Volume 50, Issue 24

The Lunch and Learn program at Rose Schnitzer Manor at Cedar Sinai Park that was scheduled to end in July has received a partial reprieve.  read more »

EIN GEDI, Israel (JTA)—The beach at the Ein Gedi Spa at the Dead Sea would seem like an ideal place for a little R&R amid the frenzy of modern Israel.  read more »

Olmert sees land swaps with Palestinians

JERUSALEM (JTA)—Israel offered the Palestinians land in the Negev in exchange for West Bank settlement blocs. The idea was part of a draft peace deal that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert presented to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas the week of Aug. 11, Ha’aretz reported.  read more »

NEW YORK (JTA)—When the plane from Ethiopia touched down early Aug. 5 at Ben Gurion International Airport with 65 new immigrants aboard, there was no ceremony to mark what constituted the end of a major phase of mass Ethiopian aliyah.  read more »

Rabbi James Greene became the new rabbi of Temple Beth Sholom in Salem July 15.  read more »

More than 35 Portlanders have signed up for nearly 200 learning sessions at the Oregon Yeshiva Experience being offered by Chabad of Oregon in conjunction with its summer yeshiva program that has brought 10 yeshiva students and teachers to Portland from across the country.  read more »

Sarah Liebman returned from her Charlie Award tour of Israel to take the reins of Portland’s Florence Melton Adult Mini-School July 24.  read more »

Seeing piles of human ash in Poland and then smiling children’s faces in Israel, Portlander Barbara Cohen and 140 participants in the United Jewish Communities Campaign Chair and Directors Mission traveled from darkness to light in the whirlwind tour last month.  read more »

A central distinction that separates spiritual Judaism from Zen Buddhism is found in the enlightenment that Abraham brought to the world, and that enlightenment is not what most people might think at first.  read more »

Already vibrant, the Portland Moishe House now is more so with the addition of two new, young talents, one for the short-term, the other here to stay for a while.  read more »

Jonathan Emanuel joined Congregation Neveh Shalom as youth activities director on July 1.  read more »

Oregon State Representative Mitch Greenlick (D) will speak at Congregation Beth Israel Aug. 22 during the 6 p.m. Shabbat service about the state of health care in Oregon and the nation.  read more »

Families with children with special needs of any kind are eligible for an occasional break while a professional nanny cares for their child at a reasonable cost.  read more »

How was my life changed by my trip to Israel this summer?  read more »

Dorice Horenstein’s third group tour of Israel July 4-18 bonded 42 Portlanders to each other and to Israel in unexpected ways.  read more »

When traveling abroad there is always the expectation that delays may occur, but the last thing on the agenda for the Israel-bound group from Congregation Beth Israel was a day touring the Atlanta Aquarium.  read more »

In September Ronnie Malka will return to Portland Jewish Academy to teach Hebrew to preschoolers, and Kim Palumbis will join the staff as a music teacher for transitional kindergarten through second grade, according to Patricia Schwartz, head of school.  read more »

Maimonides Jewish Day School staff is kicking-off a year of self-study to enhance their role as the area day school offering traditional Judaism and progressive education.  read more »

Paying for children’s education expenses is a major concern for many parents. In the Jewish community this often starts well before college with private religious schools and afterschool programs. Planning can be so overwhelming that it is simply ignored. Regardless of the age of your child, proper planning will help make this dream a reality. Here are a few things to focus your efforts.  read more »

A New Orleans native who landed with his family in Eugene after Hurricane Katrina drove them away will host a second benefit to help Katrina survivors over the Aug. 23 weekend.  read more »

After seven years, Hal Applebaum ended his run as executive director of the Hillel at University of Oregon on Aug. 13.  read more »

I read with sadness about Mark Ail’s death on July 25, 2008. Mark and I first met as children at  read more »

Congregation Neveh Shalom invites the community to attend classes at its High Holy Day University during the Jewish month of Elul, which this year falls entirely in September.

