By ROCKNE ROLL
There was much to celebrate at the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland’s 103rd annual meeting Tuesday, June 6 at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center. But the most anticipated event of the evening wasn’t the Rogoway award presentation, the announcement of this year’s Sussm...

By ROCKNE ROLL
With a pandemic closure and the preparation for a major expansion in the rear-view mirror, the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education will stage a grand reopening celebration Sunday, June 11.
The centerpiece of the re-opening will be the museum’s 1,000 square fee...

After a three-year hiatus during the pandemic, The Jewish Women’s Round Table honored 17 women during this year’s 28th Song of Miriam Awards Brunch on June 4.

The 2023 brunch named the volunteers honored during the pandemic and recognized a new group of outstanding women. Though each woman i...

BY DEBORAH MOON
Next month, Portland Jewish Academy will dedicate Hunter’s Space, a soothing, quiet place for students to hang out and take a break away from the classroom.
A 2013 graduate of PJA, Hunter “Reuven” Jackson Jaffe, z”l, passed away Aug. 28, 2020, at the age of 21. Hunter’s...

BY ROCKNE ROLL
After a decade of increasingly prominent leadership roles, Congregation Shir Tikvah Executive Director Katie Schneider is taking a well-deserved break as she steps down from her post effective at the end of July.
“I’ve been with the shul for about 10 years, and we’ve gone th...

Last year, Chabad of NE Portland partnered with Maimonides Jewish Day School to purchase an 8,700-square-foot former preschool at 4635 NE 9th Ave., enabling both the center and school to expand programming on Portland’s east side. The ADA-accessible, two-story building has ample space for both ...

BY RABBI BARRY COHEN
Do we believe that one day, we will be old enough and experienced enough to say to ourselves, “I finally have it figured out.” And with this, conclude “I don’t need to grow. I’ve finally arrived. … Besides, I’m too old to change.”
I hope I never draw these con...

BY JESSICA ANDERSON
Since the community launched its security program four years ago, some of you have taken at least one of the three primary courses offered by Secure Community Network, the official safety and security organization for the Jewish community in North America. These courses are: I...

BY BOB HORENSTEIN
Medicaid, a longstanding safety net program that is critical to the Jewish as well as the general community, is once again under threat of severe cuts, this time in U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s debt ceiling bill passed by the House on April 26. 
In our state, the vast ...

This spring, Portlanders have been busy celebrating the 75th anniversary of the state of Israel.
More than 600 people attended a Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration, 550 enjoyed Israeli superstar Noa in concert, hundreds heard Yossi Klein Halevi speak about Israel’s Identity Crisis at 75 , participan...

The goals of Jewish Federation of Greater Portland Community Relations Director Bob Horenstein’s presentation series on antisemitism are straightforward: “We need everyone to speak up against it,” Horenstein says. “And you can’t do that if you don’t know what it is.”

Despite living in many places, Rabbi Devin Villarreal has always found a sense of home within the Sephardic community. When a chance meeting brought him to Congregation Ahavath Achim as they were looking for a rabbi, and he was looking for a new community, a simple song was part of how he knew h...

Portland Kollel is a vibrant source of Jewish learning and programming in Portland. We provide classes and programs for all demographics at locations throughout the city, empowering people to discover their Jewish connection.

BY RABBI BARRY COHEN
Mother’s Day is right around the corner. This holiday has become problematic for my children and me. Their mother died in July of 2015, when my twins were 10 years old.
We learned the hard way how difficult Mother’s Day can be. In the first years after her death, we made ...

Rockne Roll joins the Jewish Review May 1, 2023, as the incoming editor of the bi-weekly e-newspaper published by the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. He will work alongside editor Deborah Moon until her retirement on June 1.
“We are delighted to welcome Rockne to the Jewish Review as our...

Chance encounters can be the gateway to some of the most meaningful conversations. So it was with a recent series of Jewish/Hindu intercommunity dialogues led by the Jewish Community Relations Council.

Photo: The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland has announced the winners of the Israel at 75 essay and art contests for students. Frieda Leah Skolnik, sixth grade, Maayan Torah Day School, won the middle school art contest with the artwork above.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland has ...