This Jewish Couple in Maui Is Providing Relief During the Devastating Wildfires

On August 8, the island of Maui in Hawaii started burning. Dry conditions, combined with droughts and high winds, started the fires, which have so far killed at least 99 people and forced thousands more to evacuate. The historic town of Lahaina, which was once the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom, has been left devastated. It was the deadliest US fire in more than a century.

Forty minutes away, on the other side of the island, Rabbi Mendel Zirkind, who runs the Maui Kosher Farm with his wife Chani, was on standby, waiting to help those in need. In the morning of August 8, he got phone calls and texts about power outages and spotty internet reception in Lahaina, but he wasn’t concerned.

Devastation in Maui

“I thought, this is going to come and go and then it’ll all be good,” said Zirkind, whose home is on a macadamia nut farm in Wailuku.

However, the situation took a sudden and alarming turn. Chani received a text message from a Jewish family in Lahaina who told her that they were fleeing their house. They were coming straight to the farm for shelter and safety.

“They said they didn’t know if they were going to have a home to come back to,” Zirkind said.

The couple, who are affiliated with Chabad, then got a slew of messages about many Jewish families who couldn’t get back to their homes. Jewish tourists weren’t able to go to their hotels either.

“We had to spring into action,” Zirkind said.

The rabbi and his wife live on 1.5 acres of land in Maui where they host Shabbat meals and overnight guests in their cottages, make kosher goat’s cheese, slaughter their own chickens and lamb, and provide Jewish services for the 4,000-5,000 estimated Jews on the island. As people were fleeing from Lahaina, they knew what they had to do.

Rabbi Zirkind, left, helping a person in need

“We put them in our cottages and cabins and put up tents,” Zirkind said. “People slept in their cars on our farm. We fed them dinner. They took showers. The teenage girls at our summer camp here baked bread. Our farm was coming and going with people asking how they could help.”

Going to the scene of the fires

Zirkind knew that there were a number of Jews living or staying in Lahaina, and he wanted to go and help them. He reached out to the sergeant of the Maui police department and asked if that would be possible. The sergeant said yes and gave him a police escort to the other side of the island.

The rabbi packed his cargo van with propane, ice, water and – for a little bit of comfort – bottles of wine.

“People would need a glass of wine after the past 24 hours,” he said.

Normally, on Fridays, he would deliver Shabbat packages to the Jewish residents there. He was now going to use the addresses saved in his GPS to find them. Unfortunately, his cell phone reception wasn’t working, and his GPS wouldn’t load.

“It was dark out because there was no power,” Zirkind said. “The streets were empty. I couldn’t see a thing. For five or six hours, I was trying to find people in the dark.”

The rabbi was able to locate a group of 30 Israelis who had worked at stores in the area. He learned that all their stores, homes, and apartments had burnt down, and gave them food and wine when they met up.

“They looked at me like I was a UFO,” Zirkind said. “He said, ‘We’re trying to communicate with the world, and you show up.’ I asked them, ‘What do you mean? I’m the rabbi. I go wherever I’m needed.’”

While he was there, the rabbi filled up the Israelis’ cars with gas and gave nearby neighbors fuel as well.

“I helped them get out of there, Baruch Hashem,” said the rabbi, who also helped a Jewish couple reunite with their lost dog.

When Zirkind left Lahaina and got back to the farm, he hosted people for several days, including Shabbos.

Returning a dog to his owner.

“Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I slept for two or three hours a night,” he said. “On Friday, I woke up at 4 a.m. and prepared Shabbat for our 30 guests and a whole bunch of families at the hotels. My wife baked. Then, at 3 p.m., I made even more meals. It was fun to cook for two Shabbats the same day.”

Fundraising for the community

Now, Maui Kosher Farm is fundraising to support the community and everyone who lost their homes and businesses in the fire. One person Zirkind hopes to help is a musician and guitar shop owner who lost his tefillin and 300 of his guitars in the fire.

“They are all just dust now,” the rabbi said. “It’s not the money he’s worried about. This was his collection. Every guitar has a story and memory. We’re trying to help him out. There’s a housing crisis right now in Maui, so we want to raise money to get a fully furnished trailer for this guy. He can park the trailer here on the farm.”

Zirkind and his wife are also hoping to raise funds to help people cope with the tragedy.

“We’re trying to bring mental health help and counselors to give people healing,” he said. “People are in such disarray and they don’t know what to do with themselves.”

The Zirkinds are glad they could be there for the Jewish community when it’s in need, and they want to be of further assistance as Maui heals from the fires.

“My wife always wanted to have city of refuge where people can be safe,” the rabbi said. “I didn’t ask for this disaster to happen, but it’s a dream come true to be here when people really need us.”

To donate to the Maui Kosher Farm disaster relief program, visit https://www.mauikosherfarm.com/fire.