Special Pride Shabbat June 18 With Rabbi Rob Kvidt

JCK joins other Reform congregations across the country in celebrating Pride Month. We invite you to join us for our first Pride Shabbat this Saturday, June 18, at 10:00am.

In addition to our regular liturgy, there will be special readings added honoring the LGBTQ+ community. A sermon celebrating Pride month will be delivered by Kauai Rabbi Rob Kvidt, who is also gay.

The Reform Movement has long been committed to achieving full equality for our LGBTQ+ community and advocating for rights throughout the world. JCK is proud to be an ally and a partner in that mission.

In addition to wine and challah, we will have a light Oneg Shabbat following the service provided by Reouven Barzilai and MiVaMi Kauai.

Please RSVP for the Oneg to jewishcommunityofkauai18@gmail.com no later than Thursday, June 16.

The parsha for June 18 is:

בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ

B'haalot'cha | Numbers 8:1−12:16 | When You Raise [the Lamps]

“Awaken us, arouse our consciousness, ignite our deeds.”

Where: St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, Hardy Street, Lihue. Map.

When: Saturday, June 18, 2022.

Time: 10:00 am.

Please donate nameplates in our new books to honor loved ones! For more information please contact us. As a reminder, JCK needs sponsors for Shabbat Onegs. Please take part, as any level of participation is available.

Note that due to an increase in Covid on Kauai, we request that masks be worn indoors.

Photo credit: Steven Wise Temple.

Tomorrow: Shabbat With Rabbi Rob Kvidt

Please join us in celebrating Shabbat on Saturday, May 21, 2022. We look forward to coming together again as a community to worship and connect.

Services will be led by Kauai Rabbi Rob Kvidt. Rabbi Rob has been a member of the Kauai Jewish Community for the past two decades and was ordained in the Kabbalistic tradition in 2019. He is on the board of the Kauai Interfaith Roundtable and is a certification candidate in Jewish end-of-life rituals at the Gamliel Institute. In addition, Rabbi Rob leads many Jewish lifecycle events throughout Hawaii and recently represented JCK at the Kauai National Day of Prayer.

This week’s Torah portion is Behar (Leviticus 25:1-26:2).

In addition to wine and challah, we will have a light Oneg Shabbat following the service catered by Reouven Barzilai of Mi Va Mi Kauai.

Where: St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, Hardy Street, Lihue. Map.

When: Saturday, May 21, 2022.

Time: 10:00 am.

Please donate nameplates in our new books to honor loved ones! For more information please contact us. As a reminder, JCK needs sponsors for Shabbat Onegs. Please take part, as any level of participation is available.

Note that due to an increase in Covid on Kauai, we request that masks be worn indoors.

Inter-Island Chevra Kadisha On Zoom This Sunday

Like a Sukkah sheltering the People of Israel in uncertain times, Chevra Kadisha, the system of Jewish end-of-life rituals, encircles and guides our island Jewish communities. Explore and learn how the Inter-Island Chevra Kadisha groups support the Jewish community and the processes of integrating life’s inevitable losses.

Kauai Rabbi Rob Kvidt invites you to join this unique and meaningful presentation.

Compassionate Presence and Sacred Encounter Sunday, May 1, 2022, 12:00pm - 1:30pm

To register, go to: https://feldstein.eventbrite.com

Chaplain Bruce Feldstein MD, BCC will present his approach to the Jewish mitzvah of visiting the sick, Bikkur Cholim. This workshop provides practical guidance for being with people in a way that allows for compassionate presence and sacred encounter. Dr. Feldstein’s teaching supports people experiencing illness or grief, whether physical, emotional or spiritual.

Chaplain Bruce Feldstein, MD, BCC is highly accomplished and experienced in this field.

Please see his complete professional biography.

Yom Hashoah: Keeping The Memory Alive

Hawaii’s Community Yom Hashoah Service will take place on Zoom, Wednesday, April 27, 2022, at 7:00PM. 

Please join us to honor the memory of the six million murdered during the Shoah and the lives and families of the survivors. 

This moment will be shared via Zoom across the islands. Please join us to keep the memory alive. 

To obtain a Zoom link, contact Prof. Peter Hoffenberg at peterh@hawaii.edu.

Good Friday & Passover Interfaith Service Tomorrow In Person/On Zoom

The Jewish Community of Kauai and St. Michael’s Episcopal Church have brought their communities together in month-long innovative dialog, collaborative teaching and learning. Don’t miss tomorrow’s interfaith service!

We’re excited to conclude this series of spring workshops with a unique joint worship service tomorrow, April 15 at 12:00 noon. This first-of-its-kind anywhere series brings together both Christian and Jewish people in reflection at one of the most sacred times of the year for both faiths. 

