Oregon Jewish Life January 2019 Vol 7/Issue-8

JANUARY 2019

WANDER NO MORE

“Hungry Girl”

EDUCATION

Learning Life Skills While Building Justice

LISA LILLIEN FREE GIFTS INSIDE!

Yoga as a path to healing Countdown to Israel's first moon launch

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 1

WOMEN’S PHILANTHROPY IMPACT NEWS MARCH 18, 2019 EDITION

NEW YORK TIMES REPORTER BARI WEISS TO SPEAK IN PORTLAND

SAVE THE DATE! SAVE THE DATE! SAVE THE DATE!

Bari Weiss is a writer and editor for The New York Times opinion section.

Before joining the Times, Bari was an op-ed editor at the Wall Street Journal and an associate book review editor there. For two years, she was a senior editor at Tablet, the online magazine of

Jewish news, politics, and culture, where she edited the site's political and news coverage. Bari regularly appears on shows like Morning Joe and Bill Maher.

She is a graduate of Columbia University and a proud Pittsburgh native.

March 18th, 2019 - 5:30pm

Mittleman Jewish Community Center 6651 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR

RSVP: jewishportland.org/IMPACT

2 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019

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CO N TE N TS JANUARY 2019 | Tevet-Shevat 5779 | Volume 7/Issue 8

10

COVER STORY Noshing with Hungry Girl Lisa Lillien 7 Skinny Habits for the New Year

22 26

FEATURES

20

JEWS WITH ATTITUDE Eugene duo send Yom Kippur War photos home

10

BUSINESS Israel shoots for the moon Ins & Outs

13 14

NEW YEAR OF HEALTH Attorney/chef makes case for healthy eating

Family-friendly healthy grub at Laughing Planet Simple steps to a healthier you Yoga as a path to healing

22

40

59 50

FRONT & CENTER Author brings story of heroism to Portland Fertile Ground Festival offers 120+ creations Film explores Warsaw ghetto resistance

16 18 19 20

48 50 51

ACTIVELY SENIOR Pioneer blogger expands message Hearing health options expand Prevent falls

52 54 55

ISRAEL New Dawn at Beit Shemesh Democratic support for Israel at risk

56 56

ON THE COVER: Lisa Lillien PHOTO COURTESY OF HUNGRY GIRL

4 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019

EYE ON EDUCATION Tikkun olam and education 28 Find the right preschool 30 Jewish preschools

30 PJA alumna wins Star award

32 Students honored for peace project 32 Learning outside the classroom 34 Backpack safety

35 Sweet Tea and shared society 36 Hebrew school for Hebrew speakers 38 STEM at play

39 Learning life skills, building justice 40 Oregon Hillel helps recharter fraternity 42 Professor Hayes in Portland Jan. 17 43 Education briefs 44 Kids Calendar 46

JLIVING Transformative power of stories 57 Previews 58 FACES & PLACES 59 Calendar 62

COLUMNS NW Nosh by Kerry Politzer Ask Helen by Helen Rosenau

18 47

Create Your Legacy For 30 years, OJCF has worked to build and promote a culture of giving in Oregon and Southwest Washington to support a thriving Jewish community.

Ensure that your legacy and values are passed to the next generation. We are here to help.

Oregon Jewish Community Foundation 503.248.9328 l www.ojcf.org OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 5

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JANUARY 2019 JANUARY 2019 | Tevet-Shevat 5779 | Volume 7/Issue 8

PU B LI S H E R Cindy Salt zman

A DV E R TI S I N G A N D E D ITO R I A L D I R EC TO R

H OW T O R E AC H U S

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COLUMNIS TS

Oregon Jewish Life magazine is dis tributed on the fir s t of the month.

Stor y ideas for features and special sec tions are due 45 - 60 days prior to public ation.

Kerr y Polit zer

BIZ INS & OUTS: Busines s news is due about 25 days before public ation.

Helen Rosenau

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Elana Cohn- Rozansk y Gila Green Gloria Hammer Bob Horens tein Lisa Katon Sam Klebanow Ellen Rif kin Sarah Rohr Debra Shein

50

Jonathan Weiss 6 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019

A Prince Hal Produc t ion ( TGMR18)

2016-2017 MediaPort LLC All rights reserved The content and opinions in Oregon Jewish Life do not necessarily reflec t those of the publishers, staf f or contrac tors. Ar ticles and columns are for informational purposes only and not intended as a substitute for professional advice. Although ever y ef for t is made to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, Oregon Jewish Life, and its agents, publishers, employees and contrac tors will not be held responsible for the misuse of any information contained herein. The publishers reser ve the right to refuse any adver tisement. Publication of adver tisements does not constitute endorsement of produc ts or ser vices.

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MONDAY, JAN 21 AT 10 AM

• Enjoy a puppet show about freedom and civil rights with puppeteer and storyteller Devorah Spilman • Make seed balls to plant in spring • Make placemats for Meals on Wheels • Create a recycled art project with SCRAP • Participate in a Tu B’Shevat Seder • Bring socks to donate to homeless people • Listen to PJ Library stories in our story corner • And more...

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HERE FOR YOU

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 7

PUBLISHER’S MESSAGE

CINDY SALTZMAN Publisher

We Cannot Be Silent Any Longer ALTHOUGH WE ARE KNOWN AS content creators for Jewish Lifestyle magazines, websites and social media, we are firm believers that the term “lifestyle” can be expanded beyond entertainment and engagement. One of our missions from the beginning has been to disseminate information, ideas and inspiration as a way to fight against hate, racism and antiSemitism. But in order to accomplish this, we must all be informed and armed with knowledge and the facts.

What is happening on the campuses across our country and in Europe is real.

Certainly, Jews are not the only targets, but there is no doubt that culturally it has become “hip” to be anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist and full on anti-Jew. AntiSemitism is no longer whispered behind closed doors at the country clubs and boardrooms. It is very much out in the open, celebrated among some and becoming legitimized in the classrooms

Subscriptions: orjewishlife.com/magazine-subscription Newsletter: orjewishlife.com, click on“Subscribe Now!” Facebook: @ojlife Twitter: @JewishLifeNow Instagram: JEWISHLIFENOW Call: 503-892-7402 8 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019

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and on many college campuses. Shame has shifted from the perpetrators to the victims. Many Jewish students and professors are being attacked verbally, physically and emotionally and are fearful, angry or both.

Most Jewish organizations have had security measures in place for decades, out of necessity. Well, folks, that security is now on steroids, again, out of necessity.

We don’t have the answers, but we do have an incredible platform to help find answers. However, we need your help.

Consider this an invitation to voice your ideas and concerns. This is at the top of our agenda for the coming year. None of us can afford to be on the sidelines.

Starting right now – talk to us.

Please begin by filling out the survey mentioned on the facing page or emailing us at publisher@ojlife.com.

Email us: publisher@ojlife.com advertise@ojlife.com distribution@ojlife.com editor@ojlife.com subscriptions@ojlife.com

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OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 9

Jewswith

Attitude

Eugene man’s Yom Kippur War photos return home to Israel

Avi Naiman and Nathan Fendrich, right, look over prints of the photos Nathan took during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Just before Yom Kippur 2018, Avi facilitated donating the collection to Israel's National Library.

By Deborah Moon

Nathan Fendrich and his Leica camera were swept up in the Yom Kippur War in 1973. As an American seventh-grader at that time, Avi Naiman was not fully aware of the war until his family moved to Israel two years later. But when the two men met in Eugene last year, their individual life journeys combined to send Nathan’s intimate portraits of Israeli soldiers and battles to an appropriate home in the National Library of Israel.

When the library received the donated collection just before last Yom Kippur, it posted several of the photos (blog.nli.org. il/en/unknown-soldiers) with the following introduction: “Shortly before Yom Kippur this year the National Library of Israel received a personal collection of photographs belonging to Nathan Fendrich, an 84-year-old Jewish resident of Eugene, Oregon. This rich and important collection includes hundreds of touching photos taken by Fendrich 45 years ago, when he coincidentally found himself in the midst of a war. …

“His photos captured the difficult battles, the crossing of the 10 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019

Nathan Fendrich receives medical attention after being wounded while photographing a battle during the Yom Kippur War.

Suez Canal, the air strikes and the ground skirmishes, and the collection even includes some pictures of prisoners of war and casualties. But the most striking elements in the photographs are the soldiers themselves – young and old, active duty and reservists – all allowed themselves to be photographed, during fierce battles as well as in periods of rest, in meetings with the high command and in moments of casual comradery.”

Born and raised in Eugene, Nathan says he had wanderlust and had traveled to Mexico and Cuba before he decided to go to Israel: “This is my homeland, and I wanted to see it.” He spent a couple of months studying archaeology and persuaded a friend who worked at a local TV station to get him press credentials.

Nathan arrived in Israel a week before the war broke out; he had planned to take photos of an archaeological dig at Tel Qasile. On Yom Kippur he was sitting on the balcony of his hotel room and was surprised to see jet after jet take off from a nearby air base on such a solemn day. When he saw cars flooding the streets, he knew something was up. He grabbed his papers and camera and joined the flow of people. Told he’d need an Israeli press pass, he hitched a ride to military headquarters and presented his U.S. press pass and passport to a harried press officer, who gave him Israeli press credentials.

Bored by a tour of a Druse Village that the press corps was being treated to in Northern Israel, Nathan wandered over to some IDF soldiers he saw gathered nearby. Seeing his camera, the soldiers (some of whom spoke English) immediately began calling

to him to take their pictures. As he was snapping photos, the soldiers said “come with us” and called to their commander, “let him come.”

“The lieutenant let me,” says Nathan, still sounding rather amazed after all these years. “I let the press bus know and … went with them to the Golan Heights.”

From that moment till the end of the war 19 days after it began, Nathan says he felt a camaraderie with the soldiers unlike he had known before or since.

A couple of months after the war, realizing that learning Hebrew and finding a job was an almost insurmountable challenge, he reluctantly returned home to Eugene to run the family’s Brenner Furniture Store. He ran the store for decades before turning it over to his son, David; his daughter, Sharon, lives in Portland.

Back in Eugene, the slides sat largely unseen for decades. Then Nathan met Avi at a lecture from the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. The two struck up a conversation about their respective times in Israel, and Nathan invited Avi to come see his photos.

Avi had moved to Eugene that summer after visiting the area the previous year when he and his daughter went to see the solar eclipse in Madras. A semi-retired math and business professor, Avi was looking for interesting projects in his new home. He TOP: The first group of IDF soldiers with whom Nathan embedhad lived in Israel during high ded himself. The soldier with the big smile (and his two hands school and again in 2007-08 on the shoulders of the soldier in the front row) was the ‘wise with his children. guy’ who egged on the rest of the unit to gang up on their lieu“His story of having found tenant (the soldier on whose shoulders his hands rest) to allow himself caught up in a war and Nathan to travel with them to the front. This is when Nathan choosing to document it resolearned that "rules are meant to be broken." nated strongly with me, as I had MIDDLE: An IDF soldier whose family made Aliyah from India. gone through similar events in Nathan visited his home after the war. the Second Lebanon War,” says BOTTOM: This is the tank under which Nathan found a Syrian Avi. After spending two weeks (truck driver) soldier, who had been hiding for three days, in Nahariya, Israel, Avi produced burned, without food or water, scared of what (his superiors had two documentary films about convinced him) the IDF would do to him. By turning this photo the war and its impact on Israeli into a postcard, Nathan was able to circumvent the IDF censors civilians (both Jewish and Arab). and mail the picture back to KEZI in Eugene.

“I think his collection is unique OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 11

because it comes from a foreigner who happened to be in the right (or wrong) place at the right (or wrong) time, was neither a journalist nor a photographer, but didn’t let any of that get in the way of his documenting what was going on,” says Avi. “Furthermore, rather than stick to the script of the typical photojournalist of the time, he embedded himself with fighting units – way before that became common practice. So he got to capture some up-close photos of action that were not typical of the foreign press in the Yom Kippur War.” Avi was also impressed by a letter (see box) Nathan had kept from the unit commander, who said that Nathan’s presence boosted his soldiers’ morale, fighting alongside them (even after being injured) with the only weapon he had at hand – his camera!”

Nathan says the photos would likely have ended up in the trash if not for Avi. “I had the pictures for 45 years and did nothing, … Avi took one look and the wheels began to turn FAST,” says Nathan. “It was totally Avi. In an amazingly short time, Avi convinced me I was sitting on a photographic treasure, not from any economic standing, but as a teaching tool for the National Library of Israel.”

Through family and friends in Israel, Avi connected with the National Library of Israel and the Archives of the Israel Defense Forces, with both organizations quickly expressing interest in getting the original photos.

“When the NLI sent me their first email, they included the name of a photo service in Eugene for me to get the pictures digitized,” says Avi, adding that made him realize how much they wanted the photos.

Nathan donated his collection and Avi donated his time to digitize the photos and help Nathan create PowerPoint presentations, which the two presented in Eugene Dec. 19 and plan to offer in other venues.

Translation of letter from IDF Soldier Emmanuel Maisel to Nathan Fendrich (excerpt)

Ever since you left us, it’s been a bit boring here. Here in our unit, the guys ask about you and send you warm regards. And they thank you profusely for the pictures you took during battle and sent them. Everyone remembers you and gives you a lot of credit. Everyone admires the unit’s ‘combat’ photographer.

I want you to know that you really helped them by raising morale. When they were taking Ismailia, some of the guys were really exhausted. But seeing a foreign correspondent whose only weapon was his camera really raised their morale. One of the guys I spoke with a few days after the battle told me that he was shocked to see you enter the buildings with them – despite having been wounded (even if not seriously)!

If you remember Danny, the soldier who was injured in the face from shrapnel, he returned to the unit a couple of days ago, still a bit bandaged, but feeling great; it’s good for him to be back in the unit. All the other guys who were wounded have returned to the unit, except for the one soldier who was wounded in the stomach, but even he’s recovering.

I would be grateful if you could send a few more copies of the pictures of the guys, as some of the guys were in the field in the rain when the mail was delivered to them and with all the mud and water, some of the pictures got ruined.

TOP: IDF soldiers climb to the top of a building on the outskirts of Ismailia, to determine if there are any Egyptian soldiers inside. When the IDF soldiers gathered in a courtyard after securing the building, incoming mortar fire injured six of them. While assisting to evacuate a soldier to an aid station, Nathan was slightly wounded when a mortar hit a wall and a chunk of the wall hit him in the back.

MIDDLE: General Ariel Sharon with a photographer.

BOTTOM: IDF soldiers at rest between battles.

12 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019

BUSINESS

Israel shoots for the moon

O

n Dec. 17 Israeli nonprofit SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries presented a time capsule that will travel to the moon with the first Israeli spacecraft set to launch from Cape Canaveral, FL, in February.

The time capsule will travel to the moon inside SpaceIL’s lunar spacecraft.

The time capsule consists of three discs, each containing hundreds of digital files including: details about the spacecraft and the crew building it; national symbols, like Israel’s Declaration of Independence, the Bible, “Hatikvah,” and the Israeli flag; cultural objects; dictionaries in 27 languages and encyclopedias; the Wayfarer’s Prayer; books of art and science and Israeli literature; information about Israeli scientific and technological discoveries that influenced the world; photos of Israel’s landscapes and leading figures; and a children’s book inspired by SpaceIL’s mission to the moon.

The time capsule, along with the spacecraft, will remain on the moon indefinitely. With no plans to return to Earth, the spacecraft and information within the time capsule’s disks could be found by future generations.

The spacecraft, recently named Beresheet (the Hebrew word for Genesis), will launch alongside other satellites as a secondary payload on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The precise launch date remains undetermined.

"This is another step on our way to the moon," said Ido Anteby, CEO of SpaceIL. “The spacecraft's historic journey, which also includes a scientific mission, makes a significant contribution to advancing the space industry and the subject of space in Israel."

The spacecraft, whose construction was carried out at IAI’s Space Division, successfully completed a series of recent tests to examine the integration of systems, and a series of complex experiments aimed at testing its durability. Next, SpaceIL will soon ship the spacecraft to the launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

In October, SpaceIL and the Israeli Space Agency announced a collaboration with NASA that will enable SpaceIL to improve its ability to track and communicate with the spacecraft before, during and after landing on the moon. A retro-reflector from NASA was installed on the spacecraft that will enable NASA to precisely locate the spacecraft on the lunar surface after the landing. SpaceIL, the Israel Space Agency and NASA also agreed that NASA will have access to data gathered by the magnetometer installed aboard the Israeli spacecraft. The instrument, which was developed in collaboration with Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science, will measure the magnetic field on and above the landing site.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 13

BIZ Julie Norton Stewart

INS & OUTS

Stacey Quintana

Pamela Michalowski

Cedar Sinai Park enhances management Cedar Sinai Park has enhanced its finance and operations management, starting with the appointment of Julie Norton Stewart as chief financial officer. Julie has nearly 20 years financial management experience including significant finance roles with Providence Health and Services, and The Regence Group.

Julie brings not only health-care-related finance expertise, but also a solid background in operations and risk management, as well as an entrepreneurial bent. In addition to experience with Providence and The Regence Group, Julie served as a senior financial analyst at Intel. Since 2006 she has been a co-owner of Academy Theater, a popular Montavilla neighborhood theater.

Stacey Quintana, a certified public accountant with 20 years of experience, has joined CSP’s Finance Department as controller. Stacey, a native Oregonian, has served as a controller for the Portland Clinic and organizations in other diverse fields.

Cedar Sinai Park also hired Pamela Michalowski as a performance improvement professional, focused on quality improvement, and patient and resident satisfaction.

As both a registered nurse and a certified professional in health-care quality, she brings extensive training and experience in health-care quality improvement, including roles at three major health-care organizations.

“These strong health-care finance and performance professionals are a tremendous asset to our new, larger campus and expanded operations,” says Cedar Sinai Park CEO Martin Baicker.

Cedar Sinai Park offers the state’s largest assisted-living community, Rose Schnitzer Manor; a new, state-of-the art post-acute rehab center, Robison Health & Rehabilitation; Sinai In-Home Care; and Oregon’s first Green House model of small, homelike settings for long-term care. Cedar Sinai Park also provides affordable housing with services for people with low incomes or special needs. cedarsinaipark.org

Beth Israel hires development director Jackie Volkoff is the new director of development at Congregation Beth Israel. Jackie attended University of California-Santa Barbara for her undergraduate studies and UC-Berkeley for graduate school. She is currently enrolled in a nonprofit management master’s program through John Hopkins University.

She recently relocated from Northern California to Portland and is appreciating the cooler weather and actual seasons. Jackie found her niche in nonprofit development shortly after graduate school and hasn’t looked back since. She has extensive experience in grant writing, grant management, measuring impact and working closely 14 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019

Jackie Volkoff

Steven Wilker

with donors to bring their philanthropic visions to fruition.

