Kona Beth Shalom is eclectic, egalitarian and unaffiliated. Our services reflect customs from Reform, Conservative, and Renewal movements. Our Shabbat services are usually led by members of the congregation and occasionally by visiting rabbis and cantors. Our tradition is to invite a guest rabbi to lead us for High Holy Days.
KBS was given the privilege and honor to use a unique and beautiful Holocaust-rescued Torah from Polna in the former Czechoslovakia. Subsequent to a post-war restoration at the Westminster Synagogue in London, the Torah was again restored in 2006 by Rabbi Moshe Druin and rededicated at a ceremony that included Gov. Linda Lingle and other state, Hawaiian and community leaders.
Rabbi Druin returned to Kona in 2019 to repair and refresh the Torah.
A remarkable and beautiful scroll, its calligraphy is a unique combination of Ashkenazic, Sephardic, and Kabbalistic styles. Click here to read more about the Polna Torah and its remarkable history.
Varieties of Jewish Experience SeriesThis program presents rabbis, cantors, speakers, teachers and entertainers who may be visiting Kