Raisins and Almonds

September 18, 2024 | Third Thursday Thoughts
Dawn LaRochelle, Executive Director

Rumor has it that if I tell a story, there will be at least seven mini conversations and a dozen asides thrown in. Not gonna lie – there is a grain of truth to this rumor. But riddle me this: is there a way to tell a straightforward story linking my obsession with MacKenzie-Childs pottery to the Maine Jewish Museum and raisins and almonds? I think not!

Curiosity piqued? Here’s the spiel, with all the requisite digressions and detours:

“We have no place to put it” is my beleaguered husband Nick’s stock response to my every purchase. Our Portland dream home is a downsizer, a sweet doll house that is long on charm and short on storage. Needless to say, I refuse to be hindered by silly considerations like lack of space. And I am a serious collector of McKenzie-Childs pottery. So, back in July 2023, when I saw a discontinued vintage MacKenzie-Childs fish platter on a Buy and Sell page I frequent on social media, I didn’t think twice before putting in an offer. Sadly, it was a popular item and had already been snatched up by the time I made my bid.  Nick, at least, was much relieved – marital crisis averted.

The next day, however, I received a DM from a Lisa Kantoff in Houston. “Hi,” Lisa wrote. “I saw your post on the fish platter. I am selling my friend’s MacKenzie-Childs collection that was used for display and I believe she has that platter.” A few messages back and forth led to a sale (sorry-not-sorry, Nick!). Because we were having some issues receiving packages at home at the time, I messaged Lisa the MJM address. To which she messaged back, “MOT?”

“YES!” I responded, “I am indeed a ‘Member of the Tribe!’ My maiden name was Schoenfeld.”

A lively back and forth ensued, with Lisa asking how the heck a nice Jewish girl from New York ended up in Maine, and my asking how she got from Brooklyn to Houston, and the two of us half-jokingly debating which kind of trayf was more worth the guilt, Texas barbecue or Maine lobster. I off-handedly encouraged Lisa to swing by the Maine Jewish Museum if she ever found herself in Portland. The fish platter arrived intact within the week. End of the story, or so I assumed.

Not so much! Fast-forward a year, and out of the blue, I got another DM from Lisa: “Hey, stranger! Are you working tomorrow? If so, what is a good time to call?” Turned out that Lisa and her partner of 15 years, Paul Lessell, were now engaged, were planning a cruise in September that coincidentally stopped in Portland, and thought it would be neat to get married at MJM! I put her in touch with my fave Rabbi Gary Berenson at Etz Chaim, the magnificent century-old synagogue that houses the Museum, arrangements were made, and the date was set for September 18, 2024.

Which is how yesterday, on a picture-perfect late summer day, Rabbi Gary married Lisa and Paul under a chuppah with sunshine sparkling through the iconic stained-glass window above the Arc in the Etz Chaim sanctuary. And “the fish platter that started it all?” It was laden with raisins and almonds, which are traditionally eaten by and pelted at the bride and groom in Jewish weddings (a symbolic wish for a sweet and prosperous marriage) and had pride of place next to the ceremonial kiddush cup. Even Nick now admits it was a good purchase.

As a Jewish Museum director, much of my time is by sad necessity devoted to combatting Jew hatred. As I point out in every presentation I make about antisemitism, however, learning about Jew hatred teaches you absolutely nothing about Jews or Judaism. Antisemitism is something we Jews live with and struggle against, but it does not define us. What defines us is our rich, 3,000+ year old heritage, a heritage of learning and loving and giving and achieving and celebrating. What defines us is raisins and almonds on a MacKenzie-Childs fish platter and a chance encounter on social media between two Jewish women with 2,000 miles between them that led to a wedding at the Maine Jewish Museum on a picture-perfect late summer day.

Mazel tov, Lisa and Paul. May your story continue to unfold with all the mini conversations and asides, the digressions and detours that make it a story worth the telling.

Warmly,

Dawn LaRochelle
Executive Director

P.S. Raisins and almonds are great, but if you want to indulge in more elevated traditional Jewish repast, join us for Sabor Judío: Mexican-Jewish Dinner at the Museum (with author Margaret E. Boyle) on Monday, September 29, 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM! We’ll be serving up a delectable sit-down, three-course, vegetarian Mexican-Jewish dinner with wine pairings featuring recipes from the soon-to-be-released Sabor Judío: The Jewish Mexican Cookbook. Sabor Judío author Margaret E. Boyle will be on hand to answer all your cooking questions, and you can snag an autographed copy of Sabor Judío weeks before it will be available in stores and online!