Oregon Jewish Life November/December 2018 Vol 7/Issue 7

NOV/DEC 2018

HANUKKAH STARTS WHEN?

DECEMBER 2 TM

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CHARITABLE GIVING You Can Buy Happiness—

By Giving!

SENIORS

Keep painting, designing, knitting and learning

SO CHECK OUT OUR

GIFT GUIDE FREE GIFTS INSIDE!

As OJCF turns 30

JULIE DIAMOND Leads Oregon Jewish Community Foundation to Unexpected Heights

Oregon Jewish Life named one of

TOP 10

Jewish magazines online

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 1

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OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 3

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CO N TE N TS November- December 2018 | Cheshvan -Tevet 5779 | Volume 7/Issue 7

10

HANUKKAH

COVER STORY Julie Diamond leads OJCF to milestone year

Oregon Jewish Community Foundation Mission

24 28

FEATURES

24

30

JEWS WITH ATTITUDE Survivor and teen push Holocaust education

BUSINESS Ins & Outs

10 12

FOOD Chef’s Corner: Hanukkah miracle needed

NW Nosh: Perlot

38 39

FRONT & CENTER Art recovered Book and films follow Shoah theme Salem hosts social justice exhibit

Israeli art comes to Portland

49 49 50 51

CHARITABLE GIVING

44

59 56

You can buy happiness – Give Impact of giving circles

Women empowered by circle

Families leverage donations BB camp grows campers & supporters Help shore up the safety net Schnitzers’ give $1 million to PSU New Fund supports Shabbat

Israeli wine and philanthropy

Giving Guide

COVER: Julie Diamond

PHOTO BY PHOTO MEDIA PRODUCTIONS (@PHOTOMEDIAPRODUCTIONS)

4 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

16 18 18 19 20 20 20 22 22 23

The taste of Hanukkah: Sufganiyot Portland knows doughnuts Gifts for foodies Give the gift of reading

Jewish Heritage Night with the Blazers

Gift Guide

30 31 32 34 34 36

ACTIVELY SENIOR Painter shares the power of art Eugene man keeps designing

Beware con artists and re-gifters Knitting treasures

Knitting is good for you

Finding mishpacha at 55+ community Online Resources

40 42 43 44 45 46 46

KIDS & TEENS Maimonides earns dual accreditation Scholarship fund recalls Mumbai victims Social action grants available for teens

Kids Calendar

52 53 54 55

JLIVING Ice cream, stories and unity 56 Ancient lessons of carpentry & Judaism 57 FACES & PLACES 58 Previews 60 Calendar 61

COLUMNS Chef’s Corner by Lisa Glickman NW Nosh by Kerry Politzer Ask Helen by Helen Rosenau

38 39 43

503-535-4000

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 Oregon Jewish Life | Cheshvan -Tevet 5779 | Volume 7/Issue 7

PU B LI S H E R

H OW T O R E AC H U S

Cindy Salt zman

503- 892-7402

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

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COLUMNIS TS

PU B L I C ATI O N A N D D E A D L I N E S

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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.

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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.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 7

PUBLISHER’S MESSAGE

WANDER NO MORE

CINDY SALTZMAN Publisher

W

inter is almost here and we sure had a lot to cover in this combined November/December issue. We have three special sections – Charitable Giving, Actively Senior and Hanukkah – as well as our usual topics including arts, business, food and kids.

We hope we gave you enough to hold you over until the first of the year.

conversation with a man who basically felt “my people” and many other minorities shouldn’t exist. Fortunately a day later, I met another stranger, a man who quickly restored my faith in the innate goodness of people. What a difference a day makes.

Look for “MY DATE WITH HATE (AND THE MAN WHO BROUGHT ME BACK)” at orjewishlife.com/my-date-with-hate.

That being said, our digital content is increasing as well. In fact, our site was recently named one of the top 10 Jewish magazines online in the world. Our website now includes regular additions of stories from our local community and around the world. So don’t forget to check our site daily at orjewishlife.com.

Make sure you sign up for our e-newsletters (click on free newsletter on the top bar of our website orjewishlife.com OR go to: orjewishlife.com/newsletter-sign-me-up/) to get the latest in your inbox. You can sign up to receive updates on community events, contests, special interests and lots of great suggestions and advice­— no matter what your age or passion.

You’ll find expanded versions of many of the stories in this issue as well as new stories to keep you informed. As a sample of our expanded digital presence, check out my personal blog about a recent encounter I had with a neo-Nazi in the grocery store. It was a surreal moment. There I was, having a “civilized”

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HAPPY GIVING & HAPPY HANUKKAH

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OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 9

Jewswith

Attitude Holocaust survivor and teen team up

to push Holocaust/

genocide education

By Deborah Moon

When Alter Weiner was a teenager during the Holocaust, the Nazis killed his family and his dream for a normal life.

Now Claire Sarnowski, a Lake Oswego teenager inspired by Alter’s story, compassion and kindness, is trying to ensure another dream comes true for the 92-year-old Holocaust survivor.

That dream of mandated Holocaust and genocide education now seems more important than ever.

When Alter was 13, the Nazis shot his father and ended his formal education. From age 15 to 18, Alter was in five different camps where he was tortured and starved. He was the only member of his immediate family to survive. After immigrating to the United States, Alter worked days and studied accounting at nights, earning his GED at age 35. He worked as an accountant until age 73, when he moved to Hillsboro.

Soon after he arrived, the Oregon Holocaust Resource Center (now the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education) asked him if he would share his story with students and other groups. After his first talk at Century High School in Hillsboro, the teacher sent him 100 letters from students.

Reading those letters, Alter says he realized, “My life story changed their lives for the better.”

Alter has now addressed nearly 900 groups at schools, churches, prisons and other venues. He has received more than 88,000 letters. One was from a seventh-grader considering suicide. “She realized despite all her difficulties, she still was blessed with everything I had been denied as a teenager. She changed her mind,” he says. Other students who had dropped out of school or considered dropping out, have written Alter that they realized how lucky they were to have the opportunity for an education.

Claire met Alter nearly five years ago when she was in fourth grade. She and her mom went to Salem to hear Alter speak at 10 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

After testifying before Oregon’s Senate Interim Committee on Education Sept. 25, Alter Weiner meets Gov. Kate Brown.

the school where Claire’s aunt, Sue Luft, was teaching. When Sue offered to drive Alter home, Claire rode along so she could speak with the man whose talk at the school had so moved her.

“I asked what he wanted to do before the Holocaust, and he said he wanted to live a normal life and that was taken away from him,” Claire says of her first encounter with the man she now calls her best friend.

“I did find Claire, at the age of 10, to be exceptionally bright, very mature for her age, sensitive and compassionate,” says Alter of their first meeting. “Her keen interest in the Holocaust legacy surprised me and simultaneously pleased me to know that kids at such young age are interested in history, and the Holocaust is indeed an integral part of history.”

Claire bought Alter’s book, From a Name to a Number, and then wrote a review on Amazon that Alter treasures.

He says Claire is his youngest reviewer on Amazon. He is especially moved by her sentence, “He made me think differently about life and the Holocaust.”

When Claire was in middle school, anti-Semitic and racist events at her school and Lake Oswego’s high schools prompted her to email Alter to apologize for the actions of her fellow students. Now a freshman at Lake Ridge High School, she says she has continued to witness prejudice and hatred in the largely white school district where students consistently score well above the state average in statewide tests in math, English and science. Knowledge of history is not tracked on the state’s school report cards.

“There is a lot of racial hatred and cruelty toward certain groups,” says Claire. “I reached out to the school principal to pioneer teaching about the Holocaust and other genocides, so people in my school would learn about these atrocities.”

Her principal introduced her to Lake Oswego School Board Member and Oregon State Senator Rob Wagner. Wagner was

able to schedule a hearing before Oregon’s Senate Interim Committee on Education.

In the video of that Sept. 25 hearing, Wagner tells the committee about the incidents in Lake Oswego high schools including swastikas painted on walls and a poster of Jews being pushed into ovens.

“We are losing our history,” says Wagner. “Some states are stepping up” to ensure students know about the Holocaust and genocides including Rwanda, Kosovo and Myanmar. Ten states now mandate some level of Holocaust and genocide education, and 20 states have developed curricula on those topics.

Wagner doesn’t advocate that the state write a genocide curriculum, but he says when the full Senate returns to session, he does intend to introduce legislation mandating Holocaust and genocide education in the state.

During the hearing, Alter shares his story with the committee, focusing on the impact his speaking has had on students.

“The Holocaust is not just a chapter of history, but a lesson to be more tolerant, more loving and that hatred is eventually self-destructive,” Alter says. “I hope Oregon becomes the 11th state” to mandate Holocaust education.

During her testimony before the committee, Claire frequently breaks into tears. Several members of the committee are visibly moved by the testimony and some can be seen wiping away tears of their own.

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Holocaust survivor Alter Weiner met Claire Sarnowski when she was 9. The two have become fast friends and partners in the push to make Oregon the 11th state to mandate Holocaust/genocide education.

Claire urges the committee to support “teaching students the ramifications that come with prejudice of any kind in society.”

Committee Chair Sen. Arnie Roblan briefly speaks about his personal connection with a Holocaust survivor, and after thanking Alter and Claire for their testimony tells them to look for legislation coming.

“I felt my voice made in impact,” says Claire. “I feel honored to perpetuate their legacy and to do all I can to ensure future generations are aware of (them) … and to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself.”

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OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 11

BIZ Top 10 Award

INS & OUTS

Rabbi Phil Bressler

Meira Spivak

Jodi Garber Simon

Oregon Jewish Life one of Top 10 online Jewish magazines Oregon Jewish Life has been selected as one of the Top 10 Best Jewish Magazines on the web by Feedspot.com. The Top 10 list was chosen from thousands of Jewish magazines on the web using search and social metrics. Oregon Jewish Life was the first non-national magazine on the list, coming in at number 7.

These magazines are ranked based on following criteria: Google reputation and Google search ranking; influence and popularity on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites; quality and consistency of posts; and Feedspot’s editorial team and expert review.

Feedspot is a content reader for reading all your favorite websites in one place.

Feedspot encourages readers to “subscribe to these websites because they are actively working to educate, inspire and empower their readers with frequent updates and high-quality information.”

Feedspot’s Top 10 Jewish Magazines are (in order): Tablet Magazine; Mosaic Magazine; Lilith Magazine; Jewish Action Magazine; Jewish Quarterly Magazine; Ami Magazine; Oregon Jewish Life Magazine; Jewish in Seattle Magazine; Montreal Jewish Magazine; and New Voices Magazine. orjewishlife.com | feedspot.com

Beit Am hires Rabbi Phil Bressler Rabbi Phil Bressler has joined Beit Am to serve as the religious leader for the Mid-Willamette Valley Jewish Community.

Rabbi Phil arrived in Corvallis on July 15 with his wife, Amanda, and 3½-year-old daughter, Penina. With the birth of their son, Judah, born in Corvallis Aug. 18, the family can now claim an Oregon native in the family.

Rabbi Phil was ordained in June 2018 after attending the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College in Newton, MA. He graduated with a B.A. in Jewish, Islamic and Near-Eastern Studies from Washington University in St. Louis in 2006. Music has been an important part of Phil’s life from an early age. He is an experienced song leader, having worked at several Jewish camps and religious schools.

“I learned to value pluralistic Judaism while studying at Hebrew College, where I learned a great deal from teachers and colleagues whose approaches to Judaism were different from mine,” he says. “Engaging with differences has helped me to refine my own Judaism and be better prepared to encounter others on their unique Jewish journeys.”

541-207-3643 | rabbi@beitam.org | beitam.org 12 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

Nadine Astrakhan

Nava Sherwood

Bob Horenstein

NCSY announces Camp Kesher Camp Kesher, NCSY’s newest summer program in Oregon, is an end-of-summer, sleep-away camp for Jewish middle schoolers who love the outdoors and are striving to reach new heights.

Camp Kesher offers current 5th- to 8th-graders the opportunity to spend a week connecting with nature, their peers and their Jewish heritage. Camp will run Aug. 12-18, 2019.

Oregon NCSY Director Meira Spivak will serve as camp director for the first summer.

Kesher is the Hebrew word for connection. The new camp is designed to connect campers with their local environment, Judaism and each other.

Camp Kesher is located on Mt. Hood at Government Camp in a four-floor lodge. Camp Kesher includes white water rafting on the Deschutes River, alpine sliding at Skibowl, an overnight camping experience, hiking, sports, team building exercises, creative art, Jewish cooking and more.

Registration on the website is $500 through Nov. 1 and $600 thereafter. campkesher.ncsy.org | meira@ncsy.org | 503-757-3037

Federation announces new hires, promotions The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland has added three new staff members and promoted four employees.

Jodi Garber Simon is the new director of marketing and communications. Jodi brings rich experience in marketing, communications and media relations to federation. Jodi, who grew up in New Mexico, married Portland native, Neil Simon. Together they have traveled all over the world, living in Texas; New Mexico; Washington, DC; and Copenhagen, Denmark. Jodi and Neil have three children who attend Maayan Torah Day School. The couple have deep connections to Kesser Israel, and their son, Riley, is a fourthgeneration B’nai B’rith Camper.

Nadine Astrakhan is federation’s new development associate.

Nadine comes with a history of customer-focused roles within both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, most recently with the Girl

Wendy Kahn

Caron Blau Rothstein

Laura Renner Satushek

Scouts of Oregon and SW Washington. In her position as development associate with JFGP, Nadine uses her experience as a campaign assistant, spearheading various forms of fundraising communication.

She is also the main contact for young adult engagement, including the PDX Pathways leadership mentoring program.

Nava Sherwood, the new program administrator, will work behind the scenes managing federation program offerings. Nava has worked and volunteered for nonprofit and community-building organizations in a variety of roles since middle school.

“The Jewish Federation is delighted to welcome these three excellent professionals to our team,” says JFGP President and CEO Marc N. Blattner. “Each brings a unique skill set and expertise to our work. Most importantly, each has a deep love and passion for strengthening our Jewish community.”

In addition to the new hires, four staff members have new assignments: Bob Horenstein has served for 24 years as the director of the Jewish Community Relations Council. Seven years ago, he also became director of allocations. With the current political divide in our country, the need for stronger relations with state and local government officials, challenges of BDS and anti-Semitism, and the ongoing debate about Israel, Bob will now focus solely on his JCRC work.

Wendy Kahn has been promoted to associate director of financial resource development. This new expanded role will place her in charge of the day-to-day operations of federation’s Campaign for Community Needs, in addition to maintaining her role as director of Women’s Philanthropy.

Caron Blau Rothstein has served as federation’s director of community engagement and special projects for seven years, during which she guided efforts to establish Rachel’s Well and the Jewish Free Loan of Greater Portland. Caron’s new assignment is director of planning and allocations as well as lead coordinator for federation’s centennial trip to Israel.

Laura Renner Satushek, who many knew as the voice and friendly face of the Jewish Federation office, has been promoted to campaign administrator with oversight over federation’s new upgraded database system. jewishportland.org | 503-245-6219 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 13

BIZ

INS & OUTS

Chabad Center for Jewish Life

Amanda Solomon

Jody Kirtner

Chabad releases community survey results Just before Rosh Hashanah, Portland-based, data-driven creative and media agency R2C Group released a Jewish Community Report based on a survey sponsored by the Chabad Center for Jewish Life. The survey was completed by the R2C Group pro bono for the Portland Chabad Center.

The quantitative survey was distributed via email invitation and made available for direct access online; it received an average sample size of 400 respondents per question.

Of the data analyzed within the Portland community, R2C Group found that: · In Judaism, both education and family are highly valued, and levels of continuing Jewish education are a major predictor of an adult’s involvement in the Jewish community. · Jewish traditions are very much alive in the home, regardless of synagogue attendance. · A majority of respondents said that to them, being Jewish has more to do with culture and tradition than religion and ancestry. · The culture of communal support is strong with a large majority of respondents contributing to two or more Jewish organizations annually.

“We are grateful to R2C Group for helping us to understand our constituents on an even deeper level,” says Rabbi Motti Wilhem. chabadoregon.com | rabbimotti@chabadoregon.com

Amanda Solomon joins OJMCHE The Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education has hired Amanda Solomon as museum and Holocaust education manager. Amanda recently received her master’s degree in Holocaust and Genocide Studies from Stockton University. Amanda began her career as a middle school math teacher.

After she went on the March of the Living, an educational program bringing individuals from around the world to Poland 14 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

Max Ruzi

and Israel to study the history of the Holocaust, Amanda realized she wanted to return to education but within a museum setting.

During summer 2017, Amanda was accepted as a Warren Fellow, attending a weeklong professional development workshop for educators at the Holocaust Museum Houston.

