher@ojlife.com

Subscriptions and distribution: Home delivery of Oregon Jewish Life magazine is $12 for an annual subscription or $20 for two years. Subscribe online at orjewishlife.com/magazine-subscription or call 503-8927403.

Complimentary copies of Oregon Jewish Life magazine are available at dozens of retail locations including Jewish agencies, synagogues, New Seasons grocery stores, entertainment venues, restaurants and professional offices.

Shabbat on thePlaza @ Congregation

Beth Israel

Join us all summer long on CBI’s Temple lawn, 1972 NW Flanders, as we welcome Shabbat under the Portland summer sky.

Bring your family and friends, plus a blanket and picnic supper.

Chairs and umbrellas (for shading) will be available as well.

Services begin at 6:00 PM

Upcoming issues June/July 2016 – Focus on: Staycations & Summer Fun, Best Summer Deals August – Annual Resource Guide & Education Supplement

Publication dates and deadlines Oregon Jewish Life magazine is distributed on the first of the month.

SHABBAT ON THE PLAZA DATES:

June 10, 24 • July 8, 22 August 5, 19 • September 2

•Story ideas for features and special sections are due 45-60 days prior to publication.

•Biz Ins & Outs: Business news is due about 25 days before publication (May 6 for June/July).

•Faces & Places: Photos from past events are due about 20 days prior to publication (May 10 for June/ July).

•Events: Information about upcoming events is due about 20 days prior to publication (May 10 for June/ July).

•Calendar: Please post events on our online calendar. Relevant events that are posted by the 10th of the month before publication (May 10 for June/July) will be included in the magazine. To request first-time authorization to post events online, go to orjewishlife.com and scroll down to the “Calendar Access Request” link under “Quick Links” on the right. After you submit the form, you’ll receive an email with instructions for posting future events.

Oregon Jewish Life 6680 SW Capitol Hwy. Portland, Oregon 97219 www.ojlife.com

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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 constituteendorsement of products or services.

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Phone: 503-542-1124 Toll Free: 800-285-1773 tricia@hechtgrp.com OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 7

Call to Action

Ambassador Ron Dermer. Photo by Deborah Moon

Israel’s ambassador to U.S. calls for pride in face of anti-Semitism

By Deborah Moon

Speaking in Portland on the challenges facing Israel today, Israel’s ambassador to the United States emphasized that growing global anti-Semitism threatens not just Israel but Jewish communities around the world.

In the first visit of an Israeli ambassador to Oregon in 28 years, Ambassador Ron Dermer spoke to an invitation-only crowd of about 180 people at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center March 30.

He spoke briefly about challenges specific to Israel, but focused much of his talk on the rise of global anti-Semitism and its latest form where anti-Semitism is directed against the Jewish state.

“Now the Jewish state is treated differently,” Dermer said, noting it is important to differentiate between legitimate criticism and anti-Semitism. “Israel is not above criticism. Israel is not a perfect country – no country is.”

To help differentiate between the two, Dermer and his mentor of many years, Natan Sharansky, created a 3-D standard: demonization, double standard and denial of Israel’s right to exist.

Those using BDS (Boycott, Divest and Sanction) against Israel frequently fail that 3-D test, Dermer said.

“If you are a Jewish or Palestinian group, it is not wrong for you to focus on Israel,” he said, noting both have a vested interest. But when other groups want to discuss BDS, he asks if they have boycotted Iran, Syria, North Korea or any of the other 50 or so countries with human rights violations. If they do boycott other nations to support their values, he is willing to engage them. For those groups, he said it is up to him to persuade them that Israel does not belong on their list.

“But when a country or organization boycotts only Israel … they have to defend (their actions) and tell me why they have decided to single out Israel among all the nations of the world for boycott.”

Portland’s Jewish community will have the opportunity to take a stand on that issue in May and again in June. Two church groups will be in Portland for their national conventions, during which they will consider BDS resolutions against Israel.

Dermer said when Christian churches call for such action, it is hard to reconcile with the reality in the Middle East, where ancient Christian communities are being decimated and Christians are being beheaded. The Christian population has

For information on opposing the BDS movement, contact Jewish Federation of Greater Portland Community Relations Director Bob Horenstein at 503-245-6496 or bob@jewishportland.org.

8 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

fallen from 20% of the region’s people to just 4% over the last century.

“There is one country (in the region) where Christians are free and safe, and that is the state of Israel,” he said. “But Christian church groups are going to call for divestment. The Methodists are here in May … in June the Presbyterians are marching to town.”

The Methodist General Conference will be in Portland May 10-20, and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly is here June 18-25.

“I hope when a church group comes to Portland and people at the conference place what I regard as a yellow star on the Jewish state of Israel … I hope people would respond by raising a blue and white star,” he said. “Have such a showing that you will deter groups from thinking they can get away with anti-Semitism.”

Noting the FBI reported that 58% of hate crimes in 2014 were anti-Jewish, Dermer said hate groups behind those crimes need to see “a strong, proud Jewish community.”

He pointed to many reasons to be proud of Israel. Israel’s technological innovations are transforming the world with advances in agriculture that help African nations feed their people, while new drugs and new medical techniques are saving and improving lives around the world.

Though Israel’s soldiers are widely demonized, Dermer said, “No military has done more to protect the civilians of their enemies.”

When Dermer meets with ambassadors from other countries, he asks them how many lives they think have been lost in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict dating back to 1920.

He said he gets estimates as high as 2 million and the lowest he’s heard is 250,000. In reality, only 20,000 Israelis and Palestinians have lost their lives in nearly a century of conflict.

He compared that to the 900,000 killed in Rwanda (in just 100 days), 400,000 in Darfur (since 2003) and about 300,000 in Syria (in just five years).

“Israel is not perfect, we make mistakes,” he said. “But when a soldier makes a mistake, they are judged.”

Dermer also spoke briefly about Israel’s greatest existential threat – Iran’s goal to “obliterate Israel,” both through its efforts to develop nuclear weapons and through its support of a web of terrorist organizations encircling Israel. The topic came up again at the end of his talk when he was asked his views regarding comments that President Obama is not Israel’s friend, particularly in the face of the Iran deal brokered by his administration.

Dermer responded by saying, “There has never been an administration in history that Israel has not had disagreements with.” Despite the many differences with administrations since Israel’s founding, “We have no better ally in the world than the United States of America, and I believe America has no better ally than Israel.”

On the Iran deal, Dermer said, “We disagree on this issue, but when the president says he believes it is better for the American people and Israel, I believe he is being sincere. I believe he is wrong, but sincere.”

“We have disagreed on the best way to advance peace … but the president has supported Israel on very important occasions,” said the ambassador. “The president has done many things for Israel that are known, many that are not known and many that will never be known.”

K a b ba l at

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Friday, May 13 / 6:00 p.m.

Led by our 3-5th & k-2nd graders Followed by a catered Israeli Dinner $20 adults / $10 child / $36 family Tickets at: shaarietorah.org/may13shabbat

Join us for two special events at C O N G R E G AT I O N S H A A R I E T O R A H 920 NW 25TH AVE, PORTLAND, OR 97210 (503)226-6131 / shaarietorah.org

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PORT LAND'S JEWISH FARM BOX

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 9

4/15/16 4:18 PM

IJS CREATES STAMPFER GRANT FUND FOR INNOVATION

CBI HIRES JOSH KASHINSKY AS NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Congregation Beth Israel has hired Josh Kashinsky as the Reform congregation’s new executive director. Josh assumes his new post May 1.

Prior to joining the CBI family, Josh served as the Assistant Executive Director at the Siegel JCC in Wilmington, DE, during which time he helped complete a strategic plan, oversaw organizational restructuring, implemented new membership and programmatic initiatives, and supervised the Membership, Marketing, Fitness, Aquatics, Special Events, Adult, and Senior Center departments. He has also worked for Santa Barbara Hillel, Princeton Hillel/Center for Jewish Life, and Hofstra Hillel. Josh was a recipient of Hillel's Richard M. Joel Exemplar of Excellence Award. In the theatre world, he has worked for several regional theaters including McCarter Theater Center and Westport Country Playhouse in a variety of positions and has worked in New York City as a freelance director and producer.

Originally from California, Josh grew up in the Silicon Valley. He is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara where he studied philosophy and dramatic art. While at UCSB, Josh received the Ralph W. Church Undergraduate Award for philosophy, the Hatlen Award for dramatic art, a University Service Award, and the William R. Reardon Award. Josh also has a master’s of fine arts in theater from Sarah Lawrence College, where he was a recipient of the Lipkin Award in playwriting.

Josh is passionate about creating transformative Jewish experiences and building a vibrant and sustainable Jewish community. Josh and his wife, Michelle, have two daughters, Rose and Fiona.

503-222-1069 | bethisrael-pdx.org

PSU’S NATAN MEIR NAMED NEW YORK LIBRARY FELLOW

Natan Meir, Lorry I. Lokey Associate Professor of Judaic Studies at Portland State University, has been named a 2016 –2017 New York Public Library Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center Fellow.

Professor Meir joins 14 other scholars, academics and creative writers from around the world selected for the prestigious Cullman Center Fellowship.

During his fellowship, Meir will be researching and writing his book, Republic of Beggars: The Jewish Destitute, Disabled, and Dispossessed in Eastern Europe, which explores the lives and roles of the outcasts of East European Jewish society in the modern period up to the Holocaust.

Meir is the author of Kiev, Jewish Metropolis: A History, 1859-1914, and the co-editor of Anti-Jewish Violence: Rethinking the Pogrom in East European History. He has served as an academic consultant for the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center of Moscow.

The 2016 class of fellows will be in residence at the Cullman Center from September 2016 through May 2017. Each fellow receives a stipend, a private office in the Cullman Center’s quarters at The New York Public Library’s landmark Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, and full access to the renowned research collections and online resources there, as well as the invaluable assistance of the library’s curatorial and reference staff.

Cullman Center: nypl.org/csw | PSU: pdx.edu 10 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

Founded in Portland by Rabbi Joshua Stampfer in 1984, the Institute for Judaic Studies of the Pacific Northwest has partnered with many organizations to fill the academic and cultural needs of the community. As the IJS vision of thriving Judaic studies departments at Oregon colleges and universities has largely been realized, the 501(c)3 organization’s focus has shifted to promote Jewish community and

learning.

IJS Executive Director Sylvia Frankel says the Institute now seeks to expand its role as a bridge by providing seed money for new and innovative programs and projects that will add to the “vibrant Jewish intellectual and cultural scene” as well as the larger Portland metro community.

The Rabbi Joshua Stampfer Grant Fund will offer financial assistance between $500 and $2,500 to promote innovation (hiddush) and to launch new projects consistent with the IJS mission: “To encourage people throughout the community to join together to learn about Jewish history, culture and life.”

Applicants must be a 501(c)3 organization or affiliated with one.

Requests must be for a specific new program or project not currently available in the area, or for a new and innovative approach to an existing program. Grant funds must be used for direct program/project costs.

Applications must be received by Sept. 1 to receive funds during the 2016 calendar year. info@portlandjudaicstudies.org | judaicstudies.org/hiddush.html

ANGELO TURNER NEW CSP DEVELOPMENT OFFICER

Angelo Turner became Cedar Sinai Park’s Chief Development Officer in November 2015.

As Chief Development Officer, Angelo works daily to foster a culture of philanthropy within the organization. He also works to ensure that Cedar Sinai Park’s corporate and community culture supports fund development. In addition to raising funds to support elders with financial need, Angelo and his team of professionals are working diligently to complete the Dignity by Design Campaign and open new, state-of-the-art homes for elders in the community.

Angelo has more than 20 years of development experience at places such as Georgetown University School of Medicine, the University of California-San Francisco and the American Cancer Society. In his spare time, he serves as a member of the Oregon Medical Board and the Portland Police Review Board. When his professional and volunteer work is done, Angelo enjoys hiking in Oregon or Washington or wine tasting in the Willamette Valley region or Walla Walla, WA. 971-717-7148 | angelo.turner@cedarsinaipark.org | CedarSinaiPark.org

BB CAMP, NATIONAL INCLUSION PROJECT PARTNER FOR THIRD YEAR

The National Inclusion Project has partnered with B’nai B’rith Camp for the third year to foster an inclusive environment where children with and without disabilities can play, learn and laugh together.

In 2009 BB Camp developed the Kehila summer camp program to rectify a lack of programming for campers with special needs on the West Coast and to serve children with special needs locally in its Lincoln City day camp program. BB Camp follows a full inclusion model for the Kehila program and is led by a trained inclusion specialist, who specializes in children with special needs. Kehila campers are fully integrated into cabins and activities with additional counselors for increased supervision and support.

As part of the partnership, the National Inclusion Project provides the Let’s ALL Play program model, training, expertise, annual Power of Play Conference and a wide network of inclusion experts to problem solve and share best practices on ensuring that no child sits on the sidelines.

Research shows that the Let’s ALL Play model helps children with disabilities improve self-esteem, social skills and confidence, while those without disabilities improved their leadership, problem-solving and empathy skills.

The National Inclusion Project was cofounded in 2003 by entertainer Clay Aiken and serves to bridge the gap that exists between young people with disabilities and the world around them. bbcamp.org | inclusionproject.org

MELISSA BLOOM RELAUNCHES EVENT IN BLOOM

Melissa Bloom established Event in Bloom in December 2011. After taking a hiatus while she returned to work as a Jewish communal professional, she relaunched the business in January of this year.

After almost 20 years of bringing her talents to the nonprofit Jewish sector, Melissa now offers her enthusiasm and styling expertise to projects in the Portland metro area. She now directs her talents, experience and passion toward helping organizations, individuals and companies put their next Event in Bloom.

With her spirit for perfection, eye for style and detail, negotiation skills, budgeting, innovative solutions and love for creating that special mood, Melissa strives to help organizations and individuals with fundraising needs and/or event planning details. ​Event in Bloom defines amazing events, flawless details and organization, unparalleled service and value. The company’s mission is to “provide you with a wonderful experience from brainstorming to the final farewell. We want you to have a B(l)ooming campaign and/or event.” eventinbloom.com | info@eventinbloom.com | 503-567-8306

MERLIN KAUFFMAN BRINGS ON-DEMAND MASSAGE TO PORTLAND

Soothe, a revolutionary massage-ondemand service that delivers same-day, spa-quality massage to people’s homes and offices, expanded to Portland in late April.

“My primary inspirations have always been my parents, because they have taught me to fight for what you want in life,” says Soothe founder and CEO Merlin Kauffman.

In 2002 at age 17, he cofounded eWireless. com. After a year he shifted his attention to buying domain names; his company, True Magic, now owns more than 55,000 of them.

While attending Harvard Business School’s elite owner/president management program in 2012, Merlin tried to book a massage after 7 pm in Boston. When he was not able to find a provider who was open, he knew he had a brilliant future business idea. He launched Soothe in 2013.

“I learned the value of tikkun olam, the responsibility that each and every one of us should contribute to healing the world,” says Merlin.

“Soothe is definitely making the world a better place. Thousands of users are receiving healing through massage each and every day. And I’m blessed to run a business that can successfully provide this service while continuing to improve the physical and mental health of people at the same time.”

Soothe offers on-demand Swedish, deep tissue, sports or prenatal massages in 25 cities between the hours of 8 am and midnight in treatment lengths of 60, 90 or120 minutes for a fixed fee (no tipping). soothe.com | 800-960-7668

DR. SHARON MEIERAN RUNS FOR COUNTY COMMISSION

Dr. Sharon Meieran, an emergency physician at Kaiser and a board member of Congregation Beth Israel, is running for Multnomah County Commission in District 1.

Dr. Meieran is a former lawyer and a longtime public and community health advocate.

She is vice president of the Oregon Medical Association and serves on the Unity Behavioral Health Center Advisory Board, the Oregon Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Advisory Commission and the Community Oversight Advisory Board, which addresses Portland Police Bureau use of force against individuals experiencing mental health crises. She was named the OMA’s Doctor Citizen of the Year 2015.

Dr. Meieran was featured in a 2012 article in Oregon Jewish Life (orjewishlife.com/state-emergency).

“I am running for Multnomah County Commission because of the inequities I see every day in the ER, including a lack of access not only to health care, but to the fundamentals that allow for individuals and families to be safe and healthy: housing, living wages and a healthy environment,” says Dr. Meieran. “These are the issues I care about and to which I’ve dedicated my life’s work as an emergency physician, lawyer and community advocate.”

Dr. Meieran is endorsed by U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury, Oregon Sens. Diane Rosenbaum and Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, Oregon Reps. Mitch Greenlick and Barbara Smith Warner, City Commissioners Amanda Fritz and Steve Novick, and Multnomah County Commissioner Judy Shiprack. votesharon.org

FEDERATION LAUNCHES YOUNG ADULT MENTOR PROGRAM

The first cohort of PDX Pathways kicks off May 25. PDX Pathways is a group mentoring, networking and community involvement experience created by The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland for Jewish young professionals from any occupation, ages 22 to 35 years old.

PDX Pathways participants are assigned to small groups that are mentored by one of our phenomenal group leaders. Mentors are experienced leaders from a range of professions, industries and occupations who have demonstrated proven success in their field. They are also exceptional role models in the Jewish community, with significant leadership experience.

The PDX Pathways summer cohort will participate from May through August. Applications will be available for the fall cohort on June 1.

This initiative will provide access to and mentoring from prominent community and business leaders, with networking opportunities as well as exposure to meaningful Jewish experiences in Portland.

PDX Pathways is co-chaired by Kim Rosenberg, Rob Shlachter and Jennifer Singer, and staffed by JFGP Campaign Director Michael Jeser.

Partner organizations include B’nai B’rith Camp, Moishe House, Jews Next Dor, PDX Hillel, Oregon Hillel, Congregation Neveh Shalom and the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation.

503-245-6473 | michaelj@jewishportland.org | jewishportland.org/ ourcommunity/young-adults/pdx-pathways

Business Ins & Outs welcomes submissions of news items. Send brief announcements (up to 200 words), contact information and photo to editor@ojlife.com.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 11

Connecting fresh local food and Judaism Story and photos by Deborah Moon

Oregon taste of

12 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

Locally grown and produced food soon will be available weekly at Jewish locations around town as Portland Tuv Ha’aretz (goodness of the earth) begins its second season.

Portland Tuv Ha’aretz, Portland’s Jewish connection to sustainable, ethical food for all, was formed in January 2009 as an affiliate of the Hazon CSA network, a relationship that continued for about four years. Last year Danielle Frankel recreated a local Jewish CSA with the same name.

“Although I was influenced … (by) the first go at Tuv Ha’aretz, this is more modeled off of Hazon’s CSA models, but is not one of them,” says Danielle.

Though Danielle is still involved, for the coming season Ilana Rose Cloud and Jonathan Strunin have taken on the leadership mantle and expanded the CSA to a Jewsih Farm Box with a multi-farm model. The expansion also includes other suppliers who provide the option to add local items such as kosher beer and wine, kosher challah, pickles and free-range eggs. With the multi-source model, Tuv Ha’aretz will serve as a connection that enables every member to support local farms and food suppliers. (See box for options and pickup points.)

