EJC Klezmer Jam

The people have spoken and what they've asked for is a Klezmer jam at Eastside Jewish Commons! Let's have one on a Sunday afternoon. Bring your instruments, sheet music, heart and soul, and don't worry about ability--this is a (facilitated) jam for all. We'll settle in and play for a couple of hours. Once you sign up, materials from the other jams will be sent to you and perhaps even new material! If you have a song to share, please bring it! Also if you play an instrument that is non-concert, i.e. Bb, you'll have to be ready to transpose or make your own versions (don't worry if you don't know what this means; it's mainly for clarinet and trumpet players who read sheet music). 

Feel free to eat here (maybe it will start to become a Klezmer brunch), just no pork or shellfish. N.B. this is not a show, so while you might have a family member or two with you this is really not a place to listen to music but rather it’s a place to participate.

2:30 PM All Ages. Free, but please consider making a donation at checkout.

Made possible in part by the Yiddish Arts and Culture Initiative for Jewish Communities at the Yiddish Book Center.
2:30 PM All Ages. Free, but please consider making a donation at checkout.

Join local Israeli dance instructor Allison Victor as she leads a session of Israeli Dance for all ages and levels, but tailored especially to beginners. Great for families, singles, couples, and...everyone! Groove around in a circle and dance the hora!  Have fun with Israeli line dancing and more!

All Ages; Children must be accompanied by adult at all times (no drop-offs)

Suggested Donation:$6-$12 sliding scale/person or family

Registration requested

Allison Victor has been finding joy in dance since she was a child in ballet school and doing the cha cha at her oldest brother’s bar mitzvah! She began Israeli dancing in Portland in the late 70’s and has been a long-time instructor and session leader at the MJCC and at Cafe Shalom in SW Portland. She has performed with fellow dancers and taught at community and private venues in the northwest and internationally. She may be reached at allisuev@gmail.com for information on classes and open dancing.

🏴‍☠️✨Hey, you guys! Set sail for an unforgettable night of film, fun, and lively discussion!

Join Daniel Zana, Seattle-based filmmaker and co-host of the Jews on Film podcast, for a special post-Shabbat in person screening of the 1985 cult classic, The Goonies! Directed by Richard Donner and set against the stunning backdrop of Oregon, this adventure-packed treasure is a cinematic gem you won’t want to miss. 💎🏝️

After the screening, stick around as Daniel digs into the film’s production roots in Astoria, unearths its timeless themes, and gives you the inside scoop on the cast and crew.

But wait—there’s more loot to uncover! 🪙⚡ In a lightning round of fun, we’ll:

Unearth The Goonies' most Jewish scene 🕍

Hunt for the stretch of the pod aka any hidden biblical allusions in the tale 📖

Debate the ultimate question: Is The Goonies “good for the Jews?” 🤔

Don’t miss this treasure map to a night of adventure with a Jewish twist. Bring your friends, your love of excitement, and maybe even your truffle shuffle! 🏴‍☠️💰

ALL AGES:  KIDS $5, Adults $9 Advance,  $6/$10 AT THE DOOR

REGISTER HERE

Jews on Film website

Jews on Film on Apple Podcasts

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jews-on-film/id1612019073

Jews on Film on Spotify:

 https://open.spotify.com/show/1vV6tDUoENVCeer7FSHHhE

Jews on Film Merch:

https://jews-on-film.printify.me/products

Join us for our free concert series with top Portland musicians! Pack a lunch or stop by one of the many nearby eateries at NE 24th and Glisan. Bring your food in (no pork or shellfish, please) and come and hear the music!

The concerts will feature small ensembles and soloists that are semi-acoustic and always enlivening. The EJC welcomes seniors, parents and kids, students, and all others. What better thing is there to do on a Friday afternoon?!

Mavrothi Kontanis is an eternal student of music on a range of instruments and voice, focused especially on the older music of Greece and the Near East. Based in the US but with roots in Halkidiki, Greece, he is known better as a singer in some circles or as a teacher in others, but feels most at home crafting a melody with an oud in his hands.

By keeping an open mind and drawing from his diverse experiences as a Greek and as an American, Mavrothi performs and creates music that is both Eastern and Western; old and new.

Booze, junk food, music, friends, safe space and the annual ritual reading of “The Latke that Couldn’t Stop Screaming!” by Lemony Snicket.

