Rabbis bring Jewish resources to Kaua‘i

KAUAI, HI — Two Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis will be on Kaua‘i through Aug. 17 as part of a summer-long community outreach training. They will be equipped with books and programming ideas with the intent to reinforce Jewish pride and enhance Jewish education.

Rabbis Pinchas Taylor and Berel Brafman will be hauling suitcases of videos, brochures, books, Shabbat candles, mezuzahs (a religious scroll placed on doorways) and kosher food.

Taylor and Brafman will teach classes, including Kabbalah, and host Shabbat dinners. They will reach out to unaffiliated Jews to help them rediscover their heritage and will be spending much of their time on house-to-house visitation.

Rabbis Taylor and Brafman are part of a worldwide program sometimes referred to as the Lubavitch Summer Peace Corps. Over 400 young rabbis and senior rabbinical students visit thousands of locations worldwide, including countries like Bolivia, Bosnia, Cambodia, Croatia, Fiji, Guadeloupe, Ireland, Portugal, Sri Lanka and Uruguay.

Travel abroad is just one aspect of the program. Rabbinical students and young rabbis also visit locations closer to their home base of New York.

Chosen for their rabbinic proficiency and people skills, the Jewish ambassadors travel in pairs to each place to meet with Jewish communal leaders and educators as well as individuals.

“Many people approach us seeking advice on how to maintain or bolster their Jewish identity, especially where the Jewish infrastructure is small,” Brafman said.

Merkos L’inyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, sponsors the outreach program.

To reach rabbis Taylor and Brafman call 954-644-9177.