Jackie is grateful for the professional development offered at CBI and is thrilled to leverage her diverse development experience to help advance the synagogue.

Founded in 1858, Congregation Beth Israel has been affiliated with Reform Judaism since 1879. Located at 1972 NW Flanders, the congregation has more than 850 member units (individuals and families). jackie@BethIsrael-pdx.org | bethisrael-pdx.org

Steven Wilker elected vice-chair of Classroom Law Project Tonkon Torp LLP partner Steven Wilker has been elected vice-chair of Classroom Law Project, a nonprofit that prepares 100,000+ students across Oregon to become engaged and informed citizens in a democratic society.

Classroom Law Project provides quality professional development for 1,000+ teachers to run civics programs including We the People constitution teams, Mock Trial and Project Citizen Showcase.

Wilker is co-chair of Tonkon Torp’s Litigation Department and Information Privacy & Security Practice Group and a member of Intellectual Property and Financial Services & Investment Management practice groups. Wilker also serves on the board of directors of Classic Wines Auction and on the Lawyers Committee for ACLU of Oregon.

Wilker, his wife, Lainie, and daughters, Hannah and Callie, are members at Congregation Beth Israel. classroomlaw.org | tonkon.com

Edison High School welcomes new president Edison High School welcomes Dr. Sean Preston as its new president. An educator and school leader with 22 years of experience, Dr. Preston obtained a bachelor of social science education from the University of Georgia, and went on to complete two master’s degrees and ultimately his doctorate

Dr. Sean Preston

Joel Bundy

degree in educational leadership at Liberty University.

His noteworthy achievements include designing the cutting-edge Odyssey Project in partnership with Microsoft, an educational resource that focuses on a blended learning assisted technology platform to support students in attaining the highest levels of learning and engagement. He has also authored numerous journal articles and is a frequent speaker at educational conferences as an expert communicating about learning difference strategies and high-quality education.

He continues his work conducting research in the field of educational technology and advising Ph.D. students.

Edison High School is the only high school in the Portland/ Vancouver metropolitan area specifically dedicated to serving students with learning differences. spreston@edisonhs.org | 503-297-2336

Bundy’s Bagels cart reopens thanks to Bowery Bagels Bundy’s Bagels food cart is now back in business on the corner of Hawthorne Boulevard and 33rd Avenue. Bundy’s has teamed up with Portland Kosher bagel maker, Bowery Bagels, to ramp up production of its delicious bagels.

Bundy’s Bagels cart owner and baker Joel Bundy closed his popular five-year-old cart in September 2018 due to production limitations of working in a cart. On hearing this, Bowery Bagels’ owner Michael Madigan reached out to Bundy and offered him the opportunity to keep making Bundy’s delicious bagels at Bowery’s 5,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art kosher production bakery in the North Portland Kenton neighborhood.

“Portland needs more good bagels, not fewer,” says Madigan.

“It seemed a shame to see a well-regarded fellow bagel maker disappear due to his success. Joel and I met and agreed that we could collaborate and keep Bundy’s in the community.”

“This will be an ideal situation,” says Bundy of the reopening Oct. 28. “Working in Bowery’s bakery will relieve the stress on our cart and enable us to continue to grow. And the door is open to future joint projects with Bowery.” bundysbagels.com | bowerybagels.com OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 15

Attorney turned chef makes a case for healthy eating

By Deborah Moon

Paula Shoyer’s journey from attorney to kosher innovator and cookbook author crossed two continents, with an important stop in Portland.

Paula says her career as a cookbook author took off thanks to a culinary conference she attended in Portland. Brandeis University Press published Paula’s first cookbook in August 2010. She brought a galley of the book to the International Association of Culinary Professionals meeting in Portland that spring.

“I was just a young, not seasoned, cookbook author with one cookbook at a small publisher,” she says. “I showed my book to an agent and (now) have done three books with that agent and publisher.”

That publisher, Sterling Epicure, is known for its food and wine titles with upscale packaging and a focus on lifestyle.

Paula’s latest book, The Healthy Jewish Kitchen, focuses on Ashkenazi and Sephardic classics that are made with fresh, nutrient-dense ingredients.

Paula grew up in an Orthodox Jewish community in Long Beach, NY. Though she enjoyed watching and cooking with her grandmother in Brooklyn, Paula didn’t plan a career in cooking. She graduated from Brandeis University and received a J.D. from American University. She worked as an attorney in a Washington, D.C., law firm for four years.

The family moved to Switzerland in 1993, where her husband, Andy Shoyer, served as the legal advisor to the U.S. Mission to the World Trade Organization until 1997.

“I went to cooking school in Paris for fun,” says Paula. “I thought I’d go back to law. But people kept asking me to cook for them … and soon I had a catering business.”

When she returned to the states, she soon found her new niche as a cookbook author who created fresh, easy, healthy, kosher recipes for busy families.

“The whole approach to The Healthy Jewish Kitchen is to take traditional foods we love and preserve them by making them healthier and easier and more contemporary,” says Paula. “It’s 16 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019

not a diet book, but I add whole grains and less salt and fat.”

Paula says her recent book offers many recipes that will help people start the new year with a healthy diet.

“If you ODed on carbohydrates and wake up in January saying ‘I need to eat healthier,’ but you still want the foods you like … (this cookbook) has healthier versions of foods people really want,” says Paula.

She has shared some recipes she has shared for healthy dishes that are not complicated to make. The Dry Roasted Salmon has no extra fat and is great accompanied by her Mango Coleslaw, which uses mango purée instead of mayonnaise. Her Ribollita Soup is one “you want to make on Monday so you can eat it all week long.” And her Modern Borscht is just one of the soups she makes from scratch with no soup stock. (see all four recipes at orjewishlife.com/paula-shoyer-recipes.)

The following recipes are excerpted with permission from The Healthy Jewish Kitchen, by Paula Shoyer, Sterling Epicure.

DRY-RUBBED ROASTED SALMON

6 Servings 3-pound salmon fillet, whole or cut into 6- to 8-ounce servings 1 tablespoon coriander seeds 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns, or more to taste 1 tablespoon black or yellow mustard seeds 2 teaspoons juniper berries 1 teaspoon fennel seeds 2 teaspoons light brown sugar 2 teaspoons garlic powder 1 teaspoon onion powder ½ teaspoon smoked or regular paprika ¼ teaspoon ground cloves ½ teaspoon kosher salt Place the coriander seeds, black peppercorns, mustard seeds, juniper berries and fennel seeds into a coffee grinder or food processor and grind them into small pieces (making sure none are left whole), but not completely into a powder. If you use a food processor and some of the spices are still too big after processing, crush them using a mortar and pestle, or put them in a quart resealable plastic bag and smash with a rolling pin. Transfer the ground seeds, peppercorns and the rest of the mixture into a small bowl. Add the brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cloves and salt, and mix well.

Spread the spice mix on a plate and press each slice of salmon into the mix to cover it completely. Use all the spice mix. Place the fish on a roasting pan, leaving space between the

F o r m o re re c ip e s ,

vi sit or je w ish lif e. co m/ pa ul a- sh oy er -re ci pe s pieces. Let the fish sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, covered with plastic wrap, or refrigerate it if you will be cooking it later.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake the salmon for 20 to 22 minutes, 20 minutes if you like it a little pink inside, longer if you want it fully cooked. Serve the fish hot or at room temperature.

RIBOLLITA SOUP

8 to 10 servings 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 large onion, halved and chopped into ½-inch pieces 2 leeks, light green and white parts only, quartered and sliced 2 carrots, peeled and sliced 2 stalks celery, chopped into ½-inch pieces 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped 2 15.5-ounce cans cannellini beans, divided 7 cups water, divided 3 tomatoes, seeds removed, cut into 1-inch pieces 1 zucchini, chopped into 1-inch pieces 1 cup butternut squash cubes, cut into ¾- to 1-inch cubes 10 leaves lacinato kale (the variety with large bumpy-looking leaves), cut into 1½-inch pieces, about 1½ to 2 cups Leaves from 6 sprigs fresh thyme ¼ teaspoon kosher salt ¼ teaspoon black pepper 1 large potato, peeled, and cut into ¾- to 1-inch cubes ½ cup basil leaves, thinly sliced, as garnish Heat the oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over mediumlow heat. Add the onions, leeks, carrots, celery and garlic and cook for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. If the vegetables start to brown, turn down the heat.

Meanwhile, drain one can of the beans and rinse them well.

Transfer the beans to the bowl of a food processor. Add 1 cup

of water to the bowl and purée until the mixture is completely smooth. Set it aside.

Add the tomatoes to the saucepan and turn the heat up to medium. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring often. Add the zucchini, butternut squash, kale and thyme and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat. Add the salt and pepper, remaining 6 cups water, bean purée and potatoes. Bring to a boil, add the second can of drained beans and then simmer the soup on low heat, covered, for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the squash and potatoes are barely fork tender.

Adjust seasonings if needed, add fresh basil and serve.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 17

NWNosh

Laughing Planet: Two decades of family-friendly healthy eating

Thai Bowl with brown rice, marinated tofu, garlic green beans, steamed broccoli, cilantro lime slaw and peanut-lemongrass sauce.

By Kerry Politzer

For almost 20 years, Laughing Planet has been one of Port-

portable, flavor-packed meals.

“I like to think of us as parent friendly,” says CEO Franz

in healthy bowls, burritos and fresh juices. The Thai Bowl and

land’s favorite places to get healthy food in a hurry.

Spielvogel of the popular chain. “People are so short on time

these days, so I think we offer a guilt-free replacement to cooking at home. More and more people are trying to eat healthi-

er… there is an obesity epidemic that is tied directly to our food system (too much sugar, unhealthy fat, too many processed foods).”

Franz notes that Portland tastes continue to evolve. Vegan

and vegetarian restaurants are on the rise, though many people

The chain, which now operates in three states, specializes

Bollywood Bowls are big hits with customers, as is the classic

grilled chicken burrito. The restaurants often offer special bowls with surprising flavors. When asked how he comes up with

the concepts for these specials, Franz says, “I try to offer global

flavors using local ingredients. We look at culinary trends, travel trends and health and try to combine the three (aspects) into a simple, yet tasty dish.”

Dietary restrictions are happily accommodated at all of

still indulge in decadent foods.

the restaurants. “I think this is where we really shine,” Franz

years ago in Bloomington, IA. In many parts of the country

got you covered.” He says that Laughing Planet’s flexibility,

The original Laughing Planet Café opened more than 20

during that time, there was a void in the healthy fast-casual

market. A lot of the food at “health food restaurants” tended to be tasteless and bland.

Laughing Planet founder Richard Satnick, who later teamed

up with Franz, had a special liking for the rich flavors of Mexican food. He crafted wholesome, veggie-packed burritos that formed the basis of what is served at Laughing Planet today: 18 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019

remarks. “Vegan, paleo, keto, no-gluten, Whole 30 – we’ve

transparency and knowledge about various diets are resulting in a continuously expanding customer base.

Laughing Planet just opened a store in Vancouver on the

Camas side at Fisher’s Mercantile. The business hopes to

operate in five states within the next couple of years. Right now, health-conscious Oregonians can visit the locations in Corvallis, Bend, Portland and Eugene.

Laughingplanet.com

Simple steps to a healthier you

Around the New Year, most of us vow to make drastic changes to our diet or lifestyle. These resolutions are often short-lived. According to the authors of the American Diabetes Association's new cookbook, when it comes to making lasting changes to your diet and lifestyle habits, slow and steady wins the race.

If you're ready to take some small steps toward better health, give these tips a try.

Cut out sugary drinks immediately.

Replace them with fresh water, low-fat milk, flavored calorie-free carbonated water, and unsweetened tea and coffee.

Purge the junk food. The best way is to remove them from your home.

Choose leaner cuts of meat.

Plan your meal around veggies. Try to fill at least half of your plate with nonstarchy vegetables. Start any meal with a simple salad of mixed greens.

Try lettuce wraps instead of bread.

Iceberg, green leaf or butter lettuce make a surprisingly delicious bread substitute for your next sandwich.

Eat veggie noodles in place of pasta.

Veggie noodles are a delicious, lower-carb option that can be eaten in place of grainbased pastas. A "spiralizer" or a vegetable peeler can quickly turn vegetables into "noodles."

Schedule in exercise five days a week.

Just taking a brisk 30-minute walk each day – or at least five times a week – is a great way to kick start improved health.

Of course, if you'd like to take up running or sign up for a cardio class, go for it!

But don't do ONLY cardio. Get in some strength training too (even if you're watching TV at the same time) to maintain and build strong muscles and bones.

Do at least some of your exercise outdoors. The fresh air is invigorating, and studies show that being in nature decreases stress and promotes positive emotions.

Shake up your sedentary workday. For example, take a 10-minute walk after lunch, get up and move a little each hour (even if it's just a walk to the water fountain or restroom), park farther away than you normally would, take the stairs instead of the elevator.

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OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 19

New Year of Yoga as a path to healing

Health

By Gloria Hammer

Born in Queens, NY, Stuart Stark relocated to Portland in 1985. Stuart has combined a physical therapy and yoga practice for almost 30 years.

I connected with Stuart at the Gudmestad Yoga Studio. After months of work recovering from a car accident, my physical therapist referred me to the studio for additional help correcting issues from the accident. Stuart looked familiar, and he remembered we both taught at Neveh Shalom Sunday School a very long time ago. It really is a small world.

It was a pleasure sitting down with Stuart and getting his take on yoga, physical therapy and life. His answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.

You were a practicing physical therapist working with patients from Good Samaritan Hospital and Emanuel Hospital.

How did you discover yoga?

After a back injury, I was referred as a patient to Julie Gudmestad, PT. She treated me with a combination of traditional physical therapy and yoga-based exercises. The referring doctor played Yenta by telling me that I should work with Julie. On what was to be my last visit, I said, “Ralph, he’s a funny guy. He said that we should be working together.”

Julie replied, “He said the same thing to me a few times.”

That was March 1990, and I now see physical therapy patients and teach yoga classes at the studio.

Do physical therapists and yoga therapists look at an injury differently?

The piece that stands out for me is that yoga looks at the body from the center out. Often in traditional PT, the focus is on the problem area, and bigger pieces are missed. I will often hear from a patient during an evaluation that no other provider had asked them questions I asked. Following Julie’s model of spending an hour with a patient and 90 minutes for an evaluation is essential and different from my other PT experiences.

What do you think about the surge in varieties of yoga in the last decade?

I feel fortunate to have been introduced to yoga as a physical therapist. Having knowledge of anatomy and kinesiology are a vital part of how I teach. I cannot imagine what it is like to teach yoga without that understanding.

The change in yoga in the United States has been dramatic and disconcerting at times. Recently, there was a woman posing 20 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019

Stuart Stark positions a yoga client.

on the cover of Yoga Journal, doing a challenging pose in a tutu and high heels! But the various types of yoga have been a plus to allow students to find the style that fits them.

At our studio, many of our current students were former patients, and some of our patients have an injury they want treated by a therapist with knowledge of yoga.

What should one look for in a good teacher?

A teacher needs to be a good observer, seeing when you need a correction or seeing when you have made a correction on your own to achieve a previously difficult pose. A teacher needs a sense of when to back off pushing a student or group and when to challenge them more. Yoga has some basic tenets, and two of them are nonviolence, often seen as not causing injury to yourself, and ardor, challenging yourself more. Finding a teacher and style of yoga that finds the right balance between these two concepts is of great importance.

In our studio we have 10 teachers, and even though the approach to yoga is the same, the character and style of the person is not. Find a teacher that fits your personality and a level that works for you.

How do you explain this partnership between physical therapy and yoga to clients?

Not all patients realize that their exercises for home are broken-down pieces of a yoga pose. For me, the beauty is that you can incorporate as much as the patient needs of one or several yoga poses into a personalized exercise program. If they have previously practiced yoga, then they are encouraged to be doing something they have not been able to do since being injured. I have heard numerous patients say to me, I thought that I would never do a dog pose again. If they are unfamiliar with yoga, they often look to join a class after their recovery.

Stuart Stark and granddaughter, Abi Leavitt, 6.

What are your Jewish memories of growing up in New York?

Growing up in Queens, the whole block was Jewish, so it was the norm. I lived on a street with a surrogate mom behind every door. If I fell down and skinned my knee, I would be gently cared for. There is a line from a song that says, “When I look back upon my ordinary life I see so much magic, but I missed it at the time.” When I reconnected with my peers who grew up on 215th Street, we all agreed that this line is very much how we feel now.

Everybody celebrated the Jewish holidays, spent the weekend visiting Bubbe and Zayde, and studied for their bar/bat mitzvah. I do think back fondly on the times of my childhood visiting the old neighborhoods in Brooklyn where my grandparents lived and Yiddish was spoken everywhere. We used to gather around the yard of the one non-Jewish family on the block to see them light their Christmas tree. I attended Hebrew school from grade one through age 15 and remember learning that Shabbat is so special. But there was no Sabbath observance in our home. I didn’t understand why we only celebrated Pesach, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Fortunately, my older sister was in Israel working on a kibbutz when I was in high school. I spent the summer before my senior year there, and that changed my life. It reconnected me

with Judaism. It opened my eyes about how diverse the world can be and gave me the travel bug. I returned to the kibbutz after high school and stayed for a year.

Tell us about your family today.

Dana and I have been married nearly 23 years. She had decided to convert before we met. For the last 12 years, I have taught a yoga workshop in Tuscany, and we add our own vacation time onto that trip. We also return every year to the lodge on Vancouver Island where we honeymooned.

My children were born in the Netherlands, where my first wife was from; we had met on the kibbutz.

Daughter Naomi Leavitt is married to Scot, an instructor at Portland Community College. They live here. Naomi runs a successful tutoring service and is very involved in the local Jewish community. They have the two most adorable daughters. All the stories about what it is like to be a grandparent did not prepare me for the experience. I leave their home after a visit and don’t remember how to drive! I just float with happiness.

My son, Boaz, married Danielle in May. They are teaching in China and are halfway through their four-year plan before returning to the Northwest. Naomi officiated at her brother’s wedding.

My kids have my travel bug. Both have spent extensive time in Israel and visit family in Europe.

Does Judaism influence you at this time in your life?

As a teenager I remember thinking I do not want to turn into my father. Yet as I grew up, I realized that I did take on characteristics that I gratefully identify with my dad and my Jewish upbringing – responsibility to provide for loved ones; joy and pride in family; being a socially conscious person who cares about those less fortunate; and supporting my community.

Advice?

Don’t act your age. The different parts of the human body – muscles, heart, brain – need to be used to stay fit. So stay active, laugh, love with those you care about and stay involved in the world.

