With Multnomah County approved for Phase 1 reopening, the Mittleman Jewish Community Center opened its doors to members on June 19, 2020.
ALL fitness classes (at Home and at the MJCC) are for members only. But virtual arts and culture programs re...

A program developed in Portland by an Israeli scientist is protecting biodiversity by buying threatened areas in hotspots around the world. Uri Shanas, Ph.D., spent his 2014-15 sabbatical from the University of Haifa doing research at Portland Sta...

NE Chabad spreads good vibes & positivity; Shaarie Torah members randomly get challah; COVID Emergency Fund is helping community; Joe won’t be at Café at the J when it reopens; Eden Village West offers free virtual summer camp programs.

B’nai B’rith Camp has provided free meals to nearby Lincoln City children who meet guidelines for free lunch since 2013. With COVID-19 impacting school food programs and increasing food insecurity in the state, this year the Jewish camp expand...

“Racism is as American as apple pie if we are being honest,” said Professor Angela Addae, one of four panelists on the June 18 Zoom program Racism, Protest and Law Enforcement: Historical Context for Contemporary Times. The program was cospons...

With Multnomah County entering Phase One, we asked many of the Jewish community’s agencies and congregations about their plans. Many will continue to stream or Zoom services and programs. The Mittleman Jewish Community Center has reopened to mem...

B’nai B’rith Camp pivoted all its resources toward its two existing day camps plus an added day camp for middle schoolers in the metro area. BB Day Camp rolls out in Portland June 29.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland’s 100th annual meeting on June 16 reflected our changed world and how the Jewish community has rallied to aid individuals and organizations in these tumultuous times of COVID and protests. With 144 house...

The Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education’s virtual annual meeting June 15 drew 130 people, an increase from the typical 90 to 100 people who have attended recent in-person annual meetings held over lunch. 
Deputy Director Gai...

Oregon Jewish Community Foundation held its Annual Meeting via Zoom on June 4. Highlights included:
During the period July 1, 2019, to May 31, 2020, the foundation distributed 1,395 total grants representing $7.7 million that reached 390 nonprof...

The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland has formed a Young Adult Board, with seven members serving as ambassadors to 21- to 45-year-olds who live in different areas, have different sexual orientations and are in different stages of life, as well...

Like so many things in the past three months, this year’s Portland Jewish Academy Eighth Grade Graduation Celebration was unprecedented and unforgettable. It started with lawn signs for each of the 21 graduates delivered by their teachers. It co...

Kindergarteners didn't miss out on graduation festivities this year.
Portland Jewish Academy held a lovely socially distant graduation for their kindergarteners on Sunday, June 14, in the PJA parking lot.

On a normal Passover, Dina Feuer’s seders (often over 100 people each night) require 15 pounds of apples just for the charoset. This year she purchased a single apple. The seders were online. As a first generation born American, Dina’s parents...

Weekly Wednesday Updates were created to keep our community informed of how COVID-19 is affecting all of us and have expanded to explore other issues affecting our community. On June 24 Rabbi Jonathan Slater shares Finding Calm in a Frantic World.

Proposed actions in Israel of unilaterally annexing and/or extending Israeli sovereignty to parts of the West Bank could have deep consequences, including undermining efforts towards achieving a two-state solution and the creation of a future viab...

BY RABBI KEN BRODKIN

Divisions in our country have always run deep. In the wake of recent and concurrent crises, the lines of division have, amazingly, become even more pronounced. What is our calling in a society marked by division and rift?
Ame...

BY RABBI BARRY COHEN

Who has been your teacher? Who has been your kindred spirit? 
One Jewish teacher, Yehoshua ben Perachyah, instructs: “Provide yourself with a teacher; acquire a companion; and judge every person in the scale of merit.” Y...

Tivnu: Building Justice seeks Gap Year Resident Advisor; Havurah Shalom seeks Music Coordinator; Congregation Kesser Israel seeks Operations Manager.

The historic connection between the Jewish and African- American communities was slated to be the focus of a series of programs all year; then Stay Home orders in March curtailed the United in Spirit programs. These connections have been reinvigor...