Jewish Federation of Portland, NCSY Organization, Oregon Jewish Community Foundation, Albert J. & Esther Menashe, Richard & Judi Matza, Oregon Kosher, Ron & Pam Sidis, Renee Ferrera, Jose Behar, Eve Stern & Les Gutfreund, Michael Menashe, Ruben & Elizabeth Menashe, Barry Menashe, Gevurtz Menashe Attorneys and Albert A. Menashe & Shawn Menashe
January 14, 2020
A Kiss To This Land
This fascinating film narrates the story of Jewish immigration to Mexico 1920-1930. It is a tribute to an entire generation of both Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jews who built communities and new lives and dreams after leaving their homes in Europe and the Middle East. This film has humor, love, adventure, joy and sadness.
Spanish w/ English subtitles, 83 minutes, Producer: Daniel Goldberg, Speaker: Jose Behar
February 11, 2020 GI JEWS: Jewish Americans in WWII
This film tells the story of 550,000 Jewish American men and women who fought in World War II. In their own words, veterans both famous and unknown bring their war experiences to life; how they fought for their nation and their people, struggled with anti-Semitism within their ranks, and emerged transformed, more powerfully American and more deeply Jewish.
English, 90 minutes, 2017, Producer: Lisa Ades
Speakers: Rick Cohen & Boby Brown
March 3, 2020
DOUBLE FEATURE INTERNATIONAL NIGHT
The Nazi Games –Berlin 1936
This Film chronicles the story of how the Nazis and the International Olympic Committee turned a relatively small, elitist, sports event into an epic global mass media spectacle. The grand themes replete with architectural grandiosity, budget overruns, corruption, bribery, collusion with unsavory characters – including dictators and autocrats – and the ill treatment of black and Jewish athletes. This is a study of deception.
English language, 61 minutes, 2016 Produced by Taglicht Media.
Holocaust Escape Tunnel
For centuries the Lithuanian city of Vilna was one of the most important Jewish centers in the world, earning the name “Jerusalem of the North”. The Nazis murdered 95% of its Jewish population. Now an international team of archaeologists is trying to rediscover this forgotten world, excavating the remains of its Great Synagogue and searching for one of its great secrets: a lost escape tunnel dug by Jewish prisoners inside a horrific Nazi execution site. English language, 2016, 60 minutes, Produced by PBS, Speaker: Natan Meir, PSU
PLEASE NOTE THE NEW LOCATION FOR ALL SCREENINGS: Congregation Ahavath Achim’s new sanctuary, located in Hillsdale neighborhood 6686 SW Capitol Hwy., Portland, OR 97219. Call Ron at 503-750-0888
JAN/FEB 2020
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Thriving in an uncertain world
Eight years ago, we published our very frst Jewish Life magazine. Te cover couple was Aithan Shapira, a young artist, and his wife, Debra Rosenthal, a technology director for a sustainable cofee importer. Besides the fact that both of them attended my alma mater, Brandeis University, they were both so impressive and inspiring individually and as a couple. So I was so excited to come across a YouTube video of a talk Aithan did for TEDx a few years ago.
In his talk Aithan, now an artist and lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, explores knowing what to do with your expertise when everything is changing, what to do when you aren’t certain what next steps to take in your business, in your organization … in life. He explains that with the acceleration of technology and information, it is often paralyzing to be able to know what to do with all of this new knowledge.
Aithan states, “Our need for certainty, is making us more uncertain.” He explores what our organizations and leaders need to do to take on the challenges in these uncertain times. I can't help but relate this to the organized Jewish communities throughout the United States.
Not only has our Jewish communal leadership been dealing with how to stay relevant to an everchanging demographic, including how to navigate and communicate through social media, but now they are challenged with the growing threat of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, the likes of which we have not experienced in decades.
Artists are profcient at “stepping into the challenges” ahead of them, even without knowing what to do. Tey thrive in uncertainty because they have the skills and tools to navigate through it.
Tink of studio musicians sitting in on a jam session with new music that has just been placed in front of them, and playing with musicians that they have never played with. Te decision making that they go through (just to keep up) happens at lightning speed.
“ Tey are practicing a shift in confdence. Artists are confdent in something beyond their expertise. Tey're confdent in knowing what to do when things are changing. Tey consistently and reliably reevaluate a circumstance and make decisions,” says Aithan.
So what is the take away we can learn from artists?
We need to learn to step into what we don't know.
Tere are programs that are designed to immerse leaders in the arts so that they develop new ways to lean into the complexities of change and take action, even when they’re unsure of what’s next.
“We're building muscles for uncertainty. If you want to make someone creative, make them more uncertain. ... (artists) are making decisions with speed and conviction.” Aithan continues.
“If you're certain, there's no need to change. But the moment you're faced with uncertainty, you’ve got an opportunity to make a creative decision. It is not just a positive result that artists seek, but the clarity of their decisions in the change.”
In 2020, our professional Jewish communities are faced with the need to change and adapt like never before. But to leverage uncertainty to beneft our organizations, we should take some instructive inspiration from the “artists’ process” for ourselves and our leadership. And we might even learn to enjoy the journey of uncertainty along the way.
We have new content every day in addition to digital versions of each issue of Oregon Jewish Life. New things are coming and they will be announced on our website first.
Let’s be weird together with Boaz Frankel
By Mala Blomquist
Boaz Frankel moved to Pittsburgh in March of 2019, but he will return to his native Portland, along with his wife, Brooke Barker, on Feb. 5 for a book signing of Let’s Be Weird Together: A Book About Love at Powell’s City of Books at 1005 W. Burnside St. in Portland.
Let’s Be Weird Together is the frst book collaboration from the couple. Tey have been working on “It’s Diferent Every Day” for the past six years, a page-a-day calendar comprised of a collection of animal facts, miniature models, games, trivia, fnger puppets, and more quirky tidbits.
Teir editors at Workman Publishing that suggested they
write a book together. “ Tey’re like, ‘I wonder if there’s a book you two could write together about something,” remembers Boaz. At f sure. “When we got home, we thought, ‘What if we did it, what would that look like?’ Ten we started generating ideas, and I was like, ‘Oh gosh, this could actually be pretty funny,’ ” says Boaz. Te idea behind the book started to grow on them, and they put together a pitch and presented it to their editors. Let’s Be Weird Together, “a book about weird couples and the tiny twoperson universes they create,” was born.
Boaz and Brooke co-wrote the book and Brooke did the illustrations. Brooke has also written and illustrated two prior books, Sad Animal Facts, and its sequel, Sad Animal Babies. Her books have been translated into nine languages, and her comics have been featured in New York Magazine, Forbes, Entertainment Weekly, Parade, and Te Guardian, among others.
Their latest combined creation, Let's Be Weird Together.
Boaz can now add author to his other titles of flmmaker, talk show host and, curiously, museum curator. For six years, Boaz hosted “ Te Pedal Powered Talk Show,” a fusion of a late-nightstyle-talk-show production and a cargo bike.
“We just started pedaling around Portland, and then a couple of years later, we were at Mount Rushmore with it, or on the top of the Space Needle,” says Boaz. “We really took it so many more places than I ever imagined it could go.”
When asked if he would ever consider getting back on the bike, he replies, “Never say never. Te bike desk is still ready to go, so who knows?” With a sponsor, he could realize his dream of taking the bike desk to Tel Aviv.
In the meantime, he’s busy remodeling Te Kazoo Museum he started more than 10 years ago. Yes, you read that right, a kazoo museum. It started when Boaz was living in Seattle. “ Te startup I was working for had all these random glass cases in the ofce,” says Boaz. “I put a few kazoos in there and then I went on
Husband and wife, Brooke Barker and Boaz Frankel displaying their individual and collaborative writing endeavors.
Boaz Frankel and Phillip Ross pedaled around making the “The Pedal Powered Talk Show” for six years.
eBay and bought a few older kazoos, because unlike Picasso’s or something, you can buy antique kazoos pretty cheap. For under $10, suddenly you have an 80-year-old kazoo – because you’re probably the only one who’s interested in that.”
As the collection grew, so did his love for one of the few instruments invented in America. “It’s sort of the truly democratic instrument in that anybody can pick it up and play it,” says Boaz.
“You don’t have to take violin lessons or oboe lessons; you have it, it’s in you. It’s a fascinating instrument, and there’s not a lot known about the origins of it, so it’s been fun to try to research and fgure that stuf out.”
He started arranging the cases and putting placards in them, and then they got some local press about the novelty of a kazoo museum open in Seattle. “I gave little tours, it wasn’t very big,” says Boaz.
When he left Seattle, he put the kazoos away into boxes and thought that’s where they might stay for a bit, but as fate would have it, he met the owners of Te Kazoobie Kazoo Factory.
Tey had just purchased a larger space and ofered to house the museum in front of their factory in Beaufort, SC.
Te Kazoo Museum and Gift Shop are open Monday through Friday from 9 am-4 pm. Tey are getting ready to do a remodel.
“It hasn’t had a major update in 10 years, so it’s time,” says Boaz.
“It’s a free museum so people can’t expect too much. We’re running on a pretty limited budget, as you can imagine. Free museums don’t tend to generate a lot of money.”
