BERRIS

 

Berris links Jewish young adults with seder hosts

By DEBORAH MOON

article created on: 2009-04-01T00:00:00

For the past three and a half years, Jodi Berris has tried to ensure that all Jewish young adults who are interested have a comfortable place to enjoy a holiday meal.

Berris, 29, recruits families with a variety of observance levels in various parts of the metro area who are willing to share their holiday table with one or more young adults 21-39.

For some holidays, she has arranged meals for as many as 60 people who are “new to town, want to connect with a Portland Jewish family, would like to make new friends, or just need a place to go.”

Passover, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are the holidays when she gets the most requests for meal placement.

With Passover coming up, Berris once again is busy recruiting families and young adults.

She said if she doesn’t know the hosts or recipients, she tries to find out about where they are comfortable in terms of observance and kashrut, what kind of work they do, their interests and a bit about their personalities.

“I put a lot of effort in to make it comfortable,” said Berris. “I want every Jewish experience to be a positive Jewish experience.”

“People who contact me trust me,” she said. “They come back and say they appreciate it.”

Berris sends out emails to potential hosts and all the young adults on her distribution lists (more than 1,000) and posts information on her Web site: portlandjewishevents.com.

She asks both hosts (personal family gatherings only as opposed to synagogue/community/organization seders) and guests to email her with their kashrut level and available/desired meals. To simplify matching, she requests people email her using the following numbers to express their preferences:

1. 1st night Seder (Wednesday, April 8)
2. 1st day lunch (Thursday, April 9)
3. 2nd night Seder (Thursday, April 9)
4. 2nd day lunch (Friday, April 10)
5. Last Yom Tov days 1st night dinner (Tuesday, April 14)
6. Last Yom Tov days 1st day lunch (Wednesday, April 15)
7. Last Yom Tov days 2nd night dinner (Wednesday, April 15)
8. Last Yom Tov days 2nd day lunch (Thursday, April 16)
9. Can accommodate people who do not keep kosher for Passover
10. Can accommodate those who keep kosher for Passover to some degree
11. Can accommodate those who are strictly kosher for Passover.

To participate as a host or guest, email Berris at jodiberris@aol.com by April 3.