She also participated in a Peacebuilding Institute in Rwanda hosted by Never Again Rwanda; she received education from prominent figures in government and NGOs and visited key sites where extreme violence occurred during the genocide.

In addition, as part of a school study tour, she went to the Netherlands and France with three local Holocaust survivors.

Amanda is currently working on her thesis, entitled From Warsaw to Baltimore: Escaping World War II and Contemporary United States Ghettos.

503-226-3600 |ojmche.org

TBI hires Jody Kirtner Jody Kirtner is the new programs and communications manager at Temple Beth Israel, a Reconstructionist congregation and a center for Jewish life in Eugene.

Jody and her husband, Jeff, met while living in Israel. They eventually moved to Eugene, where Jeff grew up, and joined TBI in 1996. Their children attended Talmud Torah and feel a strong connection to the Eugene Jewish community. Jody brings a wealth of professional experience and knowledge of the TBI community to the position. She will be staffing the Membership Committee, working with Welcomensches, assisting with programming, and directing internal and external communications.

Jody’s background is in natural resource conservation and computer mapping. She spent 30 years conveying information through software, maps, graphics, websites, reports and educational materials. She worked in several fields: transportation planning, natural resources, telecommunications and website development.

Jody@tbieugene.org | 541-485-7218 ext. 103 | tbieugene.org

B’nai Brith Camp hires Max Ruzi B’nai B’rith Camp has hired Max Ruzi as assistant BB Day Camp Portland and youth engagement director. Max grew up in Phoenix, where he learned that Arizona summers were way too hot. He spent his childhood summers at Jewish sleep-away camp. Max attended the University of Oregon and went to camp every summer working as a counselor.

These formative camp experiences inspired him to join the Family and Human Services Program at University of Oregon, from which he received a Bachelor of Science degree.

He began work as URJ Camp Newman’s camper care coordinator, working with licensed clinical social workers to make camp an inclusive environment and a place for everyone. He then worked as a temple youth director and with Camp Newman’s youth engagement team in the Bay Area.

Max moved to Portland and spent the summer at BB Day Camp Portland, where he strummed a guitar for the campers every day. He looks forward to planning fun year-round activities for local youth. mruzi@bbcamp.org | bbcamp.org

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OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 15

You can buy happiness –

Give!

By Deborah Moon

W

“Giving is a Jewish thing, and I like to talk about that. There’s nothing more important, personally, for anybody than being able to give.”

ho says you can’t buy happiness? Drawing on the neuroscience of giving and her own experiences in philanthropy, Arlene Cogen knows “money can buy happiness if you give it to a cause you care about.”

Arlene and her husband, Mitch, and daughters, Alana and Abrielle (Abby), moved to Portland 19 years ago and joined Congregation Neveh Shalom. Alana is now a junior at Portland State University studying communications; Abby is a sophomore at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo studying sociology.

A certified financial planner, philanthropic leadership consultant, speaker and trainer, Arlene worked 20+ years in the trust and investment world before transitioning to the nonprofit world to fulfill her desire to give back. While working at the Oregon Community Foundation, she saw how charitable giving enriched many donors.

Her favorite story is of a doctor who worked near the foundation and walked in one day to find out what a community foundation does. “Intrigued, she would stop in to learn more a couple of times a year,” says Arlene. The woman eventually decided to create a step-up advised fund, which allows the giver to contribute to their fund until it reaches fund minimums and they can recommend grants. “You should have seen her when she came in eight years later with the last donation to reach the fund minimum. She was smiling ear to ear like a Cheshire cat. Her family was with her to celebrate the moment. They were excited too. … You could feel her excitement and hear her words of

-Itzhak Perlman

INSIDE 16 Giving = Happiness 18 Giving Circles 20 Donors aid: BB Camp, JFCS, PSU 22 Funding Shabbat 22 Wine & Philanthropy 23 The Needs

16 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

Mentor Arlene Cogen, left, and Sarah Howard connect at a gathering of PDX Pathways, a networking and mentoring group for young professionals.

Sarah says, “Arlene’s impact on me as a mentor was huge.”

happiness and satisfaction.”

Arlene says she learned tzedakah at the kitchen table from her parents, Ada and Abraham Siegel, z”l. “My parents always gave of their time and resources,” she says.

Sharing a story about her mother taking her along to deliver Meals on Wheels to the elderly in the community brought Arlene to tears. “As we drove around, she described each individual we were delivering meals to – a veteran, a widow; many times we were the only connection that person would see during the week.

They were so delighted to see my mom, and when she brought and introduced me, I could see the sparkle in their eyes. … That brief moment meant so much to them.”

“My father’s wisdom was be kind, work hard and be grateful,” says Arlene. “I have more than I ever imagined. It is a pleasure to give.”

Using Arlene’s inheritance from Ada, the family created a donor-advised fund. “The conversations we had with our daughters, Alana and Abby, when we opened the fund were enlightening. We learned from them. The learning continues as we grant money to organizations doing great work in our community. It is amazing. It brings us closer together as a family.”

Arlene has been a generous donor of her time as well as her money. Her volunteer efforts earned her a National Leadership Award from Hadassah and a Jewish Women’s Roundtable Song of Miriam Award for her work with Kol Ishah, the local Hadassah young women’s group.

Recently she served as a mentor in the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland’s leadership development/mentoring program, PDX Pathways. Arlene’s passion is fostering deep relationships,

SMALL DEEDS engaging the next A person redeems his soul with small deeds generation, and making – suffers when others rejoice, a lasting difference through leadership and – remembers when others forget, philanthropy. As a mentor – stays silent when others mock, she seems to have brought – praises when others smirk, that to life.

– appreciates when others disregard, Nadine Astrakhan, – is open minded when others are closed, who was recently hired as – forgets when others remember, federation’s development A person redeems his soul with small deeds associate, says, “Arlene’s passion for philanthropy

By Almog Ba-har really lined up with my personal aspirations. …

Although I had little money to give at the time, I had lots of hours to donate to various causes and organizations, and Arlene was able to encourage that.”

Shayna Sigman says, “What makes Arlene a great mentor is not only her wealth of knowledge, but the warmth and caring that she brings to each individual.”

Arlene shares more stories and gives advice in her book due out this month. She calls Give To Live: Make a Charitable Gift You Never Imagined “a love story about your finances, taking care of family and making a difference. It is a guide about how to make giving, or philanthropy, a meaningful and rewarding part of your life. … Learn how family situations that appear to present insurmountable obstacles can be transformed to priceless gifts for both the donors and recipients.” arlenecogen.com

®

PUT SOME SUNSHINE IN YOUR DECEMBER WHILE HELPING YOUR COMMUNITY

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2ND, 9AM-12PM AT PORTLAND JEWISH ACADEMY

www.jewishportland.org OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 17

Giving Circles Make an Impact

By Gail Mandel WHAT IS A GIVING CIRCLE? Essentially, a giving circle is a group of people who come together to pool their charitable dollars and decide together where to donate their money. Pooling contributions enables individuals who might not be able to make a significant contribution on their own to be part of a major gift. It’s empowering for all involved.

However, giving circles are about more than just making charitable contributions.

They provide participants with the opportunity to learn about nonprofit programs and needs locally and abroad. Also, being a part of a giving circle can provide individuals with the chance to examine their personal values and better understand how these values connect with the causes and issues they care about.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, giving circles build community among the individuals involved and strengthen the connection between the participants and the community in which they live.

Giving circles come in all shapes and sizes. They can bring together people based on affinity, age or stage of life, issue area and geographic region. The Oregon Jewish Community Foundation currently has one giving circle. Launched in January 2016, the Giving Council is a collaborative giving program for Jewish individuals in their 20s, 30s and 40s. Participants contribute a minimum of $500 to be a voting member of the circle, and OJCF’s Community Endowment Fund supplements the dollars contributed.

Since its start, there have been three cohorts of the Giving Council, and they have collectively granted $63,000 to Jewish and general nonprofits in Oregon, Southwest Washington and abroad.

The Giving Council is currently recruiting new members for its fourth cohort, which will begin meeting in January 2019. Contact Sonia Marie Leikam, OJCF’s collaborative giving program coordinator, for more information: soniamariel@ojcf.org or 503-248-9328.

Gail Mandel is the director of philanthropy at the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation.

Women’s Philanthropy: Enriching and empowering

By Deborah Moon

T

his month the Women’s Giving Circle begins its third year of enriching the community while empowering women as leaders, funders and decision makers.

In their second funding cycle, which ended in May, the 10 women gave grants totaling $16,435 to six projects or organizations. The first year the circle had awarded five projects for $12,480. During both years, the women selected grantees based on the impact they would have in the Oregon and Southwest Washington community in the areas of social justice, women and girls, and Jewish continuity.

“It feels like we can really make a difference, particularly for those organizations or projects that don’t have a lot of other resources,” says member Felicia Rosenthal.

For instance, this year the women funded an inclusion coordinator for B’nai B’rith Camp, a new Women’s Resource Center at Mikvah Shoshana and a new program at Portland Jewish Academy to allow middle schoolers to address homelessness by preparing and serving meals at a women’s shelter. They also provided two grants to continue Oregon Hillel Rosh Chodesh programs they had funded the creation of last year at the University of Oregon and Oregon State University. The also funded a new NCSY leadership program for young women that follows a successful program for parents of teen daughters, which they funded last year.

18 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

Women’s Giving Circle members, from left: Wendy Kahn, Felicia Rosenthal, Lora Meyer, Faye Samuels, Helene Cogen, Judy Freeman, Joyce Mendelsohn and (not pictured) Mia Birk, Kathy Davis Weiner, Sharon Ungerleider.

PHOTO BY DEBORAH MOON

Women have joined the group for a range of reasons.

As she became an empty nester, Wendy Kahn joined a group forming the circle in order to meet new women and find new meaning in her Jewish life. Soon after those initial planning meetings, she was hired as director of women’s philanthropy for the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland and became the staff member for the group; she has continued as a member, as well.

Judy Freeman joined last year because “My friend Faye Samuels told me it would be a good thing to do – and my friend Faye was right.”

“We are a community,” says Faye, who has been active in federation for a number of years. “I thought this would be an interesting way to learn more about community organizations I didn’t know. It’s worked … and I’ve made new friends.”

Helene Cogen “joined by mail.” She knew she was going to move from Florida to Portland, and she wanted to get involved with the community and federation. “I had not been involved in this kind of philanthropy before. It is very meaningful. I was marginally involved in federation in Miami, but it is a larger Jewish community and there is not really the opportunity to become

as intimately involved as it is here.”

Each member of the Circle makes a donation to federation’s annual campaign and an additional gift to the Giving Circle. By pooling their gifts, the women are able to make substantial, targeted gifts that have an impact on projects. Each woman brings different interests and backgrounds to the discussions on which grants to fund. This year the Circle received 11 grant requests and funded six.

“We are such a mixed group – forever local, new arrivals, all ages,” says Felicia. “Everyone brings their own perspectives.

We don’t all come from the same page, but through meaningful discussion, we land on the same page.”

Though they are not actively recruiting new members, women interested in joining the Circle can contact Wendy at wendy@jewishportland.org or 503-892-3015.

Portland Jewish Academy Family Giving Circle leverages donations

By Saul Korin THE PORTLAND JEWISH ACADEMY FAMILY GIVING CIRCLE expanded in 2017-18 and had more funds to disperse for this school year thanks to a generous match. At its June meeting, the PJA Family Giving Circle reviewed requests and made funding decisions. Chaired for the second year by Rob La Forte and Carol Richmond, nine families each donated $360 to fund projects.

Matched by PJA grandparent Jay Zidell, the families had $7,200 for projects not within the PJA budget.

The group met three times over the course of the year to build community, participate in a Jewish conversation and discuss the proposals.

Ten projects were considered, and the following four were funded:

• $4,000 for Redesigning Recess: building on the work in recent years to establish the PJA Garden; purchasing a greenhouse; and creating spaces for students to explore, create, imagine, learn and exercise their brains in different ways.

• $2,000 for planning and creating a natural habitat: students will plant native plants, provide nesting sites for birds and create insect habitats.

The native habitat will also be a resource for teaching and learning about the Willamette Valley ecosystem.

• $770 for a functional, eco-friendly playground for the infants and toddlers in the Early Care facility. This garden will provide an invitation to touch, smell, taste and explore.

• $440 to build on relationships formed by PJA’s first partnership with the Muslim Education Trust. Middle school students will meet for a Sukkot activity at PJA, staff a volunteer shift at the Oregon Food Bank in the fall and participate in a Pesach-related visit in the spring.

PJA students will visit MET twice to interact with students and learn more about Islam.

Other projects that still need funding are: Chai Baby, $1,000; Early Childhood Playground Inclusion, $3,500-$6,000; flat

files for posters, $1,000; Maker Tool Library, $1,000; and Middle School Makerspace, $1,000.

Another project not funded by the Giving Circle was a laser cutter/engraver called a Glowforge. A donor who saw unfunded projects in PJA’s summer newsletter donated funds to purchase one for PJA’s Maker Space.

For more information about any of these projects, contact Saul Korin at 503-452-3427 or skorin@pjaproud.org.

#DOINGTUESDAY Tuesday, November 27th from 6 - 8:30 pm at the Oregon Food Bank Choose from two locations, Beaverton and NE PDX. Family-friendly event for children age 6 and up.

Sign up: www.jewishportland.org/doingtuesday For more information contact: Caron Blau Rothstein 503-245-6449 caron@jewishportland.org

HERE FOR YOU ®

www.jewishportland.org OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 19

BB Camp explodes with campers and supporters

JFCS needs help to shore up safety net

In B’nai B’rith Camp’s 98th summer, more overnight campers than ever before enjoyed the magic of BB Camp on the beautiful Oregon Coast. Camp saw a 13% increase over 2017’s previous record year with 610 overnight campers.

BB Day Camp Lincoln City, which focuses on low-income youth in Lincoln County, served 103 campers for an average of three weeks each this year. In 2018, BB Camp launched BB Day Camp Portland, hosted by Congregation Beth Israel, and had 121 campers for an average of two weeks each. BB Camp also runs year-round programs for campers in Portland and Seattle, manages BBYO in Portland (where membership is up 50% in the last year to 135 members), and has five family and adult retreats at the camp near Lincoln City.

BB Camp’s success in engaging more campers in Jewish community is made possible by the 1,079 households that supported BB Camp in the past year. This year supporters provided extraordinary funding, including: • The BB Camp Bash in April, which helped raise more than $100,000 for the first time from 250 participants.

• The ReJewvenation women’s retreat, which builds community, engages volunteers and increases summer camp registration, raised more than $30,000 for campers, an increase of 66% compared to last year; this increase was thanks largely to an incentive grant from Nicole and Robert Sacks.

• Men’s Camp gathered for the 88th straight year and raised $400,000 to support capital upkeep, special projects and firsttime incentive grants for campers. This 33% increase over the record from 2017 was propelled by a special challenge grant from Barry Menashe and a record $53,000 from the Send a Kid to Camp Golf Tournament.

• The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland supported BB Camp with an allocation of $35,000, including $10,000 to support BB Camp’s nationally recognized Inclusion Program and $7,000 for Portland BBYO. In addition, the federation funded 66 campers with first-time One Happy Camper grants totaling $56,100.

Jewish Family & Child Service recently launched a campaign to raise $100,000 over the next six months to benefit vulnerable people in metropolitan Portland’s Jewish community and beyond.

JFCS will distribute the funds as follows: $35,000 to help individuals and families with rent assistance; $29,000 to help them pay for electricity, heat, water and other utilities; $25,000 to benefit children and teens; and $11,000 for food assistance.

“JFCS has been an essential strand of Portland’s safety net for over 70 years, working with other interfaith and community partners,” says Anthony Antoville, director of social services. “And yet that safety net continues to fray.”

Anthony says unprecedented numbers of struggling people are approaching JFCS for help, but that the agency is able to serve just a fraction of them. He adds that increasingly there is a relatively new dynamic at play.

“Roughly half of the people we see now are 60 and older. Many have lost retirement funds and pensions, have unmanageable medical bills, and are losing their homes to rent hikes and foreclosures.”

“It’s particularly difficult to see seniors who have been self-sufficient all their lives learning to navigate such a harsh new reality,” says Anthony. kgoldring@jfcs-portland.org; 503-226-7079, ext. 111

HOW TO HELP BB Camp is thriving thanks to donor support. To be part of this community, participate in BB Camp’s year-end campaign called #BBGives on #GivingTuesday Nov. 27. Last year the one-day campaign raised $75,000; more than 130 donors and a double match from a group of donors, including the Zidell Family, the Aspen Mitzvah Fund and Michael Menashe, made the campaign a success. To help this year, spread the word on social media, volunteer to help call donors or donate at bbcamp.org/bbgives.

