What do you think?
Rate this book
Images of America: Maine
Maine's Jewish Heritage
According to historian Benjamin Band, the first record of a Jew in Maine concerns Susman Abrams, a tanner who resided in Union until his death at 87 in 1830. Historical records beginning in 1849 also tell of a small Bangor community that organized a synagogue and purchased a burial ground. But it was not until the late 19th century that Jewish communities grew large enough to establish multiple synagogues, Hebrew schools for boys, kosher butcher shops, and Jewish bakeries. Eventually there were Jewish charitable societies, community centers, and social clubs across the state. Now, 150 years later, Jews serve every Maine community in every possible capacity, free from the barriers of social or religious discrimination. This book honors the accomplishments of Maine's Jewish residents.
- GenresHistory
128 pages, Paperback
First published March 12, 2007
6 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 29, 2025
Maine's Jewish Communities
I have made two brief business trips to Portland and Bangor, Maine in the past year (2008), enough to make me fall in love with the State. Thus, I was pleased to learn something about an aspect of Maine life that I knew little about but found intriguing: the history of Jewish communities in the State. I was able to visit the many small Jewish communities of Maine in this excellent photographic history, "Maine's Jewish Heritage" (2007) as part of the "Images of America" series of Arcadia Publishing. Images of America publishes photographic books of local histories of communities throughout the United States. The series offers readers the opportunity to explore communities that they know well, such as their hometown, as well as the opportunity to learn about unfamiliar places. For me, this book had components of both the familiar and the unfamiliar.
The authors of "Maine's Jewish Heritage", Abraham and Jean Peck, both are part of families with long histories in Maine. Abraham Peck has written widely on Jewish communities throughout the United States and on the Holocaust.
Most Jews in the United States live in large urban areas. I have spent my life in two cities with large Jewish communities. I grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and have spent most of my adult life in Washington D.C. I have read two books in the Images of America series that explore the Milwaukee and Washington D.C. Jewish Communities similarly to the way that the Pecks explore the Jewish community of Maine in this book. I am not and have rarely been a practicing Jew, but all three books struck deep chords in me. Although I don't have personal experience with the Jewish communities of Maine, the photographs and commentary in this book of Jewish life in mostly small cities and town seemed immediately familiar. The photographs of synagogues, people and families, small shops, community organizations, and local leaders reminded me of communities I knew. I felt at home. There were some differences. The various Jewish communities in Maine are small and scattered through the State, mostly in the southern part, unlike the concentrated community of an urban area. From the Pecks' book, there appears to be substantial interaction among the various communities in Maine, some of which are located at considerable distances from each other. Life in small New England towns has differences from the life I know. But mostly, these were communities whose roots I shared.
In his share of the introduction to the book, Abraham Peck writes of several themes that have characterized Jewish life in the United States: "a belief in the promise of America; faith in the pluralistic nature of America; a quest for economic and professional success; and a commitment to the survival of the Jewish community." As far as the Jews of Maine are concerned, the community began in the 1840s but developed only with the large waves of immigration from Eastern Europe in the 1880s. The Maine Jewish communities were almost exclusively Orthodox and remained so until the 1940s. Portland Maine, Peck tells us, was once known as "The Jerusalem of America." Maine Jewry now includes a spectrum of all aspects of Judaism from Orthodox to nonpracticing. Peck also observes that while Jews have faced discrimination and exclusion in Maine, they have generally been welcomed into what has basically been a tolerant, open society. Peck quotes a leader of the Portland Jewish community in the late 19th Century who observed, with respect to his Christian neighbors that "our city fathers have in the past fully merited the good will and affectionate esteem in which they are held by us."
The photographs and commentary that follow the Pecks introduction illustrate the themes of Jewish life and integration of Jewish life within the American and Maine community. The first chapter of the book focuses on religious Jewish life in Maine with photographs of synagogues and religious practitioners from the 1880s to the present day in a variety of Maine cities, including Portland, Bangor, Biddeford, Bath, Presque Isle, Rockland, Calais, Old Orchard Beach, and others. The synagogues range from small wooden shacks to modern buildings and they cover all the various denominations of Jewish practice. It is a moving photographic tribute to religious worship.