Between the book tour and the museum remodel, Boaz is also working on a documentary project called “PGH Stories.”
When he moved to Pittsburgh, he learned that the city is made up of 90 diverse neighborhoods – so he decided to do a 90-part documentary series exploring each one.
“It seems like a fun project,” Boaz says. “If I work fast, I should fnish this project in 5 to 6 years, so it’ll be a while.”
Boaz also (somehow!) has time for his other interesting hobbies, including making animatronic birds and working to reclaim his Guinness World Record for the most high fves in an hour, but those are a story for another time.
Let’s Be Weird Together: A Book About Love is available on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble, Target and other retail locations. To keep up with Boaz and his adventures, visit stufbyboaz.com.
BIZ
INS & OUTS
Sterling Talent, Inc. and J-Fell Presents merge booking operations
Sterling Talent , Inc., a Portland-based full-service talent agency founded in 1982, is merging booking operations with J-Fell Presents, a prolific booker and promoter of tribute and cover bands, effective January 1, 2020. The combined talent agency will operate under the name Sterling Talent, Inc., while J-Fell Presents will continue to operate as a promoter and event producer.
Sterling’s roster includes bands, corporate shows, DJs, comedians, interactive entertainment, keynote speakers, novelty acts, and more. Additionally, J-Fell’s exclusive roster of tribute and cover bands will now be represented by Sterling.
“This merger creates tremendous benefits for our clients and talent alike,” says J-Fell’s Jason Fellman. “Sterling’s existing clients will gain access to J-Fell’s sizable tribute band audience along with extensive marketing assets and expertise, while J-Fell’s existing clients will benefit from the full-service nature of the combined agency bolstered by Sterling’s 35 years of experience as one of the Northwest’s top talent agencies.”
“We’ve been working with J-Fell Presents for the better part of a decade, and their bands have always been first-rate,” says Becky Johnson, founder of Sterling Talent. “But their ability to market and promote events is what truly sets them apart. I am thrilled to bring this capability to our clients!”
sterlingtalent.com
New Israeli emissary joins StandWithUs Northwest
The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland is partnering once again with StandWithUs Northwest, a nonprofit organization focusing on Israel education, to provide local high school students with an opportunity to engage with a young and engaging Israeli speaker.
Aviv Attia , is available to speak to high school classes throughout the metropolitan area about Israeli society, Israeli culture, similarities and differences in teenage life in Israel versus that in America, Israeli history, and Israel’s relationship with its Arab neighbors, in particular the Palestinians. Aviv is available to local schools (and local organizations) at no cost.
Aviv is from Tel Aviv and has a fascinating family story. His father’s family lived in Spain for centuries but was expelled and went to Tunisia following the Alhambra Decree in 1492. After centuries in Tunisia, they were forced to flee to Israel in the early 1950s. While his maternal grandparents were Iraqis from a very wealthy family in Baghdad. In the early 1960s, they fled to Israel because of terrible anti-Semitism. They were forced to leave all their property behind and begin a new life in the land of Israel.
standwithus.com
Sterling Talent
Barry Greenberg named chairman of Jewish Scouting
Barry Greenberg was recently appointed Chairman of Cascade Pacific Council’s Committee on Jewish Scouting, Boy Scouts of America.
“We’re not only anxious to find people interested in scouting, but equally to reconnect with parents (and grandparents) who have great personal scouting experiences and can help develop our leadership. It’s our intention to start a brand new cub scout pack and scout troop for boys and girls in first grade through high school,” says Barry.
There will be a “Join Night” held in the Mittleman JCC Conference Room for all boys and girls interested in Scouting with a Jewish orientation on Wednesday, January 22, at 6:30 pm. MJCC, PJA, CBI, BBCampers, those unaffiliated, and others from throughout the community are invited.
At the age of 21, Barry became a Jewish Lay Leader, or Ecclesiastical Minister, in the United States Air Force by appointment of the National Jewish Welfare Board. He is a recipient of the United States Air Force Chief of Chaplain’s Award. He continued in service to the Jewish community as an executive with B’nai B’rith International, Jewish National Fund and national Jewish Hospital-National Asthma Center until founding Celebrity Connection in 1982.
He served on the board of directors of the Hollywood-Wilshire YMCA for 12 years. He is currently on the board of directors of Veterans’ Legacies-The Mighty Endeavor, and is honored to be senior advisor to General Merrill McPeak, 14th Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. cpcbsa.org/joinscouts
Cedar Sinai Park announces new senior appointments
Dru Rosenthal , experienced philanthropy, community relations and event management professional, has joined the nonprofit organization to lead its development and communications department.
“Dru’s experience in development, marketing and communications with agencies such as Ronald McDonald House, Susan Komen and the Dougy Center will be a great asset to CSP,” says Kimberly Fuson, Cedar Sinai Park’s interim CEO. “She brings a personal and professional commitment to the community that aligns perfectly with Cedar Sinai Park’s.”
Dru graduated in journalism and broadcasting from the University of Oregon. She worked in broadcast marketing before turning her focus to nonprofit service providers. Over the past 15 years, she has helped many nonprofit organizations support those they serve by developing meaningful community partnerships.
Vivian Villegas began with Cedar Sinai Park in December 2019 as the new administrator of Rose Schnitzer Manor, the state’s largest assisted living community. Vivian brings more than 20 years’ experience in the senior care field, including serving as administrator or executive director at several assisted living and memory care communities.
“It’s wonderful to add Vivian’s experience at other communities to our leadership team,” says Fuson. “She’s adding new ideas as well as expertise with well-established ways of serving residents with dignity and respect.”
Vivian has a degree in business administration from Cal State and worked in human resources before specializing in senior care.
Ray Younger has joined Cedar Sinai Park as building services director, where he will oversee all campus facilities. Ray’s focus will be on ensuring buildings are well-maintained with safety, security and comfort of residents as top priority. Ray comes to CSP from another leading senior care organization and has strong experience ensuring healthy buildings and compliance with all regulatory standards.
cedarsinaipark.org
Aviv Attia
Barry Greenberg
Cedar Sinai Park
SUZI WEISS-FISCHMANN
First Lady of Nails
By Mala Blomquist
ne of my fondest memories connected to OPI nail polish was when my daughters, ages 6 and 10 at the time, were picking out the nail polish colors for their frst mani-pedis. Tey had a blast turning the bottles over and giggling at the names like “Ladies and Magenta-men,” “Orange You Glad it’s Summer” and “Suzi Sells Sushi by the Seashore.”
I always knew the iconic brand for its fun names and rainbow of unique colors, but I never knew that the “Suzi” mentioned in so many of the names was actually a nod to the incredible woman behind OPI, co-founder Suzi Weiss-Fischmann. Along with her brother-in-law, George Schaefer, she created OPI, which blossomed into a celebrated brand with products distributed in more than 100 countries on six continents.
FAMILY AND FAITH
Suzi Weiss was born in Hungary in 1956 during the Hungarian Revolution to parents Magda and Laszlo Weiss. Many Jews had crossed the border to Austria to escape the Russian invasion, but her family lived far from the border. With no way to get to Austria, they were forced to stay in Hungary.
“My father’s dream was always to come to America,” says Suzi. “He hated communism, and fnally, we found a way to emigrate to Israel.” Tey were able to obtain the proper paperwork due to Israel’s diplomatic relations with Hungary at the time, prior to the Six-Day War in
“We got passports because of some
Magda was imprisoned at Auschwitz, and Laszlo was on the Russian front in a forced labor camp. Tey both returned to Hungary after the war, met and married. Her dad would share stories, but her mom only opened up after Suzi’s niece came back from a March of the Living trip (an educational program, bringing individuals from around the world to Poland and Israel to study the history of the Holocaust) with many questions.
“ Tat was the frst time, in the beginning, she never spoke about it, but I tell everybody I was very lucky because my parents were very loving and very warm,” says Suzi. “Among the frst generation of survivors, sometimes there are many issues of love and showing afection.”
connections – in the communist system you always have to fnd the little door next to the big door – and we got passports, emigrated to Israel and then we applied to the American embassy in Israel,” says Suzi.
After applying to the embassy, it took almost three years for the family to receive their green cards (permanent resident cards). Tey moved to New York in 1969.
Both her parents were survivors. Before meeting,
Suzi shares that her mom always had a smile on her face and was a woman of faith. She prayed twice a day, and as a promise to herself when she left Hungary, she always kept kosher and observed Shabbat, but her dad, not so much.
“When they would go back to Hungary, my dad would say, ‘I’m going for a walk,’ and we all knew that he would go to the deli and eat a hot dog,” says Suzi with a chuckle. “I think my mom knew too, but she didn’t say anything.”
Suzi’s husband, Dr. George Fischmann, dons tefllin every morning, and they try to do Shabbat dinner every Friday night with family, friends, or both. She believes
The co-founders behind the beauty empire know as OPI, George Schaefer and Suzi Weiss-Fischmann.
that growing up with these traditions gave her children Andrea, 26, and Andrew, 23, some discipline.
“I always tell my kids these traditions were kept for thousands of years, and I feel it’s our duty to continue for the many more thousands of years to (come),” says Suzi.
