Sunday, April 27, 2025
11:00 am
At a private home
It’s baaaaaack — with a new twist! The beloved MJM X Hadassah Book Group is now combining forces with Rimon, the new Portland Women’s Jewish Group at the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine!
Sunday, April 27, 2025
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
April is National Poetry Month!
Please join us for poetry, chocolates, and time together.
Our featured reader is Maine poet, Wayne O’Brien to be followed by an Open Poetry Hour. Throw in some music, laughter and literary wisdom for a Sunday afternoon in Spring well spent.
Thursday, May 8, 2025
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Mingle with artists and art lovers, enjoy wine and cheese with museum mavens and curious minds, and celebrate with us as we unveil our newest exhibitions!
Thursday, May 15, 2025
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
In the 1930s, Portland was home to over 600 Jewish households, with kosher markets, clothing stores and three synagogues dotting the streets of the diverse neighborhood. Decisions made by city government and the practice of “red-lining” in the early part of the 20th century, however, changed Portland’s East End forever. Houses and businesses surrounding the area were torn down to make way for new buildings and traffic patterns, and the streets that once connected the community were severed.
Thursday, May 15, 2025
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
The title of Emily Hass’ current exhibition, no one leaves home unless, is a line from the poem, “Home,” by Somali British poet Warsan Shire. Maine-based poet Anna Wrobel will recite the poem, then co-host a conversation with Hass about her artwork and about the impact of forced migration on people and cultures.
Thursday, May 22, 2025
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Portland-based photographer Ron Faris will be in the Spiegel Gallery to talk about his MJM exhibition, which includes a selection of candid photographs he has taken over the past 50 years. Photographs include black and white and color images of people, landscapes, and nature from his everyday life and travels.
Thursday, May 29, 2025
5:30 PM – 8:00 PM
On November 21, 1984, a seven-week clandestine operation to bring the “Beta Israel” — Ethiopian Jews — to Israel began. The unprecedented undertaking, code-named “Operation Moses,” was a three-way collaboration between the Mossad, the CIA and Sudanese State Security (SSS) to smuggle nearly 8,000 Beta Israel out of Ethiopia, where they faced hardship and persecution, in a massive airlift to Israel. Operation Moses turned out to be the beginning of large-scale, official Israeli efforts to facilitate Beta Israel aliyah that continued for decades thereafter.
Larry Rubinstein, Maine resident, ordained rabbi, and former Director of the Young Leadership Cabinet of the United Jewish Appeal, was a key player in Operation Moses. Join us as he walks us through his riveting personal story against the backdrop of one of the most remarkable rescue missions in modern history.
Sunday, June 8, 2025
3:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Eight new inductees to be enshrined in a ceremony
3rd Tuesday of Every Month at 2:00 pm
Join Ted Fleischaker, the Maine Jewish Museum’s “building specialist,” for a tour of the museum with a focus on our historic synagogue’s fascinating history. Ted is a journalist who has written for and owned newspapers in over half a dozen states, hosted a program on National Public Radio for over a decade, was a professor at University of Louisville, and served as PR Director at the United Jewish Campaign in Louisville.
On the first Friday evening of every month, from 5-8PM the city’s artists, galleries, and arts venues (including MJM!) open up their doors for Portland’s First Friday Art Walk.
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