The book continues with chapters showing the ways Jewish people earned a living in Maine which seems similar to the Jewish immigrant experience elsewhere in the United States: pedlars, small shopkeepers, clothiers, car dealerships, and wholesalers receive substantial attention, with recognition as well of the occasional Maine Jewish farmer.
The Jewish communities in Maine devoted important effort to improving relationships with their non-Jewish neighbors, to inter-faith activities, and to breaking down barriers of discrimination. In 1930, with the increase of KKK activities in Maine during the prior decade (which targeted mostly Roman Catholics) members of the Portland Jewish community were instrumental in creating the Portland Interracial Fellowship of America, which taught ecumenicism and tolerance among the many religious denominations in the city. Jewish religious leaders in Portland worked together with other religious leaders in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and in many programs designed to increase understanding and respect among people of different beliefs.
Other chapters of the Pecks book focus on the many Jewish Community Centers and other Jewish organizations that helped bring a communal focus to Jewish life in Maine. A small chapter describes Camp Modin and other Jewish summer camps in Maine, while a larger chapter offers photographs in both Maine and European settings of some of the large Jewish families that have long called Maine home. The final chapter of the book offers photographs of many distinguished leaders of the Maine Jewish community who have made important contributions of a local or broader character. For example, Dr Bernard Lown is a cardiologist who grew up in Lewistown, Maine. He was the co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985 for his work for the Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. (p.121) Henry Roth, the author of the famous novel of Jewish life in New York City, "Call it Sleep" (1934) lived quietly in Maine beginning in 1946 until his death.(p.123) The book concludes with a photograph of a young Jewish boy in Auburn, Maine participating in the religious ceremony of Sukkot. (p. 126) The Pecks appropriately describe this lad as "a symbol of Maine's Jewish future."
The Pecks sees the Jewish community in Maine as undertaking the difficult task of combining Jewish values, as individuals in the community understand these values, with the values of the vibrant, pluralistic democracy of the United States. Abraham Peck writes in concluding his introduction to this book: "For Jews in this nation, including Jews in the Jewish community of Maine both visions translate into an understanding that being a better Jew is important in becoming a better American." The Pecks offer an inspiring look at the American Jewish experience in the State of Maine.
Robin Friedman
I have made two brief business trips to Portland and Bangor, Maine in the past year (2008), enough to make me fall in love with the State. Thus, I was pleased to learn something about an aspect of Maine life that I knew little about but found intriguing: the history of Jewish communities in the State. I was able to visit the many small Jewish communities of Maine in this excellent photographic history, "Maine's Jewish Heritage" (2007) as part of the "Images of America" series of Arcadia Publishing. Images of America publishes photographic books of local histories of communities throughout the United States. The series offers readers the opportunity to explore communities that they know well, such as their hometown, as well as the opportunity to learn about unfamiliar places. For me, this book had components of both the familiar and the unfamiliar.
The authors of "Maine's Jewish Heritage", Abraham and Jean Peck, both are part of families with long histories in Maine. Abraham Peck has written widely on Jewish communities throughout the United States and on the Holocaust.
Most Jews in the United States live in large urban areas. I have spent my life in two cities with large Jewish communities. I grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and have spent most of my adult life in Washington D.C. I have read two books in the Images of America series that explore the Milwaukee and Washington D.C. Jewish Communities similarly to the way that the Pecks explore the Jewish community of Maine in this book. I am not and have rarely been a practicing Jew, but all three books struck deep chords in me. Although I don't have personal experience with the Jewish communities of Maine, the photographs and commentary in this book of Jewish life in mostly small cities and town seemed immediately familiar. The photographs of synagogues, people and families, small shops, community organizations, and local leaders reminded me of communities I knew. I felt at home. There were some differences. The various Jewish communities in Maine are small and scattered through the State, mostly in the southern part, unlike the concentrated community of an urban area. From the Pecks' book, there appears to be substantial interaction among the various communities in Maine, some of which are located at considerable distances from each other. Life in small New England towns has differences from the life I know. But mostly, these were communities whose roots I shared.