BEGINNING OF SOMETHING BIG
While Suzi lived in New York, she attended Hunter College. Her sister had married George Schaefer, and his parents owned a manufacturing company that made tops for juniors on Broadway and Bleecker St. After school, she would work at the company, sweeping foors, cutting
compound and using it to make acrylic nails, a popular trend of the early 80s.
Te problem with this use of MMA was that the compound formed an extremely strong bond so that if you hit your hand, there was a good chance that your natural nail would come of along with the acrylic on top.
Suzi and George wanted to create a better, safer, more fexible product without sacrifcing the strong bond. Tey met Eric Montgomery, a chemist who worked in the movie industry with special efects. He created a formula that consisted of a monomer liquid, a polymer powder and a primer.
“I needed to hold the three products together, because they were a unit, so a
threads, and tagging blouses with the Dennison gun.
Miriam and George moved to Los Angeles in 1981, where he bought a dental supply company from his uncle. His parents kept the factory open for a little while longer, but eventually, the rest of the family also moved to California. Suzi followed in January of 1982. At this time, Suzi began working for her brother-in-law at Odontorium Products, Inc. Tey carried a product called methyl methacrylate (MMA), a chemical compound used in the production of dental bridges and crowns. Suzi and George began noticing that nail technicians were buying this
George Schaefer and I concentrated on the nail business,” says Suzi.
In 1989, they launched their frst line of nail polish. “Nail polish was kind of boring. It wasn’t fun, sexy, or aspirational. It was just like a color and a number,” says Suzi “I always say to young people today, we would be called disrupters, we really rebranded the category of professional nail polish.”
Te frst line of polish contained 30 shades from light to dark, and the frst geographic collection was the Alpine Collection. “We gave these geographical collections the fun names which became part of the brand, its DNA,” says Suzi. “People asked for OPI by name. We printed color charts you could take
“I always tell my kids these (Jewish) traditions were kept for thousands of years, and I feel it’s our duty to continue for the many more thousands of years to (come).”
~Suzi Weiss-Fischmann
rubber band was the easiest thing,” says Suzi. “ Tat was our big marketing geniusto call it the ‘rubber band special.’ ”
Suzi would drop those rubber band specials of to salons along Ventura Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley.
“People loved it!” Suzi remembers. “ Te product gave them enough time to shape the nail, the powder was very fne, so you didn’t need too much fling, and people said, ‘Where can we buy it?’ And that was the beginning of OPI.”
Do you see what they did there with the name? Odontorium Products Inc. = OPI.
“We sold the dental business two years after we started with OPI, and then
home. You could look at the colors, at the names and you could laugh. It’s amazing wherever I travel in the world I see OPI.
People can recite 5, 10, 15 names of colors (to me); it’s just amazing.”
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Every year OPI launches four seasonal collections: Spring, Summer, Fall and Holiday. Two of them are themed to a geographic location; in 2019, Scotland was the theme for the fall, and Tokyo was the spring theme.
Suzi has had a hand in naming every color of polish that bears the OPI name. Te creative process for naming the
“Nail polish was kind of boring. It wasn’t fun, sexy, or aspirational. It was just like a color and a number. I always say to young people today, we would be called disrupters, we really rebranded the category of professional nail polish.”
~Suzi Weiss-Fischmann
The top-selling color for 20 years has been OPI’s “I’m Not Really a Waitress.”
colors would start with a core group knowing what the “theme” would be for the upcoming collection a few days ahead of the meeting. “It would be myself, George Schaefer, someone from the marketing, creative, purchasing and customer service (departments), and then there would always be a guest from within the company,” says Suzi.
“We would sit around the table, I would present the shades and then everybody kind of gave their opinion, gave names.” Tey would also have food representing the country or city that the theme was centered around. It took between six and eight hours to come up with 12 names and a few alternatives (in case there was a problem when they got to the legal department).
“Honestly it was really fun, we laughed a lot, we teased each other, but it was a very democratic process, so majority ruled,” says Suzi.
In 2010, Coty, Inc, one of the world’s largest fragrance companies, acquired OPI. Suzi is still involved with the colors and the naming, which is what she loves most of all. Before the end of 2019, they were already working on the spring colors for 2021.
She says they work with groups out of Milan and Paris who predict trends and colors. “Everybody, whether you’re in fashion, package design, the cosmetics or beauty industry, you take that and you translate it to your category, and that’s how the colors are created.”
When asked what her favorite OPI colors are, Suzi says that she has two answers to that question. “My favorite color was always the one that equaled the most dollar signs,” she jokes. “I love reds. “Big Apple Red,” “I’m Not Really a Waitress,” of course. In the summer, pinks, yellow – who would have thought yellow was going to be such a hot color? And look so good. And greens and blues – I always say nothing is taboo anymore.”
Te light pink polish dubbed “Bubble Bath” is the number one seller in the “soft” shades. But for 20 years, the top-selling polish for OPI has been “I’m Not Really a Waitress.” “It’s that candy-apple red that looks good on all skin tones,” says Suzi. “ Te name has a double meaning to it because in Hollywood, everybody says, ‘I’m not really a waitress, I’m an actress.’ ”
A COLORFUL TALE
In March 2019, Suzi published her memoir that shares the same name as the best-selling polish, I’m Not Really a Waitress: How One Woman Took Over the Beauty Industry One Color at a Time. When Suzi spoke at high schools or colleges, people would approach her after and ask
Current and past collection campaigns.
her if she could talk longer, or if she had a book. At last, she had the time to dedicate to this project.
“I wanted to tell both my parents’ stories, I think it’s important for people to know what that generation went through and their survival and resilience to make a new life,” she shares. “My story as an immigrant. I lived the American dream and but the one thing I tell all the young people before I start to say anything –you need to work hard.”
Suzi continues, “You have to work hard, but the opportunity is here, and to appreciate the freedom we have – sometimes I cannot even put it into words. Until you don’t have it, you don’t realize what it means.”
She thinks that storytelling is essential and that women should share their stories to inspire each other, to lift each other up and to fnd commonality with each other.
“Speaking to people, I get inspired, I’m a very honest person, I can only be who I am, I never try to be somebody else,” says Suzi. “People can relate to me. I’m a woman with a family, business, social life, and there are all those things that we all struggle with and try to make it all happen. Nobody’s a superwoman, and it’s OK not to do everything. I always say, give yourself some grace. You do the best you can.”
When people ask her what her “aha moment” was, she says that there were so many: reaching the frst million in sales, realizing you have a product that people love, launching every new collection.
“I loved to go to work every day,” admits Suzi. “I loved the people that we had at OPI. I loved what we did. I loved the distributors. Te whole (thing) – it was just an amazing time.”
She also enjoyed visiting the testing salon at OPI. “When they wanted to test on me, I said, ‘As long as it includes a massage, I’m there.’” Jokes Suzi. “If you get that little foot or hand massage – oh
Fun polish names are what OPI is known for. Clockwise:
“Music is My Muse” “Arigato from Tokyo” “Smok’n' in Havana” “Throw Me A Kiss” “Deer Valley Spice” “Closer Than You Might Belem”
my God! I always told them whatever you want. And when I walk out of that (mani-pedi), that instant gratifcation, immediately you look so much better.”
Nail art is something that amazes Suzi today. What used to be a “kitschy” element on nails for the holidays has now evolved into couture with the hottest designers, including nail art incorporated into high fashion. Additionally, there are thousands (maybe even millions) of YouTube videos and posts on all social media platforms showcasing nail art.
“We didn’t have social media – it was a diferent time. Maybe more personal,” refects Suzi. “I love today that I can reach women all over the world in seconds, which is still amazing to me. You have all these social platforms but all that communication, sometimes that personal touch is lacking. Tis is the world we live in – it’s both amazing and challenging.”
With all of her success, when asked what she would like her legacy to be, Suzi immediately answers, “My two children. Tat, for me, is the most important. Tose two are my legacy.”
She continues, “ Tey are amazing people, I’m very proud of both of them. Te nice thing that I can say about them is that they are both mensches.” She remembers going to teacher conferences and the teacher would say, “Your kid’s a mensch,” and that would make her so happy. “I always say everybody fgures out 2 + 2 is 4, some sooner, some later, but you can’t teach them when they’re in their 20s or 30s to be mensches and to be good people.”
Her mother passed away in January of 2019, and she refects on the fact then when both your parents are gone, you become your parents. “My sister and I are my parent’s legacy. And that’s what I want to pass down. My children are going to be mine.”
Suzi at a book signing of her memoir, I’m Not Really a Waitress: How One Woman Took Over the Beauty Industry One Color at a Time
EYE ON EDUCATION
Ways to Empower Kids to End Bullying
Article courtesy Family Features
From the classroom to the internet, bullying can lead to children developing a poor self-image or lead to bullying others. In fact, members of Generation Z believe bullying is the biggest issue facing their generation, according to new data.
A survey of American youth ages 6-17, commissioned by the Boy Scouts of America, the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training, found bullying ranked as the top concern for young people in their own communities, across the country and on a global scale. At the same time, 84% of those surveyed said they want to be a part of the solution.