Contact Marisa Reby at mreby@bbcamp.org or Aaron Pearlman at apearlman@bbcamp.org for more information.

20 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

Schnitzers’ $1 million gift to support Judaic studies at PSU On Aug. 29 Portland State University announced a $1 million grant through the Harold & Arlene Schnitzer Family Fund of the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation, on behalf of Arlene Schnitzer and Jordan D. Schnitzer.

This philanthropic investment will create a new scholarship program within the Judaic Studies Program and bring a visiting Israeli professor to campus.

“Thanks to the longstanding commitment of the Schnitzer family, the Harold Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic Studies is one of the finest programs of its kind on the West Coast,” says PSU President Rahmat Shoureshi. “The late Harold Schnitzer was a civic leader who created incredible opportunities across our region. We are grateful that his wife and son are continuing his leadership and ongoing support of Portland State University students and programs.”

The Harold Schnitzer Family Scholars Fund will serve undergraduate students

majoring in Judaic studies. The award will cover more than half the cost of tuition and fees for nearly 20 students over the next five years. By supporting undergraduate students, Arlene Schnitzer and Jordan Schnitzer hope to enhance student success and attract new talent to a fast-rising program.

The gift will also establish the Harold Schnitzer Visiting Scholar Fund to bring an Israeli scholar to campus for a yearlong visiting professor appointment in a PSU department related to their area of study. The first scholar is currently being recruited from Israel’s top institutions.

“My mother and I are so proud of the success that the Harold Schnitzer Family Judaic Studies Program has had at Portland State University,” says Jordan Schnitzer. “Our hope is that by bringing important international perspectives to Portland and to Portland State, we can help all students enter the world as global citizens.”

“This is a transformative investment in Judaic Studies,” says Judaic Studies Chair Natan M. Meir. “The Schnitzers’ gift will encourage and attract new and current students to major in Judaic Studies, supporting our vision of attracting a robust new cohort of students through the next decade and beyond. These accomplished graduates will be well prepared to inspire positive change in our world.”

End the year charitably with one of these tax-wise strategies. wOpen a donor advised fund and recommend grants over time wMake a gift of appreciated securities for greater impact wFund a charitable gift annuity and supplement your income for life

Contact us to learn more.

Oregon Jewish Community Foundation 503.248.9328 l www.ojcf.org

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 21

New fund supports annual UO Hillel Shabbats

ISRAELI WINE & PHILANTHROPY Wine on the Vine Director Tatiana

By Deborah Moon

A NEW ENDOWMENT FUND at the University of Oregon Hillel will support two special Shabbat celebrations each year.

“We are so very grateful to Millard and Wendy Lesch for establishing an endowment to fund the Millard and Wendy Lesch Winter Welcome Back and Senior/Graduation Shabbats,” says Oregon Hillel Foundation Executive Director Andy Gitelson. The couple also funds a set of candlesticks for each senior so they may continue celebrating Shabbat in their own homes after graduation. “Through endowing these Hillel programs, Millard and Wendy are not only ensuring that future generations of Ducks will continue their Jewish journey during and beyond their college years, they are ensuring the long-term fiscal health of Oregon Hillel.”

Though the couple lived in Seattle for 50 years and now live in Atlanta (where daughter Meredith Solomon lives with her husband and two children), Millard says he has always considered Portland home. Both sets of his grandparents arrived in Portland around 1900.

Initially the family belonged to Congregation Shaarie Torah, but they joined Congregation Neveh Zedek (now Neveh Shalom) about the time Rabbi Joshua Stampfer arrived. Millard says he was one of four boys Rabbi Stampfer sent to an overnight Jewish camp; afterward the four spoke at events to raise funds to create Camp Solomon Schechter.

When Millard attended the University of Oregon, there were few Jewish students and no Hillel. He first encountered Hillel in law school at Indiana University, but he only attended a few holiday gatherings. His daughter, Andrea Weiss, who lives in Chicago with her husband and three children, was very involved in Hillel at Loyola University.

Her experience inspired the couple to donate to the University of Washington Hillel and Oregon Hillel. UO is Millard’s alma mater, so he was especially gratified to see the growth of support for Jewish students there.

“Over the years, I saw the chapter grow and the wonderful work being done,” says Millard. “I told Andy I wanted to create a fund that would sponsor something every year.

He suggested Shabbat dinners. “Shabbat dinner is one of the better places for students to connect and to form relationships,” says Millard. “Shabbat dinners are a great way for meeting people, and it is something very Jewish. Shabbat dinners were very appealing to me. … We chose (to do) two.”

The Winter Welcome Back Shabbat brings students together to celebrate the first Shabbat of winter term. Senior Shabbat is a special sendoff that includes seniors and their families who are in town for graduation. Millard says he hopes the couple’s donation will inspire others to donate funds to further enrich Jewish experiences at Oregon Hillel.

“I am envious,” says Millard. “I wish that had existed when I went to college.”

22 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

Hasson plants a grape vine at an Israeli vineyard. The grassroots program connects people all over the world with the flourishing world of Israeli wine. For $18 a grapevine is planted in a top Israeli winery of the donor’s choice. Wine on the Vine (wineonthevine.org) is the flagship program of The Israel Innovation Fund, which creates culturally relevant initiatives that have the goal of generating revenue while exposing the world to Israel’s rich, unique culture.

The majority of each donation goes to Israeli charities doing important work in Israel. The donor gets to choose which charity will receive the donation. In four years, Wine on the Vine donors can visit the winery and taste the wine made from their vine.

Help to mobilize Magen David Adom EMTs and paramedics who carry more than 700,000 Israelis to safety each year. We’re Israel’s emergency medical and ambulance service, Magen David Adom. Help save lives in Israel.

AFMDA.org/give | 800-323-2371

PORTLAND JEWISH ACADEMY Each year Portland Jewish Academy's 8th graders have the life-changing opportunity to visit Israel on a two-week trip. We are seeking additional funds to help subsidize the cost of the trip for this year's families.

503-244-0126 | mhendin@pjaproud.org | pjaproud.org

JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER PORTLAND RACHEL'S WELL COMMUNITY MIKVAH

OREGON JEWISH COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

AMERICAN FRIENDS OF MAGEN DAVID ADOM

In celebration of Rachel's Well Community Mikvah’s first anniversary, please support our efforts to be an inclusive AND accessible mikvah for all in the greater Portland community. Donations fund our operations.

Thank you!

503-245-6449 | caron@jewishportland.org | jewishportland.org/mikvah

MITTLEMAN JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER

Funds for JCC Without Walls will bring MJCC's burgeoning arts & culture offerings to more people, in venues ranging from Hillsboro and NE Portland to Vancouver, WA, and potentially, Corvallis, Eugene and Ashland.

503-535-3532 | lkaton@oregonjcc.org | oregonjcc.org

MITTLEMAN JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER

The MJCC is committed to ensuring every teen interested in participating in the JCC Maccabi experience has the opportunity. Our community can help by providing scholarship funds for teens for JCC Maccabi Games and ArtsFest.

503-535-3532 | lkaton@oregonjcc.org | oregonjcc.org

Open an OJCF donor advised fund to celebrate a special occasion for a child or grandchild. For as little as $1,800, you can open a fund and launch a young person’s philanthropic journey.

503-248-9328 | gailm@ojcf.org | ojcf.org OREGON JEWISH MUSEUM AND CENTER FOR HOLOCAUST EDUCATION

OJMCHE needs $35,000 to complete our $2.5 million Community Campaign! Contributions of any amount are greatly appreciated as we work together to make a great Jewish institution thrive for many years to come. 503-226-3600 | ojmche.org PORTLAND JEWISH ACADEMY

PJA has a thriving, active maker culture built around our Makerspace. To allow all students to continue their maker learning outside of school walls, we are looking for funds to develop a Maker Tool Library.

503-244-0126 | mhendin@pjaproud.org | pjaproud.org

I read about it in WANDER NO MORE

orjewsilife.com

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 23

COVER STORY

AS IT APPROACHES ITS 30TH BIRTHDAY,

the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation has far exceeded the dreams of its “parents.”

At age 10, the foundation had already far surpassed the founders’ goals. When Julie Diamond was hired as director of development in 2007, OJCF had more than $43.4 million in assets under management.

She was named executive director in 2010. Despite a dip in assets during the “Great Recession,” under

Julie’s leadership OJCF continued its growth trajectory and now has nearly $90 million in assets under management and an estimated $25.8 million pledged in Declarations of Intent (legacy gifts).

“We are doing the same thing with the same purpose – long-term planned giving and endowments to support the future of our Jewish community,” says Julie.

She says the whole point of the foundation is “to support our donors in their philanthropy in ways that

are rewarding, impactful and sophisticated … to sustain Jewish communal life for generations to come.”

OJCF launched in 1989 with five partner organizations – Jewish Federation of Portland, Mittleman

Jewish Community Center, Jewish Family & Child Service, Robison Jewish Home and Portland Jewish Academy – and about $2.8 million in assets. The foundation is now the endowment and investment

partner for 30 organizations and congregations. OJCF is also home to 245 donor-advised funds and endowment funds, which allow local donors to give based on their personal passions.

24 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

OJCF President and CEO Julie Diamond stands at her adjustable desk, which OJCF recently added to improve employee health. The tzedakah box in the foreground is a gift for Harold Grinspoon in recognition of the Life & Legacy program his foundation helped fund in Oregon for four years.

1989

2019

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 25

JULIE DIAMOND/OJCF

Diamond Family: Tom, Rachael, Melissa and Julie.

“I would not have predicted it would be the size it is now,” says Harold Pollin, who proposed the creation of the community foundation and served as its first board president. “We would have been satisfied with $10 million by 2000 (OCJF managed $30 million by that date). I am very proud of the fact that our community created the fund and it is doing so well.”

Of Julie’s leadership, he adds, “She brought a fresh perspective to the work and has built the organization substantially. She writes and talks very effectively … and people will listen to her.”

JULIE DIAMOND: PROFESSIONALLY & PERSONALLY Julie grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. Her parents, Mimi and Leonard Lewitt, were from Brooklyn. At home, Judaism was important and fun – “a celebration of food, culture, food, holidays and tradition.” They attended a Reform congregation whose “dynamic young rabbi was super involved in social justice,” where Julie’s passion for social action and getting involved took root.

In California, Julie had a career in marketing, public relations and branding in a startup. Her first Jewish nonprofit job was at Jewish Family Service in Sacramento.

“I met the JFS director at a seder, and she was looking for someone to help them grow,” says Julie, who was hired as director of development and marketing. “My business skills were very

“I would not have predicted it would be the size it is now.” ~ Harold Pollin, first president of OJCF

attractive for a small nonprofit.”

She and her husband, Tom, moved to Oregon in 2003 as a “life choice.” Tom, who works for Intel, was able to transfer to the company’s Oregon campus when their daughters were in preschool and first grade. The girls attended Portland Jewish Academy through eighth grade then went to Sunset High School.

“My parents have graciously followed me around on my adventures,” says Julie. “Until my daughters went to college, we had three generations here. My parents went to all the PJA plays and open houses.”

Daughter Melissa, 21, is a senior at the University of Washington in Seattle. Rachael, 19, is a sophomore at Scripps College in Claremont, CA. When the family moved to Oregon, Julie worked briefly at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center then became a performing arts ad rep for a company that published airline magazines.

She also did a lot of volunteering and met OJCF’s then Executive Director John Moss.

“I was really interested in supporting the foundation and did some pro bono consulting and worked on the first OJCYF (youth foundation) dinner with Michelle Gradow and Sharon Morell (who went on to become OJCF’s first woman board chair).”

“John created the position of development director, and I was hired to support growth,” says Julie. When John semi-retired a couple of years later, Julie was named interim director and then executive director in 2010. Under a bylaws change in 2017, her title became president and CEO. Jim Meyer, who served as OJCF’s second board president, notes that many organizations from around the state have become OJCF partner organizations since Julie took the reins.

“Partly it is the growth of the organization, but partly it is because people trust Julie,” he says. “Julie has earned their trust.”

“Julie has done a great job, and she has brought in excellent people,” Jim adds regarding the new staff members.

Current board Chair Steve Laveson agrees that the quality and quantity of staffing has increased. With only four staff 10 years ago, Steve says the staff was overworked and the technology was lagging behind. “Now we have a level of staff as well as more people, and the IT (information technology) is there. We have vastly better capability to grow at this point.”

OJCF Director of Philanthropy Gail Mandel, who was hired when Julie was the interim director, has strong views of Julie

“Partly it is the growth of the organization, but partly it is because people trust Julie.” ~ Jim Meyer, second president of OJCF

26 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

“Julie really cares about the Jewish community as a whole and wants to see it grow and thrive.” ~ Gail Mandel

as a leader: “She really cares about the Jewish community as a whole and wants to see it grow and thrive. … (It’s) why she pursues this work and why she has brought a new energy to the foundation as a leader. ” Gail says Julie is collaborative, inclusive, has a good sense of humor and is realistic. “She wants to see the foundation be strategic in its outreach and initiatives. We are a small team and she is mindful that we do what we do well … and don’t stretch too thin.”

Steve adds that it has been nice to see Julie grow in her abilities from her start in development.

And Julie continues to grow. During the recent strategic planning process undertaken by the board and staff, Julie says she saw there were things she could do better to meet the objectives of the plan (see “Looking Ahead” below). This fall she enrolled in a certificate program at Portland State University’s Center for Executive and Professional Education. During the coming year she will take four courses to earn a certificate in strategic organizational management.

She also has a busy life outside of work. “I’m an avid dance fan and regularly attend performances of Oregon Ballet Theatre and NW Dance Project. I also take adult ballet, along with yoga and Pilates classes. I volunteer with the NW Planned Giving Roundtable and am on their executive committee.”

As recent empty nesters, she and Tom are exploring ways to have fun together. Tom has long been an avid long-distance cyclist, whereas Julie “likes to hop on a bike for fun.”

“He has helped me expand by abilities,” says Julie. “Now we look for a middle ground that works so we can be together and be outside.” Last year they went on a multi-day cycling tour near Santa Barbara, and this year they cycled in the Saguaro National Park outside Tucson.

“We are both reflecting about time, health and work/life balance,” she says.

LOOKING AHEAD When Julie joined OJCF in 2007, she was the foundation’s fourth staff member. The foundation’s staff has grown to seven “passionate, involved and knowledgeable” professionals.

“We have an elevated level of sophistication on the staff and board and are able to handle more complex gifts of real estate and business shares,” Julie says. For example, a recent $1.7-million gift of real estate funded the creation of two new family donor funds. “It is a pleasure to see what we have all accomplished together.”

Another challenge is educating donors about the impact of tax changes. Bunching donations into one year, such as through creating or contributing to a donor-advised fund, enables taxpayers to take a charitable deduction in the years they itemize, while continuing to support organizations that are important to them in the years they take the standard deduction.

In June the OJCF board approved a new three-year strategic plan.

“We will work on strategic imperatives such as improving the community’s knowledge of OJCF’s role, enhancing donor services and stewardship, and deepening relationships with families through focused work in intergenerational family philanthropy,” says Julie.

“One of the challenges to OJCF looking forward is the

Rebecca DeCesaro, Stan Blauer and Steve Laveson (current 2017-19 board chair) at OJCF’s 2008 annual reception.

Stan Geffen and Julie Diamond at OJCF’s 2008 annual reception.

Julie Diamond, Jim Meyer (OJCF’s second board president) and Ben Isenberg (z”l) at the 2011 reception.

Sharon Morell, OJCF’s first woman board chair at OJCF’s annual reception in 2014.

OJCF President and CEO Julie Diamond with OJCF creator Harold Pollin at the 2017 annual meeting.

PHOTO BY NAIM HASAN PHOTOGRAPHY

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 27

JULIE DIAMOND/OJCF

1989

2019

OREGON JEWISH COMMUNITY FOUNDATION Founded in 1989, OJCF’s mission is to build and promote a culture

of giving in Oregon and Southwest

Washington that supports a thriving Jewish community now and for

generations to come. OJCF’s vision

is a world in which all Jewish people practice tikkun olam.

We do this by helping individuals

and families manage their current philanthropic giving as well as

customizing permanent charitable

endowments for the benefit of their favorite organizations. OJCF also manages and administers funds

on behalf of other Oregon and SW Washington Jewish charities. ojcf.org | 503-248-9328

changing giving patterns of the younger generations – millennials and Gen X,” she says, noting that social justice tends to drive giving for those generations, who are less likely to support organized religion or be members of traditional synagogues. “That’s why we have a ‘strategic imperative’ to work in the area of intergenerational family philanthropy and help families explore Jewish values and responses to passions for making a difference that are changing generation to generation.”