Gudmestad Yoga Studio 3903 SW Kelly, Suite 210 Portland, OR 97239 503-223-8157 • gudmestadyoga.com

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 21

There’s nothing more fun than getting in the kitchen and trying to recreate

something or replicate flavors and swap out ingredients that are not so good for healthier ones, and make something taste delicious.

– Lisa Lillien

22 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019

NOSHING WITH "HUNGRY GIRL"

LISA LILLIEN

BY MALA BLOMQUIST

L

isa Lillien (aka Hungry Girl) admits she probably doesn’t get enough sleep these days; in reality, it’s probably been true for a few years.

Lack of sleep makes complete sense when you take into account all she has accomplished since launching the Hungry Girl brand in 2004.

In addition to creating content for daily emails, the Hungry Girl media empire includes a significant presence on social media, best-selling cookbooks, videos, television appearances, a magazine, podcast and weekly contributions to People.com, WeightWatchers.com and food. yahoo.com.

And to think it all began with an email from a girl who loves food.

BUILDING A BRAND Professionally, Lisa has always been in entertainment. “I was editor-in-chief of some teen magazines right out of college starting when I was 20 or 21 years old,” she recalls. “I was always interested in creative writing and content development.”

She worked for Nickelodeon for five years and then at Warner Bros., where she helped launch their brands and bring new brands online.

While she was at Warner Bros. in the early days of the World Wide Web, Lisa witnessed mistakes being made by big brands in their approach to web content. It was in the early 2000s, before social media, blogs and blogging.

“I was thinking a lot of people are doing it wrong,” says Lisa. “They were creating huge portals of information for very small audiences, and I thought, ‘What if I just created a small amount of content for a huge audience?’ That might be a better approach.”

That’s where the idea for Hungry Girl was born says Lisa: “I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be interesting from a regular person’s perspective, to write about food in a way that’s fun and humorous and helpful,’ and try to help a lot of people.”

Having always been a “foodie” (actually she admits to being food obsessed) but with no nutrition or food science degree or background, Lisa set out to create content to email to about 100 people containing tips, food finds, recipes and realworld eating strategies.

Even before the days of email marketing, she realized that getting bombarded daily by emails could be annoying, so she only approached people she knew. She worked with an artist to create a logo and built the back-end program to be able to send out a daily email.

“I just thought, OK, now I’m going to send emails every Monday through Friday and see where it goes, and hopefully, I will be able to build a brand out of it,” says Lisa.

That first email was sent in April of 2004, and today there are more than 1 million subscribers who receive Hungry Girl daily to their inbox. Add to that the almost 1.5 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 23

HUNGRY GIRL LISA LILLIEN

million Facebook followers, 149,000 followers on Instagram and 175,000 on Twitter – and Lisa has achieved her goal of building Hungry Girl into a brand.

OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND The success of the daily emails provided Lisa numerous opportunities to work with popular brands and to create partnerships. In 2008, she published her first cookbook, Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World.

The book debuted at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list.

The next two Hungry Girl books, 200 Under 200 and Hungry Girl 1-2-3 debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.

She has written 12 cookbooks, with number 13 due out in early 2019.

The inspiration for new recipes comes from a variety of places – from food Lisa sees at restaurants while traveling to requests form HG fans. “I also have a great staff,” she says.

“There’s a handful of us who are pretty creative and help with recipe development.” All of the recipes are created and tested at “Hungryland,” HG’s headquarters in Los Angeles.

One of the most popular recipes they’ve created is 2-Ingredient Chocolate Cake. You mix one box of chocolate cake mix with a 15-ounce can of pumpkin puree and bake.

“Try it, it’s so good,” says Lisa. “You get your fiber, it tastes very chocolaty – you don’t taste the pumpkin – and you save a lot of calories from not using oil or butter. It’s really a great trick.”

Lisa says her favorite recipes are those that conceptually didn’t exist before Hungry Girl. One revolution was microwaving egg recipes in a mug.“I started making eggs in a mug probably 11 years ago, and it became a thing,” she recalls. “Now everyone makes their breakfast in a mug; they don’t use a skillet. Every time I meet people they will say to me, ‘Your egg mugs changed my life. I never thought that I had time for breakfast and now I do.’ I’m proud of those.”

Her newest endeavor is the “Hungry Girl: Chew the Right Thing!” podcast. “I’m super excited about the podcast because I know podcasts are growing and growing in popularity,” says Lisa. She shares the microphone with long-time employee Jamie Goldberg and Jamie’s husband, Mike Sherry.

Lisa admits that the podcast is very different from the cooking shows she used to have on the Cooking Channel and Food Network. “Cooking on TV is nerve-wracking, I’m not going to lie. When I was doing my show, it was only me talking into the camera. You have to cut things and look up – just act like you’re talking to your friend and telling a story. It’s fun but challenging.

“A podcast is a little more relaxed. It’s 30 minutes where you can chat and joke around, tell stories, and give a lot of really great helpful information too.”

She no longer has a cooking show, but she still makes appearances on shows such as “Extra,” “The Rachael Ray Show” and “Good Morning America.”

“I’m not a person who ever dreamed of being on TV,” says 24 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019

Lisa. “Even though I’ve done so many appearances, television always makes me a tiny bit nervous. There’s that element of: is something stuck in my teeth, do I look OK, does this outfit look OK, is my hair all right? I’m less nervous on the podcast where you just hear my voice.”

For these r e c ip e s and more, vi si t or je

A DIFFERENT APPROACH Lisa admits that she was “a little chunky growing up.” Her mother, Florence, was a “yo-yo” dieter who was always on a diet, wanting to lose 10 or 15 pounds. In her adult life, Lisa probably topped out at 20 w is hl if e. co m / pounds heavier than she is today, but she always had an “old-fashioned” approach to dieting. hu ng ry -g ir l- re ci pe s She remembers thinking, “If you’re on a diet, you’re eating nothing that’s bad for you. If you’re off a diet, you can eat everything all the time.” It was very black and white. “It was when I realized that that’s no way to live your life and not the way to succeed at achieving a healthy weight – that’s when everything changed for me.”

Butternut Squash Latkes Like many other children who grow up in a traditional Jewish home, food was a central part of her childhood. She claims that she can eat a box of matzah in one sitting and that it’s one of her “trigger” foods, so she doesn’t eat it very often.

She has revamped some of the traditional Jewish recipes, like her butternut squash latkes and kugel using noodle replacements. Her biggest challenge came when her mom shared her stuffed cabbage recipe, one of Lisa’s favorites.

“I had an episode of my TV show called ‘Mom’s Favorites,’ and I was recreating all the dishes that moms would make. I had my mom give me her recipe for the stuffed cabbage – I almost fell off the chair when she told me what was in it!” says Lisa.

She never knew that the “best thing on earth” had about six cans of cranberry sauce in it! She swapped those out for a combination of low-fat marinara sauce, low-sugar grape jelly and a lot less cranberry sauce in Floosh’s Stuffed Cabbage recipe. “I swapped that one pretty hard. I think I did a great job on that one,” says Lisa.

Floosh’s Stuffed SWAPPING Cabbage Lisa has created her HG empire on the basis of food “swaps.”

“There’s nothing more fun than getting in the kitchen and trying to recreate something or replicate flavors and swap out ingredients that are not so good for healthier ones, and make something taste delicious.”

Lisa says these days the most popular swapping ingredients are cauliflower, zucchini and spaghetti squash in place of starchy carbohydrates.

She claims she is a “mad scientist” in the kitchen, but was never really into cooking. “My mother-in-law used to joke around and say, ‘I love Lisa, she’s great, but she can’t cook.’ ” Lisa has been married to television producer Dan Schneider since 2002. They live in LA with their dog, Lolly (who has more than 185,000 followers on her own Facebook page), a cat and a bunny.

Her goal is to find ways to create the foods and flavors that she wants to eat, only with way fewer calories. Nutritional information can be found on government databases or on the packaging. “It’s just OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 25

HUNGRY GIRL LISA LILLIEN

HUNGRY GIRL’S 7 SKINNY HABITS TO START THE YEAR For more tips and recipes or to receive Hungry Girl’s Daily emails, visit hungry-girl.com.

LEMON WATER AT BREAKFAST Some people claim it boosts metabolism; others say it promotes

MOUTHWASH AFTER MEALS You know how most foods

DON’T DRINK YOUR CALORIES Soda, juice and sweetened coffee or tea drinks

taste icky

may seem kind of

fat burning. While the

right after

innocent, but the

jury’s still out on those

you brush

calories from

claims, we’ve personally

your

these sugary

found lemon water to be

teeth?

beverages can

a fantastic tool for weight

Same

loss and maintenance. In

deal here.

fact, we recommend this

Give yourself

on the Hungry Girl Diet

a minty-fresh

really add up. (Don’t even get us started on smoothies!) Have no fear: This doesn’t

(hungry-girl.com/diet),

blast, and you’ll be much

mean water is your only

and our original testers

less likely to idly munch

option. Start swapping! Try zero-calorie soda (there

reported that it helped

afterward. What’s the point

with their success. And

when your food won’t

are plenty of naturally

while lemon water isn’t a

taste good? This little trick

sweetened options) and

proven weight-loss aid, it is

is a fantastic way to curb

calorie-free flavored

a delicious way to get your

mindless chewing. The

water. And when it comes

H2O, and hydration is key

fresh breath is an added

to coffee and tea add-

for keeping hunger at bay.

bonus! Carry around a

ins, choose no-calorie

Plus, a glass of cold, warm,

travel-sized mouthwash,

sweetener (like Truvia) and

or hot lemon water is a

and you’ll always be ready.

a low-calorie milk

clean way to start the day!

(Sugar-free mint gum and

(like unsweetened

mints are good in a pinch.)

almond milk).

SNACK BETWEEN MEALS

MASTER LABEL READING

TOP ATE FRUITS & VEGGIES TO PACK & EAT

BYOL: BRING YOUR OWN LUNCH (TO WORK)

Yes, really! Limiting yourself

Sure, you glance at the

1. Apples: Sturdy, healthy...

Get the image of a brown

to breakfast, lunch, and

calorie count (sometimes),

Classic for a reason!

bag with PB&J, chips and

dinner may not be what

but how about the serving

2. Baby carrots: Especially

a cookie out of your head.

you need in order to stay

size and the servings per

handy if you can find ‘em in

You can do soooo much

satisfied all day. Many

container? So many people overlook these areas, but

mini bags!

better! Packing your lunch

of us end up snacking

3. Bananas: Handle with

ahead of time is one of the

on something throughout

paying attention to them

care, but will squash

very best things you can

the day, so you may as well

can save you from taking

nagging hunger BIG TIME.

do for your diet. Not only

plan for it. Keep healthy

in countless unnecessary

4. Jicama sticks: Incredibly

is it likely to be

snacks in your work fridge,

calories. Many foods and

refreshing with a

healthier than your

desk drawer, purse, etc.

drinks look like single

satisfying crunch!

at-work options (fast food,

Choose foods with protein,

servings but actually contain

5. Grapes: Freeze ‘em and

takeout, leftover bagels

fiber, or both to keep

two to three portions ... and

eat slightly thawed!

from the morning meeting

you feeling full between

two to three times as many

6. Snap peas: Those bags

...), but it’s also a great

meals. Another perk to

calories! Another faux pas is

of prewashed pea pods

way to avoid

midday snacking? You

are a life-saver.

impulsively

won't be famished

7. Mandarin oranges: Pack a

making poor

couple in a baggie, and use the baggie for the peels.

assuming all supermarket staples are created equal.

Sure that jar of marinara is

food choices

Hungry Girl Pineapple Upwhen mealtime arrives, side-Down Mugs so you'llCake likely eat

on the fly.

less. This is especially

a sky-high calorie count

on sale, but it could have

8. Sweet mini bell peppers:

helpful when you're

due to added sugar and

The raw veggie that’s never

dining out and have

oil. Always compare labels

less control over

before tossing anything in

a bummer to chew!

FOR MORE TIPS AND RECIPES OR TO GIRL’S DAILY EMAILS, VISIT HUNGRY26 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019

what›s onHUNGRY your plate.

RECEIVE GIRL.COM.

your cart.

I really love what I do, and the best part is helping people and meeting people face-to-face. Everyone has a story.

I love knowing that what I do makes a difference and that it helps people.

-Lisa Lillien

Hungryland, the Los Angeles offices for Lisa Lillien’s Hungry Girl empire. about doing the math and knowing exactly how much you’re using, and putting it all together,” says Lisa.

She also includes the Weight Watcher’s point values so people using that program can incorporate her recipes.

Lisa acknowledges that over the years there have been a few little failures. “I don’t like to fail, so if something should be a stew but it’s too thin, I’ll just call it a soup,” she jokes. “If it tastes good, you just find a way to make it work.”

She would put a lot of HG recipes up against the real things.

She thinks many of them taste better and have half the calories.

There are a few exceptions though.

“There are certain foods that no matter how hard you try, they just don’t taste quite as good when you lower the calories,” says Lisa. “For example, crème brûlée. I’ve got a couple of crème brûlée recipes, but they’re just not as good as the real thing.”

MAKING A DIFFERENCE Some funny things happen when people find out Lisa is Hungry Girl. They will ask her how to lose 10 pounds in two weeks, or they will ask her if she ever eats anything that’s not healthy. The oddest one is when she goes out to dinner with people she doesn’t know very well, and they will wait to order until they see what she orders, and then order the same thing.

“I do splurge,” she admits. “I live by the 80/20 rule. If you feel

the need to cut things out 100% of the time, you haven’t really mastered it. If you say, ‘I’m never ever going to have a bite of cake again,’ have you really mastered the whole eating well thing?”

She advises thinking of eating as having a calorie “budget” just like you have a financial budget. You can’t buy everything you want, and you can’t eat everything you want.

“You have to live your life, and if it’s someone’s birthday, I’ll have a little cake, or if I’m going somewhere where I know I love the pretzel bread, I will have some pretzel bread,” says Lisa. “I’m not perfect all the time, and I don’t pretend to be.”

Lisa’s says the best part of being Hungry Girl is meeting her fans and hearing success stories during her book tours.

“I really love what I do, and the best part is helping people and meeting people face-to-face. Everyone has a story. I love knowing that what I do makes a difference and that it helps people.”

She pauses a moment and then continues, “Hungryland is a great place. It’s really fun, bright and colorful, and we’re always just working to put out the best content and the best recipes – but it’s like we are in a bubble. But when we get out there, and we meet people who HG has really affected, that makes it all worthwhile.

All the hard work pays off.”

It looks like Lisa isn’t going to catch up on her sleep any time soon.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 27

TIKKUN OLAM REQUIRES EDUCATION

EYE ON EDUCATION 30 Choose the right preschool 32 PJA award winners 34 OJMCHE's relevant lessons 35 Buying a proper backback 36 Sweet Tea offers hope 38 Hebrew for Israelis' kids 39 STEM: Play to learn 40 Tivnu gap year 42 Sigma Alpha Mu 43 Stellar scholar for adults 44 Education Briefs

As long as the Jews have been a people, education has been of paramount importance.

T

he imperative to educate children is conveyed in Deuteronomy 6:6-7: “And these words, which I command you this day, shall be upon your heart. And you shall teach them to your sons and speak of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk on the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up.”

The concept appears many times in Proverbs, including “Train a child in the way he (should) go; and, even when old, he will not swerve from it.” (Proverbs 22:6) Yet one is never too old to learn. The great Rabbi Akiva was a semi-literate shepherd who became a learned scholar; he is believed to have begun his Torah studies at the age of 40.

Our Eye on Education section looks at the various options for learning at all ages. Play, classrooms and informal settings all offer opportunities to learn and grow. From choosing a preschool to adult education, this section has stories about all of life’s learning stages.

Education, both Jewish and secular, is vital to building a just society of people who can contribute to repairing our world (tikkun olam).

PHOTO BY LAURA-KAPFER AT UNSPLASH

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PORTLAND JEWISH ACADEMY S.S.

UD PRO PJA

Auction

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How to Find the Right Preschool Courtesy of Family Features

F

inding the right preschool or care provider for your child doesn’t have to be a daunting process. Because your child’s early years are crucial in his or her development, choosing the right child care facility is one of the most important decisions you can make to prepare him or her for both school and adult life.

While most parents start the process by asking friends and family for recommendations, keep these tips from the child care experts at KinderCare in mind when searching for a child care center: Find Locations Along Your Existing Commute. The rhythm of drop-off and pick-up will soon become a reality of your days, so take into account how a new routine will impact traffic and drive times during your commute. Choosing a child care facility near your home or office, or along your route, can be a sanity saver.

Do Your Research. Child care has come a long way in the past couple of decades, and nationally accredited centers such as KinderCare can provide everything your child needs to reach his or her potential. Accreditation is awarded by an independent organization, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, so these centers must meet rigorous standards in everything from teacher qualifications to curriculum to safety. A simple search online can provide a list of accredited centers near you.

Make a List of Requirements. Before you tour a facility, it can help to find your focus. Make a list about what you need from a program, what you want for your child and any concerns you may have, no matter how large or small. For example, consider potential concerns such as kindergarten preparation, teachers’ management of conflict between children and more. Use your preferences to guide conversations when you’re ready to take tours.

Take Tours. Once you’ve narrowed down your list to a few preferred facilities or programs, schedule tours to check out the spaces, meet the directors and watch how the teachers interact with the children. Keep your requirements in mind and look for clean, safe facilities that focus on nutrition and encourage exploration and reading while building a sense of belonging. If you’re still on the fence or need more information about one or more centers, don’t be afraid to go back for a second visit and ask more questions to ensure you’re picking the right place for your family.

Trust Your Instincts. After taking tours, you may have a lot of information to process. Narrowing down what’s right for your family can seem overwhelming at first, but asking yourself questions such as these can help you in the long run: Did you feel listened to, heard and understood? Was the center warm and welcoming? When in doubt, trust your gut. This is your child, after all, and you know her or him best.

Find more tips at kindercare.com.

30 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019

Maayan Torah preschoolers enjoy Music & Movement with a Jewish Twist. Other children (and caregivers) from the community are welcome to join the Wednesday sessions. Call 503-245-5568 for time.

JEWISH PRESCHOOLS PORTLAND The Carl School: A Cooperative Jewish Preschool at Congregation Shaarie Torah thecarlschool.com Foundation School at Congregation Neveh Shalom foundationschoolpdx.org The Gan: Portland Jewish Preschool PortlandJewishPreschool.com Maayan Preschool Maayanpdx.org Portland Jewish Academy pjaproud.org

VANCOUVER, WA Gan-Garret Preschool Vancouver TheGan.org EUGENE Temple Beth Israel Preschool tbieugene.org/preschool ASHLAND Peace Garden Preschool & Kindergarten havurahshirhadash.org/ peacegardenpreschool Pomegranate Preschool for the Arts at Temple Emek Shalom emekshalom.org/education/ pomegranate-preschool

Edison High School empowers students with learning differences to experience academic success and personal growth, while preparing them for a productive future.