Consider these ideas to help your kids learn how to overcome, avoid and break down the cycle of bullying:
Promote more time unplugged and outdoors. It is important for parents to promote healthy, face-to-face social interactions. Outdoor activities allow children to work together, solve problems and bond in a way that typically can’t be achieved through a screen. Tey also give children a break from the cyber-world, where bullying is often prevalent.
Encourage kindness. Ninety-seven percent of Gen Z members surveyed said being kind is important. Encourage kids to act on that feeling and remind them that it doesn’t take any extra energy to be kind. Serve as a role model by making kindness a foundation in your family, just as the Boy Scouts of America have done. Te Scout Law lists being kind as one of 12 guiding characteristics.
Educate and equip. Parents should educate their children about why bullying is never OK, equip them with the knowledge they’ll need to recognize it and encourage them to report and safely respond to all forms of bullying they observe.
Use the buddy system. In Scouting, the buddy system pairs kids together to help ensure the well-being of one another. Tis approach is used for practical and safety reasons that can also be applied to everyday life. A pair or group of kids are less likely to get bullied, and buddies can be supportive by being an upstander.
Explore dif erences. As a family, look for ways to get involved in activities that include families from dif erent backgrounds and cultures. Introducing kids to ideas and lifestyles dif erent from their own can be an enlightening experience, and that knowledge can help break down some of the barriers that contribute to bullying, such as fear and misunderstanding.
IMPROVING COMMUNITIES
Creating a better community may be a collaborative goal, but as survey data from the Boy Scouts of America shows, the solutions lie much closer to home and can be inspired by the acts of individuals:
97% of those surveyed said being kind to others is important.
84% said they want to be a part of solving community issues in the future.
79% said improving their community is important.
50% said the reason they focus on some of these issues because their parents are passionate about them.
Bullying was a top concern among respondents, with 86% of respondents saying that not being bullied is a daily priority and 30% saying that out of 20-plus societal issues, bullying is the problem they most want solved globally.
Other top concerns respondents want to help solve are hunger (28%) and care for elders (27%) at the local level; animal rights (28%) and recycling (28%) at the national level; and poverty (28%) and human rights (26%) at the global level.
Learn more about ways Generation Z and its supporters can help put an end to bullying at scouting.org.
SOURCE: Boy Scouts of America
University of Oregon Hillel staf, from left, Loren Murphy, Andy Gitelson, Rabbi Meir Goldstein, Kaya Rubinstein and Maddie Schaefer.
Oregon Hillel reaching more students through staff expansion
By Will Rubin
Acadre of new staf members at Oregon Hillel are making their presence known on the campuses of the University of Oregon and Oregon State University.
Nearly everything Oregon Hillel does, from interacting with students at both schools to long-range development planning, has been revamped or formalized with the help of the new arrivals: Israel Engagement Coordinator, Kaya Rubinstein; Director of Student Jewish Life, Evana Kvasnik; Development Associate, Maddie Schafer and Rabbi Meir Goldstein, who serves as Senior Jewish Educator. Kvasnik and Rachel Chodorow-Reich, who serves as director of Jewish learning and spirituality, are both based out of Corvallis and are primarily involved with the fast-growing Hillel presence at Oregon State.
“We were never going to expand our programming and connect with more students than we had been, just based on the sheer numbers,” Gitelson said. “One person can only serve so many students. So adding staf was frst and foremost, because more bodies and more boots on the ground means that we can meet more students, listen better, create more content and have real relationships with students.”
Prior to relocating to Eugene, Goldstein worked for the Hillel at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. An experience at Oregon Hillel about 20 years ago led Goldstein to pursue further Jewish educational opportunities. He earned a Master of Rabbinic Studies degree in 2003 and ordination in 2006 from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at American Jewish University.
“I come back to the place where I was most inspired, working with young adults, because it’s a really exciting time in their lives,” Goldstein said. “ Tey’re smart and questioning, and are looking both at who they are and who they want to be and their place in the world. Tey have visions for how to put their efort into the world to make it a better place. I wouldn’t move away from it for the world.”
Schafer signed on to work for Oregon Hillel after graduating from the University of Maryland earlier this year. She became heavily involved in Maryland Hillel while a student and interned for
Hillel International during her senior year.
One of Schafer’s primary goals as a development associate is to build a network of donors and non-students who take an interest in Jewish life on campus. She also serves as a mentor to several University of Oregon students, as does every member of the staf. Each employee has a portfolio of students, not all of whom are Jewish, as part of an incubator model Gitelson instituted in place of a traditional student leadership board.
“ Tere’s not a lot of religion with the development position, so it’s nice to see students as a staf member,” Schafer said. “Students on the West Coast seem to be a lot more into the community aspect than strict religious observance, so some students you see every Friday, while others I only see on campus. But, they know who I am, and I don’t care how you practice Judaism as long as you’re respectful of everyone else.”
Kvasnik moved out west from St. Paul, Minnesota, where she had worked for synagogues since her high school years. Many of her friends in the same feld began working for Hillels and suggested she try to do the same. Contacts at Hillel International helped steer her in the direction of Oregon Hillel.
“I knew one of the biggest things we needed to do was to be more visible around campus,” Kvasnik said. “We were on campus with a sukkah and had a lot of people stopping, by whether they were Jewish or not, and we were able to answer their questions and engage with them in diferent ways. We’re looking for more ways to keep up that presence on campus and continue to ask the students how we can be there for them and support them.”
Working with students at Oregon State has given Kvasnik a
diferent perspective on college life. She attended a large state school in Minnesota, which felt disjointed at times. Te smaller feel of the university in Corvallis and the college town as a whole embrace people from all walks of life. She tries to match that atmosphere by helping students fnd their niche within the broader Jewish community as a whole.
“Often, we’ll hear students say that they’re too busy to get involved, even though they are interested in Hillel,” Gitelson said. “We should be listening to them, listen to where their priorities already sit, and then fgure out the best way to either involve them organically or see if there’s a way to partner in the space they’re in.”
Rubinstein was very involved in Jewish life while a student at the University of Central Florida. She graduated with a degree in hospitality management with a focus on tourism. After trying some jobs within that feld, she chose to focus on what made the most signifcant impact on her during her time at UCF.
Having heard good things about Oregon Hillel, she inquired about the open Israel Engagement Coordinator position. Born and raised in Tel Aviv until her family moved to the United States when she was 11 years old, she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to engage with students about all things Israel.
“I’m excited to be giving back to students what I received,” Rubinstein said. “Having such an incredible staf at UCF made such an impact on me. I wanted to be part of other students having an experience about what Judaism means to them and what Israel means to them.”
For more information on Oregon Hillel, visit oregonhillel.org.
MAJOR IN JUDAIC STUDIES
Maimonides and Montessori –a perfect match
Maimonides Jewish Day School introduced its new Montessori-inspired program and curriculum at the start of the 2019-2020 school year.
When Maimonides’ administrators and faculty wondered how they could make Maimonides even more personal, meaningful and inspiring, they decided to explore the Montessori Method of Education.
Te Montessori Method is a child-centered educational approach based on scientifc observations of children developed by Maria Montessori, an Italian physician and educator.
She discovered that experiential learning in this type of classroom led to a deeper understanding of language, mathematics, science, music, social interactions and much more.
A Montessori classroom integrates children of mixed ages that are grouped in periods of three years. Children work with concrete materials that are scientifcally designed, providing them the keys to exploring the world and developing necessary cognitive abilities. Te teacher acts as both an observer and a guide ofering age-appropriate activities. Tis allows children to act, want and think by themselves, and helps them to develop confdence and inner discipline.
Every material in a Montessori classroom supports an aspect of child development, creating a match between the child’s natural interests and the available activities. Children can learn through their own experience and at their own pace. Tey can respond at any moment to the natural curiosities that exist in all humans and build a solid foundation for life-long learning.
Te Montessori Method complements Maimonides’ mission
Students at Maimonides Jewish Day School learn their states using a hands-on approach.
to inspire life-long learning and to ensure a personal, meaningful and empowering education to its growing and diverse community of Jewish children in kindergarten through eighth grade.
Maimonides made its decision to adopt the Montessori method after requesting and receiving input and encouragement from scholars, its board of directors, faculty and local community members, as well as engaging in site visits to schools around the country that have initiated Montessori-style programs.
“Our community and our world continue to grow and become more diverse,” says Rabbi Shneur Wilhelm, Maimonides principal. “Maimonides is committed to evolve to meet today’s challenges while maintaining a strong commitment to the teachings of the Torah and the Jewish way of life.”
“Integrating Montessori-inspired practices means increased trained staf for greater individualized attention for our students and the creation of student work plans, just to name two updates, all of which strengthen our already robust core values and mission,” he adds.
Maimonides will roll out its Montessori-inspired program over the next three academic years.
Features of the new program include:
Tree-year cycles: Tis provides a rich community atmosphere where young children can learn from older children and older children can be teachers and leaders.
Increased staf-to-student ratio: As our students navigate their learning experience, an increased number of trained teachers, classroom assistants and staf are on hand to support the needs of all children.
Te prepared environment: Te physical classroom space is carefully planned and prepared to be beautiful, inviting, and orderly and appropriate and fexible for the age group it will house.
