By Tara Dublin     The iconic Jewish deli has been slowly disappearing in America. Tourist draws like the legendary Katz’s Delicatessen in New York City and its West Coast cousin, Canter’s Deli in Los Angeles, anchoring the tradition on both coasts. But once you move away from cities with large Jewish communities, the deli pickings get slimmer and slimmer. And if you’re in the Pacific Northwest, one of its most iconic delis is joining the list of casualties from the pandemic fallout.   After 32 years in business on Portland’s trendy NWest 23rd Avenue, the rose city’s oldest Jew ..read more

The Feb. 14, 2018 shooting tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL in which 17 victims died still affects Rabbi Bradd Boxman five years later. Boxman is the spiritual leader of Congregation Kol Tikvah, a Reform synagogue in Parkland that is located about a mile from the high school. He said, “It was the darkest period of my entire life to have to comfort families who have just witnessed the most horrific thing you could ever imagine, which is to send your kids to school and they don’t come home as they’re violently killed.” “It took me a couple of years before I could l ..read more

Saturday, Feb 4, 7:00 PM Join guest musicians, Michael Allen Harrison, Hazzan Stein and others for a musical exploration from Middle Eastern to Bluegrass and everything in between. Tickets: $18; sponsorship opportunities available, email Jemi at executivedirector@shaarietorah.org. Doors open at 6:15 pm, Havdallah at 6:30 pm, 7pm concert. Tickets here Michael Allen Harrison will join Hazzan Mike Stein for the “Music Across Time” concert, Saturday, February 4, celebrating over 50 years of performances around the world. Stein is a Grammy Award nominee and featured artist on a Grammy-wi ..read more

  On February 1, 2003 twenty years ago today, I was a young mother and wife living in Israel with 3 young children. Ilan Ramon, Israel’s first astronaut was aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia about to reenter the earth’s atmosphere with the 6 other crew members, all American; commander Rick Husband, pilot Willie McCool, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown and Laurel Clark. As we all excitedly watched the television screen for their return to earth, the four adults suddenly realized that something was wrong. As we watched white streaks stain the sky, we froze. We literally couldn ..read more

Photo: News 360 TV COLLEYVILLE, Texas (AP) — A year ago, Jeff Cohen and three others survived a hostage standoff at their Reform Jewish synagogue in this Fort Worth suburb. Their trauma did not disappear, though, with the FBI’s killing of the pistol-wielding captor, 44-year-old British national Malik Faisal Akram. Healing from the Jan. 15, 2022, ordeal remains an ongoing process. “Let’s be blunt: We’re healing. We’re not healed,” said Cohen, 58, a Lockheed Martin engineer who serves as president of Congregation Beth Israel and its 140-family membership. The 10-hour standoff ended about 9 ..read more

By Rabbi Dr. Robert L. Kravitz   Every New Year presents us with a chance to pause and reflect on the past year. Considered a festive time, many will dress up and attend New Year’s Eve/Day parties and watch football.   As in every special season, our tradition calls upon us to look for moderation in our celebrations. Too much of anything is ‘too much.’ Just as we break the glass at the festive wedding ceremony to balance that joy with the difficulties of our history, we must reign in some of our exuberance as the New Year commences, and we begin new challenges.   The past few ye ..read more

Nine different law student groups at the University of California at Berkeley’s School of Law, have begun this new academic year by amending bylaws to ensure that they will never invite any speakers that support Israel or Zionism. If it wasn’t so frightening, one might be able to recognize the irony in the sight of campus progressives trying so hard to signal progressive virtue that they fall victim to a deeper moral shame. Nine different law student groups at the University of California at Berkeley’s School of Law, my own alma mater, have begun this new academic year by a ..read more

The dishes they eat, family traditions, and where Portlanders can find holiday food All sharing options RoshRosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is a time for celebration, reflection about the previous year, and intention setting for the year ahead. Families gather to eat apples dipped in honey — signifying a sweet new year — and blow the shofar, a musical horn typically made from a ram’s horn. Although Portland’s Jewish food scene is not as robust as cities like Chicago and New York City, dishes traditionally eaten on Rosh Hashanah, like tzimmes, loaves of round challah, and honey ..read more

  Barbara “Bunny” Edelson, has lived nearly 94 years, and is a force to be reckoned with. Bunny is spunky, feisty, and one of the most active individuals you will ever meet. Born in 1928, Bunny will be turning 94 years young in July. Bunny said that her secret to having such an active life is to “get up and get going.” She also said that she likes to swim everyday, she has an appetite like a horse, and she tries to stay out of mischief.   Bunny was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and lived there until she completed college. Bunny’s parents divorced when she was little. Her big brother ..read more

The Red Electric Bridge, a part of the Red Electric Trail is now completed and ready for use. The Red Electric Bridge, located in Southwest Portland between SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway and SW Capitol Highway, provides pedestrians and people biking with a direct, car-free link to these main streets through a forested gulch. The bridge was developed, designed, and constructed by the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) on behalf of Portland Parks & Recreation  (PP&R) and is a critical segment of the Red Electric Trail system. “We are grateful to ou ..read more