"A little light
pushes away slot of darkness"
Above (Is Services CitaJuni Calendar Contact Us
The Maui Mitzvah Center
Shaloha and Welcome to
The Maui Mitzvah Center!
-Bringing Judaism to life
through 'coral) Education and
the observance of Mitzvot-
Glickman said. "We received the Torah as one people!'
Since participants reside throughout North America,
Kol Echad relies on conference calls and the Internet to
facilitate remote classes and discussions.
For Kol Echad's second annual gathering of old and
new participants in real time, travelers from across the
United States joined Maui's Jewish residents for the pro-
gram last winter. Hosted by the Jewish Congregation of
Maui, the offerings included Gavriel Meir-Levi, a cantori-
al candidate at Yeshiva University, who gave a class titled
"Spiritual & Physical as One —An Inspiring Journey
Through Maui." It combined lectures on relevant topics,
such as the Book of Jonah, with touring and activities
such as whale watching.
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The Web home page of the Maui Mitzvah Center
100 families includes supporters from the mainland
United States. The shul offers what he describes as an
Orthodox approach to a Reform service Friday night and
Shabbat morning services that lean toward Conservative
with Orthodox overtones. The services are egalitarian. A
mechitzah (divider for men and women) is available
upon request.
"Those are some of the demands of where we are he
said. "I'm not trying to defend it. Ideologically, I'm
Orthodox, and the message that I put out is that mes-
sage!'
No documents attest to the arrival of Jews in Maui, but
it is likely at least some landed in the 1800s, around the
time Jews began settling in Honolulu on Oahu. Jewish
retirees began taking up residence in the Lahaina-
Kaanapali area on Maui's northwest coast in the early
1960s.
By the early 1980s, young Jewish families who had set-
tled in Kihei began to gather for services led by Tikva
Ben-Dayan and her Israeli husband, Jo-Jo, according to
Bernard Katz, who has written a history of Maui for Beth
Hatefutsoth.
Mid-February to mid-March is the prime season for
out-of-town guests, as well as Rabbi Glickman and his
colleagues at the nonprofit Hawaii Whale Research
Foundation, which studies a population endangered by
excessive whaling the past 100 years. It's also the time
Rabbi Glickman welcomes participants in the shul's
annual Jewish studies program, sponsored by Kol Echad.
Lay leaders Kim Azizy, Ruth and Marcello Warat and
Joshua Danziger founded post-denominational Kol Echad
in Charlotte, N.C., to provide Jewish study for "the intel-
lectually curious and spiritually serious from all back-
grounds and walks of life."
"We didn't receive a Renewal Torah, a Reform Torah, a
Conservative Torah and an Orthodox Torah;' Rabbi
About a 30-minute drive from the Jewish Congregation
of Maui, a young Lubavitch couple, Sholom and Danit
Shusterman, previously of Brooklyn, have set up shop as
the Maui Mitzvah Center. They decided to move to Maui
just after their February 2004 wedding.
"I'm the only girl who came to Maui on her honey-
moon, asked her husband, `Can we move to Maui?' and he
said yes:' Danit said.
"The inspiration comes from the [Lubavitcher] Rebbe,"
her husband said.
His grandfather, Mordechai Shusterman, read Torah for
the late Lubavitcher Rebbe every Shabbat in Crown
Heights, N.Y.
These days, Shalom and Danit use their home, a cot-
tage whose use is donated by a friend, as a base to teach
children Hebrew, hold community Passover seders and
hold classes for adults.
"I find people so receptive, especially here on Maui, to
the idea of a personal redemption, to find mind, body
and spiritual balance Sholom Shusterman said. "It's
about returning to their roots and doing it out of pride.
We are trying to provide a positive experience to Torah
study and fulfilling mitzvahs. And we encourage them to
tap into Judaism on their level!'
The couple operate the Kosher Kafe, a meat restaurant
not far from the Kahului airport, serving kosher sand-
wiches and deli sides. Plans include building a mikvah.
Currently, locals and visitors rely on a secluded stretch of
the beach for ritual bathing.
"Our motto is there can't be too many people doing
good things:' Danit Shusterman said. "It's so beautiful
here physically, but the galut [diaspora] is so dark spiritu-
ally. We like to bring the light of Torah and mitzvahs here
for the tourists and the local people."
On any given day, they may encounter new Jewish
neighbors in unusual circumstances. On a recent whale-
watching excursion, their boat responded to a distress
call from a Kihei resident stranded in the ocean.
"Everything in the world is divine providence Danit
said, "but we see it so clearly here!' ❑
• Beit Shalom Synagogue, the Jewish
Congregation of Maui, can be reached at (808)
874-5397 or www.mauijews.org . For information
on planning a simchah, e-mail
Shaloha@hawaiibizsr.com .
• The Maui Mitzvah Center can be reached at
(808) 249-8770 or www.mauimitzvah.com .
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