Hospitals and arts organizations have long had a focus on creating endowments and legacy giving, notes Julie. “The Jewish community was getting left out.”

“The biggest challenge is accepting that change takes time,” she adds.

LEGACY GIVING Promoting legacy (after-lifetime) giving has been an important part of OJCF since its founding. The foundation’s first newsletter in summer 1990 included a “Letter of Intent” form that people could complete to commit to supporting the foundation with a lifetime gift or bequest in their will.

Embracing the concept of legacy giving has an inherent obstacle.

“People need help to talk about planned giving and endowments, because it requires thinking about dying, and people don’t want to think about that,” Julie says. “The answer is to think about the legacy and passing their values to the future – and looking at protecting family assets and acknowledging and celebrating family values.”

To facilitate such meaningful conversations, the foundation works with financial planners, says Julie. “Financial planners talk about the same issues, but may never have thought about the value of asking (their clients), ‘Have you thought about including a charitable organization or charitable giving in your estate plan?’ ” Another challenge is that many Jewish organizations have limited staff to promote planned giving.

Endowment giving received a tremendous boost in 2013 when OJCF partnered with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation to bring its Life & Legacy program to Oregon. For four years, the program provided training and incentive grants to 10 local organizations.

At the end of the fourth program year, those 10 organizations had secured 516 Declarations of Intent with an estimated future value of $25.8 million. For meeting their goals, the organizations also received incentive grants from the Grinspoon Foundation and OJCF. “With incentive grants, Life & Legacy rewards organizations in the present for (obtaining) future returns that they may not see for decades,” says Julie, explaining one of the reasons L&L has been so successful.

Nationally, 52 communities with 558 organizations have participated in Life & Legacy. At the end of 2017, a total of 17,627 legacy commitments had been secured by

OJCF Book of Life – Kay and Roy Abramowitz sign their Endowment Book of Life Page on Sept. 26, 2018.

Roy, a member of OJCF’s board of trustees, and his wife, Kay, have made a legacy gift to support OJCF’s youth foundation. The Book of Life is a living, evolving collection of stories from Oregon and Southwest Washington’s legacy donors, of which there are now 72. The book is on display at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center or can be viewed online at ojcfbookoflife.org.

PHOTO BY NAIM HASAN PHOTOGRAPHY

28 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

partner communities in North America with an estimated future value of $672 million.

Gail Mandel, who has managed L&L since it arrived in Oregon, says, “It has really been interesting to see how it has succeeded.

We only had funds for 10 organizations.”

She says originally the organizations were skeptical about collaborating, because they feared they would lose donors to other organizations. OJCF and the Grinspoon Foundation helped alleviate those concerns through group trainings in which the organizations shared ideas, roadblocks and successes. “Slowly everyone realized when one organization benefits, others benefit, too.

The majority of people sign letters of intent for more than one organization. When we all collaborate and work together, it is for the good of the larger community.”

All of OJCF’s L&L organizations have agreed to continue a structured program for a fifth year.

“It’s a testament to organizations realizing endowments are so important to having a strong future,” she says. “The staff and lay leaders have endorsed that it is worthwhile to spend time to cultivate legacy donors.”

“Life & Legacy is a wonderful collaborative success story,” says Gail. “I think because of it, the community will be stronger in the future.”

Zidell Family: Min Zidell, z”l (seated right) was the OJCF Legacy Society honoree in 2013.

CELEBRATING SUCCESS 2014 Legacy Society honorees: The Rosenfeld Family (from left, back) Claire, Rosemarie, Eric, Tiffany and Layton, and (front) Ben.

Total Dollars Granted by OJCF: FY 2007-2017 $12,000,000 $10,000,000 $8,000,000 $6,000,000 $4,000,000 $2,000,000 $0

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Total dollars granted

Money distributed from OJCF funds supports many projects and programs in the community. The spike in grants in 2016 reflects the major donations to Cedar Sinai Park to build the Harold Schnitzer Center for Living.

2017

At the foundation’s 30th anniversary gathering in June 2019, OJCF will honor the past, celebrate the present and embrace the future.

A strong future for the Jewish community has been the focus of foundation leaders throughout OJCF’s existence.

“I have a lot of respect for Harold,” says Jim Meyer. “When he got this idea, he thought it had to be set up so the agencies were equal members of the foundation. It turned out he was right. When he proposed it, the agencies were very willing to come in as full partners.”

Jim attributes the early success to many individuals who brought their skills to the table to ensure the foundation was established with the correct language and structure. He mentions early leaders including Henry Blauer, z”l, Sol Menashe, Stephen Kantor, Dick Solomon and Bob Glasgow.

“I feel very privileged I was involved early and got it going,” says Harold Pollin. “It was a wonderful team effort, and it has paid off in spades.”

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 29

It’s not Hanukkah without the sufganiyot H A N U K K A H

By Mala Blomquist

H

ANUKKAH starts at sundown on Dec. 2, but it’s been sufganiyot season in Israel for the past several weeks. Israelis consume an estimated 24 million of these deep-fried, jelly-filled holiday treats in the weeks leading up to the Festival of Lights.

But where did this tradition of eating jelly doughnuts on Hanukkah originate?

For centuries, fried foods have been eaten to commemorate the miracle of the one-day supply of oil lasting for eight days. Original doughnuts were more of a savory snack, filled with vegetables, cheese or meat.

According to Gil Marks’ Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, the first jelly doughnut recipe was found in a German cookbook called Kuchenmeisterei (Mastery of the Kitchen) in 1485. At that time, sugar was very expensive, so it was a rare treat associated with holidays.

Then two critical events brought jelly doughnuts into the forefront. In the 1500s the price of sugar fell with the introduction of Caribbean sugar plantations and Kuchenmeisterei was translated into Polish.

Wherever Polish Jews traveled throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, their tradition of eating their jelly paczkis (or ponchiks in Yiddish) during Hanukkah came too. According to Marks, “In Israel, ponchiks soon took the name sufganiyah (sufganiyot plural), from a ‘spongy dough’ mentioned in the Talmud, sofgan and sfogga.”

In the 1920s, the General Federation of Jewish Labor declared sufganiyot the official food of Hanukkah. Why did the Labor Force declare this? Because the sufganiyot provided the Jews living in pre-state Israel with jobs – baking, delivering and merchandising all those doughnuts.

Now, almost 100 years after that declaration, sufganiyot are still the most recognized treat on the streets of Israel at Hanukkah. Israel21c explored the phenomenon in a December 2017 article entitled “Tel Aviv’s Bakery serves up deep-fried donut tradition.” Rebecca Stadlen Amir wrote: “It’s like going back to basics,” says Adi Perry, Bakery’s brand director, of their approach to sufganiyot.

“When you eat something traditional, it should be about the memories. The original sufganiyah was simple.”

And that’s what Bakery plans to deliver this year – 40,000 handmade sufganiyot in classic strawberry, caramel and chocolate. (Note: Bakery’s products are not certified kosher.)

During Hanukkah, the factory on Yad Harutzim Street works 24/7 to supply each of the five Bakery branches across Tel Aviv with a constant fresh supply, including four drop-offs every day beginning at 9 am.

Each sufganiyah weighs 60 grams, yet no two are the same. “Our team makes each one by hand,” says Adi. “Nothing is perfect; some are rounder than others, and that’s the beauty.”

If you don’t spend Hanukkah in Israel, you can enjoy sufganiyot here in Portland, which is reknowned for its doughnut shops.

30 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

PORTL AND KNOWS

By Deborah Moon LAST YEAR A FRIEND VISITING from San Francisco wanted to take in Voodoo Doughnuts Portland’s famed doughnut traditional jelly culture. donuts.

He’d read about Voodoo Doughnuts, which launched Portland’s doughnuts revolution in 2003. In an article on the top 10 places to visit in Portland, Time Magazine reports: “If there was ever a business that captured the kooky essence of Portland, it’s Voodoo. From the belly of two locations, sweet-fingered magicians concoct what might best be described as avant-garde doughnuts.”

Our friend had also heard great things about the sophisticated brioche-based Blue Star Donuts, and wanted to stop there.

But Portland also offers at least a baker’s dozen lesser-known, but just as tasty doughnut shops. We took him to Staccatto Gelato, where delicious donuts are hand-crafted Friday through Sunday, and he was duly impressed.

With Hanukkah fast approaching, I searched some of the other shops to see which ones offer traditional sufganiyot.

If you want kosher sufganiyot you need to go to Safeway’s Kosher Bakery on Barbur Boulevard or the Krispy Kreme in Beaverton – both certified by Oregon Kosher.

The assistant manager at the Krispy Kreme told me they sell close to 100 dozen of their Star of David Doughnuts during Hanukkah. “One organization gets 25 to 30 dozen every year,” says Sophia M. The special holiday doughnuts are a shell filled with raspberry jelly, with white icing and a blue Star of David on top.

If you’re not looking for kosher, then some of the other small shops have tasty options.

Helen Bernhard Bakery is known for unpretentious traditional jelly-stuffed glazed or powdered doughnuts in a neighborhood bakery setting.

Coco Donuts uses an old family recipe and leans toward the classics including jelly-filled and glazed.

Pip’s Original, which offer made to order tiny, warm donuts topped with a choice of toppings.

Voodoo Doughnuts also offers the perfect sufganayot – a raised yeast doughnut filled with raspberry jelly and dusted with powdered sugar. They also offer a raised donut shaped like a Star of David and a distinctly Voodoo twist on sufganayot – the Voodoo Doll Doughnut, shaped like a voodoo doll and oozes blood red (that’s There's sufganiyot raspberry!) jelly. and then “Jelly doughnut sales definitely increase while there's Voodoo celebrating Hanukkah,” says Sara Heise, “executive Doughnuts wrangler” at Voodoo Doughnuts. “We do our best to always twist on the jellyhave a selection of jelly-filled doughnuts at this time. We also create doughnut treat. custom Hanukkah doughnuts through pre-orders.”

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 31

HANUKKAH

GIFTS FOR FOODIES

By Kerry Politzer Looking for the perfect Hanukkah gift for a Portland foodie? Not only are many of these items locally produced, a few are even kosher. Here is something for everyone on your list.

SEE THESE GIFTS AND MORE AT ORJEWISHLIFE. COM

ALE AFICIONADO If you’re invited to a Hanukkah dinner and want to gift your host with seasonal, locally produced ale, consider these delicious options from Rogue. Some beers contain lactose, but these two are dairy-free and available starting Nov. 1. Yellow Snow is a crisp, refreshing pilsner brewed with Oregon spruce tips; it has the sweet flavors of citrus and resin. Counter Currant, Rogue’s newest beer, incorporates black currants from the brewery’s farm in Independence. The deep purple, fruity ale is a great accompaniment to spiced holiday dishes. They are available for purchase at buy.rogue.com and stores throughout Portland.

WINE ENTHUSIAST Just in time for winter comes Hazelfern Cellars’ 2017 Winter Rosé. It’s delicious with roasted meats, hearty root vegetables and squash. Located in Newberg, Hazelfern Cellars has been named one of Thrillist’s “Willamette Valley Wineries You Absolutely Should Know.” If the winery sells out of its popular rosé, you could always buy a gift subscription to the “Friends & Family” club, which includes two shipments of six bottles each per year. Check out hazelfern.com/wine for more information.

32 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

CARBO-LOADER There’s no better way to start the day than with a kosher bagel from Portland’s own Bowery Bagels (310 NW Broadway and 1825 SW Broadway). Satisfy the carbo-loader in your life with a gift certificate (valid only at one of the stores), which can be purchased online at bowerybagels.com/products/ gift-certificates. Your giftee can choose bagel flavors such as sea salt, cinnamon raisin spice, parvesan and jalapeno salt.

(Don’t forget the schmear!)

CHOCOHOLIC The chocoholic in your life will be delighted with a Make-A-Bar Tour at Creo Chocolate (122 NE Broadway, creochocolate.com), a bean-to-bar chocolate factory and tasting room. At the end of the tour, participants get to design a chocolate bar to take home. (There’s also a Chocolate 101 class, which at the time of this writing was sold out until 2019.) Another gift idea is a selection of Creo’s seven dairyless chocolate bars, which come in varieties including minty dark, nibs and sea salt, and raspberry dark. Creo also offers a minty dark sipping chocolate (also dairyless), which received the “Best Hot Cocoa and Drinking Chocolate” award by the Third International Chocolate Salon.

JUNIOR FOODIE Portland-based Little Sous has just launched a new monthly “Kitchen Academy” service, which nurtures aspiring chefs aged 5-12. Each themed box includes cooking lessons, recipes, stickers and a fun, educational poster. The “Taste the Rainbow” box shows kids how to make fruity Unicorn Dust, rainbow popsicles with homemade food coloring and even rainbow sprinkles. Single boxes can be bought for $31.99. Visit mylittlesous.com for more information.

CAFFEINE CONNOISSEUR If your giftee leans toward tea, local Smith Teamakers offers a lovely Holiday Tin Trio gift set. Three herbal, black and green teas are packed in reusable tins. The Morning Light variety is a full-leaf black tea flavored with rosemary, black currant and cassia. Smith Teamakers also sells teapots, loose tea strainers and latte kits, which come in chocolate peppermint, chocolate chai and crème caramel flavors.

Available at smithtea.com/collections/all-gifts and at the 110 SE Washington St. and 1626 NW Thurman St. shops.

Kerry Politzer is the NW Nosh columnist for Oregon Jewish Life.

s tay like a lo cal IN THE HEART OF PORTLAND’S WEST END DISTRICT

409 SW 11TH AVE PORTLAND | 503.224.3293 | MARKSPENCER.COM OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 33

HANUKKAH

Give the gift of reading Compiled by Deborah Moon

Y

ou can find a gift for everyone on your shopping list with just one stop – at your neighborhood bookstore.

You can help an adult maximize the joy of life; give a young mother an honest, lyrical look at a new stage of life; or give readers insight into the lives of immigrants and outsiders. And that is just looking at recently published books by Oregon writers – Oregon Jewish Life columnist Helen Rosenau; Jewish educator, musician, performer and poet Alicia Jo Rabins; and Scott Nadelson, a short story author I had the privilege of working with many years ago at the Jewish Review.

Nationally book publishers also have released a host of books this year that make great gifts.

The Messy Joys of Being Human, by Helen Rosenau, Riverview Press (Sept.

2018), paperback/Kindle, $17/8.99. themessyjoys.com Like her Ask Helen column for Oregon Jewish Life, The Messy Joys of Being Human is an eclectic mix of mysticism and practical advice. The book delves deeper into solving problems using stories, writing prompts

and coaching. Helen explains that her author voice is a mix of columnist Ask Helen, the one who helps people move their lives forward; and just me Helen, down here in the weeds with everyone else, trying to get my messy life right. I care most that you and I and all of us become kinder, happier and more peaceful together.

Fruit Geode by Alicia Jo Rabins, Augury Books (Oct. 2018), Paperback/ebook,

$16/9 In Fruit Geode, the terrifying power of maternal love coexists with sorrow for the loss of one’s younger self. In lyrical, unflinching poems, Alicia Jo Rabins investigates the passages of pregnancy, birth and early infancy through a constellation of ancient and modern experiences: Sumerian storm demons, astronauts, herbal medicine, Neanderthal DNA, mysticism, climate change. In tracing the ritual mysteries of motherhood, Fruit Geode examines what it means to be transformed, to leave behind our certainties and walk into the unknown.

SEE THESE BOOKS AND MORE AT ORJEWISHLIFE. COM/BOOKGIFTS-2018/

The Fourth Corner of the World, by Scott Nadelson, Engine Books (Feb. 2018), paperback, $14.95 The stories in Scott Nadelson’s fourth story collection present glimpses into the lives of immigrants, outsiders and exiles, delivering empathy and insight that is sorely needed in our divided world. The stories roam from a wouldbe assassin in 1920s Paris, Jewish utopians in 1880s Oregon, teenage girls seeking revenge in 1980s New Jersey and other beautifully rendered tales of outcasts and seekers.

KIDS AND YOUNG READERS Bitter and Sweet, by Sandra Feder, illustrated by Kyrsten Brooker, Groundwood Books (Sept. 2018), 32 pages, hardcover, $17.95 This new picture book was a selection of PJ Library but also is available in hardcover in bookstores. When Hannah’s family has to move, her grandmother tells her how she felt leaving the old country – both bitter and sweet. As

Hannah leaves her friends behind, she only feels bitterness.

Was her grandmother wrong about the sweetness? When a new friend reaches out with a special gift, Hannah realizes that sweetness can come from unexpected places.

