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Uniquely Maine, Meaningfully Jewish

Dec 15, 2020
Rabbi Braun
Among the many lessons of Chanukah, the one that has stood out to me this year is a lesson about identity. For many of us, this is the time where we can proudly display our chanukiot, eat our culturally oily food, and celebrate with others - Jewish and not Jewish, religious (whatever that means) and non-religious - for any or all 8 days. This year, social media has lit up with Hamilton star Daveed Diggs singing "Puppy for Hanukkah." Be sure to catch it, if you can! Meanwhile, Christmas is all around us too and, if we wanted, I bet we could ‘deck the halls’ Chanukah style. As Jews, our feelings about Christmas and Chanukah are varied; always complex: sometimes confused, sometimes worthy of eye rolls, and sometimes just happy to be part of the festivities. The truth is that we are formed with many identities which we juggle over time. Perhaps that is why every morning in daily prayer, the liturgy asks us, “What are we? What is our life? Our goodness?...Our achievement?” Each one of us is a blend, like a delicious soup of many ingredients. I know that I feel whole when I can accept and rejoice in all that I am.

Not only does this Chanukah season bring all this into focus for me, but so does our new logo, as well as the whole package that is the new branding for TBE. I just received, as many of you have as well, a wonderful letter from Kate, explaining the design. I can’t possibly express all the time, thought and energy that went into this new design, but I do know that those who were involved were constantly asked those same liturgical questions: Who ARE we? What IS our life at TBE? What are our values and aspirations? I don’t know if any one logo can express the depth of our identity, but ours says ‘We are Jews in Maine.” We are attached to the natural and uniquely Maine beauty around us (pine branch), we are interested in peace and offer an olive branch, even in the most difficult and confusing of times. We are Hebrew, we are English; we have a history and we have an exciting future. We are uniquely Maine (remember the amazing blueberry challot that Daniel used to make?) and we value meaningful engagement with our tradition. So what makes us different from other Maine Jewish organizations? I would have to answer that sometimes nothing distinguishes us, and that is one of the reasons we can slip so easily into a Statewide Chanukah or Shabbat celebration. But other times, it’s just the Beth El vibe. Hard to put my finger on it, but maybe it’s characterized by our informality or the wacky ideas we attempt to carry out. Or it’s the people who walk into our doors; or Bob’s coffee cups all around the place… whatever it is, we have tried to portray that vibe in our logo as we strive to be our best TBE selves. 

Look around your house at all the Jewish items you have, specifically if you have more than one chanukiah (Chanukah menorah), but also look at your candlesticks or mezuzot or decorations. They are all probably very different; yet they represent YOU, your family, your history, your humor, your taste in art, and what you couldn’t give back because you really love the person who gave it to you! Alone, or together at TBE, or as part of society, we are composed of several identities. Maybe that’s the miracle of Chanukah.

Before I end, I want to thank Kate Shalvoy for persevering through this intense process. No matter what was going on, she found the time and energy to help us to look at who we are, and then to put that reflection and vision to pen and ink. Oh, and wait until you see the new logo for KBE!

Chag Urim Sameah. May you share, receive, and enjoy the Chanukah lights.
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