As a Jewish CSA, Tuv Ha’aretz will also connect the local food movement with Jewish heritage, cultures and traditions. Tuv Ha’aretz will partner with several synagogues and Mittleman Jewish Community Center to offer do-it-yourself classes and holiday programs featuring local produce.

“We are both really connected to the land,” says Jonathan. “With Tuv Ha’aretz we want to celebrate the bounty of the Northwest.”

Born in Canada and raised in New Jersey, Ilana studied painting and graduated from Rutgers. She was interested in farming and wanted to get more in touch with her Judaism, but she didn’t know what her path would be until she went on the free 10-day trip to Israel available for young Jewish adults.

“I went on Birthright and that changed my life,” says Ilana, now 26. She told one of her group’s Birthright leaders that she wanted to start a farm and get back to the earth and asked if she should move to Israel to do that. He recommended she first consider a fellowship at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in Connecticut. So she signed up for a three-month Adamah fellowship.

Jonathan, 37, earned his undergraduate degree in biology from U.C. Berkley and a master’s in environmental studies. Working with local government groups, he led gardening and composting trainings. Attending a “great” Havdallah service at the Los Angeles temple where his father was active inspired him to reconnect with his Jewish heritage.

In the fall of 2013 he began a Teva fellowship at the Isabella Freedman center.

Ilana and Jonathan met working together as volunteers at the center. Both worked at the retreat center and on area farms for about a year before moving to Portland together in January 2015, hoping to share the environmental ethic and farming skills they had learned at Isabella Freedman.

“When we first came here, we wanted to work on farms,” says Ilana. “I know I’m

good (at) working on a farm. I knew I could connect anywhere.”

Through their networking, the couple found Gales Meadow Farm, the Tuv Ha’aretz supplier last season, and through the farm met Danielle and became involved with Tuv Ha’aretz.

In addition to expanding to multiple farms, Jonathan says they also talked to Oregon Kosher to get ideas for producers of kosher products that could be added to the Jewish Farm Box. Congregation Shaarie Torah, where Ilana also works as communication coordinator, has been very helpful, including allowing the CSA to use the Shaarie Torah kitchen. “Rabbi ( Joshua) Rose is a big supporter,” says Ilana.

They have talked with most Portland synagogues, three of which will be pickup locations. They have also discussed the potential for joint programs with the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, MJCC, Portland Jewish Academy, PDX MOTS and Moishe House.

“We are working with other groups to find inspiration on anything that relates to food and Judaism,” says Jonathan. Under discussion are brewing and fermentation workshops at the J, a gardening series at Moishe House and member Shabbats. Farm work days will enable members to interact with the producers.

Another area of focus is health and wellness.

“We want to bring the idea that being healthy and eating well can be so connected to Judaism,” says Ilana. “The CSA is a first step into Judaism and so much more. Our minds were blown away by what we learned on the farm at the Isabella Freedman Retreat Center.”

“We are using food to open doors for people to engage,” says Jonathan.

Tuv Ha’aretz Portland

Veggie shares: Weekly, biweekly or monthly full or half shares: seasonal vegetables, herbs and occasionally fruit.

Add-ons: Fruit box, sour pickles and krauts, free-range eggs, kosher challah, kosher Leikam beer, kosher Pacifica wine, seasonal flowers Holiday boxes: Shabbat: challah, beeswax candles, Pacifica wine and Havdallah spices Rosh Hashanah: organic apples, honey and round raisin challah Sukkot: specialty challah, fall vegetables and fruits

Tzedakah: Donate a full or half share to a food-insecure family in Portland Pickup locations (Wednesdays June-October): N: The House, North Sumner and Albina NE: Shir Tikvah, NE 75th and Glisan SE: Moishe House, SE 38th and Stark NW: Shaarie Torah, NW 25th and Kearney SW: Neveh Shalom, SW Dosch and Boundary SW: MJCC, SW 26th and Capitol Hwy. Sign-ups: May 20: Last day to sign up for full season (June 1-Oct. 31) June: Partial year sign-ups available for July-October 971-266-0231 | info@tuvhaaretzportland.com | tuvhaaretzportland.com : Jonathan Strunin and Ilana Rose Cloud.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 13

Food

OREGON WINE ADDS NUANCE TO DINNER

CORNER

Story and photos

by Lisa Glickman

Lisa Glickman is a private chef and teacher who lives in Portland. She has made TV appearances on COTV in Central Oregon and appeared on the Cooking Channel’s “The Perfect Three.”

She can be reached at lisa@lisaglickman.com.

14 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

On a recent trip to the Oregon coast, my husband and I decided to explore a bit of the Oregon wine country along the way. We were surprised to discover that the once sleepy towns of McMinnville and Dundee have metamorphosed into a wine lover’s paradise. It seemed as though there were signs pointing to wineries and tasting rooms on every corner.

The Oregon wine industry has come a long way since the early ’60s. Oregon’s wine country is now more than 100 miles long and spans 60 miles at its widest point. There are over 19,000 acres of grapes planted in our state, 14,000 of which are dedicated to the coveted pinot noir. There are 694 wineries from the Willamette Valley to Southern Oregon. Vineyards also stretch into the Umpqua and Rogue Valleys, the Columbia Gorge, and the Walla Walla and Snake River Valleys. With Oregon’s ideal growing conditions, it’s no surprise that recent studies say this number increases every year. It’s no wonder Oregon has become world renowned for fine wine. Personally, I have enjoyed plenty!

When wine is incorporated into a sauce or braise, it lends both sweetness and acidity along with all the delicious flavor nuances of any particular varietal.

A friend once gave me a plaque that reads: “I cook with wine … sometimes I even add it to the food.” When wine is incorporated into a sauce or braise, it lends both sweetness and acidity along with all the delicious flavor nuances of any particular varietal. Chardonnay grapes produce bright flavors of lemon, melon, grass and vanilla, while pinot gris evokes orange and pear. Merlot has characteristics of black cherry, plum or chocolate, and Oregon pinot noir hints of roses, fruits, berries and currants. Added in small amounts or as the star of the dish as in this coq au vin, wine plays a large part in adding spectacular flavor.

The most difficult thing about making coq au vin is parting with an entire bottle of precious Oregon pinot noir just to create the dish. I buy a much less expensive bottle for braising and serve the finished dish with the best I can afford. In French “coq” is actually a rooster or a tough old bird that benefits greatly from a long, slow braise in wine and vegetables. I like to use chicken thighs and legs, only because breasts have a tendency to become dry. Traditional coq au vin calls for bacon in the recipe, but I have left it out. The chicken and vegetables marinate in the wine and herbs overnight, and the mushrooms and caramelized onions are added in the last few minutes of cooking. Plan ahead and serve this perfect-for-entertaining dish with wide egg noodles and plenty of crusty bread to sop up the sauce.

Oregon Coq au Vin

1 bottle plus one cup Oregon pinot noir 1 onion cut in ½-inch dice 2 carrots cut in ½-inch dice 2 celery ribs cut in ½-inch dice 4 whole cloves 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns 1 bouquet garni* 4-6 chicken thighs, bone in 4-6 chicken legs, bone in Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 tablespoons margarine or chicken or duck fat 1 cup flour ½ pound white mushrooms 20 pearl or cipollini onions, blanched in boiling water then peeled * Bouquet garni is a few sprigs of flat leaf parsley, a few sprigs of fresh thyme and a couple of bay leaves tied together with kitchen twine.

One day ahead:

Combine the bottle of pinot noir with the onion, carrots, celery, cloves, peppercorns and bouquet garni in a large, deep bowl. Add the chicken and submerge it in the liquid so that all of it is covered. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Day of:

Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat it dry. Put it aside. Strain the marinade through a fine strainer, reserving the liquids and solids separately.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in flour.

In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil and two tablespoons of the margarine or fat to medium high. Sear the chicken on all sides to brown the skin evenly. Once browned, remove it from the pot and set it aside again. Add the reserved onions, celery and carrots to the pan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in the reserved strained marinade. Put the chicken back in the pot along with the bouquet garni. Bring to a boil, turn to low and cook for about one and a half hours over low heat.

Sauté the mushrooms in a bit of margarine or fat until golden brown. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the pearl onions, two more tablespoons of margarine or fat, a pinch of sugar, a pinch of salt and enough water to just cover the onions. Cut a small round of parchment paper to fit inside the pan and place on top of the onions. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until the water has evaporated. Remove the paper cover and continue to cook until the onions are golden brown. Set the onions aside and add the remaining cup of pinot noir, scraping up all the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Reduce by half over medium heat.

When the chicken is done, carefully remove it to a deep serving platter and tent with foil to keep warm. Strain the cooking liquid (discard the vegetables and bouquet garni) into the reduced pinot noir. Add mushrooms and pearl onions to the wine sauce, adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, pour the sauce over the chicken and serve.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 15

NWNosh

Salmon in the spotlight

By Kerry Politzer

A few years ago, we had the opportunity to review Roots, the wonderful vegetable-focused cookbook by award-winning author and chef Diane Morgan. Now, Morgan returns with Salmon, a book of 45 tempting recipes that includes a guide to buying and preparing the tasty fish.

The chef begins her book with a fascinating overview of the salmon’s life cycle, after which she talks about the differences between Atlantic and Pacific salmon. This opening section is peppered with fascinating tidbits about salmon in our area. For example, did you know that the wild chinook season in Oregon begins in the middle of May, or that Coho stocks in Oregon are threatened and are protected under the Endangered Species Act? Another interesting observation is that Oregon’s coast is not well suited to salmon farming (“Thank goodness!” exclaims Morgan).

Says Morgan of our local bounty, “In Oregon, we can eat close 16 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

to the source whether it be produce, poultry, meats or seafood.

We are so fortunate to have a protected coastline and thoughtful resource management that allows wild-caught salmon to thrive and survive in our streams, rivers and in the ocean off the Oregon coast. That doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges for this incredible and healthful protein. There are abundant environmental threats such as pollution and water management.

That said, supporting our local fishers and the producers who work hard to provide wild-caught salmon to our markets is key to survival. ‘Eat local’ applies to our seafood, too!”

Morgan reviews all of the health benefits of consuming salmon and then gives us an extensive primer on salmon preparation. If you’ve ever been intimidated by the prospect of cleaning, scaling and gutting a whole salmon, you won’t be after reading this book. Also, you will learn techniques for brining and skin-drying salmon.

The recipe section is divided into raw/cured, stovetop, oven, grill and leftover preparations. Morgan includes recipes for

gravlax (salmon pickled in the style of herring) and even salmon pastrami (recipe below).

The chef remarks, “I grew up in a Jewish home in Pittsburgh, PA, where a Sunday brunch ritual was hand-sliced Nova Scotia lox, bagels and cream cheese, and sliced tomatoes and red onion as embellishments. It was a favorite brunch food when I was young and remains so today. The difference now is that my lox is either homemade by me or cold-smoked from wild-caught salmon.”

The remaining recipes in the book span the globe: there’s a salmon bánh mi, a Thai braised salmon with green curry paste and coconut milk; an Indian spice-rubbed, pan-grilled preparation; and even a broiled sesame salmon bibimbap.

Breakfast lovers will appreciate the salmon hash with Yukon gold potatoes and the smoked salmon frittata with goat cheese and greens. The “bacon of the sea” recipe is sure to please anyone who avoids pork bacon. Those who primarily use the oven will find several different techniques, from sous-vide to pan-roasting to cooking in parchment.

No matter what your taste or preference, you will find something of interest in Morgan’s book. She concludes, “Whether you are a novice or experienced cook, these recipes will turn you into a masterful cook when it comes to salmon.”

PASTRAMI SALMON Serves 8 to 10 as part of a brunch

While researching all the different ways to cure salmon, I ran across several old recipes for salmon cured with pastrami spices. I was intrigued. I mean, how could this not be delicious?

I love lox. I love beef pastrami. Pairing salmon with this bold spice blend was worthy of my time in the kitchen.

I combined a couple of techniques and decided to do a short cure time at room temperature, and then finish the salmon by smoking it briefly on the stove top. You can serve this salmon as you would lox, with cream cheese (or soft goat cheese) and bagels. Or, toast some pumpernickel or rye bread, smear it with a little dark mustard and top it with slices of the cured salmon.

PASTRAMI SPICE MIXTURE

2 tablespoon pink peppercorns 1½ tablespoon dry-packed green peppercorns 1 tablespoon black peppercorns 1½ teaspoons coriander seeds 2 tablespoon sweet paprika 1 tablespoon five-spice powder ½ cup coarse sea salt, such as La Baleine ½ cup sugar ½ cup chopped fresh dill You will also need: ¼ cup pulverized apple-wood smoking chips One 2- to 2½-pound center-cut salmon fillet, skin on and scaled, pin bones removed

TO MAKE THE SPICE MIXTURE:

Combine the pink, green and black peppercorns and the coriander seeds in a small, heavy-bottomed frying pan, preferably cast iron. Place the pan over medium-low heat and toast the spices, stirring frequently, until very fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, transfer to a small bowl and let cool for 5 minutes.

Using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder (or a very clean coffee grinder), pulverize the toasted spices to a fine powder.

Return the ground spices to the small bowl and stir in the paprika and five-spice powder. (The mixture will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 months.)

In a medium bowl, combine the salt, sugar, dill and 1½ tablespoons of the pastrami spice mixture and mix well.

TO PREPARE THE SALMON: Select a deep glass or

ceramic baking dish the same length as the fish or nearly so. Spread half of the salt mixture on the skin side of the salmon. Lay the salmon, skin-side down, in the dish.

Gently rub the remaining salt mixture over the flesh side of the fillet. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 5 hours, flipping the salmon and recovering the dish after 2½ hours.

Using a stove-top smoker or a wok, line the bottom of the pan with a sheet of heavyduty aluminum foil. (Using heavy-duty foil makes for easier cleanup.) Pour the smoking chips onto the foil in the center of the pan and spread in an even layer over the center.

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the pastrami spice mixture evenly over the top. Drizzle a few drops of water over the spice mixture. If using a stove-top smoker, lay another piece of foil on top, covering all of the woodsmoking mixture. Cover a drip tray with foil and place it on top of the second piece of foil. If using a wok, lay a large sheet of foil loosely over the wood-smoking mixture. Coat a wire rack with nonstick cooking spray and place on top of the drip tray or the foil.

Scrape the salt mixture off both sides of the salmon with the back of a knife. Wipe each side of the salmon with a damp paper towel until most of the salt is removed. Arrange the salmon, flesh-side up, on the rack. Slide the lid on the stove-top smoker or cover the wok, leaving it slightly open, and then place the smoker or wok over medium heat. When the first wisp of smoke appears, close the lid or tightly cover the wok. Smoke the salmon for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the salmon in the smoker or wok, covered, for an additional 5 minutes.

Transfer the salmon to a plate to cool. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate. (Once cured and smoked, the salmon will keep in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.)

When ready to serve, transfer the salmon to a cutting board.

Slide a spatula between the salmon flesh and the skin, separating them, and discard the skin. Cut the salmon crosswise (against the grain) into thin slices. Arrange the slices on a platter and serve.

(Reprinted with permission) OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 17

Portland has become renowned as a culinary destination.

Drawing on traditional cuisines from New York, Israel and beyond, Portland food has its own personality.

Kornblatt’s New York Style Delicatessen

DINING PROFILES 18 Kornblatt's New York Style Deli 19 Bowery Bagels

19 Bombay Cricket Club

An Advertising Department Supplement

In 2011 the New York Times food blog called Kornblatt’s Delicatessen “one of the truly great New York delis outside the five boroughs.”

Established in 1999, Kornblatt’s has fresh (never frozen) deli meats and fish flown in from the east coast every week.

“We do our best to make our restaurant as authentic as possible,” says Daniel, Kornblatt’s owner and president. The big bucket of pickles always on hand is one of the things that make Kornblatt’s feel like the Jewish-style, New York delicatessen it emulates.

In addition to serving breakfast all day, lunch and dinner, Kornblatt’s also offers catering with a variety of popular platters. For instance, the Long Island Sound platter features a selection of our tasty smoked fish, professionally arranged on a bed of greens with red onions, tomatoes and pickles. Fish includes Nova Scotia lox, whitefish salad, herring salad and herring in wine or sour cream. Served with fresh baked bagels and cream cheese. Other fish choices are available.

“We are famous for our hot pastrami sandwiches and lox plates,” adds Daniel.

But there is one big difference from New York delis; in recognition of Portland culture, the local deli offers the Vegetarian Reuben, a Kornblatt’s original.

That mix of authenticity and local was noted in the Times blog: “This displaced ode to New York deli counter culture strives for authenticity (Nova lox, pickles and meats imported from New York City), and yet it can’t help but reflect the differences between Manhattan and Portland. For starters, there are four local beers on tap … as well as a spacious, relaxed dining room.”

628 NW 23rd Ave. Portland, OR 97210

503-242-0055 kornblattsdelipdx.com

18 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

Bowery Bagels

Bowery Bagels creates Portland’s best kosher bagels with delicious schmears and a full Stumptown barista set-up at its Old Town bagel shop with custom tile works from the store’s namesake subway station in New York City. Additionally, earlier this year Bowery Bagels opened their new 5,000-square-foot kosher production bakery in the North Portland, Kenton neighborhood to keep up with the growing demand for Portland’s best bagels. A blind taste test earned the restaurant that designation when a panel of five rabbis unanimously chose Bowery Bagels as the best bagel in Portland.

“As a transplanted New Yorker, I founded Bowery Bagels to replicate the high quality bagels I grew up enjoying,” says owner Michael Madigan. “A genuine New York-style bagel should have a light crunch on the crust, a chewy but not dense interior and a malty richness. To obtain these characteristics, each bagel we make is hand rolled. The dough is fermented to develop flavor and texture. After a long, slow proof, the bagels are boiled in small batches, then baked to perfection and delivered within hours.”

The new bakery will house Bowery’s entire all-kosher baked goods production, including the fresh bagels found at their shop, as well as par-baked, frozen and fully baked packaged line, Old Town Bagels located in the bread aisle of many Northwest supermarkets. Other kosher baked goods include Bowery’s popular Purim hamantaschen cookies.

Catering information is available on the website.

Bombay Cricket Club

Piquant curries and garlicky kebobs draw patrons to Portland’s Bombay Cricket Club.

With relatives in India, Lebanon and Israel owners, Karim and Sherri Ahmad decided to include both Indian and Middle Eastern cuisines on their menu.

“Indian cuisine really complements Middle Eastern cuisine, and vice versa,” says Karim, adding that while they offer both cuisines, they do not serve fusion cuisine. Each dish on the menu is part of a long culinary tradition.

Says Karim of his homemade flatbreads: “Our naans are the tribal naans – the ones that are made in the Northern territories in India and Pakistan. They complement both the hummus and the Indian food.”

Chicken tikka masala, chicken is cooked in a tandoori oven and then smothered in a tasty saffron sauce, is a popular dish for both dine-in and takeout. “We do 30 or 40 takeout orders of this a night,” says Karim.

Mango margaritas, made with mango pulp imported from India, are popular cocktails. Karim says that India produces the best mangoes in the world.