For more information or to join us for an admissions tour call 503-297-2336.

9020 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy. Portland, OR 97225 edisonhs.org

on High School empowers students with learning nces to experience academic success and personal wth, while preparing them for a productive future.

more information or to join us for an admissions tour call 503-297-2336.

20 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy. Portland, OR 97225 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 edisonhs.org

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PJA alumna earns Stars for Kids Award

By Lisa Katon

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ast spring, Bella Phillips, then an eighth-grader at Portland Jewish Academy, organized a Family Fun Run for Janus Youth Programs, raising nearly $2,000 for the organization.

Bella orchestrated the entire event, which included securing the venue, applying for a grant to help offset costs, coordinating a bake sale, publicizing the race, putting together raffle baskets and more.

In November Janus honored Bella with the Stars for Kids Award, presented at the organization’s annual dinner at McMenamins Edgefield. Janus established the award several years ago to showcase the exceptional caring and concern of youth for other youth dealing with critical life challenges.

“The board was so impressed with what Bella had done this past May, she became their unanimous choice to receive this year’s Stars for Kids Award,” says Janus Advancement Director Rosalie Karp.

According to Janus board member Chad Paulson, Bella is a “true Star for Kids, an example of someone we can all look up to.”

Bella made a big impact, dedicating her project to helping Janus in its quest to change the lives of youth who need food, shelter and other services to help them build their futures. People such as Bella make this work possible, stepping forward to make a difference in the lives of the youth Janus serves.

“There is absolutely no way we would be able to do that without the help and Bella Phillips support of individuals in accepts her Stars the community,” says Rosalie. for Kids Award at Now a freshman at Wilson High the Janus Youth School, Bella is an active member of Programs annual Wilson’s Varsity Cheerleading Squad dinner on Nov. 7, and Competition Cheer Squad. She also 2018. is active in two Jewish youth groups and PHOTO BY PEGGY VALENTI has plans to volunteer at the Head Start Preschool at Stevens Creek Crossing.

Bella has become a shining example with her leadership qualities, good deeds and hard work. This busy young woman will no doubt continue to do great things and lead with her positive attitude and commitment to serving those in need.

“I felt honored and grateful to receive the Stars for Kids Award from Janus Youth Programs,” says Bella. “Although I feel it’s everyone’s duty to contribute to doing good in the world, I must admit that it felt really rewarding to be recognized!”

Lisa Katon is the donor relations and grants specialist for Portland Jewish Academy and Mittleman Jewish Community Center.

Jewish and Muslim students design award-winning peace project

By Elana Cohn-Rozansky

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PJA student Liana Kressel with Wholistic Peace Institute Executive Director Nancy Spanovich and event guest speaker Rabbi Arik W. Ascherman.

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irst there was a letter. Next was a play. Then there was a friendship.

Portland Jewish Academy seventhgrader Liana Kressel fondly remembers the first note she received from her pen pal (who is unnamed for privacy reasons) at Oregon Islamic Academy.

Its kind words and an amazing drawing moved her. The letter

exchange program served as a starting point for conversations between PJA and OIA middle school students before attending the Oregon Children’s Theatre production of “And In This Corner: Cassius Clay, The Making of Muhammad Ali.” A grant from the Leonard & Lois Schnitzer Charitable Supporting Foundation of the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation sent these young people to the play together last March.

The shared viewing of Cassius Clay’s inspiring journey to Olympic athlete and human rights activist provided a wonderful springboard for talking about personal identity and values. During these discussions, students got to know each other better.

“It became clear that we clicked,” says Liana. “I realized we had a lot more similarities than differences.”

First there was a letter, then a play, then a friendship. And then there was an idea.

Liana and her pen pal emailed regularly after a second meeting

during a PJA visit to the Muslim Educational Trust campus in late April. When Liana’s pen pal, a gifted artist, shared a vision for a book in which a Muslim girl and her Jewish friend solve the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, they hit upon an idea. Why not use their talents for writing and art to create greeting cards that could be sold, with the profits going to further support the budding partnership between the two schools? The girls’ project became known as Cards for Peace.

From letter, to play, to friendship, to idea. Then to an award.

In November The Wholistic Peace Institute presented PJA with the 10th Annual Harold Schnitzer Spirit of Unity Student Peace Award in recognition of Cards for Peace. The honor came with a $500 prize to cover the printing costs for the project, ensuring that every penny spent on cards will go directly to promoting more interfaith programming between PJA and OIA. Liana accepted the award and made an acceptance speech at the awards ceremony. Guest speaker Rabbi Arik Ascherman, founder and director of Torat Tzedek and former director of Rabbis for Human Rights, shared his thoughts about “Educating for Human Rights and Peace in Our Schools.” His fundamental message was that human rights means putting people first, not money or land or political agendas.

There is no doubt that Liana and her pen pal know what it means to put people first as reflected so beautifully by their friendship and their project.

Emphasizing Jewish learning and building community and friendships in a fun, welcoming atmosphere.

P’nai Or Children’s Education To RSVP for Tot Shabbat or for Hebrew School registration/information, contact P’nai Or Education Director Barbara Hanawalt at bhanawalt@gmail.com

• Tot Shabbat and Playgroup for children ages 0-6 • Hebrew School for grades 1-4 Both programs meet: 10 am-noon, first and third Saturdays P’nai Or 9750 SW Terwilliger Blvd Portland

P’nai Or: Portland’s Jewish Renewal Congregation

Elana Cohn-Rozansky is the service learning coordinator at PJA.

Havurah Synagogue, Ashland A Jewish Renewal Community ADULT EDUCATION Kabbalah Meditation with Rabbi David Zaslow Beginner’s and intermediate Hebrew Prayer and connection to the Divine Singing and rhythm classes with Morah Cyrise Beatty Schachter Age-ing to Sag-ing with Rabbi Sue Morningstar Weekly Torah and Talmud study (accessible via online streaming)

Peace Garden Preschool/Kindergarten Inspired by the beauty and spirit of Judaism and Waldorf education, serving children of all backgrounds in a child-centered, play-based program.

Heimann Family Wisdom Garden Hebrew School

ANNUAL SHABBATON This annual weekend gathering features visiting scholars THIS YEAR:

Estelle Frankel, MFT, on April 5-7, 2019

Bi-monthly Shabbat program focuses on prayer, Jewish ethics and Mussar-based teachings incorporating music, spoken word and singing and culminates in bar/bat mitzvah.

541-488-7716 havurahshirhadash.org OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 33

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Learning relevance outside the classroom

By Deborah Moon

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fter four years as a middle school math teacher, Amanda Solomon wanted to have a greater impact. On the March of the Living Holocaust study trip to Poland and Israel, she saw the power of learning in the field.

On her fourth day working at the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, Amanda took 200 students on tours of the museum’s exhibit of clandestine photos from the Lodz Ghetto. As the students explored that exhibit and the museum’s permanent exhibit on discrimination and resistance, she knew this was the impact she had sought. “Both exhibits complement each other. If they see the Lodz exhibit first and then go upstairs (to the permanent exhibit), they ask, ‘How did this happen, and is it still happening?’ ” “The kids very much responded to … the parallels to contemporary history; it relates to where you are living,” says Amanda, who became OJMCHE’s museum and Holocaust educator Oct. 9, 2018, the same day the museum opened “The Last Journey of the Jews of Lodz.”

Museums get students out of the classroom and give them the opportunity to see primary source material. Amanda says when students look at the photos of people in the Lodz Ghetto, it moves them in ways a textbook cannot. In addition, she says learning outside the classroom caters to different learning styles.

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Museum and Holocaust Educator Amanda Solomon points to a child in photo from the Lodz Ghetto.

She says when students see real people in the photos, they ask important questions that have no easy answers. Photo by Deborah Moon “It is a different environment that allows students a different opportunity to learn,” she says.

“They can ask different questions, and they can approach different topics.”

OJMCHE Executive Director Judy Margles says this approach is a movement that started in recent years. “Museums are not neutral,” she says. “Every exhibit takes a position. Since 2016, museums are much more articulate and brave about position taking.”

After Amanda went on the March of the Living, she enrolled in the master’s program in Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Stockton University. She also attended a Peacebuilding Institute in Rwanda and a study tour of the Netherlands and France with three Holocaust survivors.

She is currently working on her thesis, entitled “From Warsaw to Baltimore: Escaping World War II and Contemporary United States Ghettos.” Amanda describes her thesis as an examination of largely overlooked parallels between World War II and contemporary black American ghettos. “While noting important differences, I build on recent scholarship that demonstrates how mass violence solidifies and perpetuates the constructed identities of both victims and perpetrators.”

She says her thesis doesn’t offer solutions, but it will make students think about the word “ghetto” and its impact on people living in contemporary inner city violence.

“I tell students, ‘I never want you to leave thinking you have all the answers. I want you to leave with more questions,’ ” says Amanda. “We challenge people to think how they can contribute to a just world.”

OJMCHE’s Lodz exhibit is presented in partnership with Portland Art Museum’s Memory Unearthed: The Lodz Ghetto Photographs of Henryk Ross. Both exhibits continue through Feb. 24.

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Backpack safety

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f you’ve ever gone backpack shopping with a school-aged child, you know picking the right one is a big decision. The array of shapes, styles and patterns is matched by the range of prices. The modern backpack explicitly made for books has only been around since the mid-1970s, but it’s hard to imagine the time when books were carried using just leather straps.

Today, with the shift to laptops and iPads, students may not even need to carry textbooks, but backpacks are still considered a necessity. Many schools are doing away with lockers for safety reasons, so a child may have to carry everything they need for school, including after-school activities and sports equipment, with them the entire day.

The average sixth grader carries a backpack weighing 18.4 pounds, although some carry as much as 30 pounds. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that a child’s backpack weigh no more than 10-20% of a child’s weight.

A child weighing 100 pounds should have a filled pack that weighs between 10 and 20 pounds.

Children should be taught how to safely put on and take off their backpacks and the proper way to wear them to avoid back and shoulder injuries.

The backpack should always be worn with both shoulder straps to distribute the weight. Also, the straps should be tightened so the pack fits snugly positioned evenly in the

middle of the back over the strongest muscles.

When packing the backpack use all of the compartments to distribute the weight more evenly. Make sure that the heaviest items are centered so there is not more weight on one side or the other, causing loss of balance or shoulder strain.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, when choosing a backpack, keep the following attributes in mind:

WIDE, PADDED SHOULDER STRAPS – Narrow straps can dig into shoulders, cause pain and restrict circulation.

TWO SHOULDER STRAPS – Backpacks with one shoulder strap that runs across the body cannot distribute weight evenly.

PADDED BACK – A padded back protects against sharp edges on objects inside the pack and increases comfort.

WAIST STRAP – A waist strap can distribute the weight of a heavy load more evenly.

LIGHTWEIGHT BACKPACK – The backpack itself should not add much weight to the load.

ROLLING BACKPACK – This type of backpack may be a good choice for students who must tote a heavy load. Remember that rolling backpacks still must be carried up stairs.

Student Centered Academic StudentEducation.

Centered High Education.

HighAchievement.

Academic Achievement.

“Kids at Maayan up withend a profound “Kids end at Maayan up with aunderstanding profound understanding of how important Judaism is to them and important of how important Judaism is tohow them and how important that is to their place in this world.” that is to their place in this world.”

Dr. Ben Rogoway, Maayan ParentMaayan Parent Dr. Ben Rogoway,

“There is such a drive to learn, grow, to become “There is such a drive to learn, grow, to become wiser and better I feel that my kidsthat getmy thatkids get that wiser people. and better people.

I feel at Maayan.”at Maayan.”

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Call 503-245-5568 for a tour for today!

Call 503-245-5568 a tour today!

PortlandJewishDaySchool.org PortlandJewishDaySchool.org www.maayanpdx.org www.maayanpdx.org 18 monthsGrade8th Grade 188th months-

Diverse Jewish Student Diverse JewishBody Student Body OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 35

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Sweet Tea offers hope for shared society

By Ellen Rifkin

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n an Israeli children’s story, a Bedouin girl sits tall on her camel, leading her community to an oasis during Ramadan.

Her grandfather, their former leader, has just died; when the mourning period concludes, his “she-camel” kneels before Fatima, indicating her destiny. Fatima is prepared. Riding alongside her grandfather during this fasting period, she has learned to orient to the stars and experience the faith needed to follow their beckoning. Under the night sky and her grandfather’s tutelage, she has learned that a pure heart lets in light and understanding.

“In Fatima’s Footsteps” is part of a bilingual Hebrew and Arabic anthology entitled Sweet Tea with Mint, published in 2016. It includes three stories originally written in Arabic and three in Hebrew, each framing a major Jewish, Muslim or Christian holiday. The book was created by the Hagar Association: JewishArab Education for Equality, a bilingual, bicultural school in Israel’s south that honors the histories and cultures of both Jewish and Arab children. Like Fatima and her grandfather, Hagar’s visionary teachers and families trust in the power of the heart: their own fixed star is a vision of a shared society.

I met these inspired educators while volunteering in Hagar’s afterschool program last spring. Though not formally associated

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with the Hand in Hand schools (cofounded by Portland’s Lee Gordon in 1997), Hagar (founded in 2006) shares with them its mission of bridging the chasm between Jewish and Arab communities. My congregation, Eugene’s Temple Beth Israel, forged connections with Hand in Hand’s Jerusalem school through Rabbi Yitzhak Husbands-Hankin. While traveling in Israel, I wanted to experience the Negev as well as learn about Israel’s bilingual schools, and thus I gravitated to Hagar in Beersheva. I also visited Neve Shalom, the Jewish-Palestinian community and school (founded in 1979) that mentored the first teachers at both Hagar and Hand in Hand.

Observers say Hagar’s success is “almost a miracle” in conservative Beersheva, where religious Jews share little more than sidewalks with Christian and Muslim Arabs, whose relatives may live in Gaza or Hebron. Russian and Ethiopian Jews, and Bedouins with their own stories of displacement, add to the challenges of co-existence in the Negev. Hagar weaves these strands into a tapestry through its “Roots” curriculum, guiding students to discover their unique family stories and community/national identities and then to share these stories through multimedia projects. Though counterintuitive in the Middle East context, this belief that solid grounding in your own narrative allows empathy for your friend’s is validated by the school’s success. Hagar’s academic excellence and inclusive culture continues to draw families from all sectors.

As a central part of Hagar’s program, Sweet Tea with Mint honors the role of religion in its students’ cultures and unearths commonalities among the faiths. At one point in the Ramadan story, Fatima’s grandfather admonishes sword fighters that without practicing mercy, their fasting is meaningless. In the Yom Kippur story “Silent Language,” Wise Sallah urges his fellow Jews to extend compassion to Na’im, a mute boy painfully finding his way to atonement. Hagar’s teachers help students explore how forgiveness, faith and charity are core values their traditions share.

The anthology’s creators deliberately chose settings through which Jewish and Arab children learn that their worlds haven’t always been separate. “Silent Language” takes place in preMandate Tiberias, where Jewish and Arab fishmongers, date sellers and cafe owners break down the market together in anticipation of Kol Nidre, and as one community contributes food to Avram the coalman after a stunning robbery. In the title story, Grandmother Yakut longingly recalls her family’s annual Mimouna feast with Muslim neighbors in Morocco, a joyous endof-Passover tradition. The loss of a time when Jews and Arabs lived among each other and made peace after quarreling is a palpable ache to her.

Hagar students learn actively and collaboratively. After researching the history of Mimouna in Arab countries, they incorporated the celebration into the school’s Passover tradition.

Emulating Hajj Qassim in “The Hidden Helping Hand” and the merchant Mimoun in “Sweet Tea,” older students worked with preschoolers, assessing their project through Maimonides’ levels of charity and Koranic teachings.

To create the anthology, Hagar staff joined with education faculty at Beersheva’s Ben Gurion University and collaborated with distinguished children’s writers in Hebrew (Ronit Chacham) and Arabic (Hadeel Nashif, Al-Tayeb Ghanayem and Sheikha

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Hussain Haliwa). In the book’s painstaking development, certain elements were intentional – illuminating common spiritual values and highlighting settings where a “shared society” once existed.

Serendipitously, female protagonists emerged in more than half the stories.

The tales are complex and radiant. While including rare, honest portrayals of impoverished communities on Israel’s “periphery,” their deeper focus is on the heart: children’s yearning to understand and belong.

At integrated Hagar, as well as in six traditional Jewish or Arab schools where the Sweet Tea curriculum has been implemented, students delightedly recognize themselves in the characters’ struggles. Evaluators observed that young Jewish students identify This belief with Fatima’s little brother, who wants desperately to fast for that solid Ramadan but can’t quite pull it off. Responding to the Shavuot grounding story, which highlights fears in your own of deportation among African immigrants, big sisters of all narrative backgrounds recognize and identify with the older sib encouraging her allows little sister’s bravery. empathy for Kibbutzim College now uses the anthology in its teacher training your friend’s program. Israel’s Ministry of Education recently authorized the is validated by use of Sweet Tea nationally – but the school’s doesn’t provide funding. Hagar faces an uphill battle underwriting success. the teacher trainings necessary to introduce Sweet Tea into mainstream schools, which are overwhelmingly unfamiliar with multicultural curricula.

The fears and prejudices of Jews and Arabs toward each other are reflected and perpetuated in Israel’s largely segregated educational system. In urban schools where Arab kids comprise part of the student body, their histories and holidays are invisible.

Two years after its founding, when students returned to Hagar after Operation Cast Lead and the rain of missiles on Beersheva, teachers observed with near despair a new, ugly “othering” in their behavior, learned from relatives during their evacuation to the north. Staff learned then the lesson that sustains them through cycles of violence: if they keep faith with the school’s vision, students reorient also.

Israel’s bilingual, bicultural schools break down walls of silence and fear. Hagar’s Sweet Tea with Mint uses the magic of story to conjure the plausibility of a shared society and shines a light on a shared spiritual foundation. As the school offers this groundbreaking curriculum to Israel’s mainstream, its fate is worth our attention.

Ellen Rifkin, a resident of Eugene, visited schools in Israel and the West Bank during spring 2018.

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Ivrit Israelit education for Hebrew speakers

By Sarah Rohr

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or some new arrivals, the U.S. melting pot heightens one’s desire to maintain one’s culture, while others rush to assimilate. Longing for a sense of home often creates a melding of the two extremes.

