Bete’Avon!

June 18, 2025 | Third Thursday Thoughts
Dawn LaRochelle, Executive Director

Comfort food isn’t just fuel, it’s a feeling. It’s a passport to Memory Lane, a bite-sized trip back to the places and people we miss the most. My friend Jeff, currently navigating life abroad in Taiwan, swears by a diet of clean eating… except for Kraft Mac & Cheese. He orders it in bulk online, devours it straight from the pot, and for a brief, glorious moment, he’s home again. My husband, “Nick the Brit,” has a love affair with Marmite so intense it defies explanation — smeared with butter on toast or spooned directly from the jar, depending on his mood. And me? My Kryptonite is a simple pareve lokshen kugel with raisins, crispy on the bottom and golden on top, just like my grandmother used to make it.

But if kugel is nostalgia in a square dish, lasagna is comfort itself, layered, warm, and unapologetically gooey. Lasagna is a hug you can eat, a culinary act of self-care that stretches mozzarella and time alike. Everyone has their version: the classic Nonna-approved family heirloom, the cobbled-together “whatever’s-left-in-the-fridge” student experiment, or even that tofu-laced vegetarian remix that — surprise — still hits the spot. For Jews navigating the breadless expanse of Passover, we improvise with “matzagna,” where matzah stands in for pasta, and the magic remains intact. Bubbling in the oven or reheated the next morning (don’t knock it ‘til you try it), lasagna has this remarkable ability to say, “You’re safe now. You’re home.”

That soul-deep comfort is what drew Nick and me to Lasagna Love, an organization whose mission is as warm as the meals it delivers: match volunteer lasagna chefs with individuals and families facing hardship. No red tape, no judgment, just nourishment and care. We signed up, aprons ready, and found ourselves delivering pans of pasta to people whose stories broke us open and filled us with awe. A single mom navigating a custody battle. An elderly, disabled woman giving a cooking break to her caregiver-son. A grandmother in a wheelchair raising six grandchildren. A man mourning the recent loss of his own grandmother. In every case, that humble pan of lasagna became more than a meal. It became a message: You are not alone.

And with each delivery, we realized this was never just about food. It was about tikkun olam (world healing) and chesed (loving-kindness). These Jewish values, so foundational, came alive through a simple act of sharing something warm, homemade, and intrinsically nurturing.

In a world increasingly defined by its fractures, these values shine brighter than ever. Jewish resilience is not just about surviving, it’s about illuminating. We light candles in the dark, sometimes literally, sometimes metaphorically. Earlier this month, over 200 people packed the house at MJM to honor eight individuals who embodied that light and were inducted into the Maine Jewish Hall of Fame: Leah Binder, Harris Gleckman, Charlie* and Ellie Miller, Bernard “Billy” Miller, Edith Pagelson*, Judge Abraham Rudman*, and Judge Louis Scolnik*. Their legacies span civic leadership, philanthropy, advocacy, and quiet, steadfast heroism. Lives lived with purpose, illuminating paths for others.

Carrying that light forward were the inaugural recipients of the MJM Affinity Award, Pam and Kevin Rhein. Though not Jewish themselves, these Oakland, ME music teachers have walked beside our community with empathy and open hearts. Their project, Songs of Darkness and Hope, brought together 400 choral students, the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine, and a team of producers to create an album interweaving traditional Hebrew melodies, music born in the darkness of the Nazi death camps, and modern anthems for justice. Their work wasn’t only musical, it was moral. A lesson in sacred memory, inner fortitude, and unwavering courage.

And speaking of soulful nourishment — with a side of crafty flair — our upcoming programs serve up both. At our Wooden Chopsticks Carving Workshop, the lead-in to our popular Summer in the Garden series on Thursday, June 25, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM, you’ll learn to carve your own set of chopsticks while diving into the deep and delicious history of Jewish affinity for Chinese food. As someone who spent years living in Japan, China, and Taiwan (call it a colorful resume or an oddly meandering one), I’ll be there to share stories and context. We’d also love to see you next month for our Community Challah Braiding Workshop and Vegetarian Shabbat Dinner al fresco, both generously co-sponsored by the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine. We are thrilled to welcome the Challah Back Girls, four powerhouse sisters who use challah as a symbol of change and opportunity to break bread with diverse communities, as workshop leaders and special guests at these fun and formative events.

Ultimately, whether it’s a kugel, a lasagna, a humanitarian endeavor, or a song, whether we pick up dim sum with chopsticks or pass challah by hand around the Shabbat table, what we truly feed one another is something far richer. Connection. Compassion. Presence. Love.

And if we’re lucky, maybe a little gooey cheese, too.

Bete’Avon!

Warmly,

Dawn

Dawn LaRochelle
Executive Director