“A place to cultivate joy and connection. A place to celebrate and mourn together. A place where we can support each other to be our best selves.”
Community
Together we are building an innovative community that encourages and supports each of us to celebrate meaningful Jewish life and positive Jewish identities. We partner with each other in the ongoing creation and nurturing of our ‘Ohana.
Local
‘Ohana is the Hawaiian word for family. We choose to include this word in the name of our organization out of respect for where we live and to acknowledge the unique nature of living on Maui.
Independent
We come from many different backgrounds. Our common ground is wanting to share inclusive, purposeful, open-hearted Jewish life. We welcome you to bring your whole self to our ‘ohana.
Our Core Value is Kavod/Respect
Respect for People
We strive to create a space where people experience comfort, joy, ease, and freedom.
We believe there’s no right or wrong way to be Jewish. We honor different heritage, practices, and beliefs.
In order to be accessible to as many people as possible, our events are vegetarian and scent-free.
Respect for Environment
Caring for the eretz/‘aina/land and the yam/kai/ocean is a core value of Maui Jewish ‘Ohana.
We strive to make our events zero-waste.
An MJO statement about the Middle East:
While we are based on Maui - about as far away from Israel-Palestine as possible - Maui Jewish ‘Ohana recognizes that the current situation in the Middle East ripples through our Maui communities. Along with that recognition, we believe that it’s important to focus on the land/’aina and the people close to where we live our daily lives. As an organization, we do not call out for specific political solutions. Rather, we call for actions that will bring about a world where the values of justice and peace are at the core of how decisions are made.
