I am pleased to share that the Portland Trail Blazers will celebrate a “Festival of Lights” on Thursday, December 18 at the Moda Center. The team will be playing the Sacramento Kings. All participants will enjoy a pregame Chanukah menorah lighting and latkes! Post game, all participants will be treated to an exclusive experience with Portland Trail Blazers star Deni Avdija. More information and tickets available here.

This week, I had the pleasure of attending the Jewish Federations of North America annual General Assembly (GA) in Washington, DC. Leslie Beard, Chair of the Board, Michelle and Loren Koplan, Bob Horenstein, and I joined with 2,000 other leaders from across North America to listen, learn, and move forward with shared connections and purpose. The program was filled with excellent speakers, high energy, and committed leaders from the Jewish world.

Some highlights:

We heard from four former hostages -- Noa Argamani, Avinatan Or, Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal. Three of them shared the horrors of 738 days in tunnels -- they were beaten, tortured, and provided minimal food. One talked about keeping his mind active (counting steps, doing math problems in their head, and even thinking of ways to escape), which kept up his strength. They are home now and grateful for the support from the global Jewish community.

We heard about the impact of the Jewish Federation system on Israel during the war. Together, Jewish federations across North America raised $908 million! Although the war has ended, there is long-term rebuilding and recovery necessary. Trauma support is at the top of the list along with loan funds to help people and businesses get back on their feet.

Scott Jennings, CNN commentator, and Rahm Emanuel, former ambassador to Japan, discussed antisemitism on the right and the left. Jennings said Republicans “should not fear losing support from people you should not want support from in the first place.” Emanuel said, “Antisemitism from the left has always been present, yet today it is far more public.” Both agreed we cannot allow the right or left to be overwhelmed by this hatred.

Senator John Fetterman (Pennsylvania) addressed the role the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is playing in local politics with respect to Israel. He said, “The DSA is highly organized, involved in political races across the country, and has an ‘eliminationist policy’ against Israel.”

Senator Ted Cruz (Texas) also spoke about antisemitism. He challenged leading Republicans to speak out against Tucker Carlson. “I do not want to wake up in five years and find that both major parties in America have embraced hatred of Israel and have tolerated, if not embraced, antisemitism,” Cruz added.

This ties into Thomas Friedman’s New York Times article earlier this week. He writes:

“Three examples preoccupy me personally: The Republican Party today has a neo-Nazi problem that it refuses to confront. The progressive left today has a pro-Hamas problem that it refuses to confront. And the Jewish people and Israel have a radical Jewish settler problem that they refuse to confront...

Those three examples have other things in common. One is they just do not care anymore about hiding their excesses or their agendas. It is all out there online. They are not embarrassed…But what really makes me sick is how much their behavior is now excused or normalized by adjacent members of their own political communities.”

Those at the GA were fortunate to have Rabbi Angela Buchdahl (raised in Tacoma) from Central Synagogue in New York as the scholar-in-residence. Her daily “talks” provided comfort and inspiration.

And to cap it all off, we celebrated a “Portland proud” moment with Michelle Koplan, Executive Director of BB360, being named one of the inaugural Amber Award recipients from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. This national award recognizes inspiring Jewish communal professionals whose leadership and vision strengthen Jewish life and community. As was said at the award ceremony, “This award honors the doers!” Mazel tov and well deserved, Michelle!

I also want to extend a mazel tov to Rabbi Eve Posen on her installation as senior rabbi of Congregation Neveh Shalom and Cantor Rayna Green on her installation as senior cantor at Congregation Beth Israel – both happened last weekend.

Let me close with this. Rabbi Shlomo Porter (z”l), longtime head and driving force of the Baltimore-based Etz Chaim Center (similar to the Portland Kollel), passed away this week. I share this because of the impact he had on my family.

When Sarah and I got married, we decided to keep a kosher home. Growing up, my family did not keep kosher but her family (kind of) did. What that means is her brother would come home from school and get the meat cutting board and meat knife and cut the salami…then get the cheese cutting board and cheese knife and slice some cheese…and then eat the salami and cheese sandwich without putting it on a plate.

The Etz Chaim Center was famous for offering $100 gift cards to the local kosher supermarket to any family who decided to create a kosher home. $100 in 1994 was a lot of money and we were planning to do it anyways. Rabbi Porter spent two days helping to kasher our tiny apartment and all our dishes, cutlery, etc. It was a transformative Jewish experience for us.

A funny story. For our wedding, knowing we wanted to keep kosher, we asked people to help us buy new sets of dishes, utensils, and more. Rabbi Porter told us to take the new items to the dish mikveh outside the Agudath Israel synagogue in Baltimore. It was the first week of December and the water was half frozen. I took the new dishes, etc. out of their boxes and one by one dunked them in the freezing cold water. My arm quickly went numb, but I was committed. After the last dish, I went to collect all the trash I had put in the wire basket next to the dish mikveh. It was only then that I realized the wire basket was for the dishes so when you lowered it into the water and pulled it back out, the water would empty.

May Rabbi Porter’s memory be for a blessing.

Shabbat shalom.