Confetti

October 17, 2024 | Third Thursday Thoughts
Dawn LaRochelle, Executive Director

I know, I know, blue light and disruption to circadian rhythms and all that, but bedtime is when I do my scrolling. And last night, this cute vignette popped up on my social feed and made me smile:

My 8 y.o. in the car today: “Do you want me to throw the confetti in my pocket?”

Me: “No, not in the car – why do you have confetti in your pocket?”

8 y.o.: “It’s my emergency confetti. I carry it everywhere in case there’s good news.”

My wee-hour scrolling is too often doomscrolling, and good news tends to be overshadowed by tsuris these days. So, the notion of carrying around confetti, optimistically waiting for just the right moment to toss it, seemed quaint and charming and… well, something only an eight-year-old unburdened by the jaundiced eye and hardened heart of adulthood could come up with. Which is, of course, why this snippet of conversation between parent and child went viral and why it made me smile.

But even as my wish for 5785 is merely that it be everything 5784 was not, even as controversy and anger and fear swirl around us in large supply, even as the anniversary of the October 7 massacre weighs heavy on our collective shoulders and the ever-increasing spread of Jew hatred rings alarm bells, I find myself yearning for something to spark joy, for something to elevate the everyday, for something to celebrate. And not for the first time, I find myself coming back to the arts.

The late Jewish theologian and philosopher Abraham Joshua Heschel defined celebration as “a confrontation, giving attention to the transcendent meaning of one’s actions.” This is also, arguably, the nutshell definition of great art. Art helps us understand our tragedies, rethink our priorities, and come out on the other side filled with hope. We have needed and sought the healing, teaching, and celebratory power of the arts for a long time, perhaps forever, and perhaps now more than ever.

The arts are alive and well at the Maine Jewish Museum, and our cultural heritage and strong ties to the century-old synagogue that houses us mean that poetry and song play a cherished role in our arts programming.  It was natural, therefore, for us to mark October 7 and the final weeks of our Stitch Them Home: Yellow Ribbon Exhibition for Our Loved Ones Held Hostage pop-up exhibition with an afternoon of English and Hebrew poetry and song (led by beloved Maine poet Anna Wrobel and Israeli Mainer Michal Frank) followed by dancing and handmade Israeli delicacies. This video highlights reel provides a glimpse into the beauty and sadness of the occasion, as well as the ritual and camaraderie that brought us all solace and strength.

Looking ahead, our upcoming Art Exhibition Series  is creating the usual buzz and excitement. Arthur Yanoff, the grandson of a distinguished Lubavitch Chasidic rabbi who studied at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and has exhibited at many of the nation’s premier museums, uses a Jewish philosophical lens to observe non-Jewish master painters in The Teaching of Isaac Luria to Reflections on Melville and Other Paintings . Internationally recognized Portland painter and installation artist Yvonne Maiden explores personal mythology grounded in spiritual and environmental concerns in A paler shade . And in Echoes of the Other, Don Peterson, who has actively pursued a creative practice in both photography and painting, highlights the way these two disciplines strongly relate to one another even with their technical differences (a reminder of how what unites us as a society is greater than what divides us, if only we are brave enough to believe it). Join us for our Exhibition Opening on Thursday, November 7, 5 – 7 PM for the opportunity to meet and mingle with the artists and art lovers, enjoy wine and cheese with museum mavens and curious minds, and – dare I say it – celebrate with us as we unveil our newest exhibitions!

Because we believe that museums are for kids, we will be kicking off the holiday season (no, not the High Holiday season – the other holiday season!) with a fun and educational kids program centered around Erica S. Perl’s acclaimed children’s book, The Ninth Night of Hanukkah. In The Ninth Night of Hanukkah: A Children’s Hanukkah Musical told through Storytelling, Singing, and Movement , MJM Docent Shelley Wilcox will bring the book to life through storytelling, singing, and movement. The program is open to all elementary school children accompanied by an adult(s) — you do not have to be Jewish to join the fun, and you do not need prior musical experience or preparation to attend. Youthful excitement, smiles, and laughter are guaranteed, and you may just become inspired to start a ninth night celebration of your own!

Beyond the arts, MJM is preparing to celebrate Jewish Mainers who have made the world a better place through outstanding accomplishments, humanitarian achievements, and philanthropic endeavors. The Maine Jewish Hall of Fame, presented by Dorothy Suzi Osher in Memory of Alfred Osher, was created in 2018 to bestow recognition on outstanding Jewish leaders from throughout the state who have brought distinction and honor to Maine or beyond. We will be inducting a new class into the Hall of Fame on Sunday, June 8th, 2025, and invite the entire community (this means you!) to nominate a deserving individual during our Open Public Nomination Period now through November 23.

As we transition from the solemnity of Yom Kippur to the joy and renewal of the New Year and spend this next week celebrating Sukkot with family and friends, I encourage you to take a page out of an eight-year-old child’s book and make some environmentally friendly “emergency confetti” out of the colorful autumn leaves beginning to fall from the trees. Carry it with you everywhere, and open your eyes and ears to the good news that really and truly is all around us. Shower the world with love and confetti.

Chag Sukkot Sameach.

Warmly,

Dawn LaRochelle
Executive Director