“Elul is a month of preparation for the High Holy Days and that’s what we are going to do—preparation,” said Rabbi Daniel Isaak. “We’ll have one or two classes most days through all of September. It’s an interesting array of classes from text study and exploration of themes such as repentence to healthy eating and cooking classes.”

Isaak said he came up with the idea of the program because the holidays are so much later than usual this fall. Rosh Hashana begins after sunset Sept. 29.

Some of the classes meet once, while others, such as Hebrew reading, have multiple sessions.

High Holy Day University is open to the public. With the exception of one class, a one-time $18 registration fee provides entry to any or all of the classes for non-members; classes are free for Neveh Shalom members, though a $18 donation is requested. Refreshments will be served at all classes.

A Rosh Hashanah Culinary Experience taught by Bobbie Kramer has a separate charge of $20 for Neveh Shalom members and $25 for non-members; both include a $2 donation to Mazon. Reservations by noon Sept. 22 are required for the class, which meets 7-8 p.m. Sept. 25.

Classes will be held at the newly renovated Congregation Neveh Shalom, 2900 SW Peaceful Lane. For information, contact JoAnn Bezodis at 503-293-7309 or jbezodis@nevehshalom.org.

The class schedule follows; for course descriptions, contact Bezodis:

Tuesday, September 2
• Noon Cantor Shivers on Jewish Meditation in Preparation for the High Holy Days
Thursday, Sept 4
• 7 pm - Sylvia Frankel on Text Reading of the Akedah
• 8:15 pm - Barbara Schwartz on Teshuvah – Working on the Self

Sunday, Sept 7
• 10-11:30am - Elayne Shapiro & Dale Oller on The Days of Awe: Is it easier to ask G-d for forgiveness
than another person?

Tuesday, Sept 9
• Noon Cantor Shivers on Jewish Meditation in Preparation for the High Holy Days
• 7 pm - Rosana Berdichevsky & Gershon Liberman on Akedah: VERSE-atility
• 8:15 pm – Michael Weingrad on Rabbi Solomon Ibn Gabirol’s Keter Malkhut

Wednesday, Sept 10
• 7 pm - Eddy Shuldman on Writing your way to Teshuvah
• 8:15 pm - Mark Sherman on A Musical Approach to High Holy Day Preparation

Thursday, Sept 11
• 7 pm - Sylvia Frankel on Text Reading of the Akedah
• 8:15 pm - Mel Berwin on Hebrew Reading

Sunday, Sept 14
• 9:30-11:45am – Charles Elder on Purification and Renewal: An Ayurvedic Guide to the High Holy Days

Monday, Sept 15
• 7 pm - Amy Katz on V’achalta, V’savata, Uverachta: Eat, be Satisfied, Bless
• 8:15 pm - Susan Bernstein on What does a fish head have to do with Rosh Hashanah? OR Did you know there was a seder for every holiday?

Tuesday, Sept 16
• Noon - Cantor Shivers on Jewish Meditation in Preparation for the High Holy Days
• 7 pm - Rosana Berdichevsky & GershonLiberman on Akedah: VERSE-atility
 
Wednesday, Sept 17
• 7 pm - Eddy Shuldman on Writing your way to Teshuvah
• 8:15 pm - Mark Sherman on A Musical Approach to High Holy Day Preparation

Thursday, Sept 18
• 7 pm – Steve Wasserstrom on Franz Rosenzweig on Repentance
• 8:15 pm - Mel Berwin on Hebrew Reading

Sunday, Sept 21
• 9:45-11:30 am – Gail Sherman on Tesh-uvah in Modern Israeli Poetry
• 7-8:30pm – Lois Shenker on Preparing for High Holy Days with young children

Monday, Sept 22
• 7 pm - Amy Katz on V’achalta, V’savata, Uverachta: Eat, be Satisfied, Bless
• 8:15 pm – Ilene Safyan on Open the Gates: Music for the High Holy Days