Student work plans: Work plans are self-directed learning guides that students work through on an individualized schedule to help foster independence, self-awareness, self-evaluation and problem-solving skills.
For more information on Maimonides Jewish Day School, contact 503-977-7850 or visit portlandjewishschool.com.
Holocaust and Genocide Education Bill Signed into Law
From Oregon Jewish Life Archives
SFrom left, Sen. Rob Wagner, Gov. Kate Brown, Rep. Janeen Sollman, OJMCHE Director Judy Margles and Bob Horenstein, community relations director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. Sen. Wagner guided the bill through the state senate and Rep. Sollman shepherded it through the house of representatives.
Left: Governor Kate Brown ceremonially signs historic bill at Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education.
enate Bill 664 mandating Holocaust and Genocide Education was ceremonially signed into law on the morning of July 15, 2019, by Gov. Kate Brown at the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education.
“Knowledge is power,” said Gov. Brown to an audience that f lled the museum’s auditorium. “We must remember these horri fc moments … so we can ensure it never happens again.”
“ Tere is a growing culture of hate and discrimination we must stamp out, and we have to do it together,” she continued. “It is good we have a ray of hope in our country – our state –right now.”
Te governor was surrounded by Holocaust survivors and their families, sta f from the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education and the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland and others who supported and worked to pass the legislation.
Te bill requires school districts across Oregon to provide instruction about the Holocaust and genocide in social studies classes, starting in the 2020-21 school year. Oregon is the
11th state to mandate Holocaust and genocide education. Te bill was unanimously passed in a f nal vote by Oregon House legislators May 28, 2019, and signed by Gov. Brown on June 4, 2019.
“ T is is a historic day for Oregon,” said OJMCHE Director Judy Margles welcoming the crowd, noting the museum and survivors have long sought to mandate Holocaust and genocide education. “Jewish history is a prism that refracts and illuminates oppression as it has been variously expressed throughout world history. Holocaust history may speak to a speci fcally Jewish experience, yet it simultaneously addresses universal issues of injustice and the dangers of denying diversity. Te Holocaust was not an isolated event, but rather one of many genocides that continue to happen to the present day.”
She thanked state Sen. Rob Wagner, who sponsored the bill, and Lakeridge High School freshman Claire Sarnowski, who approached the senator about the issue, “for getting action at this time.”
As a Lake Oswego School Board member who has four
children in public schools, Sen. Wagner said that he has seen “increasing racism and anti-Semitism in our schools.”
Sen. Wagner said that the day after 11 people were killed in a synagogue in Pennsylvania, Gov. Brown reached out to him and ofered her support “to make sure this legislation passed.” “ Te legislation is important, but now the work begins,” he added, for teachers partnering with nonprofts to create a rich curriculum.
Speaking at the podium before the signing, Claire, 14, explained that her interest in the Holocaust began at age 9 when she heard Holocaust survivor Alter Weiner, z”l, speak at a school. Alter was struck and killed by a car Dec. 11, 2018, just months after he and Claire testi fed before the Sept. 25 hearing Wagner scheduled before the Oregon’s Senate Interim Committee on Education.
“I know how Holocaust education impacted my life and I look forward to it impacting other students,” said Claire.
OJMCHE’s Survivors Speakers Bureau speaker Eva Aigner spoke on behalf of the survivors who stood with her: “ T is is a very happy day for all of us … to know that when we are no longer able to share our personal Holocaust experiences, it will continue to be taught in Oregon public schools.” She added that survivors and second-generation speakers speak about the millions of lives lost, including members of their own families, and help students see “the consequence of hate” so they “learn to accept di ferences.”
“Are we going to be bystanders or stand up for the rights of all human beings,” she concluded.
The Harold Schnitzer Family Scholarship
The Harold Schnitzer Family Scholarships will serve undergraduate students majoring in Judaic studies. T e award will cover more than half the cost of tuition and fees for nearly 20 students over the next f ve years.
Sarah Rohr, a Judaic Studies major, is a recipient of the Harold Schnitzer Family Scholarship (2018 onward), and 2019 recipient of the Sara Glasgow Cogan Memorial Scholarship. Sarah enrolled at Portland State University in 2018.
Sarah’s life journey has taken her through a number of fascinating careers, disparate in some ways but united in their emphasis on physicality and the body. She has worked as a farmer in Hawaii, a stone sculptor, a yoga teacher, and she started her own business in breath work. practice. She has a passion for working with children, and for the past f ve years she has taught Hebrew at multiple synagogue religious schools around Portland.
She had been aware of the Harold Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic Studies but it had never occurred to her that it might be right for her until interacting with one of the JST faculty members in an informal setting. She was inspired to look at the program website and discovered classes that spoke to her: Hebrew language, Jewish history, literature and poetry. A major in Judaic Studies, it seemed to her, would deepen her knowledge as a Jewish educator.
“I had no idea how healing and restorative it would be to come back to school – with the brain that I have now and the spirit and the heart and the life experience,” says Sarah. “ T ere’s so much richness that’s being o f ered.”
Te scholarships are made possible by a $500,000 grant through the Harold & Arlene Schnitzer Family Fund of the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation, on behalf of Arlene Schnitzer and Jordan D. Schnitzer.
“ Te Schnitzers’ gift is nothing less than a transformative investment in Judaic Studies,” says Natan Meir, Lorry I. Lokey Professor of Judaic Studies and academic director at
NATAN MEIR
SARAH ROHR
Portland State University. “Indeed, the scholarship program has already begun to attract new students to the major in Judaic Studies. Tus far, all of the Harold Schnitzer Family Scholars have been from the Portland area, and some of them
are already serving as educators and change-makers in the community. Whether they choose to remain in Portland after graduation or travel afar, they will be well prepared to make a profound impact on society.”
STUDY JEWISH HISTORY, CULTURE AND LITERATURE AT PSU
The Judaic Studies department features
o A small group of scholarteachers who are deeply committed to their students
o An intimate learning environment with smallscale lecture classes and seminars
o Modern Hebrew courses with outstanding language instructors
o Opportunities for study abroad, internships, and independent study
o A close-knit community of students
o A range of scholarships for Judaic Studies majors
o Connections to Jewish student groups on campus and Jewish community organizations across Portland
ABOUT THE HAROLD SCHNITZER FAMILY SCHOLARSHIP
The Harold Schnitzer Family Scholarship is open to undergraduate students pursuing their B.A. in Judaic Studies at PSU.
o Applicants may be entering first-year students, transfer students and current PSU students.
o Selection will be merit-based with a focus on demonstrated academic rigor and achievement. Students must have and maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA.
o Community service/civic involvement: preference will be given to those applicants who are actively engaged in any kind of community service and/or volunteering activities and demonstrate leadership potential.
o Award limit: Students will be eligible to receive the scholarship for a maximum of 4 years.
Applications for the Harold Schnitzer Family Scholarships are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the academic year, with deadlines tied to Portland State University’s timetable for admissions and scholarship applications. For more information, or to apply, visit pdx.edu/Judaic.
David Fuks introduces his “Invisible Friend”
DBy Mala Blomquist FRONT & CENTER
avid Fuks began writing short stories and novellas years ago, and he is now about embark on the exciting journey of seeing his latest, and biggest, project come to life as a stage reading during the Fertile Ground Festival of New Work on Feb. 3.
“Since I’ve stopped working full time, I’ve been working on more long-form kind of pieces,” says David. He retired from his job as CEO of Cedar Sinai Park in 2015, although he still does consulting. “I’m also an actor, so playwriting was a very natural of shoot of that.”
His latest project is a play titled “Invisible Friend,” inspired by two distinct events.
First, he was involved in a public reading for a fundraiser, and there were a few other writers there who read stories. As he was chatting with one of these writers, she told him an intriguing story about her parents. She explained that they were no longer married but still lived in the house she grew up in together, and that they couldn’t leave. David was amazed when he heard the reason why. “Her brother had been killed by a truck right in front of their house, and they were never able to get past the grief and move on,” he says. “I told her it’s such a tragic story, you should write that story, but she said, ‘I can’t, it’s too close for me.’ So I thought this is something I ought to write.”
Second, he lived in Mexico for a month in January 2016 and meditated on the disturbing messages portrayed in American media. “We were involved with the electoral process back then, and we had a candidate who was saying some pretty awful stu f about Mexicans,” he remembers. “ Tere I was, surrounded by Mexicans, and encountering them as human beings and people,
and it was pretty remarkable to me what a contrast that was to what I was hearing said in the news and being reported.”
David was challenged by a few new tasks as a writer while creating this piece, which was initially conceived as a novella.
“One, writing in a woman’s voice, and two, writing from a di ferent cultural standpoint than my own,” he says. “ T ree, I was interested in that issue of unresolved grief. Tat’s how this story was born.”
“Invisible Friend” is a story of a young woman, Luna Gomez, who is Mexican-American. She is haunted by the spirit of her older sister, Alma, who was 9 years old when she prevented 3-year-old Luna from being hit by a car by pulling her out of the way, only to be hit by the car herself and killed.
T is story is about the unresolved grief in her family and particularly the relationship that Luna has with her mother, who is hanging on to the grief more than anyone else. Luna is a young adult now, 26 at the beginning of the play, and determined that she needs to intervene somehow to set her sister’s spirit free, to set herself free, and to allow her family to move forward.