Hosted by Congregation Shir Tikvah and open to the entire Jewish LGBTQIA+ community

At The Eastside Jewish Commons

"'Crossing Delancey' is an unqualified pleasure, bound on every side by love." - Sheila Benson, LA Times

"The implausible and the irresistible come joyfully together." - Molly Haskell, Vogue

A FUNNY MOVIE ABOUT GETTING SERIOUS

Director Joan Micklin Silver's underrated gem from 1988 stars Amy Irving as thirty-something New Yorker Isabelle "Izzy" Grossman. Izzy spends her time going from her tiny, solitary West Side apartment to that of her grandmother (Reizl Bozyk) on the Lower East Side. In between, Izzy builds a glowing reputation at the swank bookstore where she works. While her grandmother plots to find her a romantic match, Izzy is courted by a married, worldly author, Anton (Jeroen Krabbé), yet can't seem to shake the down-to-earth appeal of Sam (Peter Riegert), a pickle vendor.

Bonus! Attendees will get a free pickle prior to the screening.

Free! Donations gladly accepted. Register here

Join us for our free concert series with top Portland musicians! Pack a lunch or stop by one of the many nearby eateries at NE 24th and Glisan. Bring your food in (no pork or shellfish, please) and come and hear the music!

December caps off our three-month collaboration with PSU’s Jazz Vocal department, bringing the best and brightest future jazz performers to EJC. Come out and support the next generation of Jazz at EJC!

The concerts will feature small ensembles and soloists that are semi-acoustic and always enlivening. The EJC welcomes seniors, parents and kids, students, and all others. What better thing is there to do on a Friday afternoon?!

Hannah DiMo is a versatile artist blending neo-soul, indie rock, and R&B with a touch of jazz sophistication. Inspired by the soulful sounds of Lianne La Havas, Yebba, and the dynamic energy of Beyoncé, Hannah's music is a reflection of her diverse influences. A recent graduate of Portland State University with a degree in Jazz Studies, she has been captivating audiences for 15 years. Her work has gained recognition on local radio, and she is an active collaborator in Portland’s vibrant music scene, contributing to a variety of projects across multiple genres.

EJC presents its annual Hanukkah Night Market!

Nosh, sip, dance, mingle, shop. We’ll have some live music, plenty of seating for eating and schmoozing and wonderful gift items. Vendors include C'est What? Wine, Leikam Brewery, Henry Higgins Bagels (with fresh latkes), Peace Oil, cookbook author Jenn Louis, Hebrunes, Lavender Belle Farms, jewelry, crafts and much more.

Free childcare provided in our kids’ room!

Free.

Lineage, Initiation & Oracle: Finding Your Way to Truth

Story is sometimes described as “the first technology.” We’re made of stories; they’re how we make sense of an often senseless-seeming world. Yet when it comes to our own backstories, many of us feel alienated from them. We sense there’s a buried history inside us but we can’t seem to access it—or we never seem to find the time. Why bother? Who would care, anyway?

But when we reconnect with our buried stories, it frees us—and those around us. Sharing them is a form of permission, allowing others to approach the warm glow of reconnection. And it’s far easier than you might imagine. All that’s required is to steal past the gatekeepers of habit and self-protection. And I think I can help.

This 2-hour event is a sharing, conversational, and writing exercise designed for non-writers. If you’re looking for a deeper relationship with your own buried story, this event will help you bypass the internal blocks that have kept you exiled from it. You’ll leave in deeper touch with your ancestry, your agency, and the transformative power of sharing your own story.

All Ages Sliding Scale Admission $12-$22 

About the Facilitator:

Leapfrogging off his book Death Trip: A Post-Holocaust Psychedelic Memoir, Seth Lorinczi returns to Eastside Jewish Commons to explore some of the book’s most provocative themes: The gifts of rediscovering our lineage, the power of initiation, and the power of nonlinear modes of exploration, including creative writing, dreamwork, and psychedelic journeying.

If previous events are any guide, this will be a provocative and liberating exploration of the facets of family and self that often remain shrouded. Show up ready to bask in emotionally resonant storytelling—and to share what it illuminates in your own family backstory.

“A very unique, courageous, and deeply moving book; I have personally never seen anything else like it….a journey through our individual and collective trauma in order to find the hidden treasure enfolded within the darkness—our creative self. Bravo!”

-Paul Levy, Undreaming Wetiko; The Quantum Revelation; and others

Love to read poetry? Drawn to Jewish poets writing in English, Hebrew, and Yiddish in translation? Let's lift the poetry off the page with some communal meaning-making. Quarterly meetings led by group members on books of their choosing.

Join us on quarterly first Wednesdays, 12:30-2:30 pm at the Eastside Jewish Commons, 2420 NE Sandy, Portland, OR

Remaining 2024 meeting dates: December 4th

Reading: Paradise by Victoria Redel

Discussion led by Betsy Fogelman Tighe

Feel free to bring your lunch and please plan on making a small donation to EJC each time we meet. $3-$10 is suggested. No one turned away for lack of funds.

Email bjftighe@hotmail.com with questions