Resistance, by Jennifer A. Nielson, Scholastic Press (Aug. 2018), ages 8-12, hardcover, $17.99 This new middle grade novel is set against the backdrop of Nazi-occupied Poland. This poignant story about a girl’s extraordinary effort to resist the Nazis during World War II will inspire young readers to take their own steps toward social justice.

NONFICTION The Chosen Wars, by Steven R. Weisman, Simon & Schuster (Aug. 2018), hardcover, $30 The Chosen Wars tells the dramatic history of how Judaism redefined itself in America in the 18th and 19th

HANUKKAH WITH THE BLAZERS Jewish Heritage Night returns to the Moda Center as the Trailblazers take on the Phoenix Suns on Dec. 6, the fifth night of Hanukkah. Chabad of Oregon and the Portland Trailblazers have partnered to present the event eight times since 2007. The night features a pre-game menorah lighting and Hanukkah party in the concourse, limited edition Hebrew Trailblazers T-shirt giveaway and post-game free-throw shots. Tickets: RipcityChanukah. eventbrite.com; group tickets: Rabbi@JewishNortheast.com.

34 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

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centuries – the personalities that fought each other and shaped its evolution and, crucially, the force of the American dynamic that transformed an ancient religion that reconciles faith with the realities of modern life.

The Wisdom of King Solomon: A Contemporary Exploration of Ecclesiastes and the Meaning of Life, by Dr. Haim Shapira, Watkins Publishing (Oct. 2018), paperback, $14.95 In the Book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon, already rich in material wealth, goes in search of wisdom and looks upon the lessons of his own life. Inspired by that search, philosopher Dr. Haim Shapira muses on the perennial questions most relevant to our lives.

FICTION

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In Defense of Guilt, by Ben Berkley, Koehler Books (Oct. 2018), paperback, $17.95 In his thrilling courtroom drama, Jewish author Ben Berkley imagines what might happen if you were forced to come face to face with your sins – and be judged for them. Lauren Hill is a chic, sophisticated and driven defense attorney who has never lost a case. While representing a man accused of throwing his wife overboard on a cruise, Lauren sees the presiding Judge Howell morph into God, but only she can see him. Her personal life becomes the content of the case instead of her client’s alleged crimes.

Chanukah fair local artisans, amazing holiday gifts, new gift shop merchandise & so much more.

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There are many ways to leave a legacy gift to help secure a strong future for the causes and organizations that are most important in your life. How will you assure Jewish tomorrows?

To create your Jewish legacy contact: Julie Diamond, President and CEO, julied@ojcf.org Gail Mandel, Director of Philanthropy, gailm@ojcf.org 503.248.9328 • www.ojcf.org

LIFE & LEGACY program and the LIFE & LEGACY logo are trademarks of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. All rights reserved.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 35

HANUKKAH

You could win one of these items!

PILLRITE PillRite is a medication/vitamin/supplement organizer with an easy and simple-to-use, four week, twice daily system. $39.99. pillrite.com

MAH JONGG CHANUKAH MENORAH Celebrate Hanukkah with this lovely menorah with Mah Jongg tiles on a wood base. $10.50. mahjongg4fun.com/acatalog/ 50-CENT-SPECIALS.html

MITZVAH MOOSE The Mensch on a Bench wants to emphasize the importance of doing good deeds. Mitzvah Moose includes a storybook, The Miracle of the Mitzvah Moose, in which Moshe the Mensch helps the moose complete eight mitzvot to lightup his antlers. $29.99

CHANUKAH, HANUKKAH...

PASS THE BEER No matter how you spell Chanukah, imbibers will be holding the official chosen beer for this holiday season.

Dark Ale Brewed with Chocolate.

Retailers or shmaltzbrewing.com

LEGENDS FLASHBACK The Legends Flashback console features a legendary selection of 50 built-in games with two six button controllers. $59.99. Retailers

NICE JEWISH GUYS This 2019 calendar is full of really nice Jewish guys (who are really single) who you can take home to Mom. $14.99 pageaday.com/products/nicejewish-guys-wall-calendar-2019

36 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

Go to orjewishlife.com/i-feel-lucky ASK PAPA The Mensch on a Bench introduces Ask Papa, the follow-up to the hit, Ask Bubbe! This sweet, and lovable plush talking grandfather doll answers your question with 14 hilarious Jewish phrases. $19.99

ICON Au Luxury meets functionality with this pyramid-shaped ICON Au gold infuser, paired with Onyx black Tea Tray. $30.00. teaforte.com/ store/tea-accessories/

GOURMET EDIBLE COOKIE DOUGH Cookie dough you eat raw! Brownie Batter, Chocolate Chip, Oreo Single, Naked Dough and Confetti Cake from the Cookie Dough Café. Certified kosher.

8 pack: $22. thecookiedoughcafe.com/ store

MADMADE APRONS Entertain in style thanks to MadMade reversible aprons. 14 print combinations available in three sizes.

Prices vary. madmadedesign.com Modeled by Taylor Miller, Master Stylist @TAYLER_MADE_CREATIONS

SOLAR SYSTEM PLANETARIUM MODEL Assemble and paint your own glow-in-the-dark solar system planetarium model with this creative kit. Ages 8 & up. ideamuseum.org

Bird of Paradise

Sunflower Eclipse

Atomic Dotty

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 37

CORNER

WE COULD USE A FAT HANUKKAH MIRACLE

By Lisa Glickman

T

his year Dec. 3 marks the first day of Hanukkah, with the first candle kindled the previous evening. Also referred to as the “Festival of Lights,” Hanukkah celebrates the miracle that occurred when the Maccabees bravely reclaimed the Temple. Their sanctuary was desecrated with little oil left to light the menorah.

The story tells us that the menorah miraculously burned for eight days and nights. It reminds us that even when there seems to be little hope, a miracle can indeed transpire.

Maybe we could all use a big fat miracle right about now. Thanks to our daily frenzy for news feeds and “tweets,” we seem more divided than ever.

Conversations that once were lively and informed have turned into proverbial brawls over who deems their opinion most accurate about what is best for our nation. I would like to believe there is still room in the middle. I would like to have faith that we can remember that we will get past this – and that we are all in it together.

I look forward to Hanukkah and the entire month of December as a time to come together with family and good friends. It’s a time to celebrate and share great food (bring on the latkes!) and laughter with people you care about. We may find ourselves in a room with people who think differently than we do. While lively dialog is always welcomed at any party, judgments are not. Like Nana used to say, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” For some of us, that would indeed be a miracle!

I serve these spicy Indian-inspired fritters as a tasty hors d’oeuvre or an accompaniment to a rich curry. Similar in texture to a southern hushpuppy, this recipe is made with garbanzo bean flour, turmeric and rich spices, giving the pakoras a bright yellow color and distinctive exotic flavor. Serve them piping hot with your favorite spicy/sweet chutney on the side.

Lisa Glickman is a private chef and lives in Portland. She is on the catering panel at Congregation Beth Israel and makes regular TV appearances on KATU’s “Afternoon Live.”

Fried foods recall the miracle of the Hanukkah oil. For the recipe for these Spicy Corn Pakoras visit: orjewishlife.com/cc-nov-2018

38 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

NWNosh

Enjoy NW-inspired Italian cuisine while listening to jazz

By Kerry Politzer Photos courtesy Alan Weiner Photography One of the only Portland restaurants to regularly showcase live jazz also offers a creative, high-concept menu. Perlot (formerly Southfork) features the cuisine of Chef Patrick McKee, who has worked at the venerable Paley’s Place and Castagna. Patrick draws heavily on the Italian cuisine of his childhood.

“My mother is Italian, so I grew up in a very food-centric family,” says Patrick. “My mother and grandmother cooked all the time. It's definitely no wonder that my life is filled with food, considering how we grew up. I remember going out in the morning, picking tomatoes in the summertime with my grandmother, and she would turn them into marinara.” Patrick features his grandmother’s red sauce and gnocchi on the menu. One night a week,

he offers the Roman dish cacio e pepe, which is a rich meal of pasta, pecorino, black pepper and a little butter.

Patrick is also inspired by the bounty of the Pacific Northwest.

He uses albacore tuna from the Oregon Coast, chanterelles from the mountains and meat from Central Oregon. The chef plans his menu around what is seasonally available. His late fall/early winter menu will feature squash and heartier winter greens such as Italian kale, apples and pears. Originally from Washington, D.C., Patrick has been inspired by the state of Oregon ever since his grandparents moved to Brookings Harbor when he was a child; he spent his summers on the Oregon Coast.

The chef is happy to accommodate dietary restrictions; he tries to ensure that at least one main course is vegetarian and/or vegan. He says, “I love vegetables, and I want to make sure that everyone is taken care of.” He adds that his seasonable vegetable plate is very popular, with its variety of pickled, raw and cooked veggies. At the time of this writing, Perlot’s dinner menu featured ricotta ravioli alla Norma, and oyster and shiitake mushroom dashi with smoked tofu, soy sauce and miso butter.

Patrick is very proud of the live jazz at Perlot. “You can see some of Portland’s great jazz musicians while you’re getting a really good dinner, as well,” he offers. The restaurant features music on Friday and Saturday nights and on weekend mornings. “The jazz brunch is very popular,” he says.

Currently, the restaurant is closed on Sunday nights, but Patrick plans to offer a once-a-month, family-style Italian Sunday dinner.

“This comes from my mother, who was a big stickler about Sunday nights,” he explains. “If you had a job, you didn’t work. My mother would make all this food and spend all day, and part of the day before, in the kitchen. She’d create a feast, and we would all just sit at the table and talk.” The meal will be kid-friendly.

Perlot: 4605 NE Fremont St., 503-477-4453, perlotpdx.com

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 39

ACTIVELY SENIOR "What grows never grows old." ~ Noah BenShea American Poet

INSIDE 40 Power of Art 42 Architect Transforms Landscape 43 Beware Con Artists 44 Knitters Create Treasures 45 Benefits of Knitting 47 Creating Community 47 Online Resources

Painter shares the power of art

By Deborah Moon

J

eanine Semon believes art has the power to change people.

Last year Jeanine, 88, and Ed, her husband of 65 years, moved to Portland to be near their daughter, Betsy Kaufman, and two of their seven grandchildren, Zachary and Gabriel. They have two sons – Bruce lives in Wisconsin and Jesse lives in Los Angeles.

Jeanine and Betsy volunteer weekly to help cook dinner for homeless women at a local church. Recently Jeanine donated two of her paintings to the church that hosts the Friday night dinners.

“My two angel paintings were presented to a church in Portland that cares for homeless women and women of the streets, to be hung in an all-purpose room where the women are cared for,” she says. She donated the paintings because “You get to an age when you want to place your art” and “there is an unusual quality in my art – the gift of healing. If you are with my art, you feel good.”

The power of art was also the focus of a project she completed in Milwaukee shortly before the couple moved from Wisconsin to Oregon. She wrote a successful grant proposal to go to five city schools as an artist-in-residence to teach youth “the value of creativity not being stifled.”

“My art and discussion influenced kids from the inner city, and they did marvelous art,” she says.

“I teach there is no such thing as wrong art, and they believed me because it is true. … I discussed the joy and peace art brings to me, and it bought it to them. ... It changed them.”

The couple decided to move to Rose Schnitzer Manor after Ed, 90, had a serious stroke. Jeanine says the yoga classes and other activities at RSM have been very helpful for Ed’s recovery, and she enjoys being around older people.

“Most people here are very intelligent, and you get a sense of what they did in their lives,” says Jeanine.

Jeanine has a studio set up in the manor, and during the summer several of her paintings were exhibited in RSM’s May Living Room.

Jeanine did not start painting in earnest until age 48. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin in 1978.

Since then, she has exhibited in galleries and sold many paintings, but “never reached the New York scene.”

“I compare myself to the free migration of animals,” says Jeanine. “Moving animals in these works represent the unstoppable “life force that flows through all of us till our final breath.”

Jeanine has also written four books reflecting her philosophy on life and art. In her most recent book, Living Art, Living Young: 85 and still going strong,

40 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

Above, Jeanine Semon works in her studio at Rose Schnitzer Manor. All of her paintings begin with intuitive, spontaneous drawing.

Art right, Jeanine's favorite painting is the King’s Coat, which she painted during her “unstretched canvas” era.

Below, Jeanine’s five paintings of migrating animals were the focus of an inner city school program Jeanine did in Milwaukee just before moving to Oregon. Photos by Deborah Moon.

she shares her “life patterns” that she feels have made her a strong, active senior. “I am a swimmer, walker and painter,” she says. “I did what felt right and made me happy. I didn’t do what other people might tell you to do. … We intuitively know what is right and what makes us happy.”

Her books, as well as four books Ed has written, are available at Jeaninesdream.com.

You can see more of Jeanine’s art and the stories behind the paintings on our website: orjewishlife. com.

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 41

AC T I V E LY S E N I O R

Eugene A architect transforms world

By Aliya Hall

t 84 years old, Otto Poticha is often asked by his wife, Sharon, when he’s going to retire.

Splitting his time among his firm, teaching design studios at the University of Oregon and consulting with other firms, Otto stays very busy.

He says people retire from work. “I’m so lucky, I never thought about what I do as work. This is something I enjoy doing. I retired years ago from work.”

A second-generation American, Otto lived a nomadic lifestyle until high school, when the family settled in Indianapolis.

Before that, they traveled the country, only stopping in Chicago once a year for the High Holidays.

Otto says his father was “Orthodox when convenient.” Otto had a bar mitzvah and would be enrolled in Hebrew school every time they moved; however, he never got further than learning how to read Hebrew, because each school made him start at the beginning.

The idea for pursuing architecture was inspired by Otto’s mother who recognized his talent with art and drafting, as well as his capability in math.

Otto graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1958 after six years. He graduated with a degree and three years of work experience. He had worked in architecture firms all over the country to earn his way through school.

Two jobs in particular stuck with him.

He worked for an architect named Charlie Brown, whose only client was the Catholic Diocese of Indiana, where he was in charge of designing the liturgical items. Later, he worked under well-known Michigan architect, Alden Dow. During his year there, Otto says he met famous architects including Frank Lloyd Wright.

In 1959, Otto and his wife moved to the Netherlands, where their daughter was born. After gaining international experience, Otto says they decided to move back to America and “interviewed cities” from Denver to Vancouver, BC, before choosing Eugene.

“I liked the difference with Eugene and Oregon,” he says, noting that within 100 miles, you can be “in the desert, coast, high Cascades, valley – there’s a whole pallet. It makes it exciting and refreshing.”

After working for a Eugene company for

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Otto Poticha, 84, stands next to the Wildish Community Theater in Springfield. The theater, which he completed in 2007, is one of Otto’s favorite buildings.

42 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

a year, in 1962 Otto started his own firm.

Poticha Architects went through a few iterations: in 1968, he partnered with Dee Unthank and Grant Seder for 25 years; in 1986, Ed Waterbury replaced Grant Seder; since 1993 the firm has been simply Poticha Architects.

Otto says he was the only Jewish architect in town at a time when there were only “a handful” of Jewish families.

“We supported each other,” he says of those early days. “They might have kept me alive; I had a patron who was the first Jewish family that hired me to do something. First it was his beach house, then it was his house.”

With his Orthodox background, Otto says he struggled to connect with the only synagogue in town, which accommodated all denominations. He sat shiva when his father died but otherwise hasn’t been involved.

Otto has received 55 local, regional and national design awards for his firm’s projects. In 2010, he was elected to the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows.

He was invited to teach at the University of Oregon in 1962; he accepted an adjunct professor title but turned down a tenured position. He says the thrill of teaching is working with students. The U of O dean of architecture says Otto’s 57 years teaching are probably the record for the longestterm adjunct professor in the world.

One of Otto’s favorite projects is the Wildish Community Theater in Springfield. As a 1940s-style movie theater, the design had to be creative and compact, which resulted in a steep rake for the seating to accommodate a lobby underneath.

“It was a fun project,” he says. “We have the best acoustics in the state, including Ashland.”

He says his favorite part of architecture is starting from scratch and interacting with people.

“I like getting input from clients; they’re always wrong, but they stimulate me in a way. I never say ‘no,’ I say, ‘we have to look at that,’ ” he says. “I try to be as creative as I can, but it’s making my art, it’s big stuff.

It stands out on the landscape for a long time.”

AC T I V E LY S E N I O R

ask helen

Seniors afflicted by con artists and re-gifting

Dear Helen: I’m very concerned that my aging mother is being groomed by a con artist. Long story short: my sister was a medical health professional when she was employable. She became addicted to pills and lost a series of jobs. She moved in with our mother, who has a terminal degenerative disease (though she has outlived the doctors’ expectations). The theory was that Sis gets a safe place to live, and Mom gets the live-in care she increasingly needs.