“Being the child of Holocaust survivors, I know a little bit about unresolved grief,” says David. “I’ve had that understanding, but also I wanted to express some respect and a fection for the
Mexican-American neighbors that live in my community and are part of the world we’re a part of.” He wanted to write a story that showcases a realistic view of struggle and coping with life.
David wrote a play before as an undergraduate student, and wrote a lot of the set pieces for an improvisation comedy group that he was a part of for fve years. He also wrote a collection of 10-minute one-act plays that were performed several years ago.
A playwriting class helped him to adapt the novella into “Invisible Friend.” “ T is is a one-act play, but it’s 70 minutes long – it’s a very di ferent thing,” he says.
“I also have to mention that I am working with probably one of the f nest directors ever known – Jane Unger,” says David. Jane is probably best known in Portland for having been the creator and artistic director of Prof le Teatre for more than 15 years.
David was interviewing Jane for Te Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education archives when the conversation turned to his newest project. She ofered to take a look at the play and give him some feedback.
“She looked at it and said, ‘I think it’s a good piece of work; I think what you need to do is make sure you get a strong group of actors … and that it’s well directed,’ ” says David. When he asked her if she had any suggestions on a director, Jane replied, “I will do this with you.”
“I feel con fdent about the work, and I’m excited to get it out into the world and for people to have a chance to look at it,” says David. Being part of this festival legitimates the play, and his hope is that as a result of the reading, someone will see it and want to do a “full-blown” production of “Invisible Friend.”
“I can’t say enough good stu f about Jane Unger and what she’s done to make this show a reality,” says David. “She’s a remarkable woman and to be taken seriously by somebody who has made such a big mark in the world of theater, is a big event in my life.”
A Staged Reading
Fuks
Monday Feb. 3, 7pm
Luna Gomez has grown up in a house laden with her parents’ unresolved grief over the death of her older sister Alma. Alma was nine years old when she died protecting her then three-year-old sister. She has been haunting and protecting Luna since that day more than twenty years ago. Luna must confront her parents and help them face their loss to set her sister’s spirit and herself free. This bilingual reading celebrates the resiliency and culture of a contemporary Mexican American family. Join in this celebration as Luna, her Invisible Friend, Alma, and her family struggle for their freedom.
Milagro Theater
525 SE Stark St. Portland, OR 97214
Tickets: $10 fertilegroundpdx.com
Fertile Ground Theater Festival presents: INVISIBLE FRIEND
Directed by Jane Unger
Written by David
Fertile Ground Festival of New Works
The Portland-grown Fertile Ground City-Wide Festival of New Works kicks o f its 11th annual festival beginning on Tursday, Jan. 30 and continuing through Sunday, Feb. 9. Fertile Ground is set in a town boasting proli f c playwrights, abundant actors, innovative dancers, talented designers and adventuresome producers. Over the past ten festivals, Fertile Ground has welcomed more than 1,100 “acts of creation” from Portland’s
artistic communities that thrive on stages, nooks and crannies all over the city for 11 days.
Fertile Ground is an incubator for new work in all forms and stages of creation, o f ering theatre and dance, workshops, staged readings, readings and multidisciplinary events – for 11 days, at all times of the day, at venues across the city. O f ering an astonishing breadth of creative work are seasoned theatre and dance companies alongside new art-creators of every ilk.
Since the inaugural festival in 2009, more than 70 Fertile Ground-originated works have gone on to further productions, locally, nationally, and in festivals worldwide.
Fertile Ground 2020’s myriad of new works span theatre in long and short form, musical theatre, puppetry, circus and aerial arts, sketch and improvisational comedy, animation, a wide variety of dance disciplines, social action through the arts, as well as the voices of youth, lesser-heard voices, and shows that are derived from audience participation or input. In addition to seasoned producers, dozens of emerging young producers, playwrights, choreographers and animators will o f er their work in this collaborative Portland artistic showcase festival.
“Each year, I’m like a kid in a candy store as I look through the project listings for the f rst time, awash with delight at the inventive, thoughtful, diverse array of creative impulses they comprise,” says Nicole Lane, Fertile Ground Festival director. “ T is year is no di f erent, and maybe even more exciting than some years. Looking at this year’s crop, and knowing that dozens of Fertile Ground projects over the past 10 years launched from this festival, it is gratifying to know that Fertile Ground truly serves the artists of our community in such a meaningful way. As an arts-
going community, we give artists permission, and encouragement, to create by demonstrating our shared belief in the value of new work by being present and open to the unique adventure of Fertile Ground.”
Fertile Ground Festival – a project of the Portland Area T eatre Alliance – involves hundreds of artists and welcomes thousands of audience members. T e festival of ers artists a safe space for new work of all levels, to be seen and grown. Fertile Ground works to educate audiences about the process of developing new work, and introduce them to new artists and artistic genres. Artists are emboldened to take chances and share their artistic impulses, cultivate producing skills, and introduce their work to new audiences. T e festival encourages all artists, of every background and discipline, to jump in to elevate the widest swath of voices and to generate an exciting array of arts-centric o f erings.
PERFORMANCE DATES
Sat • Feb 1 @ 7:30pm
Thurs • Feb 6 @ 7:30pm
Sat • Feb 8 @ 7:30pm Sun • Feb 9 @ 2:00pm
• Feb 13 @ 7:30pm
• Feb 14 @ 7:30pm
• Feb 15 @ 7:30pm
FERTILE GROUND FESTIVAL OF NEW WORK 2020
Presented by the Portland Area Theatre Alliance
DATES
Jan. 30-Feb. 9
VENUES
Citywide
FESTIVAL PASSES/TICKETS
Individual event tickets sold through each producer; all-access reservations available for $70.
INFORMATION
For a full schedule of event listings and descriptions, visit fertilegroundpdx.org.
Printed festival guides are available in many theater lobbies including Portland Center Stage, Lakewood Theatre, Broadway Rose, Northwest Children’s Theater, Bag & Baggage, CoHo Productions and other locations
featuring
Alex
Jay Randall Horenstein as
Written by Donnie
Ruth is late, well she always seems to be late, but tonight the show has started and she’s rushing into the theatre just as the show as begun. Morty has been left to find parking and he too will be entering the theatre late.
Ruth can’t find her seat, she apologetically interrupts the actor on stage, and then within minutes takes over the show. Just as she gets going, Morty enters looking for his seat and find Ruth on stage. How will tonight end? Through Borsch Belt style humor - Morty and Ruth are about to tell you!
Wendy Westerwelle as Ruth
Jay Randall Horenstein as Morty
Wendy Westerwelle as Ruth
Fox as Actor
Morty
2020 PREDICTIONS Trends for 2020
By Barbara Kaplan
The year 2020 marks the beginning of a new decade, and it’s hard to believe that we have transitioned through 20 years into the 21st century.
It’s time to look back over the past two decades and consider the things we have purchased for our home, be aware of the things we have eliminated and focus on what we would love to live with today.
Are we holding on to old stuf that no longer expresses our lifestyle? It’s a matter of looking at our lives in a holistic way to determine what nurtures us and gives us meaning now.
Tere also may be a reaction to the societal chaos of 2019; the idea of home-as-sanctuary will be stronger than ever in 2020. Tat translates as a kind of calm, nurturing, warm minimalism described as “lived-in yet refned.”
Before I give you my 2020 predictions, I do want to say that most importantly, you beneft from living with what you love, what brings you joy and pleasure. Te rest is just stuf.
1. Vintage and traditional touches are added to bring interest to the current modern and industrial looks. This will give warmth and personality to a room.
2. Navy blue or classic blue adds contrast to the lighter tones we have used over the past few years. Blue can create calm, confidence and connection. The grey walls of recent years are an especially great canvas for blue, and when you add a pop of color like yellow, red or last year’s coral – it comes alive.
4. Large floral and botanical wallpaper is back! Especially, sprucing up an entry to greet people entering your home or in powder rooms for that element of surprise.
3. Texture is desired to increase luxury and coziness with soft feeling fabrics like velvet, mohair and the looped yarn of boucle, which also gives an aura of sophistication.
5. Black as an accent is in! On walls, upholstery and floors. Drama and high contrast designs are cutting-edge!
6. The ’60s and ’70s had the curved sofas and now we have them again with a modern twist and focus on line and curve. And watch for more Retro Revival Movement pieces, too.
7. Give the kitchen character! It need not just be for function. It’s a great space to add interesting pieces of art and express your style and individuality. After all, this is where everyone loves to congregate.
8. Antiques are having a comeback.
The aged look indicates a personalized story to the pieces and adds conversation as you explain what each piece means to you.
9. To enhance and add allure to your master bathroom, install a luxurious soaking tub that is free-standing, either with a flat bottom or a clawfoot one for that traditional touch
No matter the trends, and because your home is your holistic expression, always live with what you love. And as I say in my book, The Bajaro Method: Rooms Have No Feelings, YOU Do!
Barbara Kaplan, IFDA, Allied ASID is a Phoenix-based Holistic “Interior” Design Consultant and CEO of Design Dimensions and Barbara’s Picks. For more information, contact Barbara at 480-998-5088.