Tuesday, Sept 23
• Noon - Cantor Shivers on Jewish Meditation in Preparation for the High Holy Days
• 7 pm - Rosana Berdichevsky & Gershon Liberman on Akedah: VERSE-atility
• 8:15 pm - Natan Meir on High Holy Day Customs in Eastern Europe

Wednesday, Sept 24
• 7 pm - Rabbi Daniel Isaak on Jonah: A Conversation about Interfaith Relations
• 8:15 pm - Mark Sherman on A Musical Approach to High Holy Day Preparation

Thursday, Sept 25
• 7 pm - Bobbie Kramer on A Rosh Hashana Culinary Experience
• 8:15 pm - Mel Berwin on Hebrew Reading

Madrikha Susan Levine will lead a workshop titled “Preparing Ourselves for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur” on Sept. 7 at the first fall Sunday Forum of Kol Shalom, Community for Humanistic Judaism.  read more »

JORDAN SOLOMON KATZ

Jordan Solomon Katz was born to Shannon and David Katz July 13.Grandparents are Howard and Sandy Katz of Portland, Dr. Maurice and Randy Davidson of Tucson and Gary and Bettie Zimbler of Tucson.  read more »

Israeli choreographer Saar Harari will present a new choreography called “Geisha” at the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art’s Time Based Arts Festival at Lincoln Hall on the Portland State University Campus on Friday, Sept. 5 and Saturday Sept. 6 at 6:30 p.m. and on Sunday, Sept. 7 at 8:30 p.m.  read more »

At age 12, Nancy Minsky (née Rosen) drew on paper and then created out of cotton fabric a prize-winning suit.  read more »

Prior to July, the last time I had been in Rosh Hanikra on the Israeli-Lebanese border I was 17 years old. That’s the same age Samir Kuntar was in 1979 when he shot an Israeli man, Danny Haran, at point-blank range and then killed his 4-year-old daughter Einat by smashing her skull against a rock with the butt of his rifle.  read more »

The U.S. Senate has approved legislation that will extend Supplemental Security Income benefits eligibility for refugees and other humanitarian immigrants, including many Jews.  read more »

MOSCOW (JTA)—Vissarion Manasherov left his city as the bombs were falling. One day later, on Aug. 11, with bombs still falling, he returned to Gori, a city at the edge of war, to convince the few Jewish families still in the area to leave.  read more »

NEW YORK (JTA)—In what could result in the first charges to be brought against management at Agriprocessors, the Iowa Labor Commissioner’s Office has sent dozens of alleged child labor violations to the state’s attorney general for prosecution.  read more »

Two play-based, modern Hebrew immersion-style programs for young children return for their third year in Portland next month.  read more »

On July 7, the U.S. Senate passed Senate Resolution 594 designating September 2008 as National Tay-Sachs Awareness Month.

Portlander Bonnie Davis, whose first son Adam died of the disease in 2001 at age 2½, wants to be sure Oregonians get the message.  read more »

Northwest Jewish college students will visit Israel later this year and their counterparts in Israel will come here next September as part of a new program meant to strengthen ties among young Israeli and Diaspora Jews by collaborating on parallel social service programs.  read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA)—For Jews, the energy debate is a case where tough-minded hawks and feel-good liberals agree.  read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) —With control of the world’s only nuclear-armed Muslim state up in the air, many Jewish and Israeli observers are watching the political turmoil in Pakistan with unease.  read more »

TBILISI, Georgia (JTA)—Some ran Friday Aug. 15 when the bombs fell on Tskhinvali, some on Saturday when they fell on Gori and some on Sunday when the Russian tanks rolled into Georgia proper.  read more »

DENVER (JTA) —Before he announced his vice presidential pick, Barack Obama said he wanted someone to spar with but who ultimately would be loyal enough to create a comfortable working relationship.  read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA)—The immigration raid on the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, the largest kosher plant in the country, caught most American Jews completely off-guard.  read more »