Past Programs and Events

Thursday, March 26, 2026
7:00 pm

What happens when African American musical traditions and Jewish musical traditions meet — not as a fusion experiment, but as a shared language of history, resilience, and joy?

The Afro-Semitic Experience answers that question with music that is soulful, searching, celebratory, and deeply human. Rooted in jazz, blues, gospel, swing, klezmer, and improvisation, the Afro-Semitic Experience creates a powerful musical conversation that honors the distinct histories of Black and Jewish communities while illuminating the profound connections between them.

Sponsored by:

The Leir Foundation
Congregation Bet Ha’Am.

Sunday, March 22, 2026
2:00 PM
RUNTIME: 90 MINUTES (NO INTERMISSION)

“A sensitive, perceptive biography. A captivating story of passion and music.”
– KIRKUS REVIEWS

Part storytelling, part live music, The Nightingale’s Encores is a wholly entertaining, multimedia narrated concert experience building on last year’s sold-out Nightingale’s Sonata performance. Accompanied by two acclaimed musicians and the projection of dozens of historical photographs, author Thomas Wolf recounts an entirely new set of fascinating and amusing stories involving his multi-generational musical family. Stretching from the Jewish ghetto on the Black Sea to the palaces of European royalty to Carnegie Hall and the White House and beyond, each story is accompanied by a musical encore that family members helped make famous. This second program based on Wolf’s award-winning book, The Nightingale’s Sonata, reveals family triumphs and tragedies while sketching the history of classical music in the 20th century. Wolf is joined by international prize-winning violinist, Blake Pouliot and Lincoln Center’s 2019 Avery Fisher Career Award pianist, Henry Kramer.

Monday, March 16, 2026
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM

Raise a glass and step into history.

Join us with Louis Miller, Assistant Director for Research and Fellowship Programs and Cartographic Reference and Teaching Librarian at the University of Southern Maine’s Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education, for an evening of conversation, community, and compelling storytelling as we gather for Happy Hour with a Historian. This installment brings us from Maine mill towns to the battlefields of World War I, exploring how American Jewish lives were shaped — and remembered — during the Great War.

Sunday, March 15, 2026
2:00 pm–3:30 pm
Coffee By Design — Roastery Room

A good book, great company, and the comforting hum of coffee roasting in the background — sounds like a perfect Sunday afternoon to us! Please join the MJM + Hadassah + Rimon Book Group as we gather once again in the cozy Roastery Room at Coffee By Design to discuss A Woman of Valor by Lynne Golodner.

Sunday, March 8, 2026
5:00 PM
At the Maine Irish Heritage Center

Irish corned beef dinner or Jewish corned beef sandwich on rye? Why choose one when you can have both?

Join the Maine Jewish Museum and the Maine Irish Heritage Center for our second annual Shalom & Shamrocks, a festive, flavor-forward evening celebrating shared foodways, music, and immigrant histories — bringing together the luck of the Irish and the chutzpah of the Jews for a joyful night in Portland.

Thursday, March 5, 2026
5:00 pm –7:00 pm

Mingle with artists and friends and enjoy wine and cheese as we debut our new series of art exhibitions!

Saturday, February 21, 2026
7:00 PM (Doors open at 6:00 PM)

One Longfellow Square, Portland

$30 advance • $40 at the door

What happens when world-renowned artists spend an intensive week making music with an intergenerational ensemble of Maine musicians — and then everyone takes the stage together?

Thank you to our co-sponsor

This program is made possible by a generous grant from the Davis Family Foundation

Thank you to our sponsors

Sunday, February 8, 2026
2:00 pm – 3:30 pm

All aboard! Please join the MJM + Hadassah + Rimon Book Group as we gather to discuss Next Stop by Benjamin Resnick.

In this gripping and hauntingly prescient novel, Resnick explores the precariousness of Jewish American life after a black hole consumes Israel, setting off a chain of global anomalies and plunging the world into a time of peril… but also a time of miracles.

Thursday, February 5, 2026
5:30 pm – 7:00 pm

Join us for an evening honoring memory, resilience, and community at the Maine Jewish Museum: Jack Montgomery — Maine lawyer turned photographer and the originator of our acclaimed Soul Survivors exhibition — will present his new book, From the Holocaust to Maine: Testimonies of the Survivors.

Sunday, February 1, 2026
2:00 pm –4:00 pm
$36 materials fee

Make something beautiful. Celebrate something meaningful.
Join us for a hands-on Tu B’Shevat workshop where you’ll twist, shape, and sculpt your very own wire tree — a perfect way to honor the Jewish “New Year of the Trees.”

Sunday, January 25
2:00 pm – 3:30 pm

Please join us for the January meeting of the MJM + Hadassah + Rimon Book Group as we gather to discuss Hostage by Eli Sharabi.

In this moving memoir, Sharabi shares his experience of captivity and the long road that follows, offering readers a deeply personal reflection on endurance, memory, and the power of human connection. While the subject matter is serious, the book is written with clarity and care, inviting thoughtful reflection and conversation. Reading it together gives us the opportunity to listen closely, bear witness, and engage as a community.

Wednesday, January 14, 2026
Concert @ 6:30pm-7:30pm
VIP pre-concert reception@ 5:15pm

Join us for a one of a kind concert featuring cantor, multi instrumentalist and touring artist Diego Rubinsztein from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Along with Cantor Sheila Nesis, they will transport you to Latin America sharing a repertoire that includes songs in Hebrew, Spanish and Ladino as well as storytelling about Jewish life in South America. A concert that will surely warm up your soul in this cold winter season! One performance only!