For Israelis Mor Yelvington, Etti Segal and Maya Varon, who teach in Congregation Neveh Shalom’s ALIYAH K-12 education program, this tension of longing for the warmth and familiarity of home and the desire to make a home here has created a program that will infuse their new home with cultural influences of their childhoods for their own children.

The three mothers recognized that their own children did not have many opportunities to be in primary Hebrew environments where they can speak freely in the mother tongue of their mothers. Over the past two years, the trio spoke to other Portland Israelis who were having similar experiences of not having play and learning spaces that were dedicated to speaking in Hebrew.

As lack is want to do, they decided to create a venue for their children to speak and be spoken to in a Hebrew educational gathering and where they could have an opportunity to reach a level of reading and writing that will open up the joys of Hebrew literature.

Ivrit Israelit was born this past September, after the faithful work of creating curriculum and of forging the partnerships to give them the space and tools to bring their vision to fruition.

The program operates through Congregation Ivrit Israelit founders and teachers, from left: Maya Varon, Mor Yelvington and Etti Segal.

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Neveh Shalom under the inspired guidance of Mel Berwin. The three teachers feel Neveh Shalom provides a home where they have the freedom to operate and bring their vision and dream into reality. They also partnered with the Israeli American Council and PJ Library to enrich the program with cultural events through literature and art.

The new program already has reached across the community.

Currently they have 16 students, most of whom are unaffiliated.

Most of the families are in Oregon long term.

Ivrit Israelit provides a rich Hebrew environment for children fluent in Hebrew. For example, beginning readers proficient with the alef-bet are able to discuss the poet or author of the month (in Hebrew) while they enhance their reading abilities. The teachers say talking about the life stories of poets and authors leads the students to explore other expressions of thought and create visual art.

The gan group provides a safe space for the youngest children, ages 3 to 5, to comfortably explore and express themselves in Hebrew. The preschoolers experience songs, stories and holidays.

Mor, Etti and Maya allow the structure of their lesson plan to be curated and fluid. They hold the container, and the spontaneity of the children’s needs fill the space to create a trustworthy place for all to feel welcome and learn.

Ivrit Israelit offers one program open to the whole community – a seasonal Ivrit Story Hour. The teachers partner with PJ Library for a program of stories, songs and crafting, all in Hebrew.

Students in the yearlong program participate in classes held twice a week that bring in art, poetry, sand sculptures, popular Israeli folk songs and lots of play.

The trio’s goal is to “inculcate the love of their Israeli cultural heritage through the use of the arts, introducing the yeladim (children) ages 3-13 to songs, literary culture, movement, tactile play and an entirely Hebrew-speaking environment.

“We want a center where our children, and the community as a whole, can find and experience Israeli culture and the modern Hebrew language. A place where we can retain our connection with our family members in Israel, our memories and our Israeli cultural heritage.”

Are they succeeding? The answer is a resounding ken (yes)!

To learn more about the Ivrit Israelit program, email Ivritisraelit@gmail.com.

Sarah Rohr teaches Hebrew for kindergarteners at Congregation Neveh Shalom and Beit Haverim. She serves on the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Federation of Greater Portland and is a Mikvah Guide at Rachel’s Well.

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Second-graders at Maayan Torah Day School enjoy math and engineering open activities for the last 20 minutes of the day. It encourages joyful exploration of STEM learning.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MAAYAN TORAH

STEM at Play Courtesy Family Features

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hen children play, they often learn. Not only can playtime improve behavior and concentration, it also helps children explore with their imaginations. Both free play and adult-guided play allow kids to learn right from wrong, how to share and how to recognize others’ feelings.

Aside from neurological benefits, the power of play can also improve both long-term and short-term health. There’s evidence (bit.ly/2SkWik7) that active children grow into active adults, thus decreasing their risk of heart disease and other scourges of sedentary lifestyles. Apart from these physical and emotional benefits, what some parents may not realize is that when playing, kids apply STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) principles. Whether it’s playing with blocks, building a fort or kicking a soccer ball with their friends, kids at play are “playing” with STEM.

“walk” the fastest. Make it even more fun by creating an obstacle course with books and other objects that may affect the trajectory to incorporate principles of physics and engineering. If your child is older, you can even use the toy to teach the basics of forces and waves by stretching it out then releasing it.

Having your children play with science doesn’t have to involve test tubes and calculators; instead, you can harness the natural learning habits of your child. If you are looking for other ways to make learning fun, a program such as ExploraVision can help.

This K-12 STEM contest allows kids of all ages to create ideas for new technological innovations in response to real-world issues.

Participants work on their projects to supplement their science education while also developing problem-solving, analytical and collaboration skills.

The deadline for this contest is Feb. 8, 2019. To learn more about the competition and how to enter, and for teachers to find free tips for engaging students, visit exploravision.org. The site offers timelines to develop a project in as little as three weeks.

Now Enrolling!

STACKING UP MATH AND SCIENCE SKILLS.

Legos and other building blocks are a classic for a reason: they give kids the opportunity to build a dream home, a castle, a car – the list goes on. By asking your child to build a house, person or monster, you are simultaneously introducing him or her to concepts such as balance, pivots and other mathematical and scientific theories. Another fun lesson you can bring to the set is using building blocks to practice addition, subtraction and multiplication skills. For example, a 4-by-2 brick has eight studs on the top, while an 8-by-6 brick has 48 studs. Help your kids make the connection by using the blocks to teach them how to build a better sense of numbers.

SPRING INTO ACTION.

Another classic toy that you may not have realized involves science is a Slinky. Generations of children have watched the bendable springs “walk” down the stairs in amazement. Challenge your child to explore and see at which angle the spring toy can

Nurturing capable, creative and kind learners in a joyful Jewish environment

FOUNDATION SCHOOL PRESCHOOL Congregation Neveh Shalom

Inspired by the Reggio Emilia Philosophy All are welcome | Small class sizes Ages 12 months - 5 years Experienced teachers Afternoon enrichment programs Flexible options: 2 to 5 days per week; morning, full-day and extended days; 7:30am-5:30pm Contact: Leah Conley 503.293.7307; leahc@foundationschoolpdx.org

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 39

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Learning life skills while building justice

By Deborah Moon

Tivnu gap year participants (from left) Devida Osher, Erik Walter, Tamir Eisenbach-Budner and Josh Grobart stand in front of one of the tiny homes under construction at Agape Village. The homes are raised to reduce problems with rodents.

40 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019

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Jewish gap year program based in Portland is working with a church and local nonprofit to create a village of tiny homes to transition houseless people back to secure, healthy lives.

“It takes a village to build a different village,” says David Cahana of Cascadia Clusters, which is developing Agape Village for the Central Nazarene Church. “This is a big interfaith effort.”

When it is completed later this year, the self-governing village will include 15 solar-powered tiny homes, some of which are being built by participants in the gap year program Tivnu: Building Justice. Tivnu participants learn basic building skills and volunteer with grassroots organizations during this nine-month Jewish gap year program.

Tivnu teams work at the village four days a week alongside six formerly homeless trainees hired by Cascadia Clusters, with which Tivnu has been involved since its inception.

Cascadia Clusters, founded by Andy Olshin, trains houseless individuals in framing, roofing, insulating and finish carpentry. Trainees are paid a daily stipend and receive housing while building tiny homes for other houseless people. David, who does development and operational work for Cascadia Clusters, is the son of Rabbi Michael and Cantor Ida Rae Cahana of Congregation Beth Israel, where Andy developed his concept and displayed two tiny homes built by Tivnu in 2016 in the synagogue parking lot.

Central Nazarene Church Pastor Matt Huff met Andy at a community meeting on homelessness.

“The church has always had (homeless) camps on its property,” says Pastor Matt Huff. “We wanted to look at how do we love our neighbor when our neighbors are homeless? I started hearing about villages, and we had property not being used.”

“They (village residents) get stability and structure, and the church gets the added security of having people here we know,” he adds.

Agape Village, located on the church’s property on Powell Boulevard next to I-205, is the first all privately funded homeless village in Oregon. Similar villages are sponsored by a municipal government, says Agape Village Project Manager R. Toma Solano. Though Agape Village had to obtaining zoning from Portland, the city is otherwise uninvolved.

David says Cascadia Clusters wants to build 300 tiny homes for villages over the next three years, and Tivnu is poised to aid that effort.

“Tivnu has been an invaluable partner,” says David. “Their

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enthusiasm, insightful questions and respect for our houseless construction trainees has been a joy on the worksite. They embody the spirit of tikkun olam, or making the world a better place.”

Tivnu Executive Director Steve Eisenbach-Budner agrees that working on the villages is a good fit for Tivnu.

“We are doing exactly what we want to do – building homes and working alongside homeless folks and getting to know them while working side by side on a common goal,” says Steve. “You can study Jewish texts and the statistics about homelessness, but once you meet people, you understand each other’s humanity.”

The two groups not only work side by side, they also eat lunch together daily. Recently the trainees and gap year participants went bowling together.

Steve says, “Tivnu is the Jewish face to a lot of the organizations we work with. These grassroots organizations get to know Jews are on their side.”

This year 13 young adults are participating in Tivnu, including Steve’s son Tamir Eisenbach-Budner.

“I would have chosen this regardless,” says Tamir. “It’s the perfect fit.”

Devida Osher is from Israel, but has lived in Portland the past four years. She is still attending high school online through Oregon Connections Academy, but is able to do Tivnu while she finishes school.

“I was tired of school and wanted to do something more,” she says. “Tivnu lets me be active and do something that helps someone other than myself.”

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Tivnu participant Josh Grobart, from Chicago, wanted to do a gap year program in Israel, but his parents wanted him to stay in the States. He says the community service aspect of Tivnu appealed to him.

Erik Walter, from Brooklyn, was likewise attracted to the social justice aspect, and he also liked the idea of communal living. Gap year participants live in Tivnu’s two houses, each of which has a resident assistant.

Tivnu also offers programs for Jewish high schools and synagogues. This year three high schools and six synagogues are participating in 3- to 10-day building justice programs. The visiting groups are from Northern and Southern California, Chicago, New Jersey and New York City.

Last June, one of those visiting groups was the first outside group to spend a day working at Agape Village. In October, 12 students from San Diego Jewish Academy spent a week with Tivnu, including two days at the village.

“Only a couple (students) have done any building,” says Yvonne Webber, the Judaic studies teacher who accompanied the students.

“A couple girls didn’t know how to open a paint can – another life skill. The gap year (participants) are helping oversee what they are doing today.”

Applications are now being accepted online (tivnu.org) for next year’s gap year program. tivnu.org | cascadiaclusters.org | portlandcentralnaz.org/agapevillage

We support your dream!

Interested in the Riverdale education?

Next year: Spots opening in K-3rd, 9th and 10th.

Join us to learn more: • K-3rd Grade Coffee Q&A: Jan. 25 • Tours & Shadow Days through February Find more details and register for events on our website.

Deadline for non-resident enrollment requests is Feb. 15.

503-262-4847 • www.riverdaleschool.com

Grade School • 11733 SW Breyman Ave., Portland High School • 9727 SW Terwilliger Blvd., Portland

N I R O J A M S E I D U T S larships JUDAIC 0 in Scho $30,0a0warded annually.

1, February Apply by

2019.

Portland State Harold Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic Studies LEARN MORE: pdx.edu/judaic/ jst-scholarship OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 41

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Oregon Hillel helps recharter Sigma Alpha Mu

By Sam Klebanow

Refounding fathers of Sigma Alpha Mu at University of Oregon.

Sigma Alpha Mu Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity

was founded in 1909 as a

fraternity of Jewish men; it

opened its membership to all

men of good moral character in 1953. Today, the fraternity has

55 active chapters and colonies across the United States and Canada with about 3,000

undergraduate members and 56,000 living alumni.

A Sigma Alpha Mu – or

Sammy – chapter was active at the University of Oregon

from 1930 to 1960 and was rechartered in 2018.

Three generations of Sammy: Jake Snyder (Oregon), center, with his father (Indiana) and grandfather (Ohio State).

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any students find a second home at Oregon Hillel. Hillel is an organization for Jewish students, and its mission is to provide a Jewish home away from home and enrich the lives of students so that they may enhance the lives of the Jewish people and the world. The organization provides a valuable service to the Jewish community and the University of Oregon as a whole through programs such as Challah for Hunger and the Min Zidell Matzo Ball Soup Hotline. In winter of 2017, however, Oregon Hillel went above and beyond during the organization’s Winter Ski Retreat, where students have the chance to recreate and relax.

During that weekend, Michael Borovinsky, a senior at UO and native Southern Californian, wanted to supplement his college experience with another Jewish extracurricular activity alongside Hillel. By chance, he was randomly placed in the same cabin with two other like-minded men, Justin Asarch and Jake Snyder, and the group really clicked. The three discovered that they had similar values and decided to start their own fraternity. That night they contacted the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity’s national organization and expressed their interest in “recolonizing” a chapter at the University of Oregon.

After meeting with Sammy’s (Sigma Alpha Mu’s) executive director, they realized recolonizing could be an uphill battle. Though this undertaking would be tedious, Hillel was glad to help Sigma Alpha Mu get initiated and provide a place to hold chapter meetings. Not only did that occur, but Andy Gitelson, Oregon Hillel’s executive director, provided the Oregon Sammy brothers with an extensive list of locals from the Willamette Valley area to help.

Oregon Hillel’s director of engagement, Lauren Murphy, was a fraternity brother of Sigma Alpha Mu at Arizona State University. Hillel’s unofficial partnership grew when Murphy became Sigma Alpha Mu Oregon’s chapter advisor. According to Borovinsky, “We would be nothing without Lauren. He’s helped us all across the board with communications and outreach, organizing our financial books, and the list goes on and on.”

Since Murphy’s initial involvement with the chapter, Sammy has managed to recharter at the University of Oregon. Not only that, Sigma Alpha Mu has grown with 28 fraternity members in just under 18 months on the Oregon campus and has recruited an eight-man fall pledge class. In less than 2 years, Sammy no longer meets at the Hillel house and now congregates at one of their two off-campus houses for chapter and other meetings.

“The return of Sigma Alpha Mu to the University of Oregon is a testament to Jewish men on campus seeking an outlet for brotherhood and finding support for that vision,” says Sigma Alpha Mu Executive Director Andy Huston. “Justin, Michael and Jake were able to bring this vision to life because staff from Hillel, Sigma Alpha Mu and the University of Oregon were aligned to help this endeavor succeed. These student leaders and the class of men recruited to become refounding fathers of the chapter represent the true ideals of the fraternity. We celebrate their success and are grateful to the staff at Hillel for their ongoing support.”

Sammy’s growth is not only a testament to the caliber and work ethic of Hillel staff, but also to their genuine care for the community. Hillel’s commitment to enriching Jewish life is shown day-by-day through its staff ’s readiness to help with student affairs. Murphy’s direct involvement with the rechartered fraternity and Gitelson’s support are just small demonstrations of the lengths to which they’d go for their community members, showing how Hillel can really be a student’s second home.

Sam Klebanow is an intern at Oregon Hillel and a member of the UO Class of 2019.

42 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019

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Rabbi Joshua Stampfer’s Bible class has drawn a full house for the yearlong course.

Professor Christine Hayes

Adult ed class brings in Judaic scholar par excellence

J

udaic scholar Professor Christine Hayes will be in Portland for two talks in January.

“A world-renowned scholar of the Bible and Talmud and professor at Yale University, she is probably the greatest scholar in Judaica ever to visit Portland,” says Rabbi Joshua Stampfer, who invited Hayes to speak to the popular Bible class he is teaching this year. “Christine Hayes is the president of the Association of Judaic Studies,” the largest professional organization representing Jewish studies scholars worldwide.

On Jan. 17 she will speak to Rabbi Stampfer’s Bible class in the morning and later in the day will speak at a public event at 7 pm at Congregation Neveh Shalom, where Rabbi Stampfer is a rabbi emeritus. Though the class is filled to capacity, it can be viewed online through Neveh Shalom’s live-stream service. To view the class live online on Thursdays at 11 am or to watch past classes, visit nevehshalom.org/stampfer-bible-class.

The class, which meets weekly through May 9, is using Hayes’ book Introduction to the Bible. Published in 2012, the book examines the 24 books common to all Jewish and Christian

Bibles. Hayes guides readers through the complex literature that has served as a foundational pillar of Western civilization.

Her most recent book, What’s Divine about Divine Law?: Early Perspectives, has received numerous awards including the 2015 National Jewish Book Award in Scholarship, a 2016 PROSE award for best book in Theology and Religious Studies from the American Publishers Association, and the 2016 Jordan Schnitzer Award from the Association of Jewish Studies.

The commendation for the Schnitzer Book Award notes: “The scope of this study is stunning, ranging from the Hebrew Bible, ancient Greek and Roman sources and Second Temple literature, through the New Testament and rabbinic literature. The author displays genuine expertise in all of these fields, and also makes use of a good deal of theoretical literature from philosophy, both ancient and modern, and from legal studies. … Her thesis also has weighty implications for Jewish thought as a whole, for it shows that both biblical and rabbinic theologies do not equate God’s law with perfection.”

At Yale University, Hayes serves as the Robert F. and Patricia R. Weis Professor of Religious Studies in Classical Judaica. Before joining the Yale faculty in 1996, she was assistant professor of Hebrew Studies in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University for three years. Hayes is active in professional and academic organizations, serving for many years as an editor of the Encyclopedia for the Bible and its Reception and four years as co-editor of the Association of Jewish Studies review.

For more information about the evening program, contact programs@nevehshalom.org or 503-293-8831.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 43

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EDUCATION BRIEFS

MJCC hosts College Info Night and Fair College Info Night and Fair is set for 6:30 pm, Jan. 15, at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center, 6651 SW Capitol Hwy., Portland.

All teens and parents curious about options after high school graduation are invited to the program. Join Julia Surtshin from

Julia Surtshin College Ahead, as well as a wide array of other professionals, who will share the ins and outs of life after high school. Come learn about the college admission process, financial aid, as well as non-traditional post-high school program opportunities. Learn more about Jewish life on college campuses too. Presenters/booths

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include: Julia Surtshin, College Ahead; Tim Tank, Morgan Stanley Financial Planning; Andy Gitelson, Oregon Hillel; Hannah Sherman, PDX Hillel; Dov and Chani Bialo, Chabad at Reed College; and Rabbi Ozer Moskowski, Akiva at University of Oregon.

Additionally, information about two gap year programs will be available. Adinah Miller will be on hand to discuss Tivnu, a Jewish building and social justice gap year program based in Portland.

Materials from Masa Israel will be available for gap year programs in Israel.

For more information, call 503-244-0111.