His commitment to quality ingredients extends from his produce to his spices. “All the ingredients we use are the freshest I can find. Our spices we try to bring in from India, and we try to use them as fresh as possible.”

The Ahmads say that around 90% of their customers are repeat visitors.

5-9 pm, Tues.-Thurs; 5-10 pm Sat.

7 am-2 pm daily

310 NW Broadway, Portland, OR97209

1925 SE Hawthorne Blvd.

Portland, OR 97214

bowerybagels.com

BombayCricketClubRestaurant.com

503-227-NOSH (6674)

503-231-0740

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 19

Cover Cover

20 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

Immigrant, cancer survivor, medical student Life’s turns have put Shira Einstein on path to Woman of the Year nominee

By Deborah Moon

An immigrant and cancer survivor, Shira Einstein is an intelligent, empathic and very grateful young woman dedicated to giving back, both as a volunteer and a professional.

Shira, 24, is studying to be a pediatrician and has already traveled to Peru, Bolivia and Laos as a volunteer. Now she has been nominated as Woman of the Year for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society-Oregon/SW Washington (see page 24).

“Shira is really unique because she is a survivor and a

health-care professional – what a beautiful combination of determination to help conquer blood cancers,” says Dr. Gabrielle Meyers, the 2014 LLS Woman of the Year who nominated Shira for this year’s award. “She is so inspiring! As an eight-year lymphoma survivor and medical student, her story and hard won successes are heartening to hear about. Shira is also passionate about making things better for those around her.”

Shira’s cancer diagnosis at age 15 was not the first abrupt change in her life.

When Shira was 8, her family immigrated when CH2M transferred her father, Josh (Shuki) Einstein, from Haifa, Israel, to Portland. Shira is the oldest of Shuki and Elana Einstein’s three children. Now Shira is in her second year of medical school at OHSU; her brother, Nimi, 22, and sister, Adi, 19, both attend Portland State University.

But when they arrived in Portland, none of the children spoke a word of English, says Elana. Shira and Nimi entered Hayhurst Elementary as English as a Second Language students while Adi started preschool at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center.

“Going through a major life transition and immigrating at a young age was one of the biggest challenges I have ever faced,” says Shira. “The language and cultural barriers shook up my 8-year-old world. But this experience provided me with an While volunteering at impoverished clinics in Bolivia the summer before she started medical school, Shira Einstein met Dana, a young patient with the same diagnosis Shira herself had received. Shira is now cancer free, but the health-care system in Bolivia is not as advanced. Here Dana was in palliative (comfort) care as she waited to succumb to lymphoma. Dana’s mom told Shira she could share the story of how the same journey can have such different outcomes.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 21

early foundation for understanding different places and people, valuing diverse communities… (and it) instigated curiosity for traveling, seeing the world, learning new languages and meeting people whose lives are very different from my own.”

Despite the challenges, just weeks after arriving in Portland Shira found new friends who would see her through her next major challenge seven years later. Shira joined the MJCC gymnastics team, a tight-knit group of girls with whom she practiced and competed about 20 hours a week. She was on the team for nearly four years until a broken ankle ended her gymnastics career at age 12.

“Many of my closest friends have been and continue to be my MJCC gymnastics teammates and friends from BB Camp,” she says, adding she was a camper at B’nai B’rith Camp for two summers and a counselor for one. “Having these shared experiences and a strong shared heritage led to developing lifelong, meaningful friendships. My MJCC gymnastics team friends were there for me when I was undergoing chemotherapy treatment: some of these friends slept next to me in the hospital bed when I had to stay for days at a time.

Many of them were at my side each step of the way, stepping up to be the best friends anyone could be at an incredibly difficult time.”

Both Shira and her mother describe two of those teammates, Annie Kagel and Na'ama Schweitzer, as incredible supports in Shira’s battle with cancer.

It was during her first summer at BB Camp that Shira first noticed something was not quite right. Her feet and legs itched and she was exhausted by normal camp activities. When she started high school that fall, she joined the Wilson High School cross country team.

“Shira was always in shape,” says Elana.

“But she couldn’t run. She would be last in every run and was out of breath.”

Her pediatrician prescribed multiple rounds of antibiotics for swollen lymph nodes in her neck and referred her to a dermatologist when her scratching created sores on her itchy legs. A referral to a pediatric dermatologist at OHSU finally put the family on the path to an answer.

“My mom's motherly instinct was strong,” says Shira. “She knew that something was wrong with her kid. When doctors gave up, she took me to see others, until, seven months after my symptoms started, I finally ended up at pediatric dermatology at Doernbecher Children's Hospital, where my symptoms were taken much more seriously and tests were done that showed that something was very wrong. The next week I was in the pediatric cancer unit.”

That was in March 2007.

At OHSU’s Doernbecher, Elana says, “We met angels. The people (there) dealing 22 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

with children’s cancer are amazing. They are human. You can cry on their shoulder and get reassurance and the truth.”

Following a biopsy on a tumor in Shira’s neck, the family learned she had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, the most treatable form of lymphoma. Five-year survival rates for patients diagnosed with stage I or stage II Hodgkin's disease are 90 to 95%.

“With the miracle of modern medicine, it is extremely treatable,” says Shira. “It used to be treated only with radiation – then there was a higher rate of recurrence.”

Research, much of which is funded by the LLS, has greatly increased survival rates. Dr. Meyers notes that LLS is the second-highest financial supporter of research for blood cancers, behind only the National Cancer Institute. “I was surprised and impressed by that fact, and it reminds me of how every dollar can make an impact,” says Dr. Meyers.

“Very likely LLS-funded research went into developing the medicine that I was treated with,” says Shira. “They kind of helped save my life.”

But even with a good prognosis, cancer treatment was a rough road for an outgoing 15-year-old, says Elana. “She didn’t want people to know she had cancer,” she says. So Shira would have her chemotherapy on Fridays and recover over the weekend. She only missed a couple days of school during that spring term and finished her treatment over the summer. During cancer treatment, she earned a 4.0 GPA that she maintained until graduation, and she finished up as a Wilson High valedictorian.

Shira did, however, tell her two best friends from gymnastics. Annie and Na'ama not only supported her, they also respected her wish that other classmates not be told she was sick.

“I could not imagine more supportive friends,” says Shira. “They were there the day my Shira Einstein and her parents, Josh and Elana, at the OHSU ceremony where hair fell out in chunks, visited me any time she received her White Coat as she began medical school.

I was hospitalized and sat with me through treatments. They were there to celebrate my last chemo and were an incredible source of strength.

You don't find friends like that very often, especially at 15 years old!”

The weekend her hair fell out in clumps, she went to Angel Hair in Eugene, which provides “a cranial hair prosthesis (not a wig) designed specifically for kids suffering from hair loss due to a medical condition.”

“They shaved the rest of her hair and fit the wig and glued it to her head,” says Elana, saying it looked like real hair. “When she went to school on Monday kids said, ‘where did you get that amazing hair cut?’ ” In the fall, she returned to high school and started thinking about her future.

“Surviving my disease came with a powerful sense of responsibility to commit my life to healing others,” says Shira. “At 15 years old, receiving my diagnosis also came with the realization that I – Dr. Gabrielle Meyers was extremely fortunate to have access to excellent medical care. I knew that my disease would have Shira, right, during her cancer treatment been a death sentence in many other regions of the world, and I knew that with siblings, Adi and Nimi, center, and I suffered less, experienced less pain, fear and loss because of the care that I pets. was receiving.”

Realizing how fortunate she was, she soon decided she needed to help those who were less so. “My fight is no longer for my own life, but for the lives and human dignity of others,” she says.Two years later, when the chance of recurrence was very low, her pediatric oncologist Dr. Linda Stork supported Shira’s decision to go on her first volunteer trip to Peru, where she worked to help street children.

That trip was followed by a summer spent volunteering in impoverished clinics in Bolivia. There she met Dana.

“As an eightyear lymphoma survivor and medical student, her story and hard won successes are heartening to hear about.”

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 23

“The care we get in the states is not the same as people are would be the biggest honor that I could ask for,” says Shira. “It getting in developing coutnries,” says Shira. “She had the exact would mean that my story has come full circle: from childhood diagnosis as I had. But when I met her, she was dying; she was cancer patient to an advocate for cancer patients.” receiving palliative care.”

Another full circle she will complete is working with children.

That experience enhanced Shira’s desire to help others. And Growing up, Shira often helped out in the preschool her mother Dr. Stork helped her along that path. has run for 14 years, Little Garden Preschool, which is based “Dr. Stork naturally transitioned on Israel’s kibbutz preschool model. from being my health-care provider and Combining her passion to help others oncologist to mentor and even teacher,” and her affinity for children made her Shira says. “She wrote me a letter of choice of medical specialty a snap – recommendation when I was applying to pediatrics.

Help Shira Einstein become the 2016 Leukemia medical school and deeply understood “I love working with children and Lymphoma Society Woman of the Year. why I was choosing this path. My dream believe that every kid has the right to be Every dollar raised is a vote for Shira and vote for ending cancer. came true when I got into the same healthy and to thrive,” she says.

“Surviving my disease came with a powerful sense of medical school where I had once been She believes helping children stay responsibility to commit my life to caring for others,” says Shira on her fundraising web page. a patient, and officially had Dr. Stork as healthy sets them up for a lifetime of The Oregon & SW Washington Chapter of the my professor during my second semester, health.

Leukemia Lymphoma Society will announce the winners when she taught our class about She also believes her background will of the Man, Woman and Student of the Year campaign at the Gala of Hope on May 14 at the Hilton in downtown Pediatric Leukemia and Lymphoma. give her insight helping children facing Portland (mwoy.org/oswim/localchapter/oswim/finale).

She interviewed me in front of my class serious illness.

Donation totals will be tallied May 10.

The campaign’s tagline is “No matter who wins, cancer of 140 peers, using my story as a patient “I believe that having been a patient loses.” case.” facing a life-threatening disease, having Donate now at: mwoy.org/pages/oswim/oswim16/ seinstein Shira is now back in Peru for a felt scared, had my life shaken up, I 10-week elective rotation divided will have the ability to grasp some of between 12-hour shifts in Lima’s the struggles that my future patients busiest emergency room and community health work helping face,” she says. “I hope that my story can offer them hope and chronically ill children living in the city’s slums. strength during tough times. Most importantly, I think my She returns to Portland May 9, just before the May 14 Gala experience will help me understand human suffering in a deep of Hope where the LLS will name its Woman of the Year. and meaningful way that will allow me to be an empathic and “Becoming Leukemia Lymphoma Society Woman of the Year compassionate physician.”

Vote for Shira as Woman of the Year

24 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

96

th

ANNUAL MEETING WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 4:30 - 6:00 pm

Congregation Neveh Shalom - Stampfer Chapel 2900 SW Peaceful Lane, Portland 97239

Honoring outgoing Board Chairman,

PLEASE JOIN US AS WE CELEBRATE ANOTHER GREAT YEAR AND LOOK TOWARDS THE FUTURE

DAVID FORMAN

For his dedicated service to our community

OPEN TO ALL

Welcoming new Board Chairman,

ED TONKIN

LIGHT REFRESHMENTS SERVED

And our 2016-2017 Governing Board

NO COST

With special guest,

RABBI JONATHAN PORATH NURTURING OUR HEARTS AND JEWISH SOULS Rabbi Porath specializes in conveying Jewish pride and passion - always speaking from the heart. He comes by it naturally as he is the 18th generation of rabbis in his family. Join us and be inspired! 速

THE STRENGTH OF A PEOPLE. THE POWER OF COMMUNITY.

6680 SW Capitol Hwy | Portland, OR 97219 503.245.6219 | www.jewishportland.org

JewishPDX OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 25

A golden era for seniors

By Deborah Moon

seniors

seniors 26 A Golden Era 28 Programs Around Town 28 CSP & Lane County Resources 30 Cupcake Queen of Central Oregon 32 UO Pioneer Harry Glickman 34 Store to Door Volunteers 35 Legacy Giving Reflections 36 Intergenerational Senior Connections 39 Plan Housing Needs Before Crisis 40 Senior Advertiser Directory

26 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

Seniors today have a wealth of options during their golden years. Active seniors can participate in programs and exercise classes at the J, social gatherings and outings at their congregations, and the diverse cultural and outdoor pursuits that make Oregon a wonderful place to call home.

Last year two Jewish professionals pooled their contacts and resources to create a senior calendar of events around Portland.

“Everything YAH: Everything for the Young At Heart,” listed Jewish community activities “for boomers +.” Though the YAH calendar only lasted a year, many of the programs Jennifer Greenberg and Laurie Fendel found continue to enrich the social and cultural landscape (see page 28).

For those who need help ranging from light housekeeping to skilled nursing care, there are just as many options; but

“It can be overwhelming for seniors and their families to plan and navigate the services and supports that will enable healthy, safe and happy aging. JFCS and CSP have a vision for creating a senior concierge service, a ‘one-call information and referral service,’ to link the older population and their families to a wide variety of essential resources."

– Carrie Hoops

connecting with the appropriate resource can be a challenge for seniors and their families.

Now Cedar Sinai Park, the place many in the Jewish community have long considered the hub for senior living in Portland, is developing a senior concierge service to link seniors and their families to the resources they need.

“Now people call the front desks,” says CSP CEO Sandra Simon, adding that many receptionists don’t know about the complexity of health care, social services and housing options available beyond their own institutions. “We are creating a onestop shop.” While the concierge program is still in the early stages of development, she and JFCS Executive Director Carrie Hoops believe it will fill a niche. The senior concierge service is just one area CSP has worked on with Jewish Family & Child Service since the two agencies consolidated last summer.

“We believe the concierge service will fill a crucial need in our community,” says Carrie. “By being able to connect people to our existing community resources, we can help our rapidly aging

population live healthy, happy lives “other organizations that provide the as independently as they can for as same kind of high-quality service we long as they can and then help them provide.” gracefully through that final stage of Additionally, Sandra hopes the life.” concierge service will connect more Carrie shared the following Jewish seniors with the four affordable description of what JFCS and CSP housing buildings CSP owns downtown. envision developing: “It can be She doesn’t think most Jewish seniors overwhelming for seniors and their are aware of this option for those families to plan and navigate the seeking subsidized housing. While there services and supports that will enable is about a six-month to one-year waiting healthy, safe and happy aging. JFCS list, CSP does have resources in place to and CSP have a vision for creating a support seniors while they wait for an senior concierge service, a ‘one-call opening at those buildings. information and referral service,’ to “Carrie and I knew it would take link the older population and their about a year for integration,” says families to a wide variety of essential Sandra. “We want to do it mindfully resources. Adult children living and thoughtfully so it’s a smooth outside the area with aging parents transition.” here in the Portland area will find The two are also working to minimize this service extremely valuable as duplication of services and to best use they try to help their loved ones from the resources of each partner. afar.

“They are experts in counseling, we Sandra Simon “The concierge model will help are experts in housing,” says Sandra. callers navigate the family of services “Together the two provide better quality under the CSP umbrella, from independent living to skilled service to our community.” nursing and the social service supports that JFCS provides. The For instance, as seniors age in place at Rose Schnitzer Manor, referral service will extend beyond the CSP family of resources more of those who moved into independent living 15 years ago to community supports and more home-based services.” now need some support services. Since case management is the Sandra says they have already begun to build a database of forte of JFCS, that agency is in the process of hiring a half-

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time clinical case manager who will be employed by JFCS but will have an office at RSM. “The intention is to have a skilled on-site resource for residents and their families, which will help break down any barriers to care,” says Carrie. “To be situated in the actual environment that the seniors are living enables us to have a greater opportunity for impact.”

Formerly JFCS offered a Lifeline program, which included in-home services such as meal prep and light housekeeping for seniors. Now those services to help seniors remain independent have been moved to Sinai In-Home Care, which already offered inhome care for those with more intensive needs.

However, JFCS does still provide

Carrie Hoops

in-home care and socialization activities for Holocaust survivors.

“The cultural aspect of this grantfunded program is distinctive,” says Carrie. “Our bilingual case managers and homemakers serve over 100 Holocaust survivors (many who live below the poverty line).

JFCS provides in-home support that allows the Holocaust survivors to age safely and independently. We offer wraparound support such as emergency aid, case management, housekeeping, companionship, transportation and cooking. If the client needs personal care (medication dispensing, bathing, etc.), we refer that work to Sinai InHome.”

SENIOR PROGRAMS AROUND TOWN

CEDAR SINAI PARK SENIOR SERVICES

Following is a sampling of some of the programs around town popular with seniors: Nosh and Drash: Rabbi Eve Posen teaches this class once a month at Café at the J (MJCC) and at Courtyard Village retirement community. 503-246-8831 Tea at Two: Congregation Neveh Shalom brings in interesting topics and speakers each month. Upcoming programs include May 17: Disability Under the Social Security Act – From the Perspective of a Retired Federal Administrative Law Judge with Riley Atkins; and June 7: Jonathan Porath: All of Jewish History in One Hour. 503-246-8831 Alzheimer’s Association Caregivers Support Group: Open to the whole community, the support group provides emotional and educational support for caregivers and care partners of people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. 6:30-8:30 pm at Congregation Beth Israel, Portland. 503-222-1069 The W Connection: This widows group provides peer-to-peer emotional support from women of all ages who understand what it means to lose a spouse. 1-2:30 pm at Congregation Beth Israel, Portland. 503-222-1069 Fitness and Aquatic Classes: The MJCC offers numerous classes that are free with membership. The following are open to all but are geared toward seniors: Forever Fit, Tues/Thurs 10:45 am; Tai Chi for Falls Prevention, Tues/Thurs 12:30 pm; Gentle Pilates, Mon/Wed 11 am; Gentle Yoga, Mon 4 pm and Tue/Thurs 9:30 am; Ai Chi (Warm Pool), Tues/Thurs 8:45 am; Arthritis Exercise (Warm Pool), Mon-Fri 10 am; and Dance for Parkinson’s Disease, most Wed, 1:30-2:30 pm. 503-244-0111 Cultural/Social Programs: The MJCC offers these groups that are popular with seniors: Knitting Together, Tues 1-2 pm at Cafe at the J; Hebrew for Lunch, Tues 12:15 pm at Cafe at the J (some conversational Hebrew required); and Mah Jongg, Sun noon at Café at the J. 503-244-0111

The following CSP entities provide housing or services for seniors (CSP also serves those with special needs): Robison Jewish Health Center: Senior living offering rehabilitation, nursing care and memory support. 503-535-4300 Rose Schnitzer Manor: Independent and assisted living senior apartments. 503-535-4000 Adult Day Services: Daytime social, recreational and support program for seniors. 503-535-4403 Jewish Family & Child Service: Social services for adults, families and children. 503-226-7079 Sinai In-Home Care: In-home care from housekeeping to bed-bound care. 503-542-0088 Affordable Housing: Four affordable-housing apartment buildings for seniors in downtown Portland. cedarsinaipark.org/ living-care-options/affordable-housing Housing with Services: Provides support services for those in CSP affordable housing.

Coming Soon: Harold Schnitzer Health and Rehabilitation Care Center: The first of four new 12-bedroom households built on the Green House Model opens this summer.

Senior Concierge Service: A one-call information and referral service to link seniors and their families to essential resources (under development).