My sister’s “friend” (whom I suspect is also her dealer) visits every other week. He just got arrested and said it was for a DUI. But I had a friend check, and it was for selling pills. He asked my mother (who adores him because he is charming, as are most con artists) for a loan of bail money. I fear this is the tip of a very deep iceberg.

I am the executor of the trust after she dies, but I do not control her assets before then. She likes the illusion of control and likes to believe people are good, even when there is clear evidence to the contrary. She would not believe the truth if it bit her.

Financial Guardian Dear Financial Guardian: I don’t know what legal role or rights a “financial guardian” has, but I hope it means you have the authority to talk to her banker as a representative of the family and the estate. I’d avoid the word “illusion” when you do so. Explain the circumstances and that it is very important to the family to protect your mother’s dignity; also point out that it’s your responsibility to be sure the family assets are protected, as she needs them for ongoing care.

It would be great if you could be added to her accounts to receive statements, though that only allows you see what’s happening after the fact. Best would be for a second signature (yours) to be required for amounts over say $2,500.That sets an effective stop loss on how much damage an interloper can do or how much your sister could cadge out of your mother, who is clearly a potential target for people who might hit her up for money. Ask the banker what safeguards could be put in place without your mother feeling diminished. Say yes to whatever they can do now; try for more protections later. And talk to your sister about her addiction, perhaps making participation in a treatment group a requirement of housing, though I suspect that’ll be a long conversation. People change when they are ready.

Dear Helen: Can you please talk about Hanukkah gifting among adult friends? Half the people I know are in the process of divesting and downscaling – some to move into smaller dwellings, and others just because they are trying to spare their children the hassle of wading through their life’s possessions. It has led to a fad of unabashed “re-gifting,” usually accompanied with comments like, “You once admired this, so I hope you’ll accept it as a gift.” Just the word “gift” implies some implicit reciprocity,

which I do not want to feel. Can I say “No, thanks” to everyone in an email pre-emptively, or should I decline them individually?

Have Enough Dear Enough: Wading through decades of accumulated treasures (and trash) is a chore most of us put off. Cleaning through my parents’ home after they departed was a labor of love, nostalgia and hard work.

Kudos to those who spare their children, but less joy for those who have to politely accept or decline the re-gifts.

My solution for divesting: separate anything of value and put it in a special part of the house. Then invite anyone whom you might want to re-gift. You can identify specific gifts or have a free-for-all. But let people decide what they might want to take home. The rest should be donated to a charity fundraiser (if of excellent quality) or to a thrift shop. Don’t look back.

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.

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AC T I V E LY S E N I O R Left: Marion Ross knits another outfit for an infant at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.

Below: Julie Anne Feinstein, left, and Annette Gerard knit and chat during a recent gathering of Purls of Wisdom.

Photos by Deborah Moon.

Knitters have fun as they create treasures for others

By Deborah Moon

T

wice a week, three to eight women gather in the art room of Rose Schnitzer Manor and knit, chat, laugh and exercise their hands.

The treasures they create keep homeless people warm and cover the heads of women undergoing chemotherapy.

Annette Gerard has coordinated the Purls of Wisdom group since moving to the manor about eight and a half years ago. Since then, the group has donated more than 3,100 items to local charities and organizations such as Raphael House, Central City Concerns, homeless organizations and Compass Oncology.

Annette began knitting as a child when she made some of her own clothes for school. “I can give back to people in need. And it is social; this is a nice group – we knit, we meet, we work.”

44 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

Some of the women are lifelong knitters and others dabbled in knitting when they were children and took it up again when they moved to the manor.

Purls of Wisdom provides friendship and the chance to do something to help others.

Julie Anne Feinstein, who has lived at Cedar Sinai Park for 15 years, says knitting is relaxing and “It is wonderful to have our things dispersed throughout the city; you feel good you still make a contribution.”

One member, Marion Ross, knits complete outfits – hats, sweaters and booties – for infants at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. This fall she sent a box of 56 outfits to the hospital.

Marie Godfrey moved to RSM a year ago and joined two groups: Purls of Wisdom and the RSM Choir. She still enjoys both, but is happy that the hats and scarves keep homeless people warm.

Faye Roth says she has a tremor and knitting “keeps my hands doing something.”

The group relies on donations of yarn and knitting needles. Donations can be dropped off in the RSM Lobby at 6140 SW Boundary St., Portland.

The benefits of knitting

By Mala Blomquist

W

hen I think of knitting, I think of my mom. She had a blue knitting basket where she stored her different-sized knitting needles and colorful balls of yarn.

When I did a little research on the hobby, I found numerous mental and physical benefits for knitters. Maybe that’s why so many mothers and grandmothers knit!

SHARPENS THE MIND

CHEAPER THAN THERAPY

Knitting alone can be a great way to relax and relieve stress. If you want to be more social, join other knitters in a class or a group of people who work together while they chat and visit. You can make your hobby a way to build new friendships.

When you knit, you visualize a final product and then strategize how to create it. Doing so stimulates your motor cortex and both frontal and occipital lobes. Engaging these parts of the brain helps to strengthen your mind and slow down cognitive impairment.

An article in the Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinic Neurosciences studied mild cognitive impairment and found “Computer activities; craft activities, such as knitting, quilting, etc.; playing games; and reading books were associated with decreased odds of having MCI.”

HELPS WITH BAD HABITS

IT’S LIKE WORKING OUT

We all know how fulfilling completing a project can be. With knitting, you can turn a ball of yarn into a hat, scarf, sweater or blanket. When you’re done, you can keep your creation or give it to a friend, loved one or someone in need. The more you knit, the better you’ll feel.

The rhythmic actions of knitting keep the finger joints flexible and the muscles in the hands toned and steady, aiding in the prevention of arthritis and tendinitis and helping with dexterity.

Also, knitting burns about 100 calories an hour.

Do you smoke or snack on not-so-healthy foods? If your hands are occupied, you can’t reach for that cigarette or bag of chips. Instead of mindless eating while watching television, pick up those knitting needles and get busy.

BOOSTS SELF-ESTEEM

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 45

AC T I V E LY S E N I O R

Couples find mishpacha creating havurah at 55-plus community

By J. Wandres

S

ummerfield, a 55-plus community in Tigard, is home to some 1,600 residents living in houses, townhomes, condos and apartments on a 200-acre campus. There’s a clubhouse, swimming pool, tennis courts and a nine-hole golf course that’s open to the public.

My wife, Judi, and I moved from New Jersey to Portland 2012 and bought a townhouse in Summerfield in 2016. At a clubhouse social, we met Karen and Marty Zwerling and discovered we had lived in adjoining towns in New Jersey. “Ah, Lantsmen!” we exclaimed.

We met other Jewish families at Summerfield, and in 2017 Karen suggested we start a Jewish studies group. That May a dozen of us from five or six families came together to launch our havurah study group. At the clubhouse we gathered around a table artfully laid with plates of delicacies and bottles of wine. Karen called for silence, and we all began the blessing: “Baruch atah Adonai ...”

We were a community now, but we had to decide what our havurah would be like. Did the group want to encourage others to

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DEMENTIA APP: BRAIN U ONLINE Dubbed “the defining disease of the baby boomer generation,” dementia affects more than 60 million people worldwide. In the United States alone, that number is expected to triple in the next 10 to 20 years, as more than 75 million baby boomers continue to age and live longer. According to the World Health Organization,

take part in the havurah? What direction, if any, should the group take? Religious study? Political action? As Susan Keroes wondered aloud, “Or are we just the Jewish drinking and eating society?”

Marvin and Judy Geer came to Summerfield in 2010 by way of Philadelphia. In Portland they joined a Conservative shul whose havurah structure and content, Marvin said, was defined and led by the rabbi. For Michele Seligman (who raised her family in New Jersey), Summerfield let her be closer to children and grandchildren on the West Coast. Brought up Conservative, she said, “Our havurah will let me keep in touch with my Jewish roots.”

The havurah movement flourished in America during the socially turbulent 1960s. “Jews, especially Baby Boomers born after (World War II) coming to maturity, channeled rebelliousness and assertiveness ... into programs that would transform and strengthen American Jewish life,” wrote Jonathan Sarna in American Judaism: A History.

Havurah as community emerged in 1968 in Somerville, MA, at Havurat Shalom. Theodore Roszak’s The Making of a Counter Culture explained that havurah would guide a “revolutionary force devoted to fellowship, peace, community and a ‘new model of serious Jewish study.’ ” Community-style havurot followed in several other cities.

The evolution of the Summerfield Havurah would develop wherever the discussion took us. We had come from all over the geographic, social, political and professional compass, but we held in common a belief in Judaism and a willingness to share our point of view with others and to hear others’ views, too – and to regularly partake of the grape and grain. We would lean in and look out for each other.

When Caren Masem went to OHSU for a complicated surgery, several of the group in rotation furnished a cooked meal for her family each night she was in hospital. Caren and her husband,

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Paul, were grateful for the group’s caring. “At our havurah, I do not feel ignored,” she says.

My wife considers herself a cultural Jew. Soon after settling in Portland, we attended High Holy Day services at various synagogues. Yet the experience and need for commitment left Judi wanting. “Havurah means family. If I need someone to hear me, I know there will be someone for me to talk to,” she says.

On a personal note, I was confirmed as an Episcopalian but did not find a connection between the scripture and myself. I wandered, spiritually, until I met Judi and we married (second marriages for both). Though I chose not to convert, I feel comfortable in the lessons of living within the community. Our havurah is community.

By late 2017, the group chose to meet at members’ homes in rotation. For Paul Masem, the havurah worked because the group didn’t want to build a synagogue. (This prompted a wry comment: “That’s just because Paul doesn’t want to head up the building fund.”)

The group has been enthusiastic about gathering for a Shabbat meal on the first Friday of the month. As Judy Geer puts it, “All Jews need their mishpacha to celebrate the good times as well as the bad. We need to break bread, laugh and support each other.”

J. Wandres is a frequent contributor to Oregon Jewish Life.

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www.AllinOneMobility.com 48 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

FRONT & CENTER

Art Recovered

Holocaust scholar shares her quest to find her great-grandfather’s lost creations

By Debra Shein

Polish artist Moshe Rynecki (1881-1943) completed more than 800 paintings and sculptures before being incarcerated in the Warsaw Ghetto and ultimately perishing in the Majdanek concentration camp. His vibrant paintings capture the essence of the Polish-Jewish community, people in the midst of everyday acts.

At the outbreak of the World War II, Moshe decided to divide his oeuvre into a number of bundles and hide them in and around Warsaw. After the war, Moshe’s widow (who survived by hiding outside the ghetto) went to see if any of the bundles survived. She found just a single package.

For many years the Rynecki family believed that just this single bundle endured. But many more pieces remained intact. Decades later, his great-granddaughter, Elizabeth Rynecki, a scholar whose MA project focused on the children of Holocaust survivors, embarked on a quest to find the remaining works. She relates the intriguing story of her search in a book, Chasing Portraits (Penguin Random House 2016), and now in a film of the same title, which will be screened in Portland Nov. 27.

Rynecki, who will be present at the showing, says that “after seeing my great-grandfather’s art, the audience will gain a better understanding of the rich and vibrant world of Polish-Jewish art that was lost during the war. If the film inspires audiences to be curious about their own family history, that would be ideal.”

She also says she hopes “that by sharing my own deeply personal experience of navigating my Holocaust legacy, audiences will begin to see how the effects of war cascade down to subsequent generations.”

Book Celebration begins The eighth annual Many Stories, One Community: Portland Jewish Book Celebration begins with a focus on one book: The Book Smugglers: Partisans, Poets and the Race to Save Jewish Treasures from the Nazis, by David Fishman.

The Book Smugglers is the true, nearly unbelievable story of ghetto residents of Vilna, who rescued thousands of rare books and manuscripts and cultural treasures – first from the Nazis and then from the Soviets – by hiding, burying them and smuggling them across borders.

November and January events will focus on The Book Smugglers.

In March 2019 the Mittleman Jewish Community Center will

Elizabeth holds a painting by her great-grandfather at the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw. Photo by Sławomir Grünberg

The filmmaker says she is often asked “why I am not a claimant fighting for the return of my great-grandfather’s paintings.” She is not because she believes “There are different forms of historical and social justice. My great-grandfather painted because he was passionate about the Polish-Jewish community, and he wanted to record the people he knew and loved. I hope that my book and documentary film help to give voice to that history and my family’s story. I like to think he would be happy to see that audiences are still engaged with his work.”

“Chasing Portraits,” a film by Elizabeth Rynecki

The filmmaker will give a short talk before the showing and will be on hand to answer questions and sign books.

WHEN: 7 pm, Nov. 27 WHERE: Whitsell Auditorium, inside the Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Ave., Portland SPONSORS: Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education in partnership with Northwest Film Center, the Institute for Judaic Studies and the Mittleman Jewish Community Center.

TICKETS: nwfilm.org/films/chasing-portraits; OJMCHE members use code OMJCHE 18CP for $2 off on adult tickets FILM INFO: chasingportraits.org

host three authors.

The public is invited to participate in the following events: Sunday, Nov. 4, 4 pm, Pages and Pixels, Neveh Shalom, 2900 SW Peaceful Lane. Discuss The Book Smugglers then view the 2011 film Aftermath, a fictional account of a real event in a Polish town in 1941, and its aftermath in the present day. Sponsored by Neveh Shalom. kgoldhammer@nevehshalom.org Thursday, Nov. 8, noon-1 pm, Brown Bag Lunch Discussion, Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, 724 NW Davis St. Portland. Bring a lunch or buy lunch in Lefty’s Cafe. Rosalyn Kliot will share her story, from origins in Vilna and Lodz, to life in Oregon today.

Tuesday, Nov. 27, 7 pm, Whitsell Hall, Portland Art Museum, OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 49

1219 SW Park Ave., Portland. Chasing Portraits: A Film by Elizabeth Rynecki.

Tickets: nwfilm.org/films/ chasing-portraits/ Tuesday, Jan. 22, 7-8:30 pm, Unpacking The Book Smugglers, Havurah Shalom, 825 NW 18th Ave., Portland. In anticipation of author David Fishman’s Portland presentation Jan. 27, explore Fishman’s powerful account of the “paper brigade” of Vilna (now Vilnius). Light refreshments. Sponsored by Havurah Shalom. RSVP: 503-248-4662 or ruthtenzerfeldman@gmail.com.

Sunday, Jan. 27, 1 pm, Portland State University, Browsing Lounge (Room 238) Smith Memorial Student Union, 1825 SW Broadway. Join author David Fishman as he brings his gripping and compelling book to life as he recounts how he learned about this story. Sponsored by Congregation Beth Israel, MJCC, PSU’s Judaic Studies Program and Congregation Shaarie Torah.

Information on the MJCC’s Authors Series in March 2019 will be available soon.

For more information on all events, visit oregonjcc.org/ arts-culture/jewish-book-celebration.

FRONT & CENTER

3

In conjunction with OJMCHE’s The Last Journey of the Jews of Lodz and PAM’s Memory Unearthed: The Lodz Ghetto Photographs of Henryk Ross. Two special programs:

rmance that of the third

The White Elephant Archive, Setting No. 3 November 13 & 14 | 7pm $10 OJMCHE members | $15 general public From Vienna comes a special one person multi media performance that explores the legacy of the Holocaust from the perspective of the third generation living in Austria today.

Chasing Portraits: a film by Elizabeth Rynecki November 27 | 7pm | Whitsell Auditorium $8 OJMCHE members | $10 general public In conjunction with Jewish Book Month, join us for a screening of Chasing Portraits, which documents Elizabeth Rynecki’s quest to find the lost paintings of her great-grandfather. Moshe Rynecki’s body of work reached close to eight hundred paintings and sculptures before his life came to a tragic end during the Holocaust. In partnership with Northwest Film Center, Portland Art Museum, Mittleman Jewish Community Center and Institute for Jewish Studies.

724 NW Davis St., Portland, OR 97209 | 503-226-3600 | www.ojmche.org 50 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

“Aliens San Frontières,” 2016, by Enrique Chagoya (American, b. Mexico, 1953).

Collection of Jordan D. Schnitzer, 2016. Photo: Strode Photographic LLC

Salem museum presents social justice print/photo exhibit The Hallie Ford Museum of Art in Salem presents “Witness: Themes of Social Justice in Contemporary Printmaking and Photography from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation” through Dec. 20 in the Melvin Henderson-Rubio Gallery and the Maribeth Collins Lobby.

Drawn from one of the legendary contemporary print collections in the United States, “Witness” explores issues of race, identity and social justice in contemporary printmaking and photography. The exhibition has been organized by Portland art historian and scholar Elizabeth Bilyeu and explores four thematic sections: Stories and Histories, Pressures of Pop Culture, Challenging Expectations of Place and Unconventional Portraits. The exhibition features 82 prints by 40 nationally and internationally recognized artists, including Enrique Chagoya, Lalla Essaydi, Mildred Howard, Hung Liu, Nicola Lopez, Wendy Red Star (Apsáalooka), Roger Shimomura, Kara Walker and Marie Watt (Seneca).