Riverdale education available to out-ofdistrict families Some families are surprised to learn that it’s possible for their children to receive the toprated Riverdale School District education, even if they live outside the district boundaries. In fact, limited spaces in kindergarten, first, second, third, ninth and 10th grades are available for out-ofdistrict students for the upcoming 2019-20 school year. Requests for enrollment must be completed by Feb. 15.

Riverdale offers the best aspects of independent schooling in a public school setting, with small class sizes, outstanding teachers and challenging academics.

Guided by the principles of the Coalition of Essential Schools, Riverdale students experience a collaborative, small-school learning environment imbued with a climate of trust, decency and high expectations.

Riverdale schools compete successfully against the Portlandarea private schools based on strong academic programs, a personalized approach and a wide range of student activities – leading to graduates who gain

44 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019

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admittance to the colleges and universities of their choice, and excel once there. Plus, Riverdale is often a more affordable choice – with options for inter-district transfers, tuition and financial aid.

Learn more and apply at riverdaleschool.com. Parents can also sign up for the Jan. 25 K-Third Grade Coffee Q&A or schedule a High School Shadow Day for their interested student.

P’nai Or expands children’s education program Congregation P’nai Or has expanded its children’s education program. The Hebrew School program for elementary school aged children grades 1-4 started in Fall 2018. Additionally the Renewal congregation has a Tot Shabbat service for little ones, babies up through 6 years old The Tot Shabbat service includes a gratitude practice, stories, songs and prayers followed by kiddush with challah and grape juice. An hour of play time follows in the congregation’s wonderful indoor and outdoor park playspace.

The Hebrew School Program focuses on teaching Hebrew language and prayer through music, Jewish holidays and values (middot) and Shabbat using a hands-on, multi-sensory approach and learning by doing. A pre-b’nai mitzvah program is being planned.

Both Tot Shabbat and Hebrew School meet on the first and third Saturdays each month from 10 am to noon. P’nai Or is located at 9750 SW Terwilliger Blvd., Portland. No pre-registration is required for Tot Shabbat, but an email RSVP is requested. Registration is required for Hebrew School.

For more information, to register for Hebrew School, or to RSVP for Tot Shabbat, email P’nai Or Education Director Barbara Hanawalt at bhanawalt@gmail.com.

PSU Judaic Studies announces scholarships, Levy event The Harold Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic Studies at Portland State University is still welcoming applications for the new Harold Schnitzer Family Scholarships. The scholarships provide $5,000 a year towards tuition and fees for up to four years for students majoring in Judaic studies. The Harold Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic Studies fosters academic achievement, leadership skills and civic engagement through the interdisciplinary study of Jewish history and culture.

The deadline for students seeking admission for the 2019-20 academic year is Feb. 1, 2019. For more information on the Levy lecture event, visit: pdx.edu/ judaic or email judaicst@pdx.edu.

The department also is planning the fourth annual Levy Event, which this year will take the form of a symposium dedicated to the theme of Jews and violence in antiquity. Mark your calendars for April 14-15, 2019.

Larry Levy and his wife Pam established the “Lawrence Levy and Pamela Lindholm-Levy Judaic Studies Program Fund” to support speakers, performances, symposia

Larry and Pam Levy

• and other programming. In creating the endowed fund, they hope to distinguish the Judaic studies department at Portland State University as a leader among West Coast colleges and universities.

The annual Levy event is "innovative academic programming," says Judaic Studies Academic Director Natan Meir. "That was Larry's vision for this event and serves as our guiding principle in planning the program every year."

For more information on the Levy lecture, visit : pdx.edu/judaic or email judaicst@pdx.edu Introduction to Judaism class begins Jan. 17 The Winter/Spring 2019 Session of the Introduction to Judaism class begins Jan. 17.

This 18-week course is taught by members of the Oregon Board of Rabbis, representing a variety of Jewish affiliation. A carefully constructed curriculum includes Jewish history, lifecycle events, holidays, ritual and daily practice, theology, study of Torah and contemporary Jewish America.

While not a conversion class, most OBR members consider

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it a prerequisite for students beginning study for conversion.

Classes meet 7-9 pm, Thursdays, at rotating Portland area synagogues.

The course fee of $360 includes class materials. For registration information, visit the website oregonboardofrabbis.org/ introduction-to-judaism-class or contact class facilitator JoAnn Bezodis at 971-248-5465 or info@oregonboardofrabbis.org.

Maimonides earns third accreditation Maimonides Jewish Day School received accreditation for kindergarten-eighth grade from Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools Dec. 1.

According to the website msacess.org, the Middle States Association is a worldwide leader in accreditation and school improvement. For more than 130 years, Middle States has been helping school leaders establish and reach their goals, develop strategic plans, promote staff development and advance student achievement.

MSA accredits more than 2,500 schools, systems and learning service providers in 106 countries.

MSA accreditation begins with a self-study conducted by the school and requires input from a coalition of school leaders, teachers, parents and students. Following the self-study, a team of volunteer educators from Middle Statesaccredited schools conducts an on-site peer review. The team’s recommendation then undergoes a multi-level review by some of the best educators in the field before being approved.

The accreditation of MJDS is for seven years.

In October MJDS received

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accreditation of both its general studies and Judaic curricula from Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch, and from the National Council for Private School.

Professor Naomi Sokoloff Weekend in Quest registration open Registration is now open for 13th Annual Weekend in Quest presented by The Institute for Judaic Studies. The March 1-3 event will be at the Holiday Inn Express in Astoria.

Professor Naomi Sokoloff will be the weekend scholar speaking on:Poems and Prayers: Modern Jewish Writers Reinterpreting Tradition.

Sokoloff joined the faculty at the University of Washington in 1985, has served as chair of the Jewish Studies Program and as chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization. Her research interests cover a range of modern Jewish writing. She is the author of Imagining the Child in Modern Jewish Fiction. She has edited or co-edited a number of books including: Gender and Text in Modern Hebrew and Yiddish Literature; Traditions and Transitions in Israel Studies: Books on Israel; Boundaries of Jewish Identity; and most recently What We Talk About When We Talk About Hebrew (And What It Means to Americans).

The weekend also includes Kosher-style catered meals, a Saturday evening program and Shabbat services led by Ilene Safyan of Congregation Neveh Shalom and Havurah Shalom.

Early registration is recommended as the event has been sold out in previous years. weekendinquest.org | mimiepstein42@comcast.net Lecture series explores science and spirituality Congregation Neveh Shalom presents a monthly lecture series on science and spirituality.

What is the relationship between scientific understanding and spiritual belief? CNS Director of Congregational Learning Mel Berwin and CNS Senior Rabbi David Kosak created a new lecture series this year to explore how these fields influence each other.

The series asks what the fields of medicine, genetics, physics, aeronautics and brain science can and do offer to the fields of religious ideology, practice and spiritual care – and vice versa.

The series kicked off with guest speakers Dr. Sally Segel (CNS member and maternal fetal medicine physician) and Bonnie Davis (Congregation Beth Israel member) on genetic diseases, including Tay-Sachs, which predominantly affect Jewish populations. In October, Senator Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, who is also a physician at OHSU, spoke about mental health from the medical, spiritual, political and personal perspectives.

Spring lectures include topics on Environment and Sustainability (Jan. 9) and Epigenetics: how trauma affects both our nature and nurture (April 3). Presentations are on select Wednesday evenings from 7-8:30 pm. More information is available online at nevehshalom.org/science-spirit/.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 45

KIDS CALENDAR

JAN. 10

JANUARY

PORTLAND JEWISH ACADEMY OPEN HOUSE: 10 amnoon at PJA, 6651 SW Capitol Hwy., Portland. Stop by and get a feel for PJA, infant-eighth grade, from the people who are most dedicated – our PJA families and staff. PJA students at all ages experience small classes; committed, skilled teachers; and an environment that is welcoming and open to all. 503-535-3599

BBYO CONNECT: 7 pm at the MJCC, 6651 SW Capitol Hwy., Portland. Sixth- to eighth-graders enjoy social, recreational, athletic, cultural and Judaic activities with new friends. 503-345-9451

JAN. 23

10 am-noon, second Wednesdays at the MJCC, 6651 SW Capitol Hwy. For parents and their children up to 5 years old. Playing and kosher snacks. Free. 503-244-0111

JEWISH HERITAGE NIGHT WITH WINTERHAWKS: 7 pm at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 300 N Winning Way, Portland.

Family fun and hockey. 503-535-3555

JAN. 25

WEDNESDAYS

CHAI BABY + PJ LIBRARY INDOOR PLAYGROUND:

THURSDAYS

PJ STORY HOUR YAD B'YAD: 11 am, Thursdays. Cedar Sinai

Riverdale Grade School Commons, 11733 SW Breyman Ave., Portland.

503-262-4847. RSVP: riverdaleschool.com/visit

Park, 6140 SW Boundary St., Portland. Share in a weekly story hour for young families with music led by Kim Schneiderman and PJ Library books. rachelr@jewishportland.org or 503-892-7415

JAN. 26

FRIDAYS

Ave., Portland. Young children (0-5) and their parents celebrate Shabbat with singing, movement, blessings, and storytelling.

RSVP: 503-248-4662

pm, fourth Fridays. Welcome Shabbat with music and stories for ages 0-6. Potluck dinner follows. For location: 503-246-8831 or eposen@ nevehshalom.org

FEB. 10

SATURDAYS

RIVERDALE K-THIRD GRADE COFFEE Q&A: 9-10 am at

TOT SHABBAT. 10:30-11:30 am at Havurah Shalom, 825 NW 18th

MJCC SUMMER DAY CAMP INFO FAIR: 10 am-1 pm, at the MJCC, 6651 SW Capitol Hwy., Portland. Learn about the MJCC Summer Day Camp programs, register, and meet camp staff. 503-5353555

FOURTH FRIDAYS WITH RABBI EVE POSEN: 5:15-7

TOT SHABBAT WITH MINI MENSCHES: 9-10:30 am, first and third Saturdays at Congregation Beth Israel, 1972 NW Flanders, Portland. Music, dancing and fun for the youngest congregants.

503-222-1069 SHABBAT STORYTIME: 9:45-10:15 am, second Saturdays, at

ONGOING: SUNDAYS

PJ LIBRARY NORTH PORTLAND STORY HOUR: 9:30 am Sundays at New Seasons Market, 3445 N Williams Ave., Portland.

Share in a weekly intergenerational story hour for young families with music, PJ Library books. (No story hour Nov. 25 and Dec. 23 and 30. rachelr@jewishportland.org or 503-892-7415

TUESDAYS

Congregation Shir Tikvah, 7550 NE Irving St., Portland. Stories, songs and crafts for toddlers and their caregivers; older siblings welcome. Stay afterward for bagels and coffee with Rabbi Ariel Stone. Free.

503-473-8227

KESSER KIDS' TIME: 10:45 am-noon, second and fourth Saturday at Congregation Kesser Israel, 6698 SW Capitol Hwy., Portland. Games, songs, learning, food activity for ages 2-11. Free. 503222-1239

BBYO: 7 pm at the MJCC, 6651 SW Capitol Hwy., Portland. Ninth-

TORAH TROOP: 10 am, first and third Saturdays at Congregation

to 12th -graders volunteer in the community, celebrate their Jewish heritage, become leaders, and participate in array of social, political, spiritual, athletic and cultural activities all within a Jewish context.

503-345-9451

KIDDUSH CLUB: 10:15-11:15 am, first and third Saturdays at

Neveh Shalom, 2900 SW Peaceful Lane. 3rd-5th graders: Torah portion lesson, Adon Olam and lunch. 503-246-8831

Congregation Neveh Shalom, 2900 SW Peaceful Lane. K-2nd graders: sing, dance, hear a Torah story. 503-246-8831 46 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019

ask helen

A Nosh of Jewish Wisdom: Truth rests mostly with God, and a little with me.

How do you share your painful past in #MeToo era?

Dear Helen: This may seem a strange place for a confession, but I was raped in high school. Assume a bad combination of cheerleader, football team and beer in a culture where “rocking the boat” by a young woman was perceived as worse than rape by a young man. I didn’t tell anyone then and gave no reason for why I stopped all extracurricular activities. I wonder what my mother suspected, but she has died and I cannot ask her.

My daughter, who says, “We live in a world that has moved beyond feminism,” just told me she wants to switch from gymnastics to cheering. I am so conflicted about telling her and also my loving husband, who has been my one and only.

The Me Too movement has unleashed many stories, but reality suggests “The Handmaid’s Tale” is moving to more than fiction.

What to say, when, how and to whom?

A Little Broken

Dear Broken: I am so sorry. Even knowing how many women have had similar experiences is not a balm. But it is a start. I think both your daughter and husband could be hurt in different ways by your continued silence. Honesty is the only path forward for us, individually and as a society. Sadly, the “don’t rock the boat” culture is many millennia old. But there’s no evidence that any society grounded in secrecy and suppression of truth or human rights can manifest true social good. Change begins within – and at home.

Start by talking to your husband. He’ll be angrier with the rapist(s) for their actions than at you for any silence. Also talk to a trauma specialist, both to help with your own shame or internalized guilt and to prepare you for sharing your cautionary tale with your daughter. You should have two goals for the conversation: upping her street smarts and letting her know there is nothing she cannot talk to you about, no matter how bad or scary. After you’ve spoken to her (whether that’s alone, with your husband or with your counselor), create a regular check-in system to discuss the struggles of being a teenager.

There may be a local support group for mothers and daughters

you can go to, or perhaps you can start one in your synagogue or among friends. The girls will probably start out hating it.

But persist nevertheless, because some of the messages will get in. As for our “post-feminist world,” she will learn about that as she moves on to college and work.

Dear Helen: I joined a “biggest loser” group through a friend on Facebook. We were each supposed to post a picture of our feet on a digital scale with the weight showing and send a $20 ante to the coordinator. (It is a private group, so no one else can see the pictures.) The pot will be split based on percentage lost, not raw pounds. I was honest and did what I always do: weigh myself in the morning after I poop and before my coffee. I was at the coordinator’s office and overheard two of her coworkers joking about how they’d weighed themselves at night, each holding the family dog. Now I am angry. Not enough to want my money back, because I do want incentive to drop holiday pounds, but enough to blow the whistle on cheaters. Should I be gracious or self-righteous?

Chubby but Honest

Dear Honest:

I think it’s worth saying something to the coordinator and asking her to address the group. I think it’s unlikely that anyone who’d cheat to win a couple hundred dollars will come forward and repost a true weight. But some accountability would be nice. Perhaps the organizer should say that final weigh-in pics should be taken under the same conditions as the original and give examples.

Most importantly, do your best for yourself. That’s what it’s really about. And hope whoever wins your money is both honest and healthier.

HELEN

A resident of Eugene since 1981, Helen Rosenau is a member of Temple Beth Israel. She’s a student of Torah and an artist (kabbalahglass.com), a writer (yourjewishfairygodmother.com) and now the author of The Messy Joys of Being Human: A Guide to Risking Change and Becoming Happier.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 47

FRONT & CENTER

Author brings story of heroism to Portland

By Deborah Moon As an assistant professor at the Jewish Theological Seminar in 1989, David Fishman was asked to help evaluate an archive of Jewish materials discovered in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Over the next two decades, David followed the trail of the Jewish books and documents that Jewish writers and thinkers smuggled out of Nazi hands to be hidden in the ghetto of Vilna (then part of Poland).

“I knew the story needed to be shared,” said David in a phone interview. “I didn’t know if there was enough material to make it into a book.”

In 1996 he wrote an essay about the archives for YIVO, the Jewish cultural organization founded in Vilna in 1925 and now located in New York. YIVO, which had recruited David in 1989, is now the repository of most of the archives.

“But I kept collecting and looking and then focused on a book about seven years ago.”

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It took another five years, but when The Book Smugglers: Partisans, Poets and the Race to Save Jewish Treasures from the Nazis was published, it won a 2017 National Jewish Book Award.

“This is a great story of heroism and resistance to the Nazis,” David says. “It is a great story of a large group of people saving culture and Jewish heritage. It is as important to remember as the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. …. Both are moral victories of human dignity.”

Spiritual and moral resistance to the Nazis was just as important as armed resistance, explains David.

“It’s a Jewish story that resonates with a wide audience,” he says. The book has been or will be released in several languages including Czech, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Japanese, Lithuanian, Chinese and Hebrew, which he says is a reflection of that resonance.

The book smugglers who are the heroes of the story were

academicians, writers and intellectuals the Nazis ordered to sort the Jewish papers plundered from Vilna’s famed Jewish cultural institutions. These slave laborers risked their lives to smuggle as much as possible into hiding in the ghetto.

David was able to recreate their story by reading memoirs written by those laborers during and immediately after the war. He also interviewed one survivor living in New Jersey (see author's note at right).

He also shares the story of how many of those same heroes saved parts of the collection a second time. During the war Poland lost control of Vilna, which became part of Soviet Lithuania.

“The survivors quickly realize Soviet Lithuania was not a safe place (for Jewish cultural treasures),” says David. “So they have to get it out.”

Once again the intellectuals and writers risked their lives to smuggle materials to safety.

“These materials were now Soviet property,” he says. “You could be arrested and sent to Siberia for stealing property of a Soviet institution. You’re not killed like under the Nazis, but you could be sent to a Soviet camp where many people died.”

Many of the documents the survivors smuggled out ended up in the United States or Israel.

“The material they could not take out was hidden for about 40 years and was unknown to the world,” says David, noting it was that hidden archive he was asked to help evaluate in 1989.

YIVO and the Lithuanian library have agreed to digitize the materials since they are divided among multiple locations.

David explains digitizing will help researchers since some documents were divided. For instance, one page of a letter might be in YIVO’s archives in New York and the second page of the letter might be in Lithuania.

“This community had a special spark,” says David. “The community was committed to reading, study and culture. The people could not save the Jews, but through their books they could save the culture so important to them.”

“People were willing to risk their lives for Jewish heritage,” says David. “So we should cherish our traditions and our legacy. That is the point of my book and my talk.”

PORTLAND JEWISH BOOK CELEBRATION The Eighth Annual Portland Jewish Book Celebration presents two January events focused on The Book Smugglers: Partisans, Poets and the Race to Save Jewish Treasures from the Nazis, by David Fishman.

BOOK DISCUSSION: Unpacking The Book Smugglers WHEN: 7-8:30 pm, Jan. 22 WHERE: Havurah Shalom, 825 NW 18th Ave., Portland RSVP: Havurah Shalom, 503-248-4662 AUTHOR TALK: David Fishman on The Book Smugglers WHEN: 1 pm, Jan. 27 WHERE: Portland State University, Browsing Lounge (Room 238), Smith Memorial Student Union, 1825 SW Broadway FREE: Sponsored by Congregation Beth Israel, Mittleman Jewish Community Center, Portland State University’s Judaic Studies Program and Congregation Shaarie Torah INFO: oregonjcc.org/arts-culture/jewish-book-celebration

EXCERPT FROM AUTHOR’S NOTE: A few years ago, I gave a talk about the Vilna ghetto and men-

tioned in passing the bravery of the “paper brigade.” After the

program, an elderly man … said to me, “You know, I worked in that

brigade for a few months. I slipped quite a few books and papers past the German guards myself.” I was stunned. I didn’t think any of the heroes of the paper brigade were alive by 2012. But as he answered

my battery of questions, I could tell he was indeed a member of the group.