28 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

LANE COUNTY SENIOR RESOURCES

Jewish Family Services of the Jewish Federation of Lane County: For information on available services, call Oriana Kahn-Hurwit at 541-484-2541.

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[seniors]

s s e l t Coun e

By Liz Rabiner Lippoff

k a c p u C : s o b m CAorecipe for fun!

When Ida (Green) Gurule graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in anthropology and a master’s in public health, she never imagined that she’d end up becoming the Cupcake Queen of Central Oregon. Yet today, she and her team go through 500 pounds of powdered sugar in a week to supply the three Ida’s Cupcake Cafés in Bend and Redmond, close to twice that in the summertime, and many online reviewers tout the cupcakes as the best they’ve ever tasted.

Ida wasn’t one of those little girls who baked in the kitchen with her mommy. She grew up in Southwest Portland, attended Wilson High School and was confirmed at Congregation Beth Israel. Her family included three siblings, a dad who was a Polish immigrant and a mom from the long-time Portland family who started Gevurtz Furniture. It was from her dad that she learned to love, love, love to eat bread. Even today, she says, “I can eat a loaf by myself !” It wasn’t until her own kids were growing up, though, that she started to get serious about baking, and, of course, she started with bread.

She and her husband, David, moved the family to St. Louis in 1987 because they just couldn’t turn down a plum job he’d been offered in public health. Ida wasn’t working – she’d just had twins, children #3 and #4. Ida met new friends and reconnected with her Jewish “spiritual self ” at Central Reform Congregation, and it was there that she met a woman who made the best challah Ida had ever tasted. Ida had been tinkering a bit with sourdough, but she became a challah convert.

“I tweaked it a little, adding more honey, and everyone in the family loved it. It became a good reason to light the candles, say Kiddush and then get to the HaMotzi so we could eat the challah. I made it every Friday night!” When they moved to Tacoma four years later, Ida started a challah business, first out of their garage and then later in a commercial kitchen she and David built in their basement.

“First I took my challah to a produce stand that sold gourmet food and said, ‘You have to taste this.’ They loved it, and I ended up making about 20 loaves every Friday, and they sold it out.” She would wake up really early to start the dough and then finish the baking while the kids were in preschool.

Ida’s Cupcake Café

idascupcakecafe.com • info@idascupcakecafe.com 1314 NW Galveston, Bend, 541-383-2345 • 1155 SW Division St., Bend, 541-678-5057 Pacific NW Hospice Foundation: 6663 Beaverton Hillsdale, Hwy #63, Portland | 503-297-5250 | info@pnwhospice.org 738 SW Highland Ave., Redmond, 541-548-8164 30 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

Soon after, she developed cookie recipes and before long she branched out to a local farmers market. “I made rugelach and hamantaschen plus more goyim things: snickerdoodles, lemon bars, marionberry bars and more. I was making a little money and it was a ton of fun.” By the time she had added a gourmet grocery to her client list, she was baking cookies on Thursday and 100 loaves of challah every Friday. The only thing keeping her from opening what she calls a “real bakery” was the lack of a partner to help her tackle the details.

In 2006, with the kids out of the house, she and David moved – for the last time – to Bend. They were tired of the rain and longed to be near family. They also figured Bend would draw the kids home more often than Tacoma would. As they did in every city, they found a congregation, in this case Shalom Bayit, and then Ida got to work. First she and her sister, Nancy, started a move management company, assisting seniors who wanted to downsize and organize, but then they decided to help Ida realize her dream by opening a bakery. Nancy eventually returned to focus on the move management company, and the rest is, for Ida and the many fans of Ida’s Cupcake Café, sweet, sweet history.

For the first two years, the business was a carry-out bakery with cookies, bars and bread. Although Ida made only enough money to cover her expenses, she stuck with it. When a space across the street opened up, a storefront with room for tables so people could sit, drink coffee and linger over her treats, Ida took the plunge and changed her location and focus. She wanted a café and she decided on cupcakes.

“I created the recipes and honed them by trying them out

on my Jazzercise class victims,” she remembers with a laugh.

“Cupcakes are so much easier and they take less time. Why would I kill myself making labor-intensive cookies when I can make a huge batch of delicious cupcakes and people will buy them?” Ida’s Cupcake Café was born. She actually kept making challah at first as well, but she stopped two years ago. Cupcakes rule!

Of course the cupcakes and frosting are delicious, but what makes Ida’s Cupcake Café unique is the mix-and-match ordering adventure. Cupcake lovers, picture this: you study the list of cupcake flavors available that day: chocolate, vanilla, red velvet, peanut butter, carrot, lemon poppy seed, seasonal novelties like passion fruit for Valentine’s Day … you get the idea.

But then you look at the list of the day’s frostings, like chocolate, vanilla buttercream, coconut, peanut butter, raspberry, salted caramel … and you get to put together the combination that makes you happy. Peanut butter cupcake with raspberry frosting! Red velvet with coconut! Vanilla with salted caramel!

“Some people do get overwhelmed,” Ida concedes, “and so we have a list of popular combinations.” They offer mini, regular and extra-large cupcakes and have gluten-free options. Ida also created a Party in a Box and a Cupcake Parfait for people to take home, and they are popular via mail order. (Please note that they do not ship June 15-Sept. 15.) The now three cafés are absolutely slammed every summer with the onslaught of tourists combined with their huge wedding business.

What’s next? I know what I want to be next: an Ida’s Cupcake Café right down the street from MY house.

Liz Rabiner Lippoff is a marketing consultant, freelance writer and community volunteer. Chocolate cupcake, chocolate frosting, please. LizInk.biz OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 31

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[seniors] Seniors

Harry Glickman to receive Pioneer Award

Harry was born in 1924, growing up in Harry Glickman, founder Portland during the Great of the Portland Trail Blazers Depression before attending and a 1948 graduate of the UO, where he studied University of Oregon, will be journalism. During World honored with the UO Pioneer War II he was a sergeant in Award this month. the 12th Armored Division The fundraising event begins of the 7th Army, returning at 5:30 pm, May 19, at the to the university and Portland Art Museum, 1219 earning his degree in SW Park Ave. The event helps 1948. After college, he top students from Oregon moved back to Portland attend the UO through the and started Oregon Sports Pioneer Award Presidential Attractions. When the NBA Scholarship. Renee James, was expanding in 1970, who graduated in 1986 and he organized financing to earned her MBA in 1992, is bring an NBA franchise also being honored. The former to Portland. Harry led the Intel president is now with the Blazers for 24 years, during Carlyle Group. which the team won its The UO web page about the only NBA championship award notes, “It takes vision, in 1977. He retired as courage and perseverance to president in 1994 and Harry Glickman courtside at a Trail Blazers game. OJM05850 point the way to where no now serves as the team’s one has gone before. And it president emeritus. He takes leadership to persuade has been married to his others to make the trek along with you. Such people are called wife, Joanne, for 63 years and has three children and three pioneers, and it is through them that society moves forward. The grandchildren.

Pioneer Award was established in 1979 to recognize those rare “My father will soon by 93 years old; as I reflect on where he individuals who have been true agents of progress.” came from, what he went through and the important role that The Pioneer Award is just the latest in a long string of the U of O has played in his life – the impact that he has had well-deserved awards for the man known as the state’s “father in our city and state are quite extraordinary,” says Harry’s son, of professional sports.” Harry was inducted into the Oregon Marshall Glickman, who was named president of the Blazers Sports Hall of Fame in 1986, the International Jewish Sports after his father’s retirement in 1994. “Past recipients of the Hall of Fame in 1995 and the inaugural class of the Oregon Pioneer Award have included Ancer Haggerty, Keith Thomson, Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. He is also a member of the Ann Curry, Dan Weiden, Peter Jacobsen, Ahmad Rashad, Phil International Jewish Sportsman Hall of Fame in Israel.

Knight, Neil Goldschmidt, Don Frisbee and Len Casanova.

“I’ve had honors from the university before,” says Harry. “I’m As you can imagine, I am a proud son that my father will be told this is their most prestigious honor. I’m thrilled and excited recognized in such company.” to get it.”

For tickets or more information, call 541-346-2113 or email He says he is also looking forward to spending time during stewardship@uoregon.edu. the event with UO’s new Jewish president, Michael Schill.

By Deborah Moon

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 33

Store to Door honors volunteers who support homebound seniors

Volunteer Shirley Bernstein clips coupons for Store to Door grocery shopping trips.

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During National Volunteer Month in April, Store to Door honored dedicated volunteers who support homebound seniors and people with disabilities.

With the help of more than 600 volunteers who gave more than 16,000 hours of service last year, Store to Door made 8,322 grocery deliveries to homebound seniors and people with disabilities. Over the past 26 years, Store to Door volunteers have made about 140,000 grocery deliveries to 8,000 clients.

“We have many Jewish volunteers,” says Store to Door Director of Development Katharine Quince. “Shirley Bernstein is one of the key volunteers behind Store to Door’s moneysaving coupon program. For more than 12 years, Shirley has volunteered every week to cut, sort and organize valuable coupons that are used to save clients’ money. And when you have a low or fixed income like many Store to Door clients do, coupons help make ends meet.”

Shirley herself is a Store to Door client, so volunteering each week is her way to give back.

“The best part of the job is that I get to talk to the staff and help people who can’t get out and do the shopping,” says Shirley.

Another Jewish volunteer, Myrna Apelby, says, “By helping on special projects, I can keep my skills updated and keep my mind sharp. … It is a ‘breath of fresh air’ every week I step into the Store to Door office and see all of the wonderful, passionate and creative faces. I feel blessed that I am able to give back to my community.”

Store to Door volunteers also participated in Good Deeds Day with the Portland Mitzvah Network on April 17. Volunteers from the network made birthday cards for Store to Door clients.

Volunteers lend their support in roles they find the most fulfilling. They connect with clients by phone each week to provide social interaction and record grocery orders; shop each list individually, giving clients personalized attention; and deliver groceries throughout Portland and Beaverton, making vital social connections with homebound elders.

For more information on Store to Door, call 503-200-3333 or visit StoretoDoorofOregon.org.

Elizabeth and Ruben Menashe reflect on legacy giving

By Gail Mandel

Legacy giving is not a new concept for Elizabeth and Ruben Menashe. In fact, the couple has discussed the importance of after lifetime gifts for more than 30 years.

“There are many role models whom Ruben and I admire because of their philanthropic values, their wisdom, their intentions and their ability to improve the human condition,” says Liz. “We would like to emulate them in our own way.”

It is Liz and Ruben’s hope that by leaving legacy gifts to

message that everyone can make a legacy gift commitment at any age and at any level. One does not have to be wealthy to commit to the future of our community.”

Liz and Ruben hope their legacy commitment will motivate and set an example for their family and others.

“We want to perpetuate and pass on the values that are important to us, and we hope to help enrich the lives of many in our community for generations to come,” says Ruben.

“We feel heartened by the success of the Life & Legacy program,” adds Liz. “We hope that it will strengthen our Jewish organizations so they can expand their services to meet all the needs of our community in the future.”

Gail Mandel is the legacy development and marketing manager for the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation.

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Elizabeth and Ruben Menashe

the educational institutions, religious organizations and other nonprofits whose mission statements represent their values that they can continue to meet the needs and enrich the lives of others well after their own lifetime.

Given her longstanding understanding of the importance of legacy giving, it was a natural fit for Liz to be a member of the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation’s Legacy Leadership Council, as well as a part of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland’s team of volunteers for the Life & Legacy initiative.

According to Liz, “The Life & Legacy program – a partnership between the Harold Grinspoon Foundation and OJCF – is a marvelous opportunity for our community to plan for and secure our future.”

Now in its third year, the Life & Legacy program continues to make an impact on our shared community. To date, almost 400 legacy commitments have been made to help secure a strong future for Oregon and SW Washington’s Jewish organizations.

“Ruben and I declared our intent to leave a legacy long before the Life & Legacy initiative,” says Liz. “It’s fortunate for me, serving on federation’s legacy team, because I can share the

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Gene Nistler and Melissa Berger lift their voices in song for a New Year’s celebration.

Senior Connections Intergenerational links benefit PSU students and their “somewhat older” friends

By Liz Rabiner Lippoff

Wikia, a site that claims to be “the home of fandom,” lists hundreds of variations of the game Monopoly. Among my favorites: Ice Cream-opoly, Game of Thrones Collector’s Edition and Queue (Communist Monopoly.) Communist Monopoly?

Inexplicably, the site doesn’t mention “You’ve Been Hired,” the personal Monopoly favorite of Portland resident Bob Lustberg and his family.

OK, to be fair, there’s only one copy in existence. But it’s pretty special. It’s the story of Bob’s life, all 96+ years of it, and it was created by Portland State University seniors Justin Howard and Paul Raglione. Wikia, take note!

The game was the students’ final project for a class called “Linking the Generations: Communication, Aging and Society,” one of various options for PSU’s “Senior Capstone” requirement. Cindy Koonz has been teaching this class for 18 years. Her syllabus says the course focuses on “the issues of aging and intergenerational communication” to, among other things, “address (students’) assumptions and stereotypes towards the aging populations and

… barriers and success in … intergenerational communication.”

In addition to classwork, pairs of students are matched with elders they meet with throughout the term, asking them about their life experiences and finding what they may or may not have in common. Cedar Sinai Park is celebrating its 18th anniversary as a community partner.

Bob Lustberg participated this fall, as did CSP residents Shirley Miller, Frank Roth, and Dan and Marion Ross. The PSU students who joined Justin and Paul (the Monopoly makers!) were Nina McPherson, Phu Johnny Hoang, Brent Burkholder and Stephanie Lowe.

“It was not what I expected,” Justin says. “I thought they might be biased towards me because I am not Jewish, but (it) didn’t affect a single thing. The people were very nice, and I even developed a pretty strong friendship with one of the residents. It was pretty cool.”

Bob also had a great time. “We were all sports fans, and I have a big Portland Timbers banner on my sofa. That made it easy to get into a discussion.” Bob had done a similar project with his granddaughter years ago, and he was happy to reminisce again with Justin and Paul. They brought questions

The students’ final project presents what they learned in the form of a gift for the resident.

36 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

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[seniors] for Bob, and they talked and talked, mostly about Bob’s life and what it was like in the days of yore. Bob grew up with silent movies and no television. He remembers horse-drawn fire trucks. His first job was working on the 1940 census. His first computer job was hard for him: his eyesight isn’t good and all the zeros looked like 8’s because they had a dash through them.

The students’ final project presents what they learned in the form of a gift for the resident. Justin and Paul’s “You’ve Been Hired” Monopoly game was, Bob says, a very clever creation.

“My career ended in the food business, and the Monopoly pieces are all food products, like bananas, pineapples and a cheeseburger. The cards included pictures of my family and me.

We all played the game together, and when I picked a card to get my first job, I drew the janitor.”

Instructor Cindy Koonz is particularly pleased to see the friendships that form. “I come back with new classes (to a site like CSP) and see former students (who) continue to engage with residents or help with activities,” she says.

CSP has even hired former Capstone students. Melissa Bergeron is one such student-turned-employee. She was interested in social work and chose “Linking the Generations” because she thought she might want to work with seniors.

She and her class partner, Alline Biggs, were paired with CSP resident Gene Nistler. “We would come to have dinner with him and talk about his experiences,” Melissa says. “It was fascinating to learn so much about someone’s life. We met his daughter, Susie, and she was able to fill in some of the blanks.

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Marion and Dan Ross show off the memory book created by PSU students Nina McPherson and Phu Johnny Huang.

She got us pictures so that we could make a photo book for him and his family. We both got really attached because his story is so endearing and his family loves him so much. It’s easy to see why.”

Melissa also spent time with other residents, helping out where she could and filling in on game nights. “I never had a traditional grandparent experience. It felt like having 30 different grandparents,” she says.

In the end, her Capstone experience cemented her belief that she wanted to work with seniors. She graduated last June and started her job as the life enrichment coordinator at CSP’s Robison Jewish Health Center in September.

“We do case management, so there’s a social work element to my job,” says Melissa. “But we really enrich their lives. We have lots of programs. We do personal shopping for the residents.

I do something called The Good Old Days where I read This Week in History and we discuss people and events. My coworker is taking some people out for Chinese food tonight.

We’ll go to the Tulip Festival in April.”

Melissa was actually offered a job at another facility first, but it didn’t feel right to her.

“I didn’t think the staff was empowered to spend as much time with the residents as I would like, and the activities weren’t as exciting,” she says. “They had bingo and they got their nails done, but they didn’t go to the museum. They didn’t have a cellist come in on Sundays. Here, they do, and when I sit and visit with a resident, I am not stepping away from my job, I am doing it.”

If Capstone students learn important lessons about themselves, the residents and their families also value the experience. Paula Wolfson cherishes the memory book student Kelsey Vadnais made for her mother, Rhoda (z’l), last year.

“Rhoda herself used to conduct oral history interviews with seniors,” Paula remembers. “She strongly believed in helping affirm the life experiences of older adults. She was so proud to have met Kelsey and share her life stories. She beamed when sharing the beautiful book with others. It is now a Wolfson family treasure. Thank you, Capstone!”

Liz Rabiner Lippoff is a marketing consultant, freelance writer and community volunteer. LizInk.biz

[Ask Helen]

Help mom plan for future before crisis

Dear Helen:

I’m terrified. I’m headed to Detroit tomorrow to have “The Talk” with my 82-year-old mother. She’s lived independently/semiindependently her entire life. My father died when she was 50.

For the last 10 years my youngest sister has been living with her, making sure Mom took her meds, driving her to appointments (Mom turned in her own license when she felt unsafe!) and generally being around so none of us had to fear every ring of the phone. But now she’s ready for her own life. Mom is intelligent, spry and relatively healthy. Other than not driving, she is very self-sufficient. But I know that could change in a minute, and I live 2,000 miles away, as does everyone except my sister. How can I have The Talk (which every child and parent dreads) about preparing for the inevitable living-in-a-group setting, so we don’t have to make rushed or bad decisions in a time of crisis?

Eeeek

Dear Eeek:

There’s no easy way for this one. Everyone dreads it, no matter which side of the conversation equation they are on. And if she knows your sister is planning on moving out, you know she also knows, and likely fears, that The Talk is part of your visit. So she may be apprehensive, even if she does her maternal best to hide it. Start out by having as good a visit as you can, at least for the first day or two. Come from the airport with flowers and plan to take her out for a special one-on-one dinner. Try to assess how she’s doing without making her feel like she’s under the microscope. Even if she knows the conversation is looming, she will be on her best behavior. But don’t be surprised if tears follow. It is going to be hard, but it is important and necessary.

Take the role of her advocate, as in: “Mom, how do you want to handle the future? What’s your idea of the best and safest way for you to live after (sister’s name) moves out?” Then listen.

Don’t confront her, and try to avoid pushing her into a place of resistance. She might surprise you by saying she is ready, or that she knows a move is inevitable. Most likely she will argue that it should be deferred. Listen to her arguments one by one; see what makes sense and what doesn’t.