Soup's On!
Soups are not only a great comfort food on a cold winter day, but they can also be a meal-in-a-bowl when you are trying to eat healthier in the new year. Tese recipes are from Chef Paula Shoyer, “a chef who takes the calories out of comfort foods.” To fnd more of Paula’s recipes, visit thekosherbaker.com.
GINGERED RED PEPPER AND TOMATO SOUP
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 onions, halved and sliced into half-inch slices
5 cloves garlic, chopped 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
7 large red peppers, halved, seeds removed and cut into 2-inch pieces
2 large fresh tomatoes, chopped
35 ounces canned whole peeled tomatoes
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
bunch of fresh basil leaves (little more than half of a .75-ounce box)
salt and white pepper
1 tablespoon honey Garnish
2 tablespoons chopped red onion, cut into ¼-inch pieces
2 tablespoons chopped orange pepper, cut into ¼-inch pieces
2 tablespoons chopped yellow cherry tomatoes, cut into ¼-inch pieces
2 tablespoons chopped cucumber, unpeeled, cut into ¼-inch pieces
DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a large soup pot. Add the onions and cook on mediumlow heat until they are translucent, for about eight minutes. Add garlic and ginger and cook for another three minutes. Add peppers, tomatoes, canned tomatoes and stock and bring to a boil. Add basil, cover and reduce heat to low to simmer soup for 45 minutes. Let cool slightly. Remove as many of the basil leaves as you can fsh out and discard.
Using an immersion blender, or in batches in a food processor, purée the soup until completely smooth, for at least three minutes if using the immersion blender. Add salt and white pepper to taste. Add honey and stir. Serve hot or chilled.
To make the garnish, place the red onion, peppers, tomatoes and cucumber into a small bowl and toss. Top each bowl of soup with about two teaspoons garnish.
GINGERED RED PEPPER AND TOMATO SOUP
WHITE CORN SOUP INGREDIENTS
6 ears white corn, husked
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter, if making dairy
1 large onion, chopped
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced
DIRECTIONS
2 stalks celery, chopped roughly
5 cloves garlic, chopped
half 1 jalapeno, seeded
6 cups vegetable stock or water
salt and white pepper to taste
GARNISH, ALL OPTIONAL: 1/3 of a zucchini, cut into ¼-inch cubes
1/3 red pepper, cut into ¼-inch cubes
half avocado, sliced
handful cherry or grape tomatoes, different colors, cut into small pieces
10 chives, chopped
2 green onions, sliced
4 basil leaves, slivered cilantro leaves
pinch of Aleppo pepper
paprika mixed into olive oil and drizzled on top
In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat and add the onions, leeks and celery and cook for eight minutes, stirring often. While the aromatics are cooking, cut the corn kernels off the husks over a 9 X 13-inch pan (this helps keep the kernels from fying everywhere in your kitchen), but do not discard the husks. Break the cob in half. Scoop up 2 tablespoons of kernels and set aside to garnish the soup.
When vegetables are soft, add the garlic and jalapeno and cook for another 3 minutes to soften. Add the corn kernels and cobs, water or stock, a little salt and a shake of white pepper. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes and then lift the husks out of the pot; I use large tongs for this. When the cobs are cool enough to touch, I eat whatever bits of corn are still on them before discarding.
Use an immersion blender or transfer to a food processor or blender and purée for 3 full minutes, or until completely smooth. Taste and add more salt or white pepper as needed. Serve hot or cold with any or all of the garnishes.
Paula Shoyer is the author of Healthy Jewish Kitchen (Sterling Epicure 2017), The New Passover Menu (Sterling 2015), The Holiday Kosher Baker (Sterling Press 2013), and The Kosher Baker: 160 dairy-free desserts from traditional to trendy (Brandeis 2010) . Paula’s recipes have been featured in newspapers, magazines, websites, blogs and on radio and TV shows all over the United States, Canada, Israel and even Asia.
Cedar Sinai Park: Honoring Jewish elders for 100 years
2020
is a big year for the Portland Jewish community. It marks the 100th anniversary of signifcant initiatives undertaken by Jewish leaders that came before us. In 1920, the community came together and formed the Jewish Federation in Portland. Tat same year, leaders also opened a home for elders in need.
Originally called the “Jewish Old People’s Home,” then Robison Jewish Home and now Cedar Sinai Park, the organization founded in 1920 has been serving the changing needs of Jewish elders for a full century. Today, Cedar Sinai Park ofers a wide variety of services, including post-hospital rehabilitation, long-term nursing care in small group settings, adult day services and in-home care. While Cedar Sinai Park’s services are broad, a core part of the campus is Rose Schnitzer Manor (RSM), the assisted living community nestled among the trees on the 27-acre campus just of BeavertonHillsdale Highway.
ROSE SCHNITZER MANOR:
ASSISTED LIVING TO MEET A VARIETY OF NEEDS
Many people don’t know that RSM stands as the largest assisted living community in the state, ofering 157 private apartments amid winding pathways through idyllic gardens, ponds and fountains. RSM provides a lovely setting with as much privacy or support as residents need or desire. Many residents are active and independent and moved to RSM to enjoy a lively social life, restaurant-style dining and freedom from
typical household chores. Others need help with activities of daily living and beneft from the support of RSM’s caring staf, many of whom have been with RSM for many years.
Because of the size of the campus, RSM is able to ofer an unparalleled number of activities for residents to choose from. From Tai Chi and yoga to art classes, museum tours and on-site lectures, there are over 75 activities ofered each week. Rose Schnitzer Manor’s Zidell Hall also often hosts signifcant community events and speakers that are open to the public.
CELEBRATING JEWISH TRADITIONS
LEADING THE WAY INTO THE NEXT CENTURY
Kimberly Fuson returned July of 2019 as the organization’s new Interim Chief Executive Ofcer.
As a former 13-year senior staf member, Kimberly was recruited to bring her expertise as well as recent experience gained from leading other non-proft senior care facilities and critical access hospitals after leaving Cedar Sinai Park as Chief Operating Ofcer in 2013.
Tis month, under Kimberly’s leadership, Cedar Sinai Park has announced three new senior appointments:
While the amenities at RSM are attractive to a broad group of seniors, Jewish elders fnd special meaning and comfort there. RSM is unique in Portland in that it celebrates and shows reverence for the traditions, customs and values of the Jewish community. From weekly Shabbat services and special holiday celebrations, to kosher meals and traditional games and activities, Jewish residents beneft from an environment that honors their way of life, just as its founders intended.
Te campus has undergone many changes over the decades, one of the most signifcant being the major expansion in 2016 and 2017. Te expansion added Te Harold Schnitzer Center for Living, which encompasses small group homes for long-term care and renovation of the original Robison Jewish Health Center to a state-of-the-art rehabilitation center. While recent growth proved challenging, the organization has hit a new stride and recently introduced new leadership.
Dru Rosenthal, long-time philanthropy, community relations and events management professional, will lead Cedar Sinai Park’s Development and Communications Department.
Vivian Villegas brings over 20 years of successful communitybased care experience will lead Rose Schnitzer Manor as Administrator.
Ray Younger, has joined the team as Cedar Sinai Park’s Building Services Director and will bring his experience managing facilities and construction projects for other senior living communities.
“With the addition of these three consummate professionals, our leadership team looks forward to 2020; each new day will be a new opportunity to enrich the lives of our residents and those who serve them,” says Kimberly Fuson.
As Cedar Sinai Park begins to celebrate its 100th anniversary year and new beginnings, they wish to thank the current and past staf, board and dedicated volunteers for the decades of service to the community.
ACTIVELY SENIORS
If you worry that you or someone you love will get heart disease or even have a heart attack, it’s understandable.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
Research shows you can lower your risk, particularly if you team up with family, friends or co-workers. This kind of social support may be the key to your success.
To mark American Heart Month in February, NHLBI, one of the National Institutes of Health, is inviting people across the country to team up and join #OurHearts, a national heart health initiative that encourages people to improve heart health together.
“Studies show that having positive, close relationships and feeling connected to others benefts overall health, blood pressure, weight and more,” says NHLBI’s Dr. David Goff, director of cardiovascular sciences.
CONSIDER THESE FIVE TIPS THAT CAN HELP LOWER YOUR RISK OF HEART
DISEASE:
Ways to Improve Your Heart Health
Article courtesy of Family Features
RISK: INACTIVITY
Solution: Move more throughout your day. Aim for at least 150 minutes each week of physical activity. Build up to activity that gets your heart beating faster and leaves you a little breathless. If you’re busy, try breaking your daily activity into 10-minute chunks.
Stay motivated: Make walking dates. Join a pickup soccer or basketball game. Join a ftness class with your neighbor. Grab a loved one and dance in your kitchen.
RISK: AN UNHEALTHY DIET
Solution: Consider an option like NHLBI’s Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan, which is free and scientifcally proven to lower high blood pressure and improve cholesterol levels.
Stay motivated: Invite friends to cook up heart healthy recipes together. Start a lunch club at work and trade recipe ideas.
