Morasha: Jewish community education alliance -- Mission statement

Morasha is a pluralistic, non-profit community alliance that promotes adult Jewish education, through its Florence Melton Adult Mini-School, the Machar young adult leadership program, and in coordination with other community organizations. Morasha provides meaningful opportunities for Jewish learning, strengthens Jewish identity and inspires engagement in Jewish communal life.

Morasha: Jewish community education alliance -- A brief history

In 1997 eighteen institutions in the Portland area that provided adult Jewish education came together to assess the adult Jewish education offerings here. These included the synagogues and congregations, the MJCC, PJA, and the Jewish Federation. Our group incorporated as Morasha, with each institution represented. It was decided that our highest priority would be to bring to Portland a course of Jewish education.

Everyone agreed that a comprehensive program, without a particular movement bias would enrich our community. Several programs around the country were evaluated and The Florence Melton Adult Mini-School (www.fmams.org.il) was selected as the best for Portland. The Melton program was brought to the community in 1998, as a non-denominational education program for adult Jewish learning. The two year Core program, developed at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, is text-based and taught by local Jewish educators from across the spectrum. The curriculum teaches the common roots and experiences of pluralistic Judaism with the goal of achieving a basic, but comprehensive foundation of Jewish literacy appropriate for adults (www.meltonportland.org).

In addition to providing the Melton program, Morasha received a Federation Community Initiative Grant to publish two glossy-covered issues of The Rav, a widely-distributed compendium of all the adult Jewish education offerings of any Jewish organization in the Portland Metro area. Morasha also sponsored speakers in the community and formed a library committee consisting of the persons responsible for the various Jewish libraries around town in the Jewish schools and synagogues The committee met to discuss common concerns, book-sharing, and explore possible pooling of resources or coordination of software used for inventories. The library committee met for about two years, until rapid turnover of personnel ended its activity. Nevertheless, the participants valued the sharing of ideas and information while it lasted.

Morasha now has two additional programs. We are the sponsoring agency for Machar, the Young Jewish leadership program (www.urbanjew.org) which was granted a 2007 Federation Innovation Impact allocation. Machar serves Jewish adults in their 20s and early 30s who haven't started families and are interested in building leadership skills. Moarsha was also granted an Innovation Impact allocation to design, launch, and maintain this Jewish education clearinghouse web site. We hope you find it helpful as you pursue your interests in adult Jewish educational opportunities.

Donating to Morasha

Morasha is a 501C3 nonprofit corporation, and donations are tax deductible. Checks can be made out to Morasha and mailed to

6680 SW Capitol Highway
Portland, OR 97219

You can also donate through OJCF. Simply advise them to make the check out to Morasha.

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