Ask her if she’ll come with you to one or two of the closest and best assisted-living facilities that perhaps, God willing, one or more of her friends is already living in. Help her see the better points about them and also help her recognize that if she has a health crisis she could end up somewhere far less optimal, and that planning is a far better process than making a bad decision later.

You have a lot of homework to do to pull off the eventual transition. Your local sister will be a big help in getting the house packed up and de-cluttered. But you need to carefully assess financial resources, weigh options and learn about waiting lists and options should her health decline. There’s a big difference

between independent-living-only situations and a facility that offers progressive options when your mother’s health begins to fail. Assume that this process will take three to six months to do well, including for a vacancy to open in her place of choice, which you should pounce on if it does. Keep your sister involved.

Most important, make sure your mother knows you love her, and that this is about keeping her safe and healthy for as long as possible. The Talk should focus on care, not punishment. Good luck.

P.S. I’m reading Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End. I strongly recommend it and using the issues it addresses so eloquently as the basis for conversations with loved ones of all ages.

A resident of Eugene since 1981, Helen is a member of Temple Beth Israel, where she studies and speaks on Torah. She claims to have black belts in schmoozing, problem solving and chutzpah. She’s a writer and an artist (kabbalahglass.com). Please email your questions to helen@yourjewishfairygodmother.com

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[Arts & Entertainment]

Michael Mendelson.

Photo by Owen Carey

Biblical allusions feel fresh in ART’s “The Skin of Our Teeth”

By Deborah Moon

Local actor and director Michael Mendelson plays Judge Moses in the epic, relevant revival of Thornton Wilder’s 1943 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, “The Skin of Our Teeth,” coming to Artists Repertory Theatre this spring.

Wilder’s classic spans the history of the world with numerous biblical references including Lilith, Cain and Abel, and Noah’s Ark. Michael calls Judge Moses a small, yet philosophical role that he is glad to play “being the only male Jew in the Resident Artist Company.”

“This play is about the endurance of the human spirit in the face of huge catastrophes – how we survive and move forward,” says Michael. “Judge Moses brings to the play the notion of how the world began out of nothing and will continue when we are all long gone.”

“This comedic masterpiece spans the entirety of history, with one ordinary American family who lives through it all,” explains ART’s website. “Dad’s just invented the wheel, Cain is throwing rocks at the neighbor kid, mammoths and dinosaurs lounge in the family room, and mom frets about how to get all those animals on the boat two by two. Through Ice Ages, biblical floods and political conventions, the Antrobus family of Excelsior, NJ, perseveres.”

Michael says the play’s broad themes of creation and catastrophe lend themselves to being seen in a fresh light by contemporary audiences each time it is reprised.

“When a contemporary audience sees it, they see through contemporary eyes,” he says. “It is more poignant because of what is going on in the world.”

For instance, a study that was published in the scientific journal Nature on March 30 projecting rising sea levels due to global warming set off a flurry of news stories. The New York Times wrote, “The total rise of the sea could reach five or six feet by 2100, the researchers found. That is roughly twice the increase reported as a plausible worst-case scenario by a United Nations panel just three years ago, and so high it would likely provoke a profound crisis within the lifetimes of children being born today.”

That contemporary focus on flooding of coastal cities makes the flood scene at the end of Act II especially poignant, says Michael. In a booming voice, he quotes the fortuneteller: “Go back and climb on your roofs. Put rags in the cracks under your doors. Nothing will keep out the flood. You’ve had your chance.

You’ve had your day. You’ve failed. You’ve lost.”

That scene takes on fresh meaning when viewed through the lens of current events.

“Global warming, rising oceans, catastrophes we can’t control and those within our control are all in the play,” Michael says. “In a way art lets us see things we are unwilling to look at in reality.

Through art we can see it.”

Michael has acted and directed extensively in Portland since 1991, with a four-year break in New York. A member of ART’s Resident Artists Company, he is a frequent performer in ART productions. He is also the artistic director of the Portland Shakespeare Project, which is “in residence” at ART during the summers.

“In a play not specifically Jewish, I think it’s always nice to be able to embrace something of my own heritage to bring OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 41

[Arts & Entertainment] authenticity to it,” says Michael.

Raised in Detroit, Michael became a bar mitzvah at Temple Israel, which was at that time the largest congregation in the city.

Jewish audience members may remember Michael from the 2007 production of “Address Unknown” by the Reader’s Theater Repertory at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts.

Written in 1938, the story is told in a series of letters between two California business partners, one a German Jew and the other a German gentile who returns to Nazi Germany. The gala opening benefitted the Oregon Holocaust Resource Center, which arranged for Holocaust survivors or their children to participate in a talkback after each performance.

In a 2012 interview with Oregon Jewish Life, Michael called those talkbacks with the survivors, cast and audience “some of the most poignant moments in theater I’ve had.”

A R T I S T S

R E P E R T O R Y

Art and writing winners announced

The Skin of Our Teeth

by Thornton Wilder

WHEN: May 17-June 12 WHERE: Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison St., Portland TICKETS: 503-241-1278 or artistsrep.org

T H E AT R E

Winners of an art and writing contest that encourages youth to evaluate history and foster an awareness of the Holocaust have been announced by the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education.

The competition is dedicated to the memory of Sala Kryszek, a Holocaust survivor who came to Portland after World War II and lived here until her death in 1986. Winners of the 2016 annual Sala Kryszek Art & Writing Contest for middle and high school students will be honored at Multnomah Athletic Club on May 1.

Student artwork and writing samples will be on display at OJMCHE, 1953 NW Kearney St., April 28 -May 15.

The two grand prize winners receive

Congregation Neveh Shalom Presents:

Alicia

Svigals In Concert with

Accordionist Christina Crowder

THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH Thorton Wilder Dámaso Rodriguez MAY 17 - JUN 12

Alicia Svigals is the world’s leading klezmer fiddler and founder of the Grammy-winning Klezmatics.

by

directed by

SEASON SPONSORS:

SHOW SPONSORS:

A DAZZLIN G SPECTACLE , SPANNING ALL OF HUMAN EXISTENCE a r t i s t s r e p .o r g 503. 241 .1 278

42 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

Sunday, June 5 7:00pm in the Stampfer Chapel $18 Adults; $10 Students

nevehshalom.org/aliciasvigals 2900 SW Peaceful Lane, Portland, OR 97239 nevehshalom.org ~ 503.246.8831

a paid trip for themselves, their teacher and an adult family member to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

GRAND PRIZE OVERALL FOR WRITING

ART

Abigail Marx, 9th grade, Never Be Forgotten Teacher, Carrie McCallum, St. Helens High School

GRAND PRIZE OVERALL FOR ART

Ellen McMillan, 8th grade, Out of the Ashes Teacher, Mary Lukehart, Fred Patton Middle School

WRITING

Middle School – First: Basia Ward, 8th grade, Searching Through Memories; Teacher, Sam Blumberg, Portland Jewish Academy. Second: Jordan McElroy, 8th grade, Rot; Teacher, Carrington Light, Riverdale Grade School. Third: Olivia DiGiulio, 8th grade, Coming Back Home; Teacher, Mary Ellen Harmeyer, St. Clare School. Honorable Mention: Megan Bomberger, 8th grade, Zealot; Teacher, Mary Lukehart, Fred Patton Middle School; and Dylan Smith, 8th grade, Imagine; Teacher, Holly Walsh, Catlin Gabel School.

High School – First: Binh Luy, 11th grade, I Was Blind; Teacher, Marty Karlin, Valley Catholic High School. Second: Emily Grasberger, 11th grade, Moving Forward; Teacher, Marty Karlin, Valley Catholic High School. Third: Noel

Gerding Theater at the Armory 128 NW Eleventh Avenue

Dobney-Burns, 12th grade, Dear Future President; Teacher, Evelyn Wilson, Tillamook High School. Honorable Mention: Markita Martin, 12th grade, Silence is the Killer; Teacher, Evelyn Wilson, Tillamook High School.

Middle School – First: Gretchen Sorensen, 8th grade, Why? Teacher, Mary Lukehart, Fred Patton Middle School.

Second: Lizzie O’Mahony, 8th grade, Toxic; Teacher, Marie Acurso, St. Clare School. Third: Olivia DiGiulio, 8th grade, We Must; Teacher, Marie Acurso, St. Clare School. Honorable Mention: Everett Eisner, 8th grade, Refugees; Teacher, Marie Acurso, St. Clare School.

High School – First: Riccardo Abbate, 12th grade, Be the Voice for the Voiceless; Teacher, Evelyn Wilson, Tillamook High School. Second: Emma Phillips, 9th grade, Resilience; Teacher, Carrie McCallum, St. Helens High School Third; Elizabeth Gazcon-Chesbro, 12th grade, Out With the Good, In With the Bad; Teacher, Bethany Rivard, Fort Vancouver High School. Honorable Mention: Joanna Benito, 12th grade, Move Into the Light; Teacher, Evelyn Wilson, Tillamook High School; Nathan Buizon, 9th grade, Beneath the Currents of War; Teacher, Marty Karlin, Valley Catholic High School; and Alyssa Miller, 11th grade, The Bones of Mob-Mentality; Teacher, Marty Karlin, Valley Catholic High School.

503.445.3700

pcs.org

Tickets start at $25!

SEASON SUPERSTARS

SEASON SUPPORTING SPONSORS

SHOW SPONSORS

Dr. Barbara Hort Arlene Schnitzer

Portland Center Stage receives support from the Oregon Arts Commission, a state agency funded by the State of Oregon and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Carol Edelman Steve and Marypat Hedberg

Elba, Ralph, Lorraine, Renee and Russell Shaw Helen & Jerry Stern Jim & Susan Winkler

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 43

Mother's Day

Women invited to join conversation on

By Deborah Moon

man

d daughter, Shiri Gil

Rabbi Eve Posen an 44 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

Two moms – a rabbi and a congregant – started a conversation about women’s voices in the Torah. Now they are inviting other women to join an online conversation that may evolve into a book of mothers’ wisdom.

“My goal is to start conversations on women’s voices in our ancient texts,” says Rabbi Eve Posen. “We started a conversation and it led us here. Now we are inviting other women to join the conversation. We are keeping it open to see where it goes.”

The conversation began last August when Lois Shenker walked into Rabbi Posen’s office at Congregation Neveh Shalom and said she wanted to learn with the rabbi weekly. After Lois rejected the idea of studying the weekly Torah portion, Rabbi Posen mentioned she was studying Pirkei Avot (Ethics of Our Fathers).

“I know Lois likes a good project,” says Rabbi Posen. “We started to put a woman’s voice to it (Pirkei Avot).”

Whereas Pirkei Avot focuses on wisdom of the fathers, Lois says that their project explores the wisdom of mothers.

“As we read, we think about how women would say it differently or how this relates to women,” says Rabbi Posen.

The original voices in the conversation already bring diverse backgrounds to the project. Born in Detroit, Rabbi Posen, 33, has served as the rabbinic educator

ee children enker with their thr Arden and Lois Sh na.

Dia d an n da Jor l, (from left) Joe

and youth director of Congregation Neveh Shalom since August 2014; she and husband, Duncan Gilman, are parents of Shiri Gilman, 2½, a student at Neveh Shalom’s Foundation School. Born and raised in Portland, Lois, who turns 79 on May 9, is a Jewish educator, author and life coach; she and husband, Arden, have three children ( Joel, Jordan and Diane Rhinebeck), 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

With the March 13 launch of wisdomofmothers.com, they invite everyone who self-identifies as a Jewish mother, or who has a Jewish mother, to join the conversation. The website offers two ways to participate. The site provides a form to submit Words of Wisdom. Additionally, each month the site will include a photo and a prompt for women to reply to (see box for May prompt in honor of Mother’s Day).

Pirkei Avot is rabbinic commentary written by men in the second century. Lois and Rabbi Posner envision “Pirkei Imahot: The Wisdom of Mothers” as a companion piece that will offer a woman’s perspective on the teachings received by “all of Israel.”

“We are integrating discussion of Pirkei Avot with words of wisdom submitted by Jewish women, including female clergy,” says Lois.

The planned book, which they hope to have out for Jewish Book Month (November) of 2017, will also include a study guide to keep the conversation going among those who read the book. The website describes the project as “a book written by women for women, adding modern words of wisdom as guidelines for daily living and providing an opportunity for a new and stronger voice within the Jewish world.”

Mother’s Day Prompt

Have you turned into your mother? Do you find yourself using or thinking about phrases your mother used? Are there sayings of your mother’s you live by day to day? Do you find yourself saying, “As my mother used to say…” If the answer to any of these questions is, “Yes!” then share your wisdom about becoming your mother.

Wisdomofmothers.com

t. y Pirkei Avo Posen stud e Ev bi ab R r and orah Moon Lois Shenke Photo by Deb

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OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 45

[Young Adult]

South Africans tell students Israel is not an apartheid state

By Deborah Moon

Calling Israel an apartheid state is an injustice to both Israel and South Africa; that’s according to two black South African students who visited U.S. campuses this spring, including two in Portland.

Klaas Mokgomole and Jamie Mithi were accompanied by Jewish South African Benji Shulman from the South Africa Israel Forum. Over the past year SAIF has led three trips for young leaders to see the political situation in Israel for themselves. The pro-Israel advocacy group StandWithUs sponsored the U.S. campus tour.

Klaas, a former supporter of the Boycott, Divest and Sanction movement against Israel, says he now believes the BDS movement has “hijacked our narrative.” He says when black South Africans hear about apartheid elsewhere, they are easily incited to oppose it.

After returning from Israel, Klaas helped found a new organization called Africans for Peace, which helps educate people about the conflict. He says his primary goal in speaking out is to encourage students to think for themselves and not blindly accept what one group tells them.

South African students Klass Mokgomole, above, and Jamie Mithi, top, talk to students at Lewis & Clark College.

46 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

“My parents grew up under apartheid,” he says, adding apartheid laws limited education options, forbade intermarriage and did not allow blacks to go to the same beaches or ride the same buses as whites.

So when SAIF offered him a free trip to Israel, he accepted, even though he thought it would be a propaganda trip. He was surprised when he was allowed to go where he wanted and talk to whomever he wished.

After visiting Israel, he realized, “Every country has injustices, but it doesn’t amount to apartheid.” In Israel, Jews and Arabs attend the same universities and ride the same buses.

“There are not laws about what Jews can do and Palestinians can’t,” he says.

After returning from Israel, Klaas helped found a new organization called Africans for Peace, which helps educate people about the conflict. He says his primary goal in speaking out is to encourage students to think for themselves and not blindly accept what one group tells them. He hopes that by giving people a sense of the issues facing each side, he can help

While Klass and Jamie mingled with students, local and regional leaders manned the table full of South African candy and flags set up at Lewis & Clark College in the courtyard outside the Howard academic building. From left are PDX Hillel intern at Lewis & Clark Alex Raphael; StandWithUs Pacific Northwest/Northern California Campus Coordinator Noa Raman; Lewis & Clark student Andrew Ellen; and Jewish Agency Israel Fellow and Greater Portland Hillel Managing Director Shiran Halfon.

encourage engagement rather than boycotts.

Jamie, a law student at the University of Witwatersrand and a highly ranked international student debater, participated in the SAIF trip because he debates on the issue of two states or one state, and he wanted to see the nature of the conflict for himself.

“Basically you have two different peoples who identify with two states,” Jamie says. “You may need enhanced security when you deal with hostile neighbors.”

Noting he needs a passport to visit the United States, he says it is not abnormal for Palestinians from the West Bank entering Israel to need ID papers.

“It’s not the greatest solution, but it’s not apartheid either,” he says. “At the microscopic level that leads to living conditions that can be undesirable.”

Benji says that in South Africa, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is presented very simplistically. He says most of the young leaders SAIF has taken to Israel return with an understanding of the complexity of the issue. The visit to U.S. campuses enables them to share that understanding in a way that is authentic.

“South Africa is often evoked on this issue without being represented by South Africans,” says Benji. “South Africans are able to reach out to minority students and engage with them on this issue in a way they can appreciate.”

Benji says it is offensive to South Africans to have “our people’s suffering being used for a radical agenda.”

The South Africans spent a couple of hours at Lewis & Clark College and at Portland State University on March 31 and April 1, where they “tabled” to engage students walking by common areas. Each evening they spoke at organized gatherings to share their stories.

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[Yom Hashoah] A day of memories

Miriam Greenstein: A story of perseverance

to marry an American woman he met before the war began.

Miriam Greenstein, 87, She didn’t hear back from him remembers vividly the atrocities and began to give up hope. Weeks of the Holocaust. She was 15 dragged on before she finally received when she was liberated from a telegram from him, telling her to Bergen-Belsen. As a survivor, she wait for instructions. has made it her mission to ensure From Portland, her uncle and his nothing like that will ever happen wife, who would eventually become again. a mother figure to Miriam, worked She was 9 when Germany tirelessly to bring her to America. invaded Poland, turning her life They pulled strings and contacted upside down. local officials after being told it could Born to Ruth and Zalman take five years because of refugee Greenstein, Miriam lived a quotas. happy childhood. Zalman was a The contacts worked. She was lumberman, and the family had taken out of the Red Cross camp moved four times before Miriam’s by the Swedish vice counsel and his 8th birthday. The family last lived wife, who had been contacted by together in Lubrainec in the family in Portland. The couple took Polish countryside. care of her and accompanied her to a Everything changed on Sept. 1, passenger ship that took her to New 1939. Miriam remembers the day York City. She arrived on Nov. 26, the Germans took over her town.

1945.

Not long after, Zalman was Her uncle and aunt had taken the taken away to a labor camp. The train from Portland to meet her when last time Miriam saw her father, she arrived. They spent two weeks in he was boarding a German army New York City, where her aunt took Miriam Greenstein truck at gunpoint with all the her shopping for a new wardrobe. other Jewish men from the town.

“She tried to make an American After that, Miriam, her mother and her grandparents were teenager out of me. I was skin and bones and flat-chested,” she forced to live in a nearby church. They were eventually moved to says. the Lodz Ghetto, where she saw her grandparents for the last Her journey back to Portland is when she says her life truly time before they were taken away. began. She pushed her way through high school, graduating The last time she saw her mother was in Auschwitz, where the from Grant High School despite the late start, and quickly two had been taken together from the Lodz Ghetto. Miriam will married. She immersed herself in American culture, daily life never know exactly what happened to her. and advanced herself in every way possible.

Miriam was eventually moved to Bergen-Belsen, back to Miriam had four daughters and sees herself as nothing but Auschwitz and finally to Bergen-Belsen again. She was on the fortunate. “I grabbed life and inhaled it,” she says. “I knew I had brink of death, ill with TB, when liberation finally came. to have children to resurrect my family.”

She says she survived the camps out of sheer will.

Except for a slight accent, Miriam says she is 100% American “I could have easily curled up and died when I knew my and proud of it. “I’ve had a fantastic life,” she says. mother was dead. I knew my father was murdered, I knew my It wasn’t until 1988 that Miriam confronted her past. She had grandparents had been murdered. But I made up my mind that never spoken of the horrors of her teenage years and the terrible I had to live to carry on the family name and bloodline. It’s just loss of her family. Her daughters knew she was a survivor, but that simple,” she says. not from personal stories.