RISK: INADEQUATE OR POORQUALITY SLEEP
Solution: Sleeping 7-8 hours each night helps improve heart health. Try going to bed and waking up at the same time each day. Getting a 30-minute daily dose of sunlight may also improve sleep.
RISK: SMOKING, EVEN OCCASIONALLY
Solution: Quitting can be benefcial to your overall health, even if you’ve smoked for years. Set a quit date and let those close to you know. If you’ve tried quitting in the past, consider what helped and what made it harder.
Stay motivated: Ask your family and friends for support or join a support group. Find resources and connect with a trained counselor at 1-800-QUITNOW or smokefree.gov.
RISK: UNCONTROLLED STRESS
Solution: To help manage stress, try relaxation therapy and increase physical activity. Talk to a qualifed mental health provider or someone you trust. De-stressing may also help improve sleep.
Stay motivated: Join a friend or family member in a relaxing activity like walking, yoga or meditation every day.
Learn about heart health and heart healthy activities in your community at nhlbi.nih.gov/ ourhearts. Use #OurHearts on social media to share how you and your friends, colleagues or family members are being heart healthy together.
SOURCE: National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
“It’s a time to come together and remember the values that our Nudelman ancestors gave us. Te connection to family and the importance of being involved in the Jewish community.”
Nudelman
Family Picnic: A
tradition for 12 sibling branches
By Claire Delman (sixth-generation Portland Nudelman descendant)
Gatherings of the Nudelman family have been happening in Portland since the early 1900s. Te tradition continued this past summer when 90 descendants attended a family picnic. Eleven children of Mordechai Nudelman immigrated to the United States from Russia (modernday Ukraine) between 1882-1901. All of them had diferent immigration journeys, some living in other states before arriving in Portland. Tese stories were
collected in 1969 by Eugene Nudelman, Sr. in a family history project dedicated to his grandfather Joseph Nudelman.
Te Nudelman siblings were: Joseph, David, Phillip, Israel, Samuel, Rose Barde, Kayla Lauterstein/ Bromberg, Moishe, Reuben/Robert Delman, Hyman, and Jacob Harry. A twelfth Nudelman sibling Sara Lea Wagner immigrated to New York City. She never moved to Portland, but her daughter Pearl did in 1917, joining her Nudelman aunts and uncles.
Once the siblings were
together in Portland (1902), family photographs show they liked celebrating important events like anniversary dinners and milestone birthdays as one big extended family. Ten of the siblings are buried by each other at Neveh Zedek cemetery in Portland.
When Carolyn Weinstein married into the Nudelman family (David branch), she was interested in the extended Nudelman family and learned the 12 branches from her mother-in-law Noralee Leopold. She originally wrote the sibling branches on separate brown paper bags to keep the names organized. Carolyn hosted a Nudelman family picnic in 1980, inviting descendants of all 12 branches.
During 2008-2009, Carolyn’s daughter Robin Weinstein entered over 1,000 names on the family tree into an online genealogy database called Geni. Carolyn once again hosted a family picnic to celebrate this project. From the original 12 Nudelman siblings, there are presently 1,170 descendants plus their spouses entered into the Geni family tree. Of those relatives, more than 750 are living descendants, with twothirds located in the Pacifc Northwest.
At the picnic in 2019, many family members are now fourth-, ffth-, and sixthgeneration descendants of the original siblings. Two
honored guests were: Eve Overback Rosenfeld and Edith Nudelman Bean. Eve celebrated her 90th birthday this year and is the granddaughter of original sibling David. Eve’s father, Oscar, and Aunt Sophie married into two diferent branches of the Nudelman family (Joseph and David). Edith Bean, 89 years old, has the distinction of being the only living second-generation Nudelman descendant. Her father was Jacob Harry, the youngest of the original Nudelman siblings.
Lori Delman, coordinator of this year’s picnic and wife of Mike Delman (Joseph branch) says, “It’s such a privilege that the Nudelmans
know so much of their family history. Genealogical research can provide dates and locations but not stories. Eugene Nudelman, Sr. and Carolyn Weinstein need to be credited for their role as family historians, collectors of the stories.”
Tese family picnics are an opportunity for descendants to be reminded of the 117year history of Nudelmans in Portland. As Carol Miller Danish (David branch) told attendees at this year’s picnic, “It’s a time to come together and remember the values that our Nudelman ancestors gave us. Te connection to family and the importance of being involved in the Jewish community.”
LIVING PREVIEWS
Young Adult Comedy Night
Join the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland in welcoming Ester Steinberg, one of New York’s hottest comedians for Young Adult Comedy Night on Monday, Jan. 13 from 6 to 8 pm at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center at 6651 SW Capitol Hwy. in Portland.
From The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel to Oxygen’s Funny Girls, you won’t want to miss seeing Ester perform.
This event is for ages 21 and older. Tickets are $25 and include appetizers and one drink. For more information, visit jewishportland.org.
A New Look at Israeli History
Benny Morris, Ph.D. is one of Israel’s leading historians and public intellectuals. He was born in Israel in 1948 and received his doctorate at Cambridge University. He served in the IDF in infantry and paratroops. He was a journalist at T e Jerusalem Post from 1978 to 1990 and was a professor of Middle East history at Ben-Gurion University from 1997 to 2017. From 2015 to 2018, he was a visiting Israel Studies professor at Georgetown University. He has taught as a visiting professor at Harvard University, Munich University, the University of Maryland and Dartmouth College, and was a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution. He has also published ten books on Middle East and European history, with a focus on the ArabZionist con f ict and published articles in T e New York Times, T e Wall Street Journal, T e New York Review of Books, T e New Republic, T e Guardian as well as other publications.
Benny will be the keynote presenter for Israel 360: A New Look at Israeli History, on Feb. 19 at 7 pm at Congregation Neveh Shalom at 2900 SW Peaceful Lane in Portland. Benn will be sharing an evening of true stories pertaining to what happened in Israel at critical junctures, such as at the founding of the state in 1948.
T e program was sponsored by Israel360 and co-sponsored by Jewish Federation of Greater Portland and an anonymous donor. For more information, visit nevehshalom.org.
JAM Art Show + Sale
Members of ORA: Northwest Jewish Artists will answer questions, accept commissions and sell their art from Feb. 9-28 at Mittleman Jewish Community Center at 6651 SW Capitol Hwy. in Portland. A rotating exhibit will be on display in the MJCC lobby and a
Talking to children and teenagers about separation and divorce
Tis workshop will help parents efectively communicate and help their children to cope with separation and divorce. Presented by Dinah Gilburd, LCSW, a clinical social worker with more than 25 years of experience as a therapist for children and families.
Presently Dinah is a community outreach clinician with Jewish Family Child Service. She ofers workshops and parenting groups that addresses the mental health needs of children, adolescents and families in the Jewish community.
Te workshop is free and open to the community and will be held at 10 to 11 am on Sunday, Jan. 26 at Mittleman Jewish Community Center at 6651 SW Capitol Hwy. in Portland. Presented in partnership with Jewish Family & Child Service and supported by a generous grant from the Holzman Foundation. Space is limited so please register by Jan. 23 at oregonjcc.org/talkingtochildrenandteenagers.
portion of the proceeds will benefit the MJCC.
“The Song Of Names” debuts in Portland
“ Te Song Of Names,” will open at the Regal Fox Tower Stadium 10 theater at 846 SW Park Ave. in Portland on Jan. 17.
Te flm stars Tim Roth and Clive Owen in a deeply moving story about friendship, betrayal, revelations and reconciliation that unfolds over two continents and a half-century. Beneath the flm’s stunning and pulsing musical revelations burn the horror of a war and the lost souls extinguished from history.
For more information, and to watch the trailer, visit thesongofnames.com.
ORA is a group of artists in the Portland area who have come together to support, share, inspire, enjoy and showcase their art.
In forming this collective, they have created opportunities to exhibit members’ works of art as they support each other’s artistic development.
Media includes collage, paint, silk, fused glass, fiber, precious metals, ceramics, beadwork and photography.
For more information, visit northwestjewishartists.org.
LIVING FACES & PLACES
OUTSTANDING VOLUNTEERS –
On November 13, 2019, the Association of Fundraising Professionals Oregon & SW Washington Chapter honored the B’nai Brith Men’s Camp Association with the Outstanding Volunteer Group award at Te 33rd Annual Philanthropy Day Luncheon. Pictured from left, Irving Potter and Kyle Rotenberg.
HELPING
HANDS – Staf members from Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education volunteered with Tivnu: Building Justice, Portland Jewish Academy and Cascadia Clusters to build tiny homes for houseless people.
MEET
ME AT THE MIKVAH – Participants had a great time at two Bodies of Water workshops where they were introduced to the mikvah as a path to body positivity from a Jewish perspective.
DOING GOOD – On Dec. 3, 2019, more than 80 volunteers helped pack 11,573 pounds of food at the Oregon Food Bank for #DoingTuesday.
LITTLE PUNIMS
– Kimberly Schneiderman plays guitar while little ones entertain residents of Cedar Sinai Park on the second night of Hanukkah.
THINK PINK – From left, Tehila Derfer, Sandy Katz and Kalkidan Ezra participated in the Pink Challah Bake PDX 2019 at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center in November.