This event is co-sponsored by Etz Chaim Synagogue

Serenade: An Evening of Opera at the Maine Jewish Museum

Sunday, January 11, 2026 | 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Snow Date: Monday, January 12 | 5:00 pm –7:00 pm

For the first time, Opera Maine is partnering with the Maine Jewish Museum to present a special Serenade in our beautifully restored historic synagogue sanctuary.

This intimate evening of music features Alexander Adams-Leytes, bass-baritone, and Phillip Silver, pianist, in a program that highlights the power, drama, and humor of opera in an acoustically stunning setting. Audiences may recognize Adams-Leytes from his memorable and witty portrayals of Benoît and Alcindoro in La bohème last season.

Optional Family Program: Songs & Stories with Alexander Adams-Leytes

Sunday, January 11 | 2:00 pm –3:00 pm
Snow Date: Monday, January 12 | 4:00 pm –5:00 pm
FREE | Recommended for ages 6+

Earlier in the afternoon, families are invited to a relaxed, engaging introduction to opera designed especially for young audiences. Bass-baritone Alexander Adams-Leytes brings opera to life through storytelling, singing, and conversation.

Light “tea bites” will be provided (kosher-style).

Thursday, January 8, 2026
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Mingle with artists and friends and enjoy wine and cheese as we debut our new series of art exhibitions!

Sunday, December 14 – Monday, December 22
4:00 pm each evening

At 4:00 PM each evening from Sunday, December 14 through Monday, December 22, join us in the winter garden at the Maine Jewish Museum for the lighting of our brand-new, one-of-a-kind goat menorah.

Sunday, December 21 2025
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Bundle up, grab your favorite winter beverage, and join us for our December Book Group as we dive into Jean Meltzer’s The Eight Heartbreaks of Chanukah, a tender second-chance romance novel that is as delicious and layered as the season itself.

We’ll be gathering at a reserved table in the Coffee by Design Roastery (Diamond Street location). Just head inside, follow the aroma of freshly roasted beans, and look for our table — you can’t miss us.

Sunday, December 14 2025
1:30–3:30 PM

Please join hosts Anna Wrobel and Jim Donnelly for a cozy winter afternoon of poetry, prose, and song at the Maine Jewish Museum.

Our featured poets, Alice Persons and Kevin Sweeney, will share a joint reading, followed by an Open Poetry Hour.

Sunday, December 7 2025
2:00 pm – 3:30 pm

Come celebrate Hanukkah as we officially welcome a beautiful new menorah to our sculpture garden — inspired by the beloved story Zlateh the Goat and hand-carved by Downeast artist Aaron Margolis. Kids will enjoy a cozy storytime, Hanukkah crafts, games, and tasty treats, while families soak up the holiday lights and garden magic.

Thank you to our co-sponsor

Saturday, December 6 2025
6:00 pm

Hockey, history, and a heaping dose of Maine spirit — let’s go, Mariners!

Join the Maine Jewish Museum as we cheer on the Maine Mariners when they face off against the Adirondack Thunder. We’ll be posted up at our very own MJM table, handing out exclusive Museum swag (a little something to remember the night by) and soaking in all that chilly, rink-side energy.

Sunday, November 30, 2025
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Dr. Aaron Rosen, Executive Director of The Clemente Course in the Humanities and Founder/Director of the Parsonage Gallery, will be in the Fineberg Room to discuss the current exhibition he guest curated, Up/Rooted. He will be joined by two of the six exhibiting artists, Rosalba Breazeale and Aaron Margolis. Copies of Dr. Rosen’s new book, Spiritual Traces: Reflections and Conversations on Contemporary Art, will be available for purchase and author signing.

Thursday, November 20 & Friday, November 21

Back by popular demand!

We’re hosting a TWO-DAY JEWELRY POP-UP SALE on Thursday, November 20 and Friday, November 21 from noon-4 pm, featuring jewelers Lisa Gent, Laura Givertz, and Marilyn Pritikin.

We’ll stay open after museum hours on Thursday, Nov. 20 from 5-7 pm for a fun Jewelry Happy Hour.

Can’t make it or need a second look? Visit us on Friday, Nov. 21 from 2-4 pm for an Afternoon Tea & Jewelry Party. Both events will be catered by our own Executive Director and chef extraordinaire Dawn LaRochelle!

Sunday, November 16 2025
2:00 pm – 3:30 pm

The MJM + Hadassah + Rimon Book Group is a collaboration between the Maine Jewish Museum, Portland Hadassah, and Rimon — the Portland Jewish Women’s Group. We meet once a month, offer separate in-person and online sessions, and always welcome new participants. Lively discourse and warm camaraderie with fellow bookworms is always guaranteed.

In November, we will discuss Sarah Tuttle-Singer’s memoir, Jerusalem Drawn and Quartered. On a night in 1999 when the author was barely 18, she was stoned by Palestinian kids just outside of the gates to the Old City of Jerusalem. In the years that followed, she was terrified to explore the ancient city she loved. But, sick of living in fear, she has now chosen to live within the Old City’s walls, right at the heart of the four quarters: Christian, Muslim, Armenian, and Jewish.