After liberation, Miriam was placed in a camp in Oslo, “My children only heard my childhood stories until age 9 in Norway, and immediately sent letters to her Uncle Moniek, her Poland,” she says. “Only after I opened up did they realize this, mother’s brother, in Portland. She had memorized his address though.” and knew it would be her only family contact. He had emigrated Miriam became motivated to share her story when a young

By Shuly Wasserstrom

48 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

suicide.”

Ethiopian man, Mulugeta Seraw, was After embracing her new role as a brutally murdered in Portland by white speaker, Miriam also began painting as a supremacists. The horror hit home. means of expression.

“I just couldn’t believe the whole “One night, I got up. I had not painted thing. There were neo-Nazis around, for years. I had canvas, I had oils. I pulled swastikas were painted on buildings them out, sat down and painted until 6 and I just thought – I have to do am,” Miriam says. “I had no idea just how something,” she says. therapeutic it would be.”

Keeping silent was no longer an Miriam now spends most of her time option. Miriam began speaking dedicated to Holocaust education. She to groups at high schools, prisons, was a member of the team charged with juvenile detention centers and different designing Portland’s Holocaust Memorial. organizations about the atrocities She authored an autobiography, In the of the Holocaust and the important Shadow of Death, is a board member at the message that comes with it.

Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for She sees herself as an example of someone who took evil and turned Holocaust Education, and is a member of it into good. She wants to encourage the Holocaust Speaker’s Bureau.

Miriam as a child. OJM 09256 This Yom Hashoah, Miriam will others to do so as well, especially remember those who perished in the underprivileged youth and troubled Holocaust, although that is something she says she does every teens. day.

“Today I focus on prejudice, bullying, hatred – getting to “If I have touched, let’s say, one in 100 people that I have know each other,” she says. “If you open their minds to how they spoken to, and they have changed their attitude about hatred, might feel if this were happening to them, you’ve accomplished then I have accomplished something,” she says. something. It might prevent one murder. It might prevent one

HOW WILL YOU ASSURE JEWISH TOMORROWS? OJCF is your philanthropic partner, promoting strategic philanthropy to help you achieve your charitable goals.

We can assist you with supporting the organizations most important to you through your current and legacy giving.

To discuss creating your Jewish legacy contact: Julie Diamond at 503.248.9328 | julied@ojcf.org OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 49

[Israel]

Spring holidays in the Holy Land

By Teddy Weinberger

Jews around the world are familiar with the fall holidays: a three-week period beginning with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Simchat Torah. However, only in Israel is Passover the beginning of another three-week holiday period.

A few days after the end of Passover, Israel observes Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), which this year is on Thursday, May 5; about a week after that, Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day) is observed; and on the following day, Israel celebrates its independence on Yom Ha’atzmaut. Just as with the fall holidays, there is a definite tendency to look at this spring holiday period as a block and to avoid undertaking major initiatives until “after the holidays.”

It is characteristically Jewish to place Memorial Day right before Independence Day. Whereas in the Catholic tradition (for example) you have the exuberant Mardi Gras before the austere Lent, in Judaism the Fast of Esther precedes the gaiety of Purim, Yom Kippur is a few days before Sukkot (traditionally the happiest of Jewish holidays), and the solemnity of Memorial Day immediately precedes the festivities of Independence Day. Israel thus continues the Jewish tradition of prefacing celebration with a period of somber reflection.

The day of Yom Ha’atzmaut provides one with the opportunity to fulfill the central commandment of this holiday: the mangal (barbecue). One simply has not fulfilled one’s obligation to one’s country without grilling meat. It’s no wonder that my friend Katriel playfully calls this day not Yom Ha’atzmaut, but Yom Ha’atzamot (the day of bones). Israelis like to get out into nature on Independence Day, so they lug all their BBQ paraphernalia with them. Because holiday traffic jams can be horrendous, some families set up their barbecues well before the entrance to the parks, thus getting a jump on the trip back home. It’s astounding to me to see families barbecuing a few feet from a highway, with asphalt and cars providing most of their scenery. You sort of wonder why they didn’t just set up shop from the comfort of their own neighborhood street.

The solemnity of Memorial Day immediately precedes the festivities of Independence Day. …

Independence, after all, has a price.

While America’s Independence Day always falls on the 4th of July, Israel’s Independence Day is much less reliable; its commemoration is tied to the Hebrew calendar (the 5th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar), of which even most Israelis don’t have the foggiest. With Memorial Day immediately preceding Independence Day, and with neither day being commemorated on Shabbat, you have a recipe for calendrical confusion.

For religious Zionists, the founding of the state of Israel has theological significance and they mark this occasion of G-d’s acting in history with a special evening service that includes the blowing of the shofar and the recitation of the festive Hallel prayer. Religious non-Zionists, however, attach no special religious importance to Yom Ha’atzmaut and even recite the Tahanun prayer reserved for regular weekdays.

To the general public, Yom Ha’atzmaut is a time for free outdoor concerts, fireworks, getting sprayed with foam and having squeaky plastic toy hammers smashed on your skull.

There are also many parties throughout the night. In Givat Ze’ev, even the party for junior high school students begins at 50 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

midnight.

There are several locations around the country on Yom Ha’atzmaut where the Israel Defense Forces create military parking lots for kids.

Givat Ze’ev is one of the chosen spots. On our first Independence Day here 18 years ago, a television crew from Miami (where we lived before aliyah) followed us around. As the cameraman filmed Rebecca climbing on a tank, I told the reporter that kids here are socialized from a very early age to view the IDF as friendly and accessible. My four older children, including Rebecca, have by now already completed their military service, and Elie is serving in an elite combat unit. Independence, after all, has a price.

Happy Israeli Independence Day!

Teddy Weinberger, Ph.D., writes from Givat Ze’ev, a suburb of Jerusalem just over the Green Line. He and his wife, Sarah Jane Ross, made aliyah in 1997 with their five children.

Teddy is director of development for Meaningful, a company that works with Israeli nonprofit organizations.

OREGON’S ISRAEL

CELEBRATIONS Dancing and cake have been big draws at past Yom Ha’atzmaut celebrations in Portland. On May 11, the Mittleman Jewish Community Center once again will host a community-wide celebration of Israel’s Independence Day. Yom Ha’atzmaut festivities from 5:30 to 8:30 pm will feature Israeli food, activities and games for all ages and Israeli dancing.

The community also is invited to the J at 8 pm May 10 for a solemn commemoration of Yom Hazikaron honoring those who have given their lives for the state of Israel. For more information on the event, visit oregonjcc.org or call 503-244-0111.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 51

Strengthening Oregon-Israel ties

By Deborah Moon

Aliyah rates from the United States to Israel are soaring and Israelis living in the states are at an all-time high.

According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, 140,488 North American Jews moved to Israel from 1948 to 2013. After a surge in aliyah numbers following the Yom Kippur war in 1968, numbers decreased in the 1980s and ’90s.

In 2002 Nefesh B’Nefesh was founded to revitalize North American aliyah with the first chartered flight taking olim to Israel that summer. In 2008 NBN and the Jewish Agency for Israel entered a strategic partnership creating a “one-stop-Aliyah-shop” for North Americans making aliyah. North American aliyah rose to 3,762 U.S. and Canadian Jews arriving in the Jewish homeland in 2014.

Israelis have also been moving to North America. Huffington Post and The Times of Israel blogger Adam Milstein writes that some Israelis now make America their permanent home.

We recently receive an email from Adam inviting us to explore his blogs “on issues of central importance for the U.S., Israel, U.S.-Israel alliance and the Jewish people.”

“In my capacity as the national chairman of the Israeli-American Council, I am proud to be a part of an effort to engage, organize, and mobilize an estimated 1 million Israeli-Americans all across the United States,” he wrote in a recent email.

“For decades, those of Israeli descent living in America kept their suitcases packed,” wrote Adam. “We always thought that we would return to Israel one day. Yet, this mentality is changing. Like never before, we are embracing an Israeli-American identity, rooted in the idea that America is our home, but that Israel will always be our Jewish Homeland – and strengthening both countries as a result.”

Our cover story this month looks at one family of Israelis who now call Oregon home. Josh and Elana Einstein brought their three children – Shira, Nimi and Adi – to Portland 16 years ago.

“Israel is my birthland and being Israeli continues to be a huge part of my identity,” says Shira. (See Shira’s story, page 20).

In honor of Yom Ha'atzmaut and to put a face to the ties between Oregon and Israel, we present the following mini-profiles as a small sampling of other Israelis who have made Oregon their home and Oregonians who have made aliyah. Each profile includes a Q&A with replies edited for brevity and clarity.

Israelis in Oregon

ESTEE & RANY RAVIV

Estee and Rany Raviv left Israel in 2001 and moved to Reno, NV, where Rany was working as an expat of an Israeli company.

In 2007 Rany was recruited by Iberdrola Renewables, located in Radnor, PA. They moved to Lake Oswego in 2008 when Iberdrola was acquired by Portland firm PPM Energy, Inc. The couple has three children, daughter, Orian, 18; and sons, Roy, 16, and Carmel, 8.

What brought you to your new home?

We were initially attracted to Lake Oswego because of the schools. Orian graduated from Lakeridge High School in 2015 and now attends USC in Los Angeles. Roy (10th grade) and Carmel (2nd grade) attend Lake Oswego public schools. Every summer we go back to Israel to visit family and friends.

How are you making a difference or contributing to your adopted home?

Both Estee and Rany are members of the Oregon Angel Fund – a community supported, professionally managed, investor driven angel fund.

Founded by Eric Rosenfeld in 2007, the fund provides investors access to promising startups and early-stage growth companies in Oregon and SW Washington. OAF’s active members collaborate in small teams to research, select and manage the portfolio of investments. Rany is a member of OAF’s investment committee and Estee is involved with the Women of OAF. Additionally, to share her love of cooking and healthy food, Estee has a vegan food blog, esteeskitchen.blogspot.com, and is in the process of finalizing a vegan cookbook. The book will Estee is self-publishing her book, to be named Oy Vey Vegan, via Kickstarter, kickstarter.com/ projects/114421387/oy-vey-vegan-vegan-cookbookublishing her book via Kickstarter, kickstarter.com/projects/114421387/oy-vey-vegan-vegancookbook

52 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

DORICE HORENSTEIN Raised in Kfar Sava, Israel, Dorice has called Oregon home since 1986. Dorice and her husband, Bob, have three children, Hadas, Matan and Yariv.

The family belongs to Congregation Shaarie Torah, where Dorice is the education director. Dorice is also active at the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, where Bob is the community relations director.

What brought you to your new home?

My dear husband, whom I met on an apple picking machine in Kibbutz Kvutzat Shiller near Rechovot during my army service.

How are you making a difference or contributing to your adopted home?

When I came to Portland, I wanted to teach and impart my love for Israel and the Jewish people. I began by teaching Hebrew in different synagogues. Then the principal of Portland Jewish Academy asked me to join the teaching staff at PJA. For the past 14 years I have worked at Congregation Shaarie Torah in the education and programming department. I also was privileged to bring groups to Israel in 2005, 2008 and 2011!

Have you received special recognition for your work or involvement?

I run an alternative family High Holy Days service at Congregation Shaarie Torah and was awarded the centennial Schechter commendation for innovative service.

We won a USCJ award for our innovative virtual program with an Israeli school in Jerusalem.

Oregonians in Israel LT. LIBBY WEISS

RONY LERNER Rony Lerner was born in Colombia, and made aliyah in 1984. He studied computer science at the Technion in Haifa and served eight years in the Israel Air Force, retiring as a major.

In 1997 he and his wife, Marta, and their children moved to Irvine, CA, with an Israeli company that had a business partnership with Ernst & Young.

In 2009 the family moved to Portland. Rony was a vice president at Tripwire for six years before joining local startup Cedexis, where he is VP of engineering and IT operations.

Rony and Marta live in Forest Heights. Their oldest son Tom works as a TV producer in Los Angeles; daughter, Kim, is spending a year in Israel volunteering with Masa, after graduating from college in San Diego. Their youngest, Itay, is a junior in University of Oregon.

What brought you to your new home?

I came to Oregon because of work and stayed because of the people. The people, culture and city welcomed us and made us feel like Oregonians. We got more rain our first year here than all the years in Israel and California combined, but that is a small price to pay to live in this beautiful place.

How are you making a difference in your adopted home?

I am still very connected to Israel since my parents and other family are still there. I loved the opportunity to participate in the Oregon Israel Business Alliance because it connected my passion and love for Israel and my adoptive home in Portland. I participated in one of the OIBA delegations to Israel to promote the "Silicon Forest" to Israeli companies. I am still in contact with members of the delegation and the contacts in Israel.

Growing up in Portland, Libby Weiss attended Portland Jewish Academy and Congregation Neveh Shalom. Her parents, Chana and Jonathan Weiss, and sister, Tammy Weiss, still live in Portland.

After earning her bachelor’s degree in political science from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, Libby made aliyah in 2010. She now lives in Tel Aviv. She is studying for an MBA though the Kellogg School of Business at a program in Tel Aviv University. She will soon be a captain in the Israel Defense Forces.

What brought you to your new home?

My parents are originally from Israel and I always felt a strong connection to the country – to the culture, history, language and people. I quickly fell in love with the culture, as well as felt a strong connection to my personal history in the country.

How are you making a difference or contributing to your adopted home?

Today I serve as the head of the North American Media Department in the IDF. I have the distinct honor of being a spokesperson for the military, and to work with the most recognized news outlets in the world. I have had the privilege of doing this work during operational and routine times, as well as part of the IDF humanitarian delegations in the Philippines in 2013 and Nepal in 2015. The work is extremely challenging and rewarding, and allows me to help strengthen the connection between Israel and America.

Have you received special recognition for your work?

In 2014 I was awarded the Presidential Award of Excellence from President Shimon Peres, awarded to 120 soldiers and officers in the IDF each year.

NOMA FLOOM & DAVID MARCUS Noma Floom and David Marcus lived in Portland before moving to Israel in the summer of 1987. Noma attended Hillel Academy and the couple belonged to Congregations Neveh Shalom and Shaarie Torah.

Noma’s mother, Lily Floom, and brothers, Tobin and Jay Floom, and their families still live in Oregon.

Noma and David live in the town of Kfar Saba. They are the parents of Barry, Mira and Rivi Marcus and the grandparents of Dan Marcus, and Nataly and Ethan Lavie.

What brought you to your new home?

Pure Zionism – a window in history to contribute to the great Jewish experiment. My father fought in the War of Independence, one of the highlights of his life, so it was in our blood.

How are you making a difference or contributing to your adopted home?

I am partner in a boutique law firm (BFP & Co.) that advances the "Start-Up Nation." I’ve worked with hundreds of Israeli start-ups, venture capital funds and investors providing employment for Israelis and sending Israeli technology and innovations around the world.

David’s leadership and volunteer roles include serving as president and chief fundraiser for our local Conservative synagogue. After a successful career as an in-house legal counsel for multi-national firms, David is now the CEO of Own the Zone Sporting Goods, the maker of EcoGRIP. Our children all served in the IDF.

Have you received special recognition for your work?

David has pioneered Eco-Judaism in Israel including a solar "Ner Tamid" and a successful campaign to eliminate plastic bags.

SHAUL STAMPFER Born in Atlanta, Shaul Stampfer moved to Oregon when his father, Rabbi Joshua Stampfer, was hired to lead Ahavai Shalom, which soon merged with Neveh Zedek to become Congregation Neveh Shalom.

Rabbi Joshua and Goldie Stampfer, Elana Emlen and family, Carol Stampfer and family, all still live in Portland.

Shaul graduated from Lincoln High School before going to New York City to earn his undergraduate degree at Yeshiva University. He moved to Israel in 1970, earned more degrees and now lives in Jerusalem with his wife, Sylviane. They are the parents of Adina, Tamar, Sarah,

Profiles continued on 54

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 53

Elijah and Shlomo.

He is the Rabbi Edward Sandrow Professor of Soviet and East European Jewry at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “By coincidence, Rabbi Sandrow was the rabbi at Neveh (Ahavai) Shalom before my father,” says Shaul.

What brought you to your new home?

It is a long story. The only concise way to say it is that I came home

RABBI BENJAMIN SINGER Benjamin Singer was born in Portland, but now calls Israel home.

He and his wife, Gail Singer, are the parents of Zev, Leah, Rivka, Dovid, Yehoshua, Simcha, Reuven, Pinchas Yaakov and Jerry (Levi Shalom), named in honor of his grandfather.

In Oregon, he was a member of Congregation Neveh Shalom. He lived briefly in New York before making aliyah in 2002; he has made his home in Jerusalem since then.

He still has many family members living in Oregon including mother, Sharon Stern; father, Peter Singer; grandmother, Helen Stern; sister and brother-in-law Anna and Eric Kodesch; brother, Jonathan Singer; and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

What brought you to your new home?

The opportunity to study and live in a very special community

How are you contributing to your adopted home?

I head a Kollel (Jewish institution of higher learning) in Ramat Beit Shemesh. This involves teaching Talmud to advanced students and serving as a mentor of sorts.

and my wife showed me the way.

How are you contributing to your adopted home?

I don't really assume that I make a difference. I think that I receive more than I give.

Have you received special recognition?

The best recognition that I get is love from my family.

MYLAN TANZER Mylan Tanzer, who pens our Oregonian in Israel column, is a Portland native who moved to Israel in 1981. He is the son of “the great late Shirley and Hershal Tanzer, dearly missed by many, many Portlanders and of course by me.”

When he was growing up, the family belonged to Congregation Neveh Shalom.

He was the founding CEO of the first Israeli cable and satellite sports channel. Tanzer lives in Tel Aviv with his wife, Yaffa Ben Zur Tanzer, and five children.

What brought you to your new home?

Zionism. I wanted to be a Jew and not need to live in a sub-culture to be one.

How are you contributing to your adopted home?

I am currently a TV and media rights consultant and strategist for the Israeli professional football (soccer) league and also am a senior sales director in the sports and events division for RR Media, a Nasdaq-traded provider of global broadcast and transmission services.Everyone makes a difference here. Things which we are imbued with in Oregon, but in short supply here

Have you received special recognition?

I am pretty well known in television and media, especially in sports media.

Tales of the Spirit Rising: Jewish Stories of Life-Transforming Moments

An Intimate Conversation with RABBI

ARTHUR WASKOW and RABBI PHYLLIS BERMAN

Congregation Shir Tikvah Monday, May 23rd at 6:30 pm Light Middle Eastern fare included

AVI BERNE Portland native Avi Berne made aliyah in 2014.

Growing up in Oregon, he attended Portland Jewish Academy through fourth grade and was a member of Congregation Shaarie Torah. He also participated in NCSY and Young Judaea, participating in a Young Judaea gap year program in Israel after high school. Most of his family still lives in Portland, including parents, Keith and Rosalie Berne; grandparents, Lee and Frank Berne; aunts and uncles, Craig and Jan Berne, and Steve and Peggy Berne; and cousins in the Berne and Fenton families. His sister, Arielle, graduates from the University of Colorado this month.

Avi now lives in Herzliya, on Israel’s central coast near Tel Aviv.

What brought you to your new home?

