A Mezuzah Story
If Mezuzahs Could Talk……
As a birthday (11/1) gift, Rabbi Raanan came to hang a very special mezuzah at my home. This simple tin mezuzah once hung at the entrance to my great-grandparents’ apartment in Berlin for at least the 16 years they lived there (1916 – 1933). They were Arthur Hahn and Julie Hahn, nee Schwarz. I discovered it by pure chance on the very last day of my very last trip to Berlin in May 2017. It was well camouflaged on the doorframe, and yet I spotted it. I believe it was because my great-grandparents wanted me to find it and tell the mezuzah’s story. I then emailed the hotel owners if they could remove the mezuzah and give it to me and why I wanted to have it. The timing was perfect, as the hotel was about to be shut down and renovated, and the mezuzah would have been tossed into the garbage, so they told me. Once removed, it remained in Berlin in a friend’s care for the next 5 years, till recently, when another congregant kindly brought it over from Berlin to me.
It was the only mezuzah left in the entire building, which comprises 6 floors and today is the beautiful Hotel Seifert, built in 1877. But in 1939, at least 36 Jews were living there. If this mezuzah could talk it would tell how it had seen the very best and the very worst. How it had witnessed my grandparents’ engagement on Jan 14, 1919 and their marriage six months later. It would also say how it witnessed the deportation of the apartment’s last occupant, Dr. Richard Salomon, to Auschwitz. My great-grandfather Arthur had died in 1933, and the Salomon family had moved in shortly thereafter. My great-grandmother Julie would later be deported to Theresienstadt in December 1942, one day after Richard Salomon, where she succumbed to lung disease and starvation 10 months later, witnessed by my grandparents, who were also there and who miraculously, and barely, survived.
Now this mezuzah, a silent storyteller of history’s good and evil, will remain on my doorframe forever while I live in this home. It will be loved and treasured by me 3 generations later, and will never ever again witness a deportation.
In remembrance of Kristallnacht (Nov 9-10), we remember and honor all those who were victims.
Thu, June 26 2025
30 Sivan 5785
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Maui Jews Newsletter
Annual Members Meeting June 29th - JCM Board Elections
Wednesday, Jun 25 2:47amThis week's Shabbat Services - June 20th and June 21st
Friday, Jun 20 12:14amFriday, June 20th led by Rabbi Ken Aronowitz from Oahu
Saturday, June 21st led by Joshua Kalkstein
Annual Members Meeting June 29th - Shabbat services this weekend
Tuesday, Jun 17 11:24pmDear Members of the Jewish Congregation of Maui (JCM),
As we approach the end of the year, w
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Shabbat Service - Friday, June 27th led by Sam Shnider
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Kalo Yujuico, Executive Director
Kalo Yujuico
jcmmauijews@gmail.com
808-874-5397
Board of Directors
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TBA
Vice President:
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Directors:
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Joel Richman
Gabe Crane
Barbara Cooper
Mitch Berman
Sandra Rogers
Sam Shnider
Mission
The mission of the Jewish Congregation of Maui is to support and inspire Jewish religious and cultural practices for Maui residents and visitors, provide and encourage Jewish education and life cycle services, and engage the Jewish community with religious services, classes, and events.
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Jewish Congregation of Maui
Beit Shalom Synagogue
634 Alulike Street
Kihei, HI 96753
808-874-5397
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