Weekend events celebrate start of the Jewish New Year
In celebration of Rosh Hashanah, which begins this year at sunset on Sept. 17, special events will be held today at Temple Emanu-El and Sunday at Chabad of Hawaii to commemorate the beginning of the Jewish New Year. The High Holidays conclude with Yom Kippur on Sept. 26.
Here are details of each temple’s observances:
» Temple Emanu-El, 2550 Pali Highway, 595-7521. A film to commemorate Selichot, a period of spiritual preparation for Rosh Hashanah, will be shown free today at 7:30 p.m. "Hiding and Seeking: Faith and Tolerance After the Holocaust" is about an Orthodox Jewish father who tries to alert his adult sons to the dangers of creating impenetrable barriers between themselves and those outside their faith. He takes them on an emotional journey to Poland to track down the family who risked their lives to hide their grandfather for more than two years during World War II.
A service follows from 10 to 11 p.m. Visit templeemanuelhawaii.com.
» Chabad of Hawaii, Ala Moana Hotel, 410 Atkinson Drive, 735-8161. A children’s Rosh Hashanah Fair and Shofar Factory Workshop will be held Sunday from 9 a.m. to noon. It is sponsored by the Daniel Levey Chabad Hebrew School and is open to all children to learn about the Jewish New Year with fun activities.
A Shofar workshop, beginning at 11 a.m., will show how a ram’s horn becomes a shofar, the instrument blown throughout the holiday. The children may make and take home their own shofars. No charge for the demonstration; for a take-home shofar, $10 and an RSVP are required. Visit www.chabadofhawaii.com to reserve and pre-pay for all high holiday meals.
Benefit also commemorates church’s 180th anniversary
As part of celebrating its 180th anniversary, Ka‘ahumanu Congregational Church on Maui is holding its third annual "Restoring Our History" fundraiser Sept. 15.
The event, in memory of the recently deceased Kahu Lowaena Hau, will include a rummage sale, craft booths, food booths and entertainment from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 103 S. High St. in Wailuku.
A formal celebration was held Aug. 19.
"In our restoration effort we seek not only to restore buildings, but a congregation that has been and will be a vital part of the community," Kahu Wayne Higa said.
The present building is actually the fourth place of worship for the congregation on property donated by the Kahale ohana. The original congregation, under the leadership of the Rev. Jonathan S. Green, started in 1832 with seven people who met for worship in a shed, a church press release said. It grew to 3,000 in two years.
William Pulepule Kahale, the first Native Hawaiian pastor of the church, began fundraising for the current building in 1872. Restoration efforts include the preschool building now being used by Punana Leo ‘o Maui, the release said.
For information, contact Deborah Higa at 874-1815, Deborah Mahuna at 281-8711 or email Kahu Wayne Higa at bruddahwayne@hawaiiantel.net.