I grew up in a family that taught the love of Israel (my parents met and married in Israel) and going to YJ camps. I have a strong Jewish identity connected to the land. Israel is historically and Torah/ Talmudically our home. Archeology proves it is our homeland.

I come from a family that lost people and suffered in the Shoah.

Now we have an army to defend ourselves. I feel a responsibility as a Jew to go and serve in the IDF and protect Israel and the Jewish people.

How are you contributing to your adopted home?

I am a paratrooper in the IDF – defending the country and people.

RSVP at http://bit.ly/Waskow 54 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

[Israel]

Arava Institute tackles cross-border environmental issues or social justice initiatives after they return to their home communities. Notable alumni include the first Jordanian student Nature knows no borders. At the Arava Institute for and the first Palestinian student to earn doctoral degrees from Environmental Studies, this is more than just a slogan. It’s Ben-Gurion University; along with environmental leaders in the mission that brings Israeli, Palestinian, Jordanian and local government in Jordan, Israel and Palestine. “We are starting international students together to tackle the environmental issues to see our alumni move their way up the ladder of policy,” says of the Middle East.

David.

The Arava Institute, which celebrates its 20th anniversary “When we founded the institute, we thought that we could this year, was founded to build bridges between peoples in bring a bunch of Jews and Arabs together, throw them in a room the Middle East based on their common concerns for the and teach them about the environment, because maybe that’s environment. Environmental issues such as water, nature something that everybody can agree on,” David says. “But we conservation, air pollution and waste water treatment are all found out very quickly that students could live together for a cross-border environmental issues that, in the end, can only be semester or a year and just keep smiling at each other, not saying addressed through cross-border cooperation. what they really think. Or at times of tension, it would come “We believe that the environmental issues that we face in out in not productive ways. So we realized that we needed to the region are cross-border and they cannot wait for the sides initiate the conversation. And we created one of the more unique to come together on a peace agreement. We need to address aspects of the program, which is the Peace Building Leadership them regardless of the political situation,” says Executive Seminar.”

Director David Lehrer. “On the other hand, we want to make “That’s where we talk about what they don’t want to talk sure that these environmental about. That’s where we talk about issues don’t become one more the elephant in the room. We talk reason for conflict. And we about history, politics, religion, war, want to take them out of the occupation, terrorism – all issues political equation. And, of that bring up emotions,” David course, by working together on says. When students say that they environmental issues, we are also came to the institute to study the modeling cooperation, which environment, not to discuss these could be copied for other areas issues, “we explain that you really of cooperation and potentially can’t learn how to live in peace with lead to a more serious peaceful nature until you’ve learned how to dialog.” live in peace with your neighbor.”

David Lehrer, executive director of the Arava Institute for Based on Kibbutz Ketura in David adds that by the end of their Environmental Studies, meets with Dr. Ellen Stechel, deputy Israel’s Arava desert, the institute studies, students say that the Peace director of Arizona State Univeristy LightWorks, to discuss options for collaborative research. Photo by Peter Lammers offers academic programs, Building Leadership Seminar is the internships, research and most important thing that they did at international initiatives. Courses the institute. are taught in English and students receive credit through BenIn addition to the academic programs, the institute Gurion University of the Negev. Environmental studies are partners with universities around the world on international taught from an interdisciplinary point of view, with courses environmental initiatives. David was recently in Phoenix for an in natural sciences (such as earth sciences, ecology, renewable initial meeting with researchers at Arizona State University’s energy and sustainable agriculture) and social sciences (including LightWorks program about a potential research partnership environmental law, environmental policy, religion and the in renewable energy. They discussed the prospects of working environment, ethics and environmental economics). together to test algae production for biofuel at the Arava “(We provide) all the tools that students need to become Institute. environmental leaders and professionals when they go back to David also met with Jewish National Fund supporters to raise their home universities,” says David, a member of Ketura who awareness about the institute, which is a partner project of JNF. made aliyah from the United States in 1978.

“We’re very proud that they’ve chosen to partner with the The institute has over 900 alumni, two-thirds of whom live in Arava Institute. It’s a sign of confidence that they’ve decided the Middle East. More than 750 of them stay connected through we’re worthy of being a partner,” he says. the Alumni Peace and Environmental Network, which holds For more information about the Arava Institute for an annual conference that rotates among locations in Israel, Environmental Studies, visit arava.org.

Palestine and Jordan and gives them the opportunity to create Nancy Ben-Asher Ozeri is Editor-in-Chief of our sister publication, Arizona new initiatives and new programs. About 80% of the institute’s Jewish Life. She interviewed Arava Institute Executive Director David Lehrer alumni continue to be involved in environmental initiatives

By Nancy Ben-Asher Ozeri

while he was in Arizona recently.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 55

Play in the dirt, get healthy

By Deborah Moon

Kids &Teens too

A child-friendly resource for parents

INSIDE

56 Don't Over Sanitize 57 The Dirt Cure 58 Driving to adulthood 59 Kids & Teens Calendar

56 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

“When many of us grew up, getting dirty was something we all did,” says Dr. Maya Shetreat-Klein, a pediatric neurologist and urban farmer. “We were outside playing with friends, rolling down hills. We have given up something critical we had as children and are not offering it to our children. It seems to strike a chord for many people.”

In her 2016 book, The Dirt Cure: Growing Healthy Kids with Food Straight from the Soil, she discusses how the national obsession with over-sanitization – of kids’ bodies, their homes, even the soil that grows their food – does far more harm than good (see box).

“Portland is a community that is very open to these ideas,” says the pediatric neurologist and urban farmer who came to Portland in March to deliver a keynote address at the Nutritional Therapy Association’s eighth annual conference. Already a well-known international lecturer, since her book came out she has been in high demand as a speaker. The following week she was in Denver participating in the Nutrition and Health Conference, where she spoke about a paper published in Nature about soil biodiversity and human health.

Her book presents two principles for parents: buy and cook the healthiest natural foods; and encourage children to play in nature.

Both practices expose children to the health benefits of life-sustaining microbes and nutrients found in fertile soil.

“The main point of my book is to Dr. Maya Shetreat-Klein, author of The Dirt Cure, understand the health of our bodies was surprised to see this sign banning pets from the Portland Farmers Market. Whenever she visits a – our inner terrain – is a reflection of new city, she searches out the local farmers markets our outer terrain – the world around and says most welcome dogs. “I wonder what has us,” she says. happened there,” she says.

She also discusses the “old friends” theory she studied at the University of Arizona, where she completed a two-year fellowship in integrative medicine and is now a member of the faculty. The theory postulates that the presence of microorganisms and parasites present throughout human evolution “taught” the immune system tolerance so it did not overreact to every foreign body. Numerous studies have tied the rise of autoimmune and allergic conditions to decreased exposure to microbes.

“There has been some refining that improves the old friends theory,” she says. “For instance, we know bacteria can be helpful. Now we know it’s not just the amount of bacteria, but also the diversity of bacteria.”

One practice she promotes in both her book and talks is “forest bathing,” which

improves emotional health as well as increasing contact with varied bacteria and other microbes. “Spending quiet time in the forest” has many benefits, she says. “It makes people calmer, sleep better, have lower cortisol levels (a marker of stress), lower inflammation markers and higher anti-cancer proteins in the blood.”

Additionally, she believes that children benefit from having pets or contact with animals.

“Data show that young children exposed to pets in the early years are less likely to develop allergies of all kinds later in life,” she says.

Dr. Shetreat-Klein says the connection between humans and the natural world fits in well with Jewish teachings. She is a member of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, an open Orthodox congregation.

“The Jewish people believe strongly in the idea of tikkun olam, healing the world, and pikuach nefesh, saving a life,” she says. “Those two concepts together embody the philosophy I am speaking about – one deeply connected to the health of the world around us. And that we … are charged as custodians.”

Dr. Shetreat-Klein is an integrative pediatric neurologist with a medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where she was awarded the Edward Padow Award for Excellence in Pediatrics and graduated with a special distinction in research in child neurology for her original work on autism. She teaches integrative neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York Medical College, and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

The Dirt Cure: Growing Healthy Kids with Food Straight from Soil

Children are part of a growing and massive health crisis in which chronic illness has become the new normal. The culprit? Our national obsession with over-sanitization.

In The Dirt Cure, Dr. Maya Shetreat-Klein proves that it’s possible to reverse this trend by allowing our children exposure to microbes, feeding them fresh food from healthy soil and encouraging time in close contact with nature.

Based on cutting-edge medicine that she has pioneered, The Dirt Cure empowers parents to transform their children’s health by understanding the profound connection of their bodies and minds to nature and to food from nutrient- and microbe-rich soil. In a book that Dr. Mark Hyman calls “game-changing” and Dr. Andrew Weil says will turn “the prevailing paradigm on its head,” integrative pediatric neurologist and mother of three, Dr. Shetreat-Klein, shows parents how to keep their kids healthy based on two essential principles: First, heal them from the inside out (buy and cook the healthiest natural foods); and second, heal them from the outside in (playing in nature). Both of these practices expose children to the health benefits of the rich repository of life-sustaining microbes and nutrients found in fertile soil.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 57

[Family Time]

By Debra Rich Gettleman

Baby you can drive my car

When my son was 5 years old my husband and I temporarily lost our minds and spent a ridiculous sum of money on a mini version of a Hummer for him to drive around the neighborhood.

This car was totally amazing. Now that I think about it, perhaps it was part of our financially strapped, joint mid-life crisis. We couldn’t actually afford a pair of Porsches or a duo of Lamborghinis for ourselves, so instead we settled on a mini Hummer for our 5-year-old. We thought we were pretty great parents that year.

Of course, as all parents who have ever watched their children ignore their plethora of play toys and opt instead for a bevy of beaten up pots and pans to play with can guess, he was not at all interested in this outrageously fabulous vehicle. We spent countless hours trying to interest him in the Hummer. But no amount of creative cajoling could entice him to set foot in the birthday mobile.

Finally, one day I was making dinner and I glanced out the window and saw him climb into the Hummer and turn the key.

I was elated. I called my husband to tell him the great news but by the time he picked up the phone, my son had exited the vehicle and was talking animatedly to himself just a few feet away from where he’d begun. I hung up the phone and raced outside to question his curiously short road trip.

“I just needed to get to the office,” my five-year-old explained.

Then, like a chip off the old block, he gently invited me to go back inside, “I have work to do, mommy.”

I returned to the kitchen to finish dinner. After about a half hour of “office work,” my son hopped back into the Hummer, turned the key and drove for about three seconds until he reached home and entered the kitchen. “Hi mom, I’m home from the office,” he chirped brightly. At that moment, I realized that no matter how good our intentions, kids find enjoyment in the activities they love and not necessarily in the ones we adults think they should. We could’ve bought my son a mini Boeing 747, and he would only have used it as a vehicle to act out whatever adult behaviors he was working on at the time. That’s just who he was. He pretended he was a grown up and loved to mimic grown-up behavior. We came to understand that it was his way of making sense of the world around him. He never played for the sake of playing. He is what you’d call an “old soul.”

He’s always wanted to be an adult and we were foolish to think that a souped-up Hummer would change that.

He loved sitting in my car pretending to drive. He loved acting out swim lessons with me as the student and him as the teacher. He loved dressing up like his dad and going to the office to see patients. No matter how many ways I tried to get him to 58 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

drop the grown up scenarios and play for the sake of playing, kid stuff like that just wasn’t in his repertoire.

He is now a 15-year-old young man with a compassionate heart, a solid work ethic and a yearning to take on the world as a full-fledged adult. He is who he’s always been so it shouldn’t be hard for me to accept his burgeoning adulthood. But today as we sat in the Motor Vehicle Division waiting for him to take his written learner’s permit test, I found myself struggling with a different set of emotions.

I’ve heard hundreds of parents tell me, “Enjoy the moment.

They grow up so fast.” I’ve always found that kind of unwarranted advice to be more of an annoyance than a comfort.

And I’ve always sworn never to unload that piece of counsel onto other parents. But today I’m wallowing in the reality that they do grow up so quickly and within what feels like a nanosecond, they are ready to venture into the world without you.

As parents, it’s our job to find ways to remain relevant in our kids’ lives. Hopefully, we won’t always be their primary caregivers. But when that role ends, how do we morph into something that still matters, that continues to resonate with who they are and enables us to maintain connection and purpose?

The reality that kids grow up and leave home has always been there. It’s just so incredibly painful when you stand toe-to-toe with that truth.

My son drove home from the DMV. It was his first time driving on major roads and his first experience in rush-hour traffic. We’ve been practicing in parking lots and around the neighborhood for a few months, so I knew he was ready to test out his developing skills.

He did a great job. Well, aside from that one turn. But more importantly, he and I are renegotiating our relationship and learning from one another about how we can navigate his journey into full adulthood while still balancing my need to be his parent and guide his growing independence. It’s not always easy. Sometimes he’ll erupt into a toddler type tantrum.

Sometimes I do the same. I still have a lot of parenting to do. I’m not sure that ever actually ends. But we’re growing up together and it’s a pretty amazing journey.

Debra Rich Gettleman is a mother and blogger based in the Phoenix area. For more of her work, visit unmotherlyinsights.com.

Kids & Teen

EVENTS

RECURRING EVENTS SUNDAYS

Join PJ Library for a free weekly story hour for young families with music, crafts and PJ Library stories! Every Sunday 9:30-10:15 am at New Seasons Market, 3445 N Williams Ave., Portland. 503-8927415

MONDAYS PJ Library Hillsboro Story Hour. Every Monday. 10-10:45 am at Yo Zone, 18033 NW Evergreen Parkway, Beaverton. Free. 503-8927415

THURSDAYS Indoor Playground with Chai Baby and PJ Library. 10 am-noon of first Thursday of month at MJCC, 6651 SW Capitol Hwy., Portland.

Playing, running, kosher snacks, storytelling and prize drawings! For parents/caregivers and their children up to 5 years old. Free. 503535-3539

PJ Library Weekly story hour in Lake Oswego. Every Thursday. Join us for a weekly story hour for young families with PJ Library stories, crafts and music. 9:30-10:15 am at Realty Trust Group, 600 Avenue A, Lake Oswego. 503-892-7415

FRIDAYS Yad b’Yad Intergenerational singing and stories. Every Friday (no session April 29). Join PJ Library presents Yad b’Yad with Kim Schneiderman! 9:30-10:15 am at Rose Schnitzer Manor, 6125 SW Boundary St., Portland. 503-892-7415

PJ Library Southeast weekly story hour. 10-10:45 am at Seahorses, 4029 SE Hawthorne, Portland. Free every Friday. Story hour for young families with music and PJ Library books! 503-8927415 Latte and Learning for teens meets 7-8 pm Thursdays at the Multnomah Village Starbucks. Contact NCSY Portland Director Doovie Jacoby 503-504-1301 A Little Shabbat. A lively Shabbat full of singing, greeting, stories, eating and new friends appropriate for families with children in preschool, 2 years and older. Free. 5-6:30 pm third Friday of the month at Shaarie Torah, 920 NW 25th Ave., Portland. Cosponsored

by PJ Library. 503-226-6131

Fourth Friday Shabbat Celebration. Rabbi Eve Posen leads this interactive service that welcomes Shabbat through song, stories and a little Torah learning. 5:15 pm at Congregation Neveh Shalom, 2900 SW Peaceful Lane, Portland. Free. RSVP: 503-293-7307 or lconley@nevehshalom.org.

SATURDAYS Shirat Yeladim: storytelling, music, mitzvah and experiential learning for children 3-5 and their parents. First Saturday of the month at 10:45 am at Congregation Shaarie Torah, 920 NW 25th Ave., Portland. 503-226-6131

May Tot Shabbat: First Saturdays, at 9 am in Pollin Chapel, Congregation Beth Israel, 1972 NW Flanders, Portland. Dance and sing with Kim Schneiderman, listen to a story from the clergy and create a beautiful craft. Ages 0-5. RSVP to Ziva Sholin, ziva@ bethisrael-pdx.org Monthly Tot Shabbat at Congregation Kol Ami, led

by Rabbi Elizabeth Dunsker. A short Shabbat service with singing and storytelling! Craft making based on the story. 9 to 10 am, each second Shabbat. Ages 0 to 5. jewishvancouverusa.org Tot Shabbat at Congregation Kesser Israel, 6698 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland. 10:30 am, second and fourth Saturdays through June 30. Ages 2-11. Age-appropriate prayers, songs, Jewish activities and snacks. Professional puppet show/storyteller with a Jewish lesson and Hebrew enrichment. ysfgold@gmail.com Torah Yoga for Preschoolers. 10:30 am-noon second Saturday of month at Congregation Shaarie Torah, 920 NW 25th Ave., Portland. Co-sponsored by PJ Library. 503-226-6131 ~~~

MAY 1 & 19 Teens Interested in participating in the Oregon Jewish Community Youth Foundation during the 20162017 school year attend one of two mandatory meetings with a parent on. Eastside: May 1, 1:30-2:30 pm at Moishe House.

Westside: May 19, 6:30-7:30 pm at Rose Schnitzer Manor.

RSVP to 503-248-9328 or soniamariel@ojcf.org

MAY 15 Teen Pool Party: Have exclusive access to the pool float, water basketball, greased watermelons, GaGa and more at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center, 6651 SW Capitol Hwy., Portland. Free; food provided. 503-535-3617 or MZellinger@OregonJCC.org.

Register: oregonjcc.org/poolparty

May 17 Parent Hacks author Asha Dornfest presents tips and shortcuts for simplifying life with little kids, allowing a family to take a deep breath and have more fun. 7 pm at the MJCC. Free. Register: oregonjcc.org/parenthacks

Spirit of Unity applications due June 15 Applications are being accepted for the 8th Annual Harold Schnitzer Spirit of Unity Award through June 15. Schools and school clubs are invited to apply for the $500 award presented by The Wholistic Peace Institute – Educating for Peace.

The Wholistic Peace Institute offers this Harold Schnitzer Spirit of Unity Awards through a grant provided by the Schnitzer CARE Foundation. The award is part of the institute’s Student Peace Education and Leadership Program.

The awards are for K-12 public or private schools or school-affiliated, student-led school initiatives on peace, human and civil rights, Nobel Peace Laureates or humanitarian service activities that make our schools, communities or world a better place.

For applications, contact Educating for Peace aka Wholistic Peace Institute: Nancy at nancy@wholisticpeaceinstitute.com or 503-701-9987, or Gary at 503-314-5955.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 59

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Rabbi Ariel celebrates 25 years

By Polina Olsen

g n i v i L

INSIDE

60 Silver Anniversary 62 FACES 64 May Shabbaton 65 Song of Miriam 66 Calendar

60 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

When Rabbi Ariel Stone came to Portland in 1995, she found a city undergoing rapid sophistication and change. She remembers being told that she arrived only six months before good bread came to town. Now, celebrating 25 years since her ordination and 13 years as spiritual leader of Congregation Shir Tikvah, Rabbi Ariel continues transitioning from the old to the new by applying ancient teachings to modern life. “We don’t have to invent anything,” she says. “We only have to look at the Torah.”