Ninety-three-year-old Michael Menkin now makes his home in

an assisted-living facility in New Jersey…But back then, he was a tall and lanky 18-year-old inmate of the Vilna ghetto. The Germans or-

dered him to lug boxes of books to the loading dock – most of them

destined for incinerators and “paper mills,” and some for shipment to Germany. Poet Shmerke Kaczerginski took him under his wing and taught him the art of book smuggling.

Michael’s activity rescuing the books is one of the few happy mem-

ories he has from his years in the ghetto. His mother, two sisters and

a brother were executed in Ponar. “We were all certain we would soon be killed. So why not do a good thing and rescue some treasures? I

don’t remember the names of the books and manuscripts I ‘stole’ from

work, but I often lie in bed at night and think to myself, Who knows?

2 1

Maybe I rescued something important.”

He did. He rescued his humanity and ours.

for

It’s a great time to be a member of OJMCHE! For the run of OJMCHE’s The Journey of the Last Jews of Lodz and PAM’s Memory Unearthed: The Lodz Ghetto Photographs of Henryk Ross — OJMCHE and PAM have reciprocal admission. Your membership goes twice as far.

Not a member?

Join today to take advantage of this special offer. Both exhibitions through February 24, 2019.

724 NW Davis St., Portland, OR 97209 | 503-226-3600 | www.ojmche.org OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 49

FRONT & CENTER

Fertile Ground Festival presents 120+ acts of creation The Portland-grown Fertile Ground City-Wide Festival

of New Works celebrates its 10th anniversary this January

in a town of prolific playwrights, abundant actors, innovative

dancers, talented designers and adventuresome producers. The festival runs from Jan. 24 to Feb. 3 at various venues around Portland.

Since its first festival in 2009, Fertile Ground has welcomed

more than 1,000 “acts of creation” from Portland’s artistic communities that thrive on stages, nooks and crannies all over the

city for 11 days. The 120+ “acts of creation” by Portland artists

in the 11-day festival include at least four works by Jewish art-

ists or about topics of special interest to the Jewish community.

Actor Sara Fay Goldman, who starred in several productions

of the now dormant Jewish Theatre Collaborative, will perform her autobiographical “Tether: ADHD+BDSM” at Headwaters Theatre Jan. 24-27. A multidisciplinary solo performer and mental health advocate, Sara Fay presents a quest for clari-

ty and understanding. Sara Fay hopes to help demystify and

spark conversations around the subject of mental health. Using movement, sound, stage tricks and folklore, she invites the

audience to witness the particular trials and textures of her own diagnosis. Tether is a collage of intimate personal anecdotes

surrounding the solo performer’s relatively late-in-life exposure to disability culture and identity.

A fully staged reading of a one-act play titled “a dangerous

joy” will be presented Jan. 27 and 28 at Lakewood Theatre and Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 and 2 at Portland State University, Boiler

Room Theatre. Based on Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s true story, Terry Lomax has written a riveting fictional account of the last hour of Dietrich’s life. A German pastor and theologian during

World War II, Dietrich refuses to remain silent as he witnesses the atrocities of Hitler’s rule. Imprisoned in Flossenburg concentration camp for his involvement with the Valkyrie plot to 50 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019

assassinate Hitler, Bonhoeffer faces off with Heinrich Muller, head of the Gestapo. The play explores the question: What is worth living and dying for?

“I’m a Slut, Sababa,” by Caitlin Beckwith-Ferguson, tells the

stories of five Israeli women in this hilarious, thought-provoking play about sexuality, gender and feminism in Judaism and

Israel. The play will be presented Feb. 2 and 3 at the Hipbone Theatre.

Jewish playwright Bonnie Ratner presents the fully pro-

duced World Premiere of “Hazardous Beauty” Jan. 25-27 and Feb. 1-3 at the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center.

During the 2016 Fertile Ground Festival, an audience member commented on the staged reading of “Hazardous Beauty”: “Wonderfully provocative, witty, complex and brilliant. It

was awesome to see two strangers meet and peel through the

world’s stereotypes and misconceptions to reveal the hearts of two such richly talented, yet scarred, individuals.”

The 2019 festival offers a robust lineup of works from regu-

larly producing companies, but leans strongly on the work of

emerging playwrights and producers offering works in progress or World Premiere work. Polaris Dance Theatre will again

present the “Groovin’ Greenhouse” with a variety of chore-

ographers and dance groups representing the Portland dance

community. PDXPlaywrights will present 10 events comprising new work by 27 playwrights. LineStorm Playwrights will present a host of lunchtime readings at Artists Rep.

Since the inaugural festival in 2009, more than 70 Fertile

Ground-originated works have gone on to further productions seen locally, nationally and in festivals worldwide.

“I am tremendously proud of the new work Fertile Ground

has generated over the past 10 years,” says Fertile Ground

Festival Director Nicole Lane. “It is personally gratifying to see such expansive growth and know that Fertile Ground

serves the artists and audiences of this community. Involving hundreds of artists and welcoming thousands of audience

members each year, Fertile Ground is a celebration of Portland’s artistic community that gives artists the platform to

take chances, share their artistic impulses and cultivate some producing skills, while getting introduced to new audiences.

Fertile Ground also helps educate audiences about the process of developing new work, and introduces them to new artists and artistic genres.”

A full schedule and ticket information is available at ferti-

Jan. 27 film explores Warsaw Ghetto’s pen and paper resistance Portland Jewish Film Festival is participating in a global screening of “Who Will Write Our History” to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The screening in Portland will take place at 2 pm on Jan. 27 at the Northwest Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium, 1219 SW Park Ave., Portland.

Roberta Grossman's stunning film “Who Will Write Our History” (executive producer Nancy Spielberg), is the true story of World War II archival writings that were compiled by a small band of Jewish resistors, historians, journalists and illustrators determined to save records of their lives and the events in the Warsaw Ghetto while under Nazi control.

In November 1940, days after the Nazis sealed 450,000 Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto, a secret band of journalists, scholars and community leaders decided to fight back. Led by historian Emanuel Ringelblum, known by the code name Oyneg Shabes, this clandestine group vowed to defeat Nazi lies and propaganda not with guns or fists but with pen and paper.

Based on Samuel D. Kassow’s 2007 book of the same name, the film mixes the writings of the Oyneg Shabes archive with new interviews, rarely seen archival footage and stunning dramatizations to transport viewers inside the ghetto and the lives of these courageous resistance fighters. They defied their murderous enemy with the ultimate weapon – the truth – and risked everything so that their archive would survive the war, even if they did not.

A post-screening discussion will be streamed on Facebook Live from the evening screening at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.

This summer PJFF will host its 27th annual festival June 16-30. Presented by the Institute for Judaic Studies in collaboration with the Northwest Film Center, the festival celebrates the diversity of Jewish history, culture and identity while speaking to the universal experiences and issues that confront all humanity. nwfilm.org

legroundpdx.org.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 51

SENIORS

Rabbi Kalman Packouzouz

Portland-born rabbi and pioneer blogger expands message

By Jonathan Weiss

The rabbi has been on the cutting edge of technology since the early '80s when he started one of the first Jewish computer Writer, educator, humorist and Portland native Rabbi Kaldating services as director of the Aish HaTorah in St. Louis. man Packouz recently announced the Hebrew and Spanish Local news coverage touted the service as "Yenta Becomes expansion of his world-renowned Shabbat Shalom Weekly Honeywell!" and the Today Show featured this innovative proemail (ShabbatShalom.org). gram to promote Jewish marriages. Rabbi Packouz said, “My Kalman, known as Ken to his Portfascination with computers presented an land friends and relatives, is the son of unparalleled opportunity to help Jews Ray and Dorothy Packouz. Ray, 97, and meet and marry other Jews."

Dorothy, 98, are veterans of World War His fascination with the internet led II and recently celebrated their 72nd anRabbi Packouz to another first – placniversary at their home in the Courtyard ing a camera on the Aish HaTorah Village in Raleigh Hills. courtyardvillage. building overlooking the Western Wall, com/ray-dorothy-packouz. enabling people around the planet to see Rabbi Packouz, 68, grew up as a Rethe hustle and bustle of Jews gathering form Jew in Portland’s Temple Beth Isand praying at the Wall. The website rael before becoming an Orthodox rabbi.

(TheWall.org) allows anyone to send a After graduating from the University of prayer to be placed in the Wall. EvWashington in 1972, he sampled kibbutz Rabbi Packouz was inspired by his parents, ery day notes arrive from people of all life in Israel before becoming a student Courtyard Village residents Ray and Dorothy religions from around the world and are of Rabbi Noah Weinber. He cofounded Packouz, who established scholarships printed out and placed in the Wall.

Aish HaTorah, now a noted outreach During his youth in Portland, Rabbi at PortlandJewish Academy and organization in Jerusalem. In 1979 he Packouz became a bar mitzvah at Conthe University of Oregon. cofounded the first American branch of gregation Beth Israel and was active in Aish HaTorah in St. Louis. He returned to Israel as CEO of BBYO, serving as regional and district president. He received Aish HaTorah and served in the IDF. Beth Israel’s coveted John F. Kennedy award as the top gradSince 1992 he has been educating people around the world uating senior from the congregation’s Sunday School. Rabbi with insights into life, personal growth and Torah. What startEmanuel Rose, rabbi emeritus of Beth Israel, once asked his ed as a local fax to 50 people quickly expanded nationally and former student why he transitioned from his Reform backinternationally to more than 100,000 subscribers. Rabbi Packground to an Orthodox orientation. Rabbi Packouz replied, ouz was either one of the first internet bloggers – or a blogger "I was taught in Sunday School that Reform Judaism is about before bloggers existed. doing what one finds meaningful in Judaism. I find all of the 52 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019

Torah and the mitzvos meaningful. I don't look upon myself as an Orthodox Jew; I look upon myself as a fully Torah-observant Jew. Perhaps one could say I am an ultimately fulfilled Reform Jew!" The Shabbat Shalom Weekly started in 1992, first as the Shabbat ShaWhile serving as AZA president, the lom Fax being sent to 50 future Rabbi Packouz, spoke at the people. A few months later regional BBYO convention. it became one of the first Torah emails on the internet. It now goes out to 20,000 people by fax and 80,000 by email. The Shabbat Shalom contains five elements: insights into personal growth and life or an upcoming holiday; a quick overview of the Torah portion of the week; a short d’var Torah, a lesson for life learned from a verse in the weekly Torah portion; candle-lighting times around the world; and a quote of the week. (Some people subscribe just for the quote; many people read it first!)

The Shabbat Shalom ends up in some unexpected and farflung places. Visitors to India and Singapore were surprised to find copies of the Shabbat Shalom on their seats in the synagogue on Shabbat. A Jewish woman was receiving the fax edition in a Catholic school where she worked. When asked to have it stopped, she appealed to the head priest. After reading a copy he responded, "You may continue to have it faxed to you on one condition – that I receive a copy each week!"

Over the years it has changed people's lives and brought them closer to the Torah, the Jewish people and Israel.

In an era when few people say thank you, the rabbi frequently receives messages about his weekly missive: "This week's edition meant a lot. It helped me. It's just what I needed to get through the day." "My life has really changed since I started reading your articles." "I always marvel at how you fit so much insight into short, easy-to-read emails." "Your articles are always so well-written and meaningful." "It not only inspires me, it teaches me so much about our beautiful religion."

"You are at our Shabbos table every week!"

After 27 years of sending the Shabbat Shalom Weekly in English, Rabbi Packouz has added Hebrew and Spanish versions of SSW. One can view the English, Hebrew and Spanish current editions and/or subscribe to receive the emails at ShabbatShalom.org. A Portuguese translation is also available by emailing meor18@terra.com.br.

Rabbi Packouz credits his parents for his many accomplishments for the Jewish people. "They instilled the values – the importance of striving for a meaningful life, strengthening the Jewish people and Israel, and making this a better world!"

Embrace a new chapter - a new adventure in your life here at Portland's truly active independent senior living community. Discover a variety of interesting and meaningful experiences through our bountiful calendar of events and outings. Privately owned and locally operated, we are considered the best value coupled with superb service – in senior living.

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Jonathan Weiss is a former journalist. He began his career in newspapers and radio before transitioning to television news for 12 years. Most recently he was a supervising producer with CBS in New York.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 53

I do!

SENIORS

Now is the time to address your hearing health Courtesy Family Features

Coming in February 2019

WEDDINGS Please contact your account executive today. advertise@ojlife.com 602.538.2955 orjewishlife.com 54 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019

If you find yourself constantly turning up the volume on the TV or asking people to repeat themselves, you’re not alone. In fact, 1 in 5 Americans – nearly 50 million people – have hearing loss, according to the Hearing Health Foundation.

On average, it takes 10 years for someone with hearing loss to seek help. Now is the time to make your hearing health more of a priority. These advancements in technology can help improve your hearing and quality of life: Clearer, fuller, richer sound. Newer hearing aids incorporate technology that enables advanced hearing capabilities, helping you understand more speech and hear the finer details in social and professional settings.

Rechargeable. Changing hearing aid batteries is a thing of the past. Hearing aids have a rechargeable battery (with some lasting up to 30 hours) and a portable charger.

Entertainment on demand. Wireless connectivity and Bluetooth technology have made their way to hearing aids.

You can now make phone calls and stream TV, videos and more directly to your hearing aids. Some hearing aids, such as the Beltone Amaze, are fully compatible with both Apple and Android devices.

Support is just a click away. Remote fine-tuning allows you to request and receive adjustments to your hearing aids from the comfort of your own home on a computer or from a smartphone.

Personal control. If you love restaurants, but hate the noise, an option like the Beltone HearMax app allows users to select personalized, preset environments, such as outdoor or restaurant. The app’s geolocation option also automatically remembers when you’re in a favorite spot and can adjust your hearing aids automatically.

Personalized style. Like having your own stylist, hearing care professionals are typically experts in fitting hearing aids to meet your individual needs and tastes. Today’s hearing aids vary in size, color and special features so you can blend in or stand out.

Comprehensive customer care. Working with a hearing care professional is essential in treating hearing loss.

Locate lost hearing aids. This is a feature you’ll never want to use, but will be thankful to have should the need arise.

Through the use of apps, you can track your hearing aids if you misplace them.

To learn more about the latest in hearing aid technology and find a hearing aid that meets your needs, visit beltone.com.

Courtesy Family Features

Taking steps to prevent falls

When you’re young, an injury from a fall may sideline you for a few days or weeks, but a full recovery is usually quick. As you get older, the consequences of falls can become more serious, setting up a sequence of events that can have longstanding implications on independence and health.

It doesn’t have to be that way, however. Although falls typically become more common and can be more serious as you age, falls are not a natural part of getting older. In fact, most falls are preventable. Knowing the factors that put you at greater risk of falling and taking proper steps can help prevent falls.

Risk factors for falls in older people include overall health (chronic diseases and physical conditions), environment (hazards and situations at home) and behaviors, such as rushing around or standing on a chair to reach something.

These steps from the experts at the National Council on Aging can help prevent falls: • Stay active: Exercise helps increase or maintain coordination and muscle tone that can keep you steady on your feet and your reactions sharp. Walking, gardening or taking an exercise class are just a few ways to keep your heart healthy and your muscles toned. • Manage underlying chronic conditions: The better your overall health, the lower your risk of falls. Chronic conditions

like diabetes, depression, osteoarthritis, obesity and high blood pressure can increase your risk. Managing those conditions by seeing your health care provider regularly, taking medication as prescribed, eating a healthy diet and choosing appropriate exercise can help prevent falls. • Review medications: Side effects from and interactions with some medications can cause dizziness that can increase the risk of falling. Types of medicine associated with an increased risk include sedatives and diuretics as well as those used to treat high blood pressure and anxiety. Talk to your doctor about all prescriptions and over-the-counter medicines you are taking. • Get your eyes checked: Vision changes as you age, so it is important to get your eyes checked once a year to make sure your prescription is up to date and screen for any eye-related diseases like cataracts and glaucoma, which are usually treatable when caught at an early stage. • Assess your home: Look around your home for potential hazards. Consider enlisting the help of a family member or neighbor who may be more likely to notice things you don’t.

Install grab bars in your bathrooms, get rid of slippery throw rugs (or add a rubber backing) and keep passageways inside and outside your home well-lit and free from clutter and debris.

For more tips and information, visit acl.gov/fallsprevention.

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ISRAEL

Female mayor’s election curtails runaway extremism in Beit Shemesh

SEE FULL ARTICLE ONLINE AT: orjewishlife.com/female-mayors-election-curtails-runaway-extremism-in-beit-shemesh

By Gila Green I live in Beit Shemesh, the city that made global headlines when a Jewish man spat on a young girl (in December 2011). As a writer I was asked to speak out, to write an article that would distance “us” from “them.”

But I felt articles created more hatred, were ignored or preached to the choir.

Things worsened. Two blocks from my home, a woman was stoned, bleach was thrown at her, her car tires were punctured and her car windows smashed. Her life was threatened because she was doing her job: hanging lottery posters.

Inch by inch women’s faces were erased during a “men’s photos only” movement. Advertisements were soon populated only with men’s faces.

Billboards became extensions of most of the local newspapers.

There were additions, too. Signs were added on a few streets telling women which side of the street they could walk on, at what times of day and what to wear.

Fast forward to today. Think of divine-sized thunderbolts rocking the skies. Thousands of Beit Shemesh residents are elated.

Our newly elected mayor is female, 51, a former high school principal, a Ph.D., a mother of four children and married to a doctor.

Nobody would have believed it in 2012. It’s almost impossible to believe now.

A revolution has happened. Nothing and nobody is deleting Mayor Aliza Bloch.

In a local paper the two strategists behind Aliza Bloch’s campaign were asked: How did you get a city known for its runaway extremism to vote in a female mayor?

They did not run multiple campaigns. Instead they asked everyone the same question: Hey, Beit Shemesh resident, is it good for you here?

The answers by many (not all, Bloch won by the slimmest of margins) were the ordinary human responses you’d get anywhere: concerns about schools, cleanliness, infrastructure and road safety hit the top of the list. Imagine that? And it worked. Talking to people like human beings and reaching out to their humanity has not only altered my local landscape.