“The theme represented in this exhibition, social justice, is the most important discussion all of us in the country need to have with each other,” says Jordan D. Schnitzer. “We continue to proudly support the Hallie Ford Museum and our numerous collaborations together.”

In conjunction with the exhibition, internationally recognized artists Hung Liu and Alison Saar will discuss their art and careers on Nov. 1 and Nov. 15, respectively, at 7:30 pm. Admission to the lectures is complementary. They will be held in the Paulus Lecture Hall at the Willamette University College of Law located at 245 Winter St. SE, Salem.

Complimentary docent guided gallery talks will be held every Tuesday at 12:30 pm through Dec. 18.

The exhibition is accompanied by a full-color, hardcover book with an essay by Elizabeth Anne Bilyeu and an introduction by LeRonn Brooks, available for sale at the museum.

503-370-6855 | willamette.edu/go/witness

Safrai Gallery brings Israeli art to Portland Oregonians will have a rare opportunity to view and purchase Israeli art in Portland in December. Jerusalem’s Safrai Gallery is bringing more than 1,500 pieces of fine art by some 100 contemporary Israeli artists – young and old masters of Israeli art – to Neveh Shalom Dec. 6-9.

"This art exhibit will provide you with a unique opportunity to get a glimpse of the exciting and expanding world of Israeli art, which can only be seen if you travel to Israel," says Menachem Safrai, a third-generation gallery owner.

More than 120 crates of serigraphs, woodcuts, oils, prints, tapestry and sculpture will be arriving for the show, including works by old favorites Shraga Weil, Shemuel Katz and Tarkai, as well as newcomers Michael Kerman and Alexander Klevan, who reflect recent trends in Israeli art.

After World War II, many Israeli artists were influenced by the abstract style, which continued into the 1970s and '80s by Russian immigrant artists such as Valery Konevin, Alexander Klevan and Yevgeni Abezhause. Safrai notes that they had to get accustomed to the strong light in Israel and change their palette of colors to work in the Israeli landscape. The uniqueness of Israeli art comes from the intermingling of the rich variety of cultures and styles of the artists who immigrated to Israel.

The Safrai Art Gallery at 19 King David St., Jerusalem, was born four generations ago. It began with Menachem Safrai's great-grandfather, Mendel Harrison, who was a rabbi in Lithuania before emigrating to Palestine in 1888. He set up a mirror factory in Jerusalem, which later closed due to the limited market. In 1898, the family moved to New York City where he opened a small art gallery. In 1935, on his retirement, the family returned to Palestine.

Mendel Harrison's son-in-law, Asher Safrai, opened a gallery in the Nachlat Shiva quarter of Jerusalem. The shop struggled and thrived depending on the events of the time. It was a gallery, but the basement also served as a cache for illegal weapons for Hagganah at times.

Painting by Shraga Weil

In 1949, Dov Safrai inherited the management of the gallery from his father. He decided to share both the management and his life with Shoshana, who became his wife in 1951. In 1988 his son, Menachem, joined the business.

Since 1958 the Safrai Gallery has been sending exhibitions of Israeli art to the United States and Canada.

ISRAEL ART EXHIBIT/SALE GALA OPENING: THURSDAY, DEC. 6, 7-10 PM EXHIBIT HOURS: FRIDAY, DEC. 7, 9 AM-2 PM; SATURDAY, DEC. 8, 7-10 PM; SUNDAY, DEC. 9, 9 AM-4 PM LOCATION:VESTRY (FOLLOW THE SIGNAGE), NEVEH SHALOM, 2900 SW PEACEFUL LANE, PORTLAND FUNDRAISER: A PORTION OF THE PROCEEDS WILL SUPPORT ISRAEL360'S MISSION "TO FACILITATE ONGOING AND OPEN DIALOG ABOUT ISRAEL."

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 51

K I D S

and teens too!

Maimonides Jewish Day School earns double accreditation

By Deborah Moon

In October, Maimonides Jewish Day School became the first Jewish day school in the Pacific Northwest to earn accreditation of both its general studies and Judaic curricula from Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch. Merkos is the only national Jewish accrediting agency, and Maimonides is the only Jewish day school in the Pacific Northwest to earn accreditation from it. In addition, the National Council for Private School Accreditation has accredited Maimonides.

These credentials give Maimonides national recognition as a faith-based private Shelley Sanders, standing in front of Maimonides Jewish Day school that offers kindergarten through School, helped guide the school through two years of self study eighth-grade students a comprehensive to gain national accreditation. education in Judaics, science, math, English and social studies.

The Merkos committee report recommending MJDS Development Director Devora accreditation sums it up best: "The students are Wilhelm says, “This was an ideal process to go at the heart of this school. They are a blessing, through. It really solidified everything.” and their behavior and ability to stay on task is MJDS Principal Rabbi Shnuer Wilhelm says ... exemplary. The atmothe process helped clarify the sphere, school environschool’s motto, “Where learnment and culture have a ing is personal, meaningful and wonderful student-cenempowering.” tered focus that is both He says that a core of volcaring and supportive." unteers help the school offer Two years ago, the tremendous one-on-one sessions school hired Shelley to create a personal experience Sanders as general studies for students. Making learning director and asked her relevant to daily life adds meanto focus on shepherding ing. Students are empowered the school through the through the annual Hanukkah accreditation process. As essay contest, weekly assemblies, a former early education weekly visits to Rose Schnitzer director at Congregation Manor to connect with seniors, Beth Israel and a Head and community involvement Start review teacher who such as clean up or planting reviewed Portland Head projects in city parks.

Principal Rabbi Shnuer Wilhelm Start classrooms for annuThe school had more than a al recertification, Shelley 200% increase in kindergarten was well equipped to help enrollment this fall. the Jewish day school.

A five-year plan envisions building additional She guided the school through a self-study of classrooms on the school’s nearly 2-acre campus, the Judaic and general curricula to ensure they which has a large undeveloped section behind conformed to Oregon core standards. She also the playground. rewrote or created parent and employee handPortlandJewishSchool.com | 503-977-7850 books and safety and emergency manuals.

52 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

Scholarships memorialize terror victims

Devora, development director of MJDS. “This is really the Jewish way: To summon the strength, courage and focus to make the world a better Many Americans in late-November 2008 were preparing their Thanks- place.”

Nearly six years to the day of Rabbi Gabi and Rifky’s deaths, Cantor giving turkeys and seasonal accoutrements when news broke of a terrorist Rosenberg died of cancer. Since then, Kim has penned an annual appeal attack in distant Mumbai, India. One of the targets was the Chabad letter, requesting scholarship fund support in memory of the Holtzbergs House. and David.

Hundreds died and hundreds more were injured in the aftermath The fund’s meaning and import resonates throughout Portland’s Jewish of the widespread and prolonged terrorist attack. Inside the five-story Chabad House six Jews lay dead, including Chabad Rabbi Gavriel (Gabi) community.

Anna Davis, an active Congregation Neveh Shalom congregant, is a (z”l) and Rivkah (Rifky) (z”l) Holtzberg. The young couple, ChabadLubavitch emissaries who came to Mumbai in 2003, had a 2-year-old son stalwart fund donor.

“Rabbi Gabi and Rifky worked to help people enwhose nanny had spirited him to safety. gage in Judaism, and they welcomed anyone who came “We heard about the bombs, and we were devthrough their door. I've seen Chabad do that in Oregon, astated by the news,” says Kim Rosenberg, referand I see especially how Maimonides nurtures that in ring to herself and her now late-husband, Shaarie children.”

Torah Cantor David Aryeh Rosenberg (z”l).

One local mom, who requested anonymity, is so “And we wanted to do something; we needed grateful for the scholarship allowing her daughter to to honor them and their parents ... by creating a attend Maimonides. scholarship in their name so more people can be “Turning the passing of loved ones into building educated,” she says. an education for the next generation so that they can Ten years ago this month, the Rosenbergs called carry on the traditions of our people is how Judaism 10 friends; four days after the terrible news, they Rabbi Gavriel (Gabi) (z”l) and Rivkah (Rifky) (z”l) has survived for thousands of years,” she says. “I can see had the seed money to launch the Gabi and Rifky the love of Judaism in my daughter’s eyes, and I know Holtzberg Scholarship Fund for Maimonides I have given her a gift. But I couldn’t do it without the village of people Jewish Day School. In a decade, donors have given more than $60,000 who support her education.” says Devora Wilhelm.

PortlandJewishSchool.com/HoltzbergFund “In the face of that terrible tragedy, people wanted to create light,” says

By Jenn Director Knudsen

OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 53

Portland teen Michael Ioffe, back row in glasses, was one of the 2017 recipients of the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award.

Social action grants for teens Jewish teens involved in social action projects are eligible for $36,000 awards from The Helen Diller Family Foundation.

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2019 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards. The program recognizes 15 Jewish teens annually with $36,000 each to support an ongoing social justice project or to further their education.

54 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

The Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards were the vision of Bay Area philanthropist Helen Diller, who sought to recognize the next generation of socially committed leaders whose dedication to volunteerism exemplified the spirit of tikkun olam (repair the world). More than $4 million has been awarded since 2007 to 114 teens in recognition of their vision, innovation and leadership.

In 2017, a Portland teen was one of the winners. Michael Ioffe, then 17, created TILE (Talks about Leadership, Innovation and Entrepreneurship), a nonprofit structured to bridge the resource gap for underserved students by offering them free monthly speaker series on innovation, leadership and entrepreneurship. As of July 2018, TILE had more than 300 locations in 46 countries and was growing by a rate of five new chapters per week, making it one of the world’s fastest-growing nonprofits. The TILE community has grown to more than 1,000 chapter leaders. More than 500,000 students are expected to attend a TILE talk in the coming year.

Awardees have been recognized by some of the world’s foremost institutions and leaders, including the United Nations Foundation, the White House, the Clinton Global Initiative, Forbes 30 Under 30, The Jefferson Awards, CNN Heroes and the Nickelodeon HALO Awards.

This call for nominations offers the opportunity for educators, civic leaders and teen mentors to acknowledge Jewish teens who are actively working to create meaningful change in their communities and the world.

As many as five teens from California and 10 from other communities nationwide will be acknowledged for demonstrating exceptional leadership and impact in repairing the world.

Those interested in nominating a teen, or any teen interested in applying directly, should visit dillerteenawards.org to begin the nomination or application process. The nomination deadline is Dec. 18, 2018; all applications must be completed by Jan. 8, 2019.

KIDS CALENDAR

NOVEMBER DECEMBER

THURSDAYS

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

FRIDAYS

FOURTH FRIDAYS WITH RABBI EVE POSEN: 5:15-7 Kim Schneiderman entertains an intergenerational gathering with music and stories every Thursday.

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

NOV. 14

PORTLAND JEWISH ACADEMY OPEN HOUSE: 10 am at PJA, 6651 SW Capitol Hwy., Portland. Come tour the campus, meet the faculty and see the school that is an inclusive community school providing a rich Judaic and secular education for children from 6 weeks old through eighth grade. 503-244-0126

DEC. 2

PJ LIBRARY HANUKKAH READING: 11 am at Green Bean Books, 1600 NE Alberta St, Portland. . rachelr@jewishportland.org or 503-892-7415

DONUTS + DANCING: 2-4 pm at the Mittleman Jewish

Community Center, 6651 SW Capitol Hwy., Portland. Make decoration, enjoy Israeli dancing and eat sufganiyot at this family-friendly Hanukkah celebration. $10/family. oregonjcc.org/donuts

DEC. 6

HANUKKAH JEWISH HERITAGE NIGHT: See page 34.

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

WEDNESDAYS

CHAI BABY + PJ LIBRARY INDOOR PLAYGROUND: 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

Eric Kimmel returns to Green Bean Books on Dec. 2 for his annual Hanukkah reading for PJ Library.

SATURDAYS

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. 503222-1069

SHABBAT STORYTIME: 9:45-10:15 am, second Saturdays, at 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. 503473-8227 KESSER KIDS' TIME: 10:45 am-noon every second and fourth Saturday at Congregation Kesser Israel, 6698 SW Capitol Hwy., Portland. Games, songs, learning, food activity for ages 2-11. Free.

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Drawing from Hassidic series by Jared’s mom, Jeanne Goodman. Jared is using a drawing from the series to illustrate each of his programs.

Building unity and understanding through ice cream and stories

By Deborah Moon

Jared Goodman hopes a little sweetness can help bridge some of the chasms that have opened up in the current divisive social climate.

Jared created Morgan St Theater five years ago to bring people together over ice cream and stories. This year his popular dessert pop-ups will have the added dimension of combatting anti-Semitism thanks to a grant from the Regional Arts and Culture Council.

“I believe anti-Semitism, like all forms of hatred, comes from not being exposed (to a group of people),” says Jared. “So I wanted to put myself in front of them to expose them to Jewishness.”

“I will share stories about three moments that define my Jewishness,” says Jared.

He will accompany each personal story with a retelling of a classic Jewish tale and a dessert inspired by that story. For instance, Jared was inspired to bake challah after reading a piece on Shabbat by Abraham Joshua Heschel. His retelling of that story will be accompanied by a sundae featuring waffled challah French toast. In a story by Isaac Bashevis Singer, a character dreams of eating a blintz, so that tale will be accompanied by lemon buttermilk ice cream wrapped in a blintz and topped with a fruit sauce.

The Jewish Project will be in three venues on Portland’s Eastside and three in Portland’s Pearl District, including one performance at the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education. To help attract non-Jews to the performances, Jared is donating some tickets to groups active near each venue so that price will not be an obstacle for people wishing to attend.

The final performance at Woodlawn Methodist Church is presented in partnership with Don’t Shoot Portland and Woodlawn MIC (Multicultural Impact Collective). Following that performance, a panel discussion will explore identity and assimilation for Jews and other marginalized communities.

Jared has seen the power of stories, both at his programs and also at home. Both of his children, Lena, 6, and Jonah, 2, are devotees of PJ Library, which each month delivers free books and music to enrolled children ages 6 weeks to 8 years.

“PJ Library is a fantastic resource,” says Jared as his Jonah enthusiastically shows off one of his new books.

Jared wants to share the magic of stories with the community; his performances are kid-friendly for older children who will sit and listen, not play on an iPad. Performances will be Nov. 8, 10 and 17, and Dec. 1, 9 and 15. Times and locations vary. More information and tickets are available online at morgansttheater.com/tickets.

56 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

Sukkah building offers lessons in ancient carpentry and Judaism

From left, Temple Emek Shalom Rabbi Joshua Boettiger (blue T-shirt) and master timber-framer Robert LaPorte (yellow hat) help congregants lift a post and beam section of the sukkah they built without nails.

By Mary Silva

The sukkah is designed to be both sturdy and vulnerable – offering shelter, but open to the sky and the elements as we spend time in it during the festival of Sukkot. The sukkahs we build today are reminders of our ancestors’ time following captivity in Egypt, when survival meant moving from place to place, building shelters from whatever materials they could find in their environment.

When the sukkah at Temple Emek Shalom in Ashland needed replacing, Rabbi Joshua Boettiger and his congregants decided to build the new sukkah themselves, while learning an ancient form of carpentry known as mortise and tenon joinery.

They worked for a week with master timber-framer Robert LaPorte, of EcoNest in Ashland, who taught the method of building without the use of nails or metal fasteners.

Twelve people worked on the structure – Emek Shalom congregants and apprentice timber-framers from the community. Congregants stopped by during the week to lend a hand.

On the day the sukkah was raised, nearly 50 people gathered to watch and help heft the first bent (a basic building block of a post and beam structure) into place.

“Something changes within a community when you do the work of actually building and creating sacred structures together, when you get callouses on your hands as you work

towards a common goal,” says Rabbi Boettiger. “The process of imagining, designing and then literally fashioning the sukkah with our own hands was empowering and inspiring. This was the main reason we decided to build a special timber-frame sukkah as opposed to just building a more conventional one.”

In keeping with the tradition of using natural elements from nearby surroundings, the timber used for the sukkah was Port Orford cedar from Myrtle Point, OR. LaPorte describes it as “one of the strongest softwoods in the world,” and one known for its beauty and durability.

LaPorte’s lessons went beyond carpentry skills. He reminded the builders that when they undertake such a project, they are being built as much as they are building something. He taught participants to have a sense of gratitude to the trees they were learning from.