This momentous series is based on a strong and enduring partnership between the Jewish Community of Kauai and St Michael’s for more than thirty years. The Passover and Easter stories represent fascinating theological elements; this workshop series will be a tapestry for exploration of ideas and presentations from Rabbi Rob and Father Andrew.

Schedule Of Events

The Zoom link for Friday, April 15 at 12:00 Noon is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85445569826

Join us in person on Friday, April 15 at 12:00 Noon at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, Hardy Street, Lihue. Map.

Kauai Passover Seder 2022 Update

See updated information below on food options and tomorrow’s deadline for ordering.

The Jewish Community of Kauai extends an invitation to members and visitors for our annual Passover Seder on Kauai, led by Sara Silverman. Traditional Seder plates, foods and kosher wine will complete the Seder. Catering provided by JCK's Sandy Jennings, Fresh from the Garden. We're celebrating Passover with our beautiful Ha ggadot, The Open Door. For already paid members of JCK, the community is generously subsidizing $25 per person towards the cost of the Seder meal, as we have done previously. That is reflected in the $55 per person cost this year. We look forward to sharing this year's Seder with all of you.

Please make your reservations as soon as possible, as we do have a limit. More details on the Seder will be forthcoming as it gets closer.

Seder on Kauai 2022

How to reserve: All reservations are being handled through Eventbrite via this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jewish-community-of-kauai-passover-seder-tickets-309100065617/. If you wish to reserve/pay by credit card, email jewishcommunityofkauai18@gmail.com.

Reservations will close on April 9 at 8:30pm or when sold out. There is a limit of 70 tickets.

Where: St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, Hardy Street, Lihue. Map.

When: Saturday, April 16, 2022.

Time: 5:30PM (doors open), 6:00PM (Seder begins).

The festive meal includes:

• Matzoh ball soup.

• Ritual Seder plate at center of each table. Feel free to bring your own Seder plates.

• The Seder dinner will include the following:

  • Entree choice of salmon with creamy caper dill sauce, Moroccan lemon chicken, or vegetarian stuffed peppers. Children’s option of teriyaki chicken.

  • Accompaniments include za’atar roasted potatoes and fresh chopped salad.

  • Festive dessert.

  • Water, juice, Passover wine, coffee and tea will be available. Please feel free to bring your choice of wine or other beverage.

Cost for members who have paid annual membership

• Adults $55.

• Children (up to 12 years old) $35.

Cost for non members

• Adults $80.

• Children (up to 12 years old) $50.

March 19 Shabbat Led By Sara Silverman

Please join us in celebrating Shabbat on Saturday, March 19, 2022. We look forward to coming together again as a community to worship and connect.

Services will be led by Board Member and President Emeritus Sara Silverman, who always provides our community with interesting insights and stimulating discussion.

We will have an Oneg Shabbat lunch following the service catered by Reouven Barzilai of Mi Va Mi Kauai. As a special treat, Reouven is offering a choice of lunch entrees. Please select either Chicken Shawarma or Vegetarian Couscous. Also included with either choice is salad, Israeli za’atar spiced pita bread, and a baklava dessert. The entire menu can be found on Reouven’s website. To ensure adequate food for everyone, RSVP no later than March 16 to jewishcommunityofkauai18@gmail.com. We will order food for only those who have sent an RSVP.

Where: St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, Hardy Street, Lihue. Map.

When: Saturday, March 19, 2022.

Time: 10:00 am.

Please donate nameplates in our new books to honor loved ones! For more information please contact us. As a reminder, JCK needs sponsors for Shabbat Onegs. Please take part, as any level of participation is available. People’s RSVPs will be counted as received.

Kauai COVID rules will be followed. Masks required.

This Saturday: Shabbat With Rabbi Rob Kvidt And Rabbi Judy Caplan Ginsburgh

Please join us in celebrating a special Shabbat on February 19, 2022. We look forward to coming together again as a community to worship and connect.

Services will be led by Kauai Rabbi Rob Kvidt. Rabbi Rob has been a member of the Kauai Jewish Community for the past two decades and was ordained in the Kabbalistic tradition in 2019. He is on the board of the Kauai Interfaith Roundtable and is a certification candidate in Jewish end-of-life rituals at the Gamliel Institute. In addition, Rabbi Rob leads many Jewish lifecycle events throughout Hawaii.

Joining Rabbi Rob at the Bima on Saturday is visiting Rabbi Judy Caplan Ginsburgh. Rabbi Judy is a cantorial soloist and professional singer who has produced award-winning Jewish music for families and children. She has sung and conducted services all over the world. Rabbi Judy is the Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Israel in Monroe LA.

