Mittleman
Exclusive updates for our donors and supporters from your MJCC
Jewish Community Center at the Schnitzer Family Campus
Fall 2022
6651 SW Capitol Highway, Portland, OR 97219 | 503.244.0111 | oregonjcc.org
Team Oregon Competes at JCC Maccabi Games® in San Diego This summer, we saw the return of the JCC Maccabi Games®! In this, its 40th year, the Games drew 1,600 Jewish teen athletes from 57 delegations and 67 JCCs across Canada and the U.S., as well as delegations from Bulgaria, Mexico, and Israel. Everyone gathered in San Diego for a week of competition, and much more, at what can reasonably be called the Olympics for North American Jewish teens. With the 2020 and 2021 Games lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, these Games were particularly special, making the return to action all the sweeter. Team Oregon arrived on July 31st, ready to make new friends, trade pins, compete in their respective sports, and have a meaningful Jewish experience. Here’s a snapshot of their week: Sunday | Our athletes’ JCC Maccabi Games® experience started with service projects. Sara Ellis (tennis) made care packages for students and the Team Oregon 3-on-3 basketball team (Joshua Braden, Itai Guy, Omer Shapira, and Noam Yaffe) met with Jewish soldiers and American armed forces members and then wrote thank you letters to men and women in the service. Following service projects, Sara went to her host family’s house while our basketball players moved into the dorms at the University of San Diego with 500 other athletes. Monday | Monday morning, bright and early, our athletes took buses to San Diego Jewish Academy where they competed in their respective sports. Team Oregon boys lost to Miami 21 to 12 in their first game but rebounded to beat Team Orange County by five points in their second game. Sara, our tennis player, played in two tough matches. Monday night we had the opening ceremonies at the Del Mar racetrack. Team Oregon marched into the song “Tudu Bom” honoring three of our delegation’s athletes with Israeli parents. It was a spectacular evening culminated by a presentation by Goldberg from the World Wrestling Federation who calls San Diego home. He reminded all the athletes they have a purpose and should be proud to be Jewish. Tuesday | We started bright and early again, boarding buses at 6:30 am. Our boys basketball team went two and two for the day and Sara had a couple of great matches. Tuesday culminated with a trip to SeaWorld. The Maccabi athletes took SeaWorld by storm. The night ended with an impressive fireworks display. Wednesday | With the preliminaries out of the way, Team Oregon athletes had their chance in the knockout tournament. Our basketball team fought valiantly against the team from Louisville, Milwaukee and Tucson but were knocked out in a close battle. Our tennis player, Sara, made her mark. Rebounding from the preliminaries, she won her first match 8 to 3, and made it to the quarterfinals by winning her second match in an 8-8 tiebreaker. There were secondary sports available for our athletes and Joshua Braden had a great run at a spikeball tournament. Wednesday was also host family night, so Sara spent more time with her host family, while our dorm residents went to the Padres game, catching Juan Soto’s first game as a Padre and a Padres win. Thursday | While no medals in sports were won by the Oregon athletes, basketball player Joshua Braden and tennis player Sara Ellis were each awarded a middot medal. The medal is presented to athletes who demonstrate the qualities of “good-heartedness, respectfulness, efforts to repair the world (tikkun olam), Jewish peoplehood, joy and pride.” Article continued on next page...