The tribalism that has reigned in Beit Shemesh for a decade is gone, a backward glance in a broken mirror.

Gila Green, a Canadian writer from Ottawa, has lived in Beit Shemesh for two decades. gilagreenwrites.com/index.php.

Democratic support for Israel at risk See the full version of this article at orjewishlife.com/democratic-support-for-israel-at-risk

By Bob Horenstein In the American mid-term elections, three Democratic candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives who have been highly critical of Israel won in their reliably blue districts. Because they comprise only a tiny minority (just three out of 535 members of Congress), the pro-Israel community isn’t very concerned. But it should be.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who recklessly called the killing of violent Palestinian protesters by Israeli troops at the Gaza border a “massacre,” was elected to represent New York’s 14th Congressional District. In Minnesota, the winner was Somali-born Ilhan Omar, who once called Israel an “apartheid regime.” Palestinian-American Rashida Tlaib, who would “absolutely” vote against U.S. military aid to Israel, ran unopposed in Michigan.

Their emergence is part of a trend that’s exacerbated by Israeli government policies at odds with most Democrats’ progressive values.

Not surprisingly, a survey by the Pew Research Center earlier this year indicated that Democrats are almost as likely to sympathize with the Palestinians as they are with Israelis (25% versus 27%). In contrast, 79% of Republicans sympathize with Israelis, while a mere 6% sympathize more with the Palestinians.

What can be done to reverse this trend away from Democratic support for the Jewish state? The pro-Israel establishment will continue to reach out and seek to educate Democratic candidates for public office, coordinate trips to Israel for those elected and organize 56 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019

outreach efforts to core constituencies within the party, especially Latinos and African-Americans.

We can’t be successful working in a vacuum, however.

During the last decade, the Israeli government has tied its political fate to the ultra-Orthodox and settler communities. It has therefore pursued a right-wing agenda that allows for open discrimination against the Reform and Conservative streams of Judaism while also seeming to undermine both Israel’s guarantee of equality for all its citizens and its commitment to a two-state solution. The democratically elected government of Israel has every right to make decisions it believes are in Israel’s national interests. But the Netanyahu government has left those of us working to rebuild a strong bipartisan consensus in support of Israel frustrated.

But whether one agrees or disagrees with the specific policies, the more Israel lets the ultra-Orthodox rabbinate tighten its grip over Jewish life, adopts legislation that’s perceived to undercut its democratic character and facilitates construction beyond the major settlement blocs, the more likely the ripple generated by Ocasio-Cortez, Omar and Tlaib will gradually become a wave.

Bob Horenstein is director of community relations and public affairs for the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. A version of this article appeared in the Jerusalem Report before the election.

J

The transformative power of stories

L iving

By Debra Shein

This winter Cassandra Sagan, an ordained maggid-educator on the faculty of Reclaiming Judaism’s Jewish Spiritual Education program, will work with representatives of Portland-area social service and cultural organizations to shape their stories and then present them in a series of Story Swaps (see box) at Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education.

Cassandra is an artist, poet, InterPlay leader and singer/songwriter who has devoted her life to helping others access their creative brilliance. She teaches and performs at various conferences nationwide and offers maggid-in-residence programs at local Jewish congregations.

Today many are not familiar with the role of a maggid ( Jewish teacher/preacher/storyteller), but in the past maggids played a key role in Jewish communal life. In Europe, as cantors held the melodies of Judaism, maggids held the story line. Maggids would roam from village to village, lead services in towns where a rabbi wasn’t present and bring the Torah to life with their narrative skills. This tradition nearly died out in the aftermath of the Holocaust. The tradition was revived during the past 20 years in the United States and then spread to Israel and beyond. While their role is not exactly as it was in the past, Cassandra says modern-day maggids continue “filling in the white spaces of the Torah with stories.”

In a recent interview, Cassandra discussed the genesis and evolution of her interest in storytelling.

Maggid Cassandra Sagan “Some people come from a long line of great rabbis or doctors, I come from a long line of synagogue talent show emcees. From an early age, my dad had me on stage doing stories, songs, comedy, etcetera. I love stories; I love hearing stories. I love thinking in story with people and seeing our lives in terms of story.”

“In this (Story Swap) series, we get to bring together people from various community service organizations – people who share so many common goals, challenges, values and missions – to connect on a heart level,” she says. “When we share stories, we share who we are. … There is a beautiful thing that happens when the storyteller is telling a story in a way that’s new for them and for the whole audience, too. As poet Muriel Rukeyser wrote in her piece ‘The Speed of Darkness,’ ‘The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.’”

In her workshops Cassandra encourages people to tell their stories from the perspective of who they are now, shaped by “20/20 hindsight,” rather than presenting a linear or familiar OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 57

account of past events. “If we have 20/20 anything, we may as well use it,” she says. “That’s what a museum is all about, using hindsight to frame the past.”

She hopes these Story Swaps will be a pilot that will continue into the future, “bringing people together in the context of sharing stories from our lives, hearts and experience.”

In this series, the storytellers will tell their stories, not read them. “Something happens in live telling,” Cassandra explains.

“You might see something you never saw before. The story might end in a different way than you thought because of the setting in which the story’s being told, the group dynamic.”

“I absolutely delight in the transformative power of story,” Cassandra says. “You can take a story you’ve been telling over and over, step back, put it in a different container, and see it differently. It’s like the frosting on the cake of the world.”

Being a Stranger topic of 14th Solomon lecture

Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl will deliver the 14th annual Gus and Libby Solomon Memorial Lecture Jan. 24. Rabbi Buchdahl serves as senior rabbi of Central Synagogue in New York City, the first woman to lead the large Reform congregation in its 180-year history. She also holds the position of senior cantor.

In her presentation, “Being a Stranger— A Story of a Wandering Jew,” Rabbi Buchdahl will reflect on moments of alienation when her Jewishness, so central to her identity, was challenged because of her background and appearance, and on her journey towards embracing her full identity with all its complexities. The issues she has struggled with – questions of authenticity, belonging, and self-acceptance – are familiar to many of us.

Born in Korea to a Jewish American father and a Korean Buddhist mother, Rabbi Buchdahl was raised in Tacoma, WA, where her family was active at the Reform-affiliated Temple Beth El. After attending Yale University, she enrolled in rabbinical Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl school, and was the first Asian American to be ordained as cantor or rabbi in North America.

Rabbi Buchdahl has been nationally recognized for her innovations in leading worship, which draw large crowds both in the congregation’s historic Main Sanctuary and via live stream and cable broadcast to viewers in more than 100 countries.

Rabbi Buchdahl has been featured in dozens of news outlets including the Today Show, NPR and PBS was listed as one of Newsweek’s “America’s 50 Most 58 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019

Story Swap Cultural and social service agency representatives will share their stories, after which the audience will have the opportunity to share their own stories in an open mic segment.

Family Stories: Tuesday, Jan. 29, 7 pm. Gail Mandel and Nate Smith of Oregon Jewish Community Foundation, and Freda Ceaser and Gary Cobb from Central City Concern.

Immigration Stories: Tuesday, Feb. 26, 7 pm. Marc Blattner and Rachel Nelson of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, and Sankar Raman and Wafa Almaktari from The Immigrant Project.

Stories of Resistance: Tuesday, March 19, 7 pm. Mike Murawski, Portland Art Museum, Bobbin Singh, the Oregon Justice Resource Center, and Erin McKee, co-founder of OJRC and co-director of OJRC’s Immigrant Rights Project.

Tickets: $8 members, $10 nonmembers at ojmche.org or 503-226-3600.

Influential Rabbis.” She serves on the boards of Auburn Theological Seminary, Avodah Jewish Service Corps and the UJA-Federation of NY. This event is underwritten by Richard B. Solomon and Alyce Flitcraft. pdx.edu/judaic/14th-annual-gus-and-libby-solomon-memorial-lecture

Rabbi Friedman asks: Is Religion Good for the World?

Jewish philosopher Rabbi Manis Friedman will speak in Portland at 7 pm, Jan. 15, at Chabad Northeast.

Statistically religion is known to cause more wars and casualties than it has solved. Could it be that the promise of the afterlife is so much more alluring than what we have here, now? Could it be said that it’s become more about heaven and not enough about earth?

Come join mystic author and philosopher Rabbi Friedman to explore these questions and more in an intimate setting in the Northeast. This frank assessment of religion and its practitioners will place faith and belief in context. This is a perfect opportunity for seekers of all types to stretch their mind and see how mystical ancient wisdom is still used today. There will be ample time for open questions with the rabbi.

Rabbi Friedman is highly respected and widely recognized for his deep, thoughtful approach to almost every major issue that plagues society from self-awareness to spirituality, mysticism, sexuality, parenting and marriage.

His broad opinions have been featured on CNN, A&E, PBS and BBC. Chabad Northeast is located at 2858 NE Sandy Blvd., Portland. Suggested donation to attend is $12.

JewishNortheast.com/Manis

Rabbi Manis Friedman

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FACES & PLACES

STAR CRUISERS – The Star Cruisers Oregon motorcycle club spent every Shabbat in November and December standing in solidarity with the congregants at Congregation Neveh Shalom, following the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pennsylvania. The club for Jewish bikers is working to create a Tree of Life Everlasting Memorial to donate to the synagogue.

Club members plan to ride to Pittsburgh to dedicate the memorial.

POLICE DOG VISITS MAAYAN – Lake Oswego Police Department K9 team Officer Bryan McMahon and Chase visited Maayan Torah Day School for school spirit day. The dogs' tracking ability increase suspect apprehensions and helps search for missing persons. LOPD has two K9 teams. The teams play a key role in public education efforts and are often seen at local events and schools. Maayan Torah moved to its new school building in Lake Oswego at the start of this school year. The K9 visit was designed to give kids appreciation for community helpers and the important work they do.

PEACE MENORAH – Portland City Hall displayed the Peace Menorah built by children across Portland and sponsored by Chabad of Oregon this year. Retiring Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who served five terms, welcomed Rabbi Motti Wilhelm and the menorah to City Hall. In his comments Saltzman wrote “in a time of increased political polarization, it is important to recognize that all of humanity yearns for peace and prosperity.

The Peace Menorah display symbolizes this yearning and represents Portland's hope for peace.”

PJA AUCTION – Portland Jewish Academy raised $840,000 at its annual auction. Above, many of the 370 people raised their numbers during the Mitzvah Moment, which supports scholarships and much needed funds for the school. The moment brought in $184,000, which was matched by Steve "Rosy" Rosenberg and Ellen Lippman and Jay and Diane Zidell. Top, the evening’s theme, Sail Away with PJA, inspired these parents to dress up as Noah and the two giraffes.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 59

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FACES & PLACES

HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD – Jeff Gottfried, husband of Emily Gottfried, z”l, and Portland Human Rights Commissioner Sonia Marie Leikam, present the Emily G. Gottfried Human Rights Lifetime Achievement Award to Rabbi Ariel Stone, center. The Shir Tikvah rabbi was honored for her work as an ally for all targeted communities.

HANUKKAH WITH THE BLAZERS – Trail Blazers mascot Blaze the Trail "Cat" and Chabad of Oregon’s Dreidelman get acquainted during Jewish Heritage Night at the Moda Center on Dec. 6, the fifth night of Hanukkah.

GLO AND JOY – Women and children from The Next Door’s Latinos in Action Program enjoyed a painting event at Joy’s Art Studio in Hood River. The Glo & Joy Art Project, presented by Gloria Hammer and Joy Kloman, is a series of four events created to bring art to children and families in the Gorge. The Next Door has more than two dozen programs that support and empower people in Hood River, Wasco, Klickitat, Gilliam, Wheeler, Skamania and Sherman counties.

CELEBRATING PROFESSIONALS – JPro cochairs Saul Korin and Marisa Reby welcome participants to the Jewish Professional Network Hanukkah party to celebrate the holiday and the important work Jewish professionals do for the Greater Portland area Jewish community. Attendees filled out a survey to help JPRO expand its efforts to strengthen the bonds, connections and relationships between professionals.

KAPLAN DESCENDANTS – Nathan and Toby (Fanny) Kaplan came to Portland from Russia in 1905 raising three daughters and a son. Their descendants now top 100, most still living in Portland. On Nov. 3, four generations gathered at Shaarie Torah to install a memorial plaque.

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FACES & PLACES

CHABAD HANUKKAH AROUND OREGON

REED COLLEGE: Reed Students fill the Quad for the 12th annual Hanukkah celebration to light the 9-foot menorah at Reed College. Students enjoyed an evening of latkes, sufganiyot and live klezmer music.

HILLSBORO: Hundreds of Hillsboro residents gathered on the first night of Hanukkah for the Outdoor Menorah Lighting at Orenco Plaza. Hillsboro Mayor Steve Callaway joined Rabbi Menachem Rivkin, director of the Chabad Jewish Center of Hillsboro, for this special lighting, illuminating the night.Â

MENORAH MOBILE: Rabbi Chayim Mishulovin of the Everything Jewish Store gives a menorah to Rambod Benham while driving the Mobile Menorah in The Pearl.

PORTLAND: On the first night of Hanukkah nearly 400 participants gathered for First Night at Director Park. The event included menorah lighting, music, latkes, gelt drop from a firetruck, a story with Eric A. Kimmel and a reading of the winning Hanukkah essays. The event was hosted by Chabad of Oregon and Chabad SW Portland-Center for Jewish Life.

UNIVERSITY OF OREGON: Rabbi Berel Gurevitch lights a menorah carved out of ice at Chabad’s Lights on Ice Hanukkah event on campus the first night of Hanukkah.

EUGENE: Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis lit the shamash of the giant 9-foot menorah. The event included entertainment for children, juggling show, arts and crafts, face painting, doughnuts, latkes and chocolate gelt.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019 61

JANUARY CALENDAR Jan. 1-31 Monthly Mitzvah Project: Socks. PJA and MJCC are collecting new and gently used socks for Janus Youth Programs. Items may be dropped off in the blue bin in the MJCC Lobby. 503-535-3555

Way, Portland. 503-535-3555

Book Sale March 31-April 2. For pickup, email

Jan. 24

pjabooksale@gmail.com

Jan. 15 Is Religion Good for the World? See page 58 College Info Night. See page 44

Memory Unearthed: The Lodz Ghetto Photographs

Jan. 17

The Last Journey of the Jews of Lodz at the

Judaic Scholar Professor Christine Hayes at Neveh

Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust

Shalom. See page 43

Education. portlandartmuseum.org or 503-226-

Intro to Judaism Winter/Spring Term begins. See

2811 | ojmche.org or 503-226-3600

Jan. 8 Beginning Israeli Folk Dancing. 7:30-8:30 pm, Tuesdays, Jan. 8-March 19, at the Garden Home Rec Center, 7475 SW Oleson Road, Portland.

503-629-6341, thprd.org/activities/searchclasses-and-camps/ Moments of the Heart. 7:30-8:30 pm, Tuesdays,

page 45

Jan. 18 Author talk on Overcoming Overwhelm: Dismantle Your Stress from the Inside Out. 7:30 pm at Powell’s Books, 1005 W Burnside St., Portland.

New Year. powells.com/calendar

Adventure Park at Ski Bowl, 87000 US-26

Government Camp. Join us for Havdalah on nevehshalom.org the mountain! Meet at Mt. Hood Ski Bowl for Havdalah and then hit the slopes for Cosmic Jan. 9

Portland. 503-246-8831

Jan. 10 Nosh & Drash with Rabbi Eve Posen. 3-4 pm at the MJCC. January Topic: Parshat Bo – What Does it Mean to Walk into Freedom? 503-535-3555

Jan. 14 Mussar with Rabbi Joshua Rose. 2:30 pm at the MJCC. Continues Feb. 11 and March 11. Mussar is an approach to self-awareness and personal development that is grounded in deep reflection

Tubing. Carpooling arrangements will be made prior to the event. Tickets: oregonjcc.org/ cosmichavdalah

Jan. 20 Shomrei Teva Tu b’Shevat Hike and Seder. 1-4 pm at the Hoyt Arboretum. Family and dogfriendly. $5 suggested donation. RSVP: yaakovm@ comcast.net or 503-245-6580

Jan. 22 Mah Jongg: Beginners Class. 10:30 am-12:30 pm Tuesdays through Feb. 19 at the MJCC. 503-5353555

on Jewish texts and on spiritual practices that

Mah Jongg: Intermediate Class. 1:30-3:30 pm

guide us toward greater control over our thinking

Tuesdays through Feb. 19 at the MJCC. 503-535-

and behaviors. 503-535-3555

3555

Jan. 14-March 15

Jan. 23

Book Collection Drive. Support the MJCC and PJA

Jewish Heritage Night with the Winterhawks: 7 pm

communities by donating books for our annual

at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 300 N Winning

62 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | JANUARY 2019

(Kickdown). Free. RSVP: 503-248-4662 Solomon Lecture: “Being a Stranger.” See page 58

Jan. 24-Feb. 3 Fertile Ground Festival. See page 50

Jan. 27 Author David Fishman discusses The Book Smugglers. See page 48 Screening of “Who Will Write Our History.” See

Jan. 29

can make daily choices to limit your stress in the

20s-30s Cosmic Havdalah. 6:45-9:15 Mt Hood

Neveh Shalom, 2900 SW Peaceful Lane,

Rabins (Fruit Geode) and Rebecca Clarren

with health writer Allison Jones. Learn how you

Educator and author Dorice Horenstein

Science and Spirituality. 7 pm at Congregation

Shalom. Features Havurah authors Alicia Jo

page 51

Jan. 19

wholeheartedly. 503-246-8831, jbezodis@

Tu b’Shevat Book Reading. 7-8:30 pm at Havurah

Join author Dr. Samantha Brody, in conversation

Jan. 8-Feb. 26, at Congregation Neveh Shalom. leads this class to explore how to live life

PAGE 46

Used Book Sale. Drop off at the MJCC front desk.

Through Feb. 24 of Henryk Ross, Portland Art Museum.

SEE KIDS CALENDAR

Israel360: Understanding Israel Today: Foundational Zionist Moments and Documents with Natan Meir. 7 pm at Congregation Neveh Shalom. 503-246-8831 Story Swap with Cassandra Sagan. See page 57

Feb. 2 Jewish Women’s Roundtable hosts Havdallah at Cedar Sinai Park. 7 pm, Rose Schnitzer Manor, CSP, 6125 SW Boundary St. Portland. Annual Sisterhood Havdalah will be led by Rabbi Ariel Stone. Afterwards there will be refreshments, a social hour and an exhibition of Israeli dancing.

503-535-4000

Feb. 10 Frontiers, Old & New: Neveh Shalom Sesquicentennial Celebration. Kick off CNS 150 at 11 am at Congregation Neveh Shalom with talk, lunch, open house. 502-246-8831

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