We will have an Oneg Shabbat lunch following the service catered by Sandy Jennings of Fresh From The Garden. In order to ensure adequate food for everyone, please RSVP no later than February 16 to jewishcommunityofkauai18@gmail.com. We will order food for only those who have sent an RSVP.

Where: St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, Hardy Street, Lihue. Map.

When: Saturday, February 19, 2022.

Time: 10:00 am.

Please donate nameplates in our new books to honor loved ones! For more information please contact us. As a reminder, JCK needs sponsors for Shabbat Onegs. Please take part, as any level of participation is available. People’s RSVPs will be counted as received.

Kauai COVID rules will be followed. Masks required.

Inter-Island Chevra Kadisha Series on Zoom

Kauai Rabbi Rob Kvidt invites you to join in this unique and meaningful presentation. On Sunday, February 6, from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm Rabbi Me’irah Illinsky will be sharing about Jewish end-of-life rituals entitled “Death: What Jews Do,” using paintings from her book Mapping the Journey, The Mourner & the Soul. Please watch the 1-minute introductory video below, then join us on zoom.

Rabbi Me’irah Iliinsky received her master’s degree in social work in 1980. She worked for 15 years as a psychotherapist before entering Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, where she received ordination in 2007 along with a Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters. She earned her certificate for four units of Clinical Pastoral Education in 2011 and has served as both a hospital and hospice chaplain. She is also an artist inspired by Medieval illuminated manuscripts and hopes to bring people to Torah through “visual portals to sacred texts.”

Date/Time: February 6, 2022, 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81950345171?pwd=bSt3c0ZBMm8vNzZXU0QrZWh3R2t6dz09

Meeting ID: 819 5034 5171

Passcode: 123456

Last Call For Shabbat On January 22, 2022

As we begin this new secular calendar year, please join us in celebrating Shabbat on January 22, 2022. We look forward to coming together as a community to worship and connect.

Services will be led by Sara Silverman.

We will have an Oneg Shabbat lunch following the service catered by Reouven Barzilai. In order to ensure adequate food for everyone, please RSVP no later than January 19 to jewishcommunityofkauai18@gmail.com. We will order food for only those who have sent an RSVP.

Where: St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, Hardy Street, Lihue. Map.

When: Saturday, January 22, 2022.

Time: 10:00 am.

Please donate nameplates in our new books to honor loved ones! For more information please contact us. As a reminder, JCK needs sponsors for Shabbat Onegs. Please take part, as any level of participation is available. People’s RSVPs will be counted as received.

Kauai COVID rules will be followed. Masks required.

2022 JCK Membership Letter

We are excited to share news of our congregation as we enter 5782/2022. JCK is blessed to be the “Synagogue in Residence” at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Lihue, and are happy to have been able to return to in-person services.

As our fiscal year runs from January through December, membership contributions are now being collected. They remain at a suggested amount of $180.00 for an individual or $360.00 for a family. More generous contributions are always welcomed.

Please send your check made payable to the Jewish Community of Kauai at PO Box 3749, Lihue, HI 96766. You may also donate online at kauaijewishcommunity.com.

Why JCK needs your membership!

1. Organizations with which JCK is affiliated.

• Union of Reform Judaism (URJ). JCK became a member in 2018. They are the national organization supportive of both large and small communities, from which JCK, in particular, receives invaluable help.

• Weinberg Foundation. Through the generous support of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, JCK will be able to expand our programming and connections to other Jewish communities in the state, one aspect of which is Nitzavim. This two-year program is designed to strengthen relationships, build organizational and collective capacity, and explore collaboration in service to the entire Hawaii Jewish community.

• Jewish Community Services (JCS). The mission of JCK is to support and enhance Jewish life in Hawaii through communication, coordination, and provision of appropriate social services to those in need throughout the state of Hawaii, including on Kauai.

2. Leadership.

• Rabbi Rob Kvidt. Kauai is lucky to have Rabbi Rob Kvidt as part of JCK. His inspiring and heartfelt delivery of the High Holidays and Shabbat services reflect his love of Judaism and of Kauai. We look forward to his leadership in services and other events throughout this year.

• Rabbi Aryeh Azriel. Rabbi Aryeh Azriel has been a motivating and loving High Holiday leader for JCK since 2017. It is with great anticipation we will welcome him back again this year. Both Rabbi Rob and Rabbi Aryeh share a mutual love, respect, and admiration. JCK is profoundly grateful to have them both!