In his share of the introduction to the book, Abraham Peck writes of several themes that have characterized Jewish life in the United States: "a belief in the promise of America; faith in the pluralistic nature of America; a quest for economic and professional success; and a commitment to the survival of the Jewish community." As far as the Jews of Maine are concerned, the community began in the 1840s but developed only with the large waves of immigration from Eastern Europe in the 1880s. The Maine Jewish communities were almost exclusively Orthodox and remained so until the 1940s. Portland Maine, Peck tells us, was once known as "The Jerusalem of America." Maine Jewry now includes a spectrum of all aspects of Judaism from Orthodox to nonpracticing. Peck also observes that while Jews have faced discrimination and exclusion in Maine, they have generally been welcomed into what has basically been a tolerant, open society. Peck quotes a leader of the Portland Jewish community in the late 19th Century who observed, with respect to his Christian neighbors that "our city fathers have in the past fully merited the good will and affectionate esteem in which they are held by us."
The photographs and commentary that follow the Pecks introduction illustrate the themes of Jewish life and integration of Jewish life within the American and Maine community. The first chapter of the book focuses on religious Jewish life in Maine with photographs of synagogues and religious practitioners from the 1880s to the present day in a variety of Maine cities, including Portland, Bangor, Biddeford, Bath, Presque Isle, Rockland, Calais, Old Orchard Beach, and others. The synagogues range from small wooden shacks to modern buildings and they cover all the various denominations of Jewish practice. It is a moving photographic tribute to religious worship.
The book continues with chapters showing the ways Jewish people earned a living in Maine which seems similar to the Jewish immigrant experience elsewhere in the United States: pedlars, small shopkeepers, clothiers, car dealerships, and wholesalers receive substantial attention, with recognition as well of the occasional Maine Jewish farmer.
The Jewish communities in Maine devoted important effort to improving relationships with their non-Jewish neighbors, to inter-faith activities, and to breaking down barriers of discrimination. In 1930, with the increase of KKK activities in Maine during the prior decade (which targeted mostly Roman Catholics) members of the Portland Jewish community were instrumental in creating the Portland Interracial Fellowship of America, which taught ecumenicism and tolerance among the many religious denominations in the city. Jewish religious leaders in Portland worked together with other religious leaders in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and in many programs designed to increase understanding and respect among people of different beliefs.
Other chapters of the Pecks book focus on the many Jewish Community Centers and other Jewish organizations that helped bring a communal focus to Jewish life in Maine. A small chapter describes Camp Modin and other Jewish summer camps in Maine, while a larger chapter offers photographs in both Maine and European settings of some of the large Jewish families that have long called Maine home. The final chapter of the book offers photographs of many distinguished leaders of the Maine Jewish community who have made important contributions of a local or broader character. For example, Dr Bernard Lown is a cardiologist who grew up in Lewistown, Maine. He was the co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985 for his work for the Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. (p.121) Henry Roth, the author of the famous novel of Jewish life in New York City, "Call it Sleep" (1934) lived quietly in Maine beginning in 1946 until his death.(p.123) The book concludes with a photograph of a young Jewish boy in Auburn, Maine participating in the religious ceremony of Sukkot. (p. 126) The Pecks appropriately describe this lad as "a symbol of Maine's Jewish future."
The Pecks sees the Jewish community in Maine as undertaking the difficult task of combining Jewish values, as individuals in the community understand these values, with the values of the vibrant, pluralistic democracy of the United States. Abraham Peck writes in concluding his introduction to this book: "For Jews in this nation, including Jews in the Jewish community of Maine both visions translate into an understanding that being a better Jew is important in becoming a better American." The Pecks offer an inspiring look at the American Jewish experience in the State of Maine.
Robin Friedman
January 13, 2018
GREAT photos! Some good stories too, but it would have been nicer to separate by area so there was some historical background on Portland, some on Lewiston/Auburn, etc.
May 6, 2016
A pictorial history, this overview of Jewish history in Maine will hopefully encourage readers to learn more.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews