Judaica Collection

The Judaica Collection part of the Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine, consists of collections of personal papers and archives of organizations active in the Jewish community of Maine. The bulk of the manuscript collections date from the 20th century or later, but there is one item from the 17th century. There are also rare or unique print materials about the community (all 20th century or later). The collection focuses on historical sources, excluding creative works of fiction or art, unless such works document the community.

For more information about physical items in the USM Judaica Collection, please visit our website.

Please reference our Finding Aids for information on our processed Judaica collections.

If you would like to make a monetary contribution to support the Judaica Collection, you can visit our USM Foundation Donation page.

Digitized Items

To view the digital collections, please click on items in the list below. Please note that digitization of the Judaica collection is ongoing.

Bath, Maine Judaica Collections

Items in these collections represent writings by community members, selected records of multiple Jewish organizations, as well as books and articles.

Macabee Club Archives

Macabee Club was a club of Jewish high school students in Portland from 1955 to the 1970s.

Portland Jewish Community Center USO Guestbook

The Portland Jewish Community Center USO Guest Book is the product of social events at the Portland Jewish Community Center from 1943-46.

Rosalyn S. Bernstein Papers

Rosalyne (Spindel) Bernstein (b. 1928) grew up in the Bronx, N.Y. and Fall River, MA, the daughter of Jewish immigrants from Poland, and attended Radcliffe College as an economics major. She and her husband, Sumner Thurman Bernstein (a Portland native), moved to Portland in 1949.

Sumner T. Bernstein Papers

Sumner Thurman Bernstein (1924 - 2002) grew up in Portland, Maine, the son of lawyer parents. He served in the South Pacific in the U.S. Army during World War II (achieving the rank of Captain) and attended Harvard University for his undergraduate education and for law school. He returned to Portland after marrying Rosalyne Spindel in 1949, to join his father and uncle’s law practice, which he helped to grow into Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer and Nelson in 1964.