• Reouven Barzilai. The community has welcomed an exciting new caterer in addition to our long-standing relationship with wonderful caterer Sandy Jennings of Fresh From The Garden. Reouven, his wife Laura, and daughter Julia are members of the community. Reouven hails from Israel and brings unique flair and flavors to his catering company (Mi Va Mi).

• JCK Board Members. We greatly appreciate all of the hard work and dedication of our board members: Carol Pescaia (president), Elyse Litvack (secretary), Judy Rachap (treasurer), Laura Barzilai, Rob Goldberg, Marty Kahn (president emeritus), Nate Morrow, Larry Raithaus, Esther Richman, and Sara Silverman (president emeritus).

• Inspiration, website and marketing by Jeff Tucker.

3. 2021 in review.

A brief synopsis of the past year starts with a Friday night service in Lydgate Park in the summer. We’ve held several in-person Shabbat services, as well as both Zoom and in-person services for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We’ve been able to offer Onegs by providing catered box lunches. We gathered for Hanukkah with an indoor/outdoor celebration that filled the night with light, joy, and hope for a better year ahead.

4. Tentative 2022 calendar of services.

All services take place at St. Michael’s from 10 am to 1 pm, unless otherwise noted.

• Saturday, January 22. Shabbat. Led by Sara Silverman.

• Saturday, February 18. Shabbat. Led by Rabbi Rob Kvidt.

• Saturday. March 19 Shabbat. Led by Marty Kahn.

• Friday, April 15, or Saturday, April 16 (to be determined). Passover Seder. From 5 pm to 9 pm. Led by Sara Silverman.

• Saturday, May 21. Shabbat. Led by Rabbi Rob Kvidt.

• Saturday, June 18. Shabbat. Led by Rabbi Rob Kvidt.

• Friday, July 15. Shabbat. From 5 pm to 8 pm. Beach location and leader to be announced.

• Sunday, September 25. Erev Rosh Hashanah. 7 pm. Led Rabbi Rob Kvidt and Rabbi Aryeh Azriel.

• Monday, September 26, Rosh Hashanah. 10 am to 2 pm. Led by Rabbi Rob Kvidt and Rabbi Aryeh Azriel.

• Saturday, October 1. Shabbat Shuvah. Led by Rabbi Rob Kvidt and Rabbi Aryeh Azriel.

• Tuesday, October 4. Erev Yom Kippur. 7 pm. Led by Rabbi Rob Kvidt and Rabbi Aryeh Azriel.

• Wednesday, October 5. Yom Kippur. 10 am until 8 pm. Led by Rabbi Rob Kvidt and Rabbi Aryeh Azriel.

• Sunday, October 9. Sukkot (to be determined). Led by Laura Barzilai.

• Monday, October 17. Simcha Torah (to be determined). Led by Laura Barzilai.

• Saturday, November 19. Shabbat. Led by Rabbi Rob Kvidt.

• Sunday, December 18. Chanukah 5 pm. Led by Marty Kahn.

Please join us. We need your help to continue as a vibrant Jewish community. Shalom and aloha from the Board of Directors of the Jewish Community of Kauai.

Sincerely Yours,

Carol Pescaia, Board President

Hanukkah Celebration Saturday December 4 With Rabbi Rob Kvidt

We will gather for Hanukkah this year on December 4, at 5 pm. You can look forward to Kauai Rabbi Rob leading a meaningful, unique service including Havdalah, followed by dreidels, crafts, stories, delicious catered food, and of course a community candle lighting.

The Garden Island asked JCK for information about Hanukkah. Rabbi Rob Kvidt was interviewed which resulted in an informative and lovely article about Hanukkah on Kauai. They also plan to attend the event to take photos.

Mahalo to event organizers and volunteers Laura Barzilai, Diane & Steve Chait, Cousin Lenny, Elyse Litvack, Lisa Splittstoesser, Sara Dubey, and Kori King.

Please bring your menorah and candles to join in the celebration. There will be candles available for purchase.

Chanukah Food will be catered by Reouven Barzalai of Mi Va Mi Kauai. It will include latkes, kugel, greens, fruit salad, and beverages.

RSVP is required. Please RSVP no later than December 2nd to jewishcommunityofkauai18@gmail.com. We will order food for only those who have sent an RSVP.

Where: St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, Hardy Street, Lihue. Map.

When: Saturday, December 4, 2021.

Time: Gather at 5 pm. The service starts at 530 pm.

COVID rules: Kauai regulations will be followed including distancing, hand sanitizing, and masks. Unvaccinated are requested to be seated outside.

Donations: Always appreciated! Visitors, please consider $20 or more.