Rabbi Ariel never expected to settle in Oregon. A native of Orlando, FL, she was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1991. After ordination, she served as a rabbi in Kiev while helping establish Reform congregations in Ukraine. In 1996, she came to Portland as an associate rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel and stayed five years.

“We were looking to expand learning opportunities for adults,” Rabbi Ariel says.

“The executive director and I decided to offer Torah study before Shabbat services. It became popular, and I had a great time. It was exciting to look at the Torah reading of the week in a way that was respectful of the text and the reader. You approach it saying to yourself, ‘This is the authentic, timeless center of Jewish life. Why?’ ” After five years Rabbi Ariel left Beth Israel for a fellowship in Jerusalem. “This was the beginning of my moving away from the Reform movement,” she says. “I studied from people across the religious spectrum.”

Six months later a Beth Israel congregant emailed and said, “We miss Torah study. If we start a new synagogue would you come back and be our rabbi?”

“I told him starting a congregation was a lot of work, and anyway, I would not talk to anyone who was a member of a congregation about starting a new congregation,” Rabbi Ariel says. “I thanked him for the compliment. A couple months later he emailed again to say he was no longer a member of any congregation. I’m in the middle of studying the philosophy of Isaiah Berlin, in Hebrew no less, and suddenly this invitation about coming back to Portland arrives. I thought, ‘Let’s see what happens. Could a group of 15 people really make it happen?’ By the time I arrived in 2003, they had grown to 67 families. And Torah study has survived and thrived. At Shir Tikvah, about 50 people show up for Torah study every Shabbat morning.”

Since becoming rabbi at Shir Tikvah, Rabbi Ariel has continued her own studies, earning a doctorate from the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies. She cofounded Oregon’s Jewish indigent burial society, Hesed Shel Emet, and is serving as president of the Oregon Board of Rabbis for the second time. Her book, a Kabbalistic guide to spiritual life titled Because All is One, was published by Derusha in 2012.

“The congregation has grown and developed into this welcoming Eastside Jewish place,” Rabbi Ariel says. “After 25 years there are still new things to learn. We’re small. We don’t have the staff to offer the amazing range of programming of a larger congregation. So we focus on the three primary Jewish activities and find that there are still so many aspects to explore.”

The first two activities are study and prayer. “Prayer is difficult for modern Jews,” Rabbi Ariel says. “We encourage people to overcome that protestant kind of decorum where everyone thinks they have to sit still for two hours. We encourage people to lead and chant Torah and Haftarah. We have a traditional siddur, but we make it

Rabbi Ariel Stone

fun with beautiful melodies. Instead of knowing you’ll see a certain pattern, we do something that feels pre-modern. And, because we’re not part of a movement, we can try to find the most authentic Jewish path as a congregation. We like being independent.”

Gemilut chasadim, acts of kindness, is the third pillar of Jewish life that Shir Tikvah emphasizes. “In addition to feeding the homeless, it’s about how we treat each other in shul,” Rabbi Ariel says. “You work on this by being a welcoming congregation not only to guests, but to each other.”

As Rabbi Ariel reflects on the past 25 years, memories of those who helped her stand out. “Somebody taught me that on your birthday, you should call your mother and thank her,” she says. “So in that spirit, I decided to send tzedakah in honor of 25 people who helped make me the rabbi I am. “There was Ezri Yuval, a teacher of prayer at Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem. A group of us met every day to daven the morning prayers with him, and he gave a workshop on how to chant the Haftarah. Those two things have been among the most important skills that I’ve used for 25 years. So I’ll send tzedakah in his memory to Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem. I’ll do the same for those from whom I’ve learned in Ukraine, Israel, Portland, New York and Florida.

“The idea of celebrating by giving thanks through the practice of tzedakah is ancient, Rabbi Ariel continues. “We find meaning in these old ideas when we guide a child through the creation of a mitzvah project, or use the mikvah to bring ritual depth to, for example, a transition from one gender to another, or any other deeply significant life event. These things should be Jewishly marked and given Jewish depth. We belong to this ancient tradition, and all we have to do is join up. My job is to help people make connections to those deep, meaningful places that already exist.”

Shirlandia

WHAT: An evening of stories, spirits and celebrations.

WHY: Celebrate Rabbi Ariel Stone’s 25 years in the rabbinate and benefit Shir Tikvah WHEN: 7-10 pm, May 7 WHERE: p:ear Gallery, 338 NW Sixth Ave., Portland TICKETS: $54 per person or $90 for patrons RESERVATIONS: bit.ly/ShirLandia or 503-473-8227 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 61

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Living

FACES & PLACES SHAARIE TORAH PURIM – At Shaarie Torah’s Purim Party: A Night of Magic and Miracles, family and friends joined to celebrate this special holiday of fun including Face painting, costumes, Megillah reading, magic and festive kids programming. From left to right, Elianne Lieberman, Sophia Kublick, Elizabeth Fleishman; Rachel Stern retelling the Purim Story for kids; Geoffrey Strongin, Dorice Horenstein, Anne Prahl and Lynn Bonner.

Photos by Ilana Cloud

IT’S MAGIC – Attendees at It’s Magic, Cedar Sinai Park’s annual event to benefit the residents of the Robison Jewish Health Center, raised their numbers (top) and pledged more than $130,000 during the Mitzvah Moment April 2 at the Benson Hotel. CSP CEO Sandra Simon congratulates event co-chairs Bev Eastern and her daughter, Michelle Gradow, right. Attendees included Gov. Kate Brown (above with Renee and Irwin Holzman) and (left) Sen. Ron Wyden with Vic Menashe and Eve Rosenfeld.

62 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

CARL PRESCHOOL AUCTION – Teachers, parents and community members gathered together to support The Carl Preschool at this year’s Spring Auction. Located at Congregation Shaarie Torah, the preschool raised funds with more than 100 gifts from local businesses throughout the Portland metro area. Photo by Ilana Cloud

JERUSALEM VISITING – Michelle Philip, daughter of Oregon Jewish Life Publisher Bob Philip, visits the Western Wall during a trip to Israel this spring.

INTERCULTURAL EXPERIENCE – Becki and Stephen Saltzman participate in a Hindu Holi Festival held in Portland at the end of March. Holi is a two-day festival in India and Nepal, also known as the festival of colors or the festival of sharing love.

TBI DREAM AUCTION – It was no dream, Temple Beth Israel’s 19th annual Dream Auction: Spring Soirée drew a crowd eager to have fun and raise funds for the Eugene Congregation. The event, attended by 155 members and friends, raised more than $57,000 for TBI’s programs and Talmud Torah. Among those enjoying the festivities held at the synagogue April 4 were Harumi Morikawa and TBI Preschool Director Carole Diller, top, and Gene and Sandra Luks, above.

INTERFAITH SEDER – The 17th Annual Community Intergroup Seder drew 160 guests of many faiths and cultures for a Passover seder. Top, Rabbi Joshua Rose led the seder and asked guests to read from the Haggadah. Guests also joyously danced around the room to the inspirational music of Kim Schneiderman. The annual program is presented by the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. This year’s seder was held April 7 at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center.

VOLUNTEERS – On March 16, 25 Jewish young professionals spent an evening hosted by the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland at Transition Projects, a leader in transitioning people from homelessness and living on the streets into housing in Portland. Attendees toured the facility, sorted in-kind donations, worked in the clothing pantry and participated in a moving discussion about the scourge of homelessness in Portland.

The event was chaired by Laura Jeser and Noah Kirshbaum.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 63

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Living

May Shabbaton explores kavanah and prayer

By Katie Schneider

You’ll normally find Rabbi Jonathan Kligler in bucolic Woodstock, NY. As senior scholar at the Lev Shalem Institute, he leads workshops incorporating music, movement, Torah and prayer. His goal, he says, “is to assist my community to become more alive, and I take incredible pleasure in guiding others along this path.”

Rabbi Kligler will visit Portland May 20-22 as scholar-inresidence at Congregation Shir Tikvah, where he will lead Shabbat services and a Saturday evening program. These events are open to the community.

He recently answered some questions in an email interview in advance of his visit. His answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.

The title of the upcoming scholar’s weekend is “Kavanah: Pray Like You Mean It.” How do you define kavanah?

Kavanah is best translated as intention. It comes from the Hebrew root K-V-N, meaning aim. The related verb l’chaven means to aim, and the noun kivun means direction. In Jewish spiritual language, kavanah is the direction in which we aim our attention.

PREVIEWS What gets in the way of meaningful prayer?

The main thing is our lack of familiarity and experience with this form of spiritual practice. One would not expect to sit down at a piano and make beautiful music without a regular schedule of practice. So the first obstacle most of us face in engaging in meaningful prayer is simply that we haven’t done it enough.

You mentioned distraction.

Anyone who has meditated is familiar with all the ways you can lose focus. The same is true for prayer. As with meditation, our task in maintaining kavanah in prayer is to notice when our attention has strayed and, without harsh judgment, gently return to our original intention. This activity of returning is known in Hebrew as teshuvah, and it is another key concept of Jewish spiritual practice.

In your work, you often mention heart and prayer together.

Prayer is meant to awaken us emotionally and move us spiritually. However, that rarely happens unless we also let prayer touch and open our hearts. We have the tendency to read prayer as prose, but prayer is the language of the heart. It is poetry. If we only relate to it with our intellect, prayer remains opaque. But if we can allow the words and the melodies to speak to our heart, we can awaken joy.

For more information about Rabbi Kligler’s Portland Shabbaton, visit shirtikvahpdx.org.

KAVANAH: PRAY LIKE YOU MEAN IT

May 20th and 21st 7550 NE Irving Street shirtikvahpdx.org FREE AND OPEN TO ALL

A Shabbat experience featuring

RABBI JONATHAN KLIGLER Lev Shalem Institute

64 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

PREVIEWS

2016 Song of Miriam honorees feted June 5

The Jewish Women’s Round Table has announced its 24th annual Song of Miriam honorees. The Song of Miriam Awards honor women who volunteer their time and energy to ensure the continuity and vibrancy of the Jewish community of Oregon and SW Washington.

This annual event is sponsored by the Jewish Women’s Round Table, whose mission is to strengthen the Jewish community by honoring the excellent work of women volunteers and bringing the community together to celebrate Jewish life.

The 24th annual awards brunch will be held from 10 am to 12:15 pm, Sunday, June 5, at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center, 6651 SW Capitol Highway, Portland. Member organizations have chosen outstanding women to be honored for their volunteer activities and dedication to promotion of Jewish life and values.

The 2016 honorees are Susan Aronson of Congregation Beit Am (Corvallis); Karin Stolz of Congregation Beit Haverim; Stephanie Siegel of Women of Reform Judaism/Beth Israel Sisterhood; Susan Lazareck of Havurah Shalom; Susan Marcus of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland; Susanna Perrin of Congregation Kesser Israel; Davida Jordan of Congregation Kol Shalom; Dana Sirkin of Congregation Neveh Shalom; Joanie Levine of Congregation P’nai Or; Alison Rosenfeld of Portland Jewish Academy; Margarita Wolf of Congregation Shaarie Torah Sisterhood; Kalyn Culler Cohen of Congregation Shir Tikvah; Barbara Atlas of the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education; Sherry Dunning of Temple Beth Sholom (Salem); and Sara Charney Cohen of Temple Beth Tikvah (Bend).

The D’var Torah and Hamotzi will be given by Aviel Brodkin, principal at Maayan Torah Day School and rebbetzin of Congregation Kesser Israel. Music will be performed by Barry Lavine. Envelopes will be available for donations to the Oregon Food Bank.

Marki Maizels and Carole Glauber, both past honorees, will be the brunch emcees. Door prizes have been donated by various synagogue gift shops and area businesses.

To find out more about the Jewish Women’s Round Table, visit jwrt.org to learn about the history of the SOM awards, see a listing of past honorees and the JWRT board, and much more.

Honorees’ family and friends are encouraged to attend this annual community event. Ticket prices are patron $36; regular $24 by May 25 ($32 thereafter); and $10 for children 12 and younger.

Call Jerrie Roth at 503-246-4367 for reservations and answers to your questions.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland is proud to honor

Susie Marcus at the Jewish Women’s Round Table 24th Annual Song of Miriam Awards Brunch Honoring Outstanding Women Volunteers

committed to community

cherishing Jewish life

Susie lights candles at 2016 Community Intergroup Passover Seder

®

THE STRENGTH OF A PEOPLE. THE POWER OF COMMUNITY.

503.245.6219 | www.jewishportland.org

JewishPDX

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | MAY 2016 65

Through May 1 The Pianist of Willesden Lane: a one-woman show.

This magnificent evening captures the story of the Kindertransport as Mona Golabek plays and shares her mother’s story. Portland Center Stage, Gerding Theater, 128 NW 11th Ave., Portland. 503-4453700

Through June 13 Ruth Gruber: Photojournalist at OJMCHE. Exhibit features Gruber’s photographs. Every Friday at 2 pm, the museum will screen “Ahead of Time: Ruth Gruber-The Movie.” ojmche.org, 503-226-3600

MAY CALENDAR May 6

Social Justice and Mobility: A student conference.

9 am-5 pm at the Native American Longhouse, OSU, Corvallis. holocaust.oregonstate.edu

May 6-7 P’nai Or Shabbaton with Rabbi Jack Gabriel. All events at 9750 SW Terwilliger Blvd., Portland. 7:30 pm Friday: Kabbalat Shabbat concert with davenning: “Let the Good Times Roll.” 1 pm Sat.: potluck and teaching: “Humor as the Ally of Prayer and Wisdom.” 7:30 pm Sat.: Havdalah and teaching: “Inside the Palace of the Grand Master.” Joel Glick: 503-293-9092

May 1 & 2

May 7

Yom Hashoah speaker Eva Kor, who surivived Mengele’s infamous experiment on twins at Auschwitz. 4 pm, May 1 at Congregation Beth Israel, 1972 NW Flanders, Portland. Repeats 7:30 pm, May 2 at LaSells Stewart Center, Corvallis. holocaust.oregonstate.edu

Honor the Journey: Pacific NW Hospice Foundation Gala. 6 pm at the Oregon Golf Club, West Linn. $100. pnwhospice.org/gala-event

May 3

Portland Kollel’s 10th Anniversary Celebratory Wine Event, 7 pm at the MJCC. Five-course gourmet dinner with wine pairing. Ticket $72. Tickets: portlandkollel.org/10/

Celebrating Our Caring Community: Jewish Family & Child Service fundraising luncheon. 11:30 am-1 pm at the Multnomah Athletic Club. Free but reservations required: 503-226-7079 ext. 118 or jfcs-portland.org Breaking the Silence: Stories of Courage from Our Elders. 7 pm reception, followed by panel discussion at Pacific Northwest College of Art, 511 NW Broadway, Portland. 503-226-3600

May 3-29 “Grand Concourse,” a play of compassion and forgiveness. Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison St., Portland. 503-241-1278

May 4 Yom Hashoah Memorial Service. 7 pm at Congregation Neveh Shalom, 2900 SW Peaceful Lane.

Presented by Oregon Board of Rabbis. 503-2468831 What have we learned about genocide? Scott Straus speaks at 7:30 pm at the LaSells Stewart Center, Corvallis. holocaust.oregonstate.edu

May 5 Reading of the Names. 10 am-6 pm at Pioneer Courthouse Square, Portland. “Unto Every Person is a Name: Yom Hashoah – A Day of Remembrance.” 503-245-6219 Building the case against perpetrators of genocide.

Lawrence Douglas speaks at 7:30 pm at the LaSells Stewart Center, Corvallis. holocaust.oregonstate.edu

Shirlandia, an evening of stories, spirits and celebrations. See page 60

May 9

May 10 Yom Hazikaron: Honor those who have given their lives for the state of Israel. 8 pm at the MJCC. oregonjcc.org or 503-244-0111

May 11

UO Pioneer Award. See page 33

May 20-21 Kavana: Pray like you mean it. See page 64

May 22 Lag B’Omer Celebration: 9:30 am at Congregation Neveh Shalom, 2900 SW Peaceful Lane, Portland.

The Neveh Shalom ALIYAH Jewish Learning Program welcomes all families to Lag B’Omer outdoor back-to-nature festival. Fire, food and fun. Free.

503-246-8831; mberwin@nevehshalom.org

May 23 Tales of the Spirit Rising: Jewish Stories of Life-Transforming Moments. An intimate conversation with Rabbi Arthur Waskow and Rabbi Phyllis Berman. 6:30 pm at Congregation Shir Tikvah.

RSVP at bit.ly/Waskow

May 24 Book Talk: Growing Up Twice. 7-8 pm at the MJCC. Author Aaron Kirk Douglas describes his experience as a gay man mentoring through Big Brothers Big Sisters. Register: oregonjcc.org/growingup

May 26

Yom Ha’atzmaut. Delicious Israeli food, activities and games for all ages, art, music and Israeli dancing. 5:30-8:30 pm at the MJCC. oregonjcc.org or 503-244-0111

Happiness Talks, 2-3:15 pm at the MJCC. Learn about happiness through science, philosophy, religion, and psychology. Sharon Rose, retired college educator, shares strategies. oregonjcc.org or 503-244-0111

May 12

June 5

Nosh and Drash with Rabbi Eve Posen. Discussion on What is Holiness? 1-2 pm at Cafe at the J. oregonjcc.org or 503-244-0111

Alicia Svigals in Concert. 7 pm at Neveh Shalom, 2900 SW Peaceful Lane, Portland. Alicia Svigals is a leading klezmer fiddler and founder of the Grammy-winning Klezmatics. $18 general; $10 students. nevehshalom.org/aliciasvigals

May 16 Oregon Ballet Theater Performance, 7-8 pm at the MJCC. OBT2 is the new junior performing company of Oregon Ballet Theatre. Dance program includes new works, Crush, Duende and Na Floresta, and Napoli Pas de Six. Appropriate for all ages. oregonjcc.org or 503-244-0111

May 17-June 12 “The Skin of our Teeth” at ART. See page 41

May 19 IMPACT: Women’s Philanthropy invites women donors to this thank you event. The Loaded Brush, Portland’s premier painting studio, will provide instructions and materials to create a masterpiece.

Casual attire, smocks provided. Ticket price of $36 includes light noshes and wine (Kosher dietary laws observed). RSVP by May 5. 503-245-7413

Above and Beyond: The Untold Story. 7 pm at

Congregation Shaarie Torah, 920 NW 25th Ave., 66 MAY 2016 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE

Portland. 8:45 pm wine and dessert discussion follows film about Jewish American pilots who flew for Israel in its War of Independence. Childcare available. Free. RSVP required: 503-226-6131 or shaarietorah.wufoo.com/forms/above-and-beyond-movie-screening

ORA, NW annual meeting open to all Jewish artists.

Each artist is invited to bring up to three pieces of their art work. During our meeting, we will tour the assembled art, discuss upcoming exhibits and nosh. 2 pm at Neveh Shalom, Room 102. Art collective membership does not require jury participation, but to exhibit and sell items at ORA events, complete an application to jury at: northwestjewishartists.org Song of Miriam Brunch. See page 65

June 8 96th Annual Meeting of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. 4:30-6 pm at Congregation Neveh Shalom. Free. 503-245-6219 For kids and teens events, see page 59

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