The group also incorporated a number of customs into the structure, says the rabbi, “such as writing prayers on the oak pegs before we drove them into the joints – so that our intentions are literally holding the sukkah together – and nailing a cedar bough onto the finished frame to reconnect it to the earth and to its origins.”

(Nails were used to attach the bough, since it wasn’t part of the construction, just an adornment.)

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HEBREW SCHOOL IN MEDFORD – Kids enjoy the Sukkot Discovery Lab put on by Chabad Jewish Center of Southern Oregon. On Oct. 22, the Chabad opened the first Hebrew school in Medford. The Hebrew School will serve children ages 2-13 from Medford, Jacksonville, Grants Pass and suburbs.

“Our Regional Jewish Center is located in Ashland but we saw a great need to branch out to the Medford area to service all those families that need to drive a distance just to participate in any Jewish activities,” says Rabbi Avi Zwiebel of the Chabad Jewish Center. faigy@chabadofashland.org | 541-482-2778

FACES & PLACES

SUKKAH SUSHI – Nearly 100 students rolled their own sushi to eat in the Sukkah at Reed College during Sukkot. Chabad at Reed’s Sushi in the Sukkah event has been a favorite holiday experience at Reed for 12 years. The sukkah in front of the cafeteria brings Jewish pride to campus every year. What a beautiful way to wrap up a whole month of Jewish holidays and activities!

EUGENE LEGACY – Temple Beth Israel welcomed Julie Diamond and Gail Mandel from OJCF to Eugene for a Donor Reception and Life and Legacy Book of Life Signing during Sukkot. Pictured: Patti and Tom Barkin, long time TBI members, sign their Life & Legacy Book of Life page.

GLO & JOY ART PROJECT – Gloria Hammer, left, and Joy Kloman, of Joy’s Art Studio, display paintings by youth from The Next Door, Inc., at a Glo & Joy Art Project fundraiser Sept. 27 at the Crush Cider Café in Hood River. The Next Door’s mission is “to open doors to new possibilities by strengthening children and families and improving communities” in the Mid-Columbia Gorge region through 28 programs serving 3,000 people. “We rely on the generosity and partnership of our neighbors like Glo and Joy, who have provided painting parties for the children in our programs,” says Executive Director Janet L. Hamada. “We are so grateful to Gloria Hammer.”

58 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

DIGNITY COALITION – Sept. 26, as part of the Sukkot holiday, 20 members of the Interfaith Coalition for Dignity joined together for dinner at Congregation Shaarie Torah’s sukkah. They heard from Randy Blazak, director for the Coalition on Hate Crimes in Oregon. Since the current environment in Oregon is quite challenging, Randy shared about his work against Neo-Nazis and skinheads. The community coalition of faith and community leaders meet regularly to respond to local instances of hate.

FACES & PLACES

REJEWVENATION – More than 110 women attended ReJewvenation at B’nai B’rith Camp Sept. 21-23. They raised a record breaking $40,000 in support of campers.

GALA – Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak spoke at the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland Gala Oct. 14. The event, chaired by Steven Kahn (left), raised more than $575,000 to kick-off the Campaign for Community Needs. Photo by Elie Bulka.

HOLIDAY FAMILY CAMP – 28 families brought in the High Holidays at BB Camp’s High Holidays Family Camp in collaboration with Congregation Beth Israel.

MIKVAH ANNIVERSARY – Portland’s new community mikvah celebrates its first anniversary Nov. 1. Located in a secluded, natural setting on the Schnitzer Family Campus, Rachel’s Well provides every Jew access to the ritual bath. In the first year, the mikvah has been the site of 130 immersions for Taharat HaMishpacha (ritual family purity); 35 Israeli infant conversions (from gay Israelis using Oregon surrogacy program); 48 local conversions; 14 healing; 26 celebratory; 16 holiday related; and 11 other.

Including traditional men’s pre-Shabbat and other holiday immersions, the 400+ total immersions are more than triple the annual average at the old community mikvah. Rachel’s Well is owned by the Jewish Federation of Portland with ritual supervision provided by the Oregon Board of Rabbis. jewishportland.org/mikvah

BOOK LAUNCH – Helen Rosenau, right, talks to some of the 70 or more people who attended the Sept. 27 launch of her book The Messy Joys of Being Human at the Davis restaurant in downtown Eugene. Above left she signs copies of the book, which she calls an eclectic mix of spirituality and practical advice, told through stories, writing prompts, coaching and cheerleading. She has written Oregon Jewish Life’s advice column Ask Helen since the magazine’s inception.

Themessyjoys.com OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 59

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PREVIEWS

ONE-MAN SHOW EXPLORES LEGACY OF HOLOCAUST

The White Elephant Archive, Setting No. 3 explores the legacy of the Holocaust from the perspective of the third generation living in Austria today. Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education presents two performances of this intensely personal, one-man production.

Eduard Freudmann uses his family’s archive – which includes poems written by his grandfather while imprisoned in concentration camps – to explore his family’s silence about the Holocaust, and his own attempt to understand the burden of this legacy through art. Reflecting on the politics of Holocaust commemoration in Austria, and larger questions about how to speak of a horror once its witnesses are gone or silent, this production provides a rare and important glimpse into the experience of the third generation living in Europe, and the impact of trauma across generations.

This performance of The White Elephant Archive, Setting No. 3 is made possible by the Future Fund of the Republic of Austria and Federal Chancellery of Austria.

Eduard Freudmann is an award-winning multimedia artist specializing in video, performance and public installations. His most recent work “The Monument May Be a Forest” (2016), was selected as the winning design of the controversial competition “From Those You Saved,” which will commemorate the Polish Righteous Gentiles in Warsaw. Freudmann’s work has been presented globally in international exhibitions, art biennials and festivals, including the OFF-Biennále Budapest.

He is senior artist at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, where he researches and teaches trans-disciplinary art.

The show will be at OJMCHE at 7 pm, Nov. 13 and 14. Tickets are $10 OJMCE members, $15 general public. For tickets or information, call 503-226-3600.

SEPHARDIC FILM FESTIVAL BEGINS NOV. 13

The 13th Annual Sephardic Winter Film Series will feature free films followed by a speaker and a Sephardic dessert. Films are shown at 7 pm on the second Tuesday of each month from November 2018 through April 2019 at Ahavath Achim, 3225 SW Barbur Blvd., Portland.

Following are the films featured in this year’s series: 60 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

Nov. 13, Schmatta: From Rags to Riches to Rags. This HBO documentary about New York’s garment industry and Irving L. Rousso tells the story of the vanishing garment center through the voices of the people who experienced its highs and lows.

English; 72 minutes; producer Daphne Pinkerson; speaker Brad Popick.

Dec. 11, Carvalhos’ Journey. A compelling documentary film about the mapping of the American west and western migration led by General John C. Freemont. “Carvalho’s Journey” tells the extraordinary story of Solomon Nunes Carvalho (1815-1897), an observant Sephardic Jew born in Charleston, SC, and his life as a groundbreaking photographer, artist and pioneer in American history. English; 85 minutes; producer Steve Rivo; speaker TBA. Jan. 8, Trezoros: The lost Jews of Kastoria.

Feb. 12, A Woman Called Golda (part one of two).

March 12, A Woman Called Golda (part two).

April 9, The Women’s Balcony.

Admission and Sephardic dessert are free.

The series is sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, NCSY, Albert J. and Esther Menashe, Richard and Judi Matza, Oregon Kosher, Ron and Pam Sidis, Renee Ferrera, Eve Stern and Les Gutfreund, and Michael Menashe.

For more information call Ron at 503-318-3732.

DOING TUESDAY AT THE FOOD BANK

The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland is holding Doing Tuesday projects at both the Portland and Beaverton locations of the Oregon Food Bank from 6 to 8:30 pm, Nov. 27.

During an evening of service, gratitude and tzedakah, volunteers will help prepare food to be distributed to hungry families in the Perishable Repack Room at Oregon Food Bank. Volunteers help with the most fundamental part of Oregon Food Bank’s mission – getting food to the people who need it most.

Many donations need sorting, repacking, labeling or additional processing before they are ready to be sent to hunger-relief agencies.

For adults and children ages 6 years and up. All volunteers under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

For more information, call Caron Blau Rothstein at 503-2456449. Sign up at jewishportland.org/doingtuesday.

NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER CALENDAR

Through Nov. 30

Nov. 6

Monthly Mitzvah Project: Holiday gifts. PJA and MJCC are collecting holiday gifts for families served by Jewish Family and Child Services. Items may be dropped off in the blue bin in the MJCC Lobby. 503-535-3555

Infant Feeding Support Group: 10-11:30 am at the MJCC. Connect with other nursing parents to share the joys and challenges of breastfeeding and get answers from Lara Greenberg, a board certifed lactation consultant. $6 drop in.

503-535-3555

Through Dec. 20 Witness: Themes of Social Justice in Contemporary Printmaking and Photography. portlandartmuseum.org or or 503-226-28.

See page 50.

Through Feb. 24 Memory Unearthed: The Lodz Ghetto Photographs of Henryk Ross, Portland Art Museum. portlandartmuseum.org or 503-226-2811 The Last Journey of the Jews of Lodz at the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education. ojmche.org or 503-226-3600

Nov. 4 Rachel Calof’s Story: A dramatized story of a Jewish mail order bride. 3 pm at Congregation Beth Israel, 1972 NW Flanders St., Portland. $18, $10/youth. Presented by CBI and MJCC. oregonjcc.org/rachelcalof

Storytelling Workshop: Immigration – How My Family Got Here. 7 pm at OJMCHE, 724 NW Davis St., Portland. Second in a three-part series that focuses on the art and craft of storytelling. The workshops can be taken independently. Led by Cassandra Sagan, an ordained Maggid, a Jewish teacher/preacher/storyteller. 503-226-3600. $8/members; $10.

Nov. 8 Brown Bag Lunch Discussion with Rosalyn Kliot.

Part of book celebration. See page 49 Nosh and Drash with Rabbi Eve Posen. 3-4 pm at the MJCC. Topic: The Torah of Thanksgiving. Free.

503-535-3555 Spilt Milk. Comedy duo Betsy Kauffman and Joanie Quinn perform at 7 pm at Lake Theater & Café, 106 N State St., Lake Oswego. $15. 503482-2135

SEE KIDS CALENDAR PAGE 55

The Jewish Project: Storytelling and Ice Cream.

See page 56

Nov. 10 The Jewish Project: Storytelling and Ice Cream.

See page 56

Nov. 11 Art & Spirit. 2-4 pm at the MJCC. An art workshop that explores the mystical aspects of the Hebrew Alphabet. Instructor: Shirona Lurie. $18. oregonjcc.org/artandspirit Israel Film Series: Lost Boys of Portlandia. 7 pm at Congregation Kol Ami, 7800 NE 119th St., Vancouver, WA. By local Israeli filmmaker Nili Yosha. In a riff on Peter Pan, homeless youth of Portland debate if and how to return to mainstream society while creating their own film version of the iconic story. MJCC and Kol Ami members/$5; $8. oregonjcc.org/film

Nov. 13 Infant Feeding Support Group: 10-11:30 am at the MJCC. $6 drop in. 503-535-3555

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

MAZEL TOV! Thank you for an amazing first year of operations at Rachel’s Well.

We had more than 400 traditional & contemporary immersions!

Come for an immersion-- to heal, transition, mourn, celebrate. #mikvahforall ®

HERE FOR <28

www.jewishportland.org/mikvah OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 61

NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER CALENDAR Nov. 13 & 14

Dec. 1-31

The White Elephant Archive, Setting No. 3. See page 60

Monthly Mitzvah Project. PJA and MJCC are collecting Arts & Crafts Supplies for the Ronald McDonald House. Items may be dropped off in the blue bin in the MJCC Lobby near the Member Services Desk. 503-535-3555

Nov. 14 Portland Jewish Academy Open House. 10 am at PJA. Tour school and see programs for children ages 6 weeks through eighth grade. 503-2440126

Nov. 15 Poetry Night at the J. 6:30-7:30 pm at the MJCC. Join local poets Justin Carroll, Bill Durham and others, as they share their poems and stories with the community. Free. 503-535-3555 Interfaith Gratitude Service. 7-8 pm at Beit Haverim, 1111 Country Club Road, Lake Oswego.

Join us in this celebration of gratitude for the love of God, humankind, our shared values, and the diverse ways we express our faith. Participants from Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Bahá’í communities. 503-310-9184 Israel360: Asking the tough questions. 7-8:30 pm at Congregation Neveh Shalom, 2900 SW Peaceful Lane, Portland. A Conversation Between Rabbi David Kosak and IDF Brigadier General (Res.) Nitzan Nuriel. Free. 503-246-8831

Nov. 17 The Jewish Project: Storytelling and Ice Cream.

See page 56

Dec. 1 Young Adult Latke Ball 21+. Cosponsored by the MJCC and Jewish Federation of Greater Portland.

For location and details, contact Lenny Steinberg at 503-535-3555 or lsteinberg@oregonjcc.org The Jewish Project: Storytelling and Ice Cream.

See page 56

Dec. 2 Super Sunday Beach Party. Put some sunshine in your December while helping your community.

9 am-noon at Portland Jewish Academy. Annual Phone-a-thon to raise funds for the annual community campaign of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. jewishportland.org Public Menorah Lighting and Hanukkah party.

4 pm at Director Park, downtown Portland.

ChabadOregon.com

Dec. 2-10 Hanukkah begins at sunset Dec. 2. Light your first candle evening of Dec. 2 and full hanukiyah evening of Dec. 9.

Dec. 4 Nov. 18 Hanukkah Fair and Latke Fry. 10 am-3 pm at Congregation Shaarie Torah, 920 NW 25th Ave., Portland. Local artisans, amazing holiday gifts, new gift shop merchandise and the annual Sisterhood Latke Fry. 503-226-6131, shaarietorah.org Jewish Community Orchestra: Orchestral Showcase. 3 pm at the MJCC. $10 adults, $8 seniors, $5, students. Tickets at door. 503535-3555, jewishcommunityorchestra.org/ wordpress/

Nov. 27 Doing Tuesday. See page 60 Infant Feeding Support Group: 10-11:30 am at the MJCC. $6 drop in. 503-535-3555

Storytelling Workshop: Resistance. 7 pm at OJMCHE, 724 NW Davis St., Portland. The art and craft of storytelling led by Cassandra Sagan, an ordained Maggid, a Jewish teacher/preacher/ storyteller. 503-226-3600. $8/members; $10.

Dec. 6 Hanukkah Jewish Heritage Night with the Blazers.

See page 34

Dec. 6 & 7 Israel Art Exhibit & Sale. See page 51

Dec. 9 Portland Jewish Academy Auction. 4:30-9 pm at PJA, 6651 SW Capitol Hwy., Portland. The evening includes a silent auction, live auction, costume contest, dinner and fun! “Sail Away with PJA.” 503-244-0126, pjaproud.org/auction

62 OREGON JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

Power of Protest: Portland Jewish Library Family Day. 3-4:30 at the OJMCHE. Join us for an afternoon of activism and celebration in honor of Soviet Jewry. We will raise our voices in the songs and chants that changed the course of modern Jewish history. 503-226-3600 The Jewish Project: Storytelling and Ice Cream.

See page 56

Dec. 13 Pianist David Rothman in Recital. 7 pm at the MJCC. Piano virtuoso David Rothman tackles the masterworks of composers Ludwig van Beethoven and Frederic Chopin. Continues Dec. 20. $10; members, $5. 503-535-3555, oregonjcc.org/ pianoconcert Nosh and Drash with Rabbi Eve Posen. 3-4 pm at the MJCC. Topic: Texts of Inspiration. Free. 503535-3555 Spilt Milk. Comedy duo Betsy Kauffman and Joanie Quinn perform at 7 pm at Lake Theater & Café, 106 N State St., Lake Oswego. $15. 503482-2135

Dec. 15 The Jewish Project: Storytelling and Ice Cream.

See page 56

Dec. 20 Pianist David Rothman in Recital. 7 pm at the MJCC. Piano virtuoso David Rothman tackles the masterworks of composers Ludwig van Beethoven and Frederic Chopin. Final performance in series. $10; members, $5. 503-535-3555, oregonjcc. org/pianoconcert

Dec. 25 Chinese Food & a Movie. 11 am-2 pm at the MJCC. Join the community for this yearly tradition! Enjoy a Kosher Chinese-inspired lunch, watch a family-friendly film, and participate in other activities and crafts. Adults $15, Youth $10.

Register by Dec. 19: oregonjcc.org/movie

Dec. 31 New Year’s Eve at Noon. 11 am-2 pm at the MJCC. Fun family event to ring in the New Year! Arts and crafts, games, bouncy house, dancing, snacks, pool float and our annual countdown to 2019 at noon with the balloon drop! Free. 503-535-3555

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