“Jewlandia is bringing programming and events to Portland that have been lacking for years. Jewlandia provides a welcoming environment in which every soul is warmly brought into the comfort of Am Yisrael. Whether an individual is curious and passing through, or committed and focused on building the community, they receive unbounded emotional nourishment and necessary comfort when they step into a Jewlandia event. Jewlandia has barely begun, yet I can’t imagine a Jewish Portland without this energy! Thank you to the Berkowitz’s and the Fried’s for doing the necessary work that will benefit our Portland Jewish community for years to come.” 

“I love the Berkowitz family and am so excited to be a part of Jewlandia with you!! This is what PDX Jews like us have needed. We have been going to their house for nearly a year now for Shabbos, and we feel so much more connected to our Jewish heritage. We have felt the growth in how our spiritual needs are being met.

I’m so thankful that I bumped into Estee at the park, and then we met Zalmy and the rest of the gang. They are connectors, bringing all kinds of Jews together and creating community. Whenever we go to their house, we feel so welcome and meet new people. Our kids get to play, sing, pray, and make music with fellow Jews.

I will continue to support this effort, and I encourage others to be a part of Jewlandia so we can contribute and make beautiful, meaningful experiences together! ”

“Portland Jews are thirsty. Not for bigger buildings or shinier branding, but for Jewish spaces that feel alive and authentic. Jewlandia arrives just in time to quench that thirst. True to Portland’s DIY ethos, its homey gatherings don't feel institutional or hierarchical. Judaism here isn’t packaged or kitschy. This is regular Judaism, but regular in the way sourdough is regular: made by hand, passed around, rising to the occasion.”

“I met Zalmy as part of an artist fellowship at the Eastside Jewish Commons. He invited my family and I to a shabbat meal at his place, and I am glad I took him up on the offer. Him and his wife Estee are incredibly welcoming and great community builders. I don't know how long they’ve been here (6 months?) but I found myself surrounded by happy jews who seemed to be long time, easy going friends. I felt totally welcome even though I was raised in a very unobservant family and was unfamiliar with all the rituals and customs associated with shabbat. 

I am very grateful to have come into the  “Jewlandia” orbit, they are providing much needed services to us SouthEastern Portland Jews who haven't found a place to congregate. I should add that Zalmy has been teaching me from the siddur each week and his house has become a kind of home away from home for my daughter and I.”

“ Over the last several months as I have engaged more and more with Rabbi Zalmy and his whole family, my Jewish practice has become deeper, richer, and felt more authentic. Jews of all stripes and backgrounds are welcomed into their space where the soulfulness of living a Jewish life becomes evident. I've met several people now through participating in services and shabbat gatherings with them, and I am continuing these new connections in other settings as well. Each time I participate in an event with Jewlandia, I leave having learned something and with my soul feeling fuller.”

“An amazing group of Jews filling a space in Portland I didn't know was missing. The Berkowitz and Freids provide a warm environment to engage in traditional Judaism seriously, casually, or playfully, at all stages, and connect with other Jews from all experiences.”

“Zalmy and Estee aren't afraid to tackle the tough questions in Portland like where is the kosher ground turkey and also how to be Jewish in Portland.”

— L


“Meeting the Berkowitzes and Frieds has been an incredible blessing for us. Their openness, generosity and talent at connecting + inspiring Jews of all backgrounds is unparalleled. The Jewlandia community they created is down-to-earth, fun and full of Jewish meaning — a true PDX gem!”

“ Estee and Zalmy have fostered a welcoming refuge for Jews to gather, learn, celebrate, sing, schmooze, and eat. Though I’m relatively secular, I’ve always felt warmly welcome at their events. And I’ve very much appreciated the space that they’ve cultivated for Jews of all stripes to gather without judgment or dogma. Though I come for the sense of community and belonging (which I get), I’m slowly learning and absorbing aspects of the tradition that is my birthright every time I attend. And if those aren’t enough reasons to keep coming back, there’s always warm teenaged-boy-made sourdough bread at every event. In a relatively short amount of time, Estee and Zalmy and their family have become a pillar in the Portland Jewish community, and I’m grateful to be a part of it.”

“My life is genuinely better since I met the Berkowitzs and started attending Jewlandia gatherings. I laugh more. I've learned more. I feel more connected. I even have people who understand my very specific niche jokes. Jewlandia went from "a group" to "my group”. ”

“Jewlandia (and the awesome Purim event we just went to) is very much what we've been wanting and what feels like has been missing: chill, inclusive, super family friendly, soulful, local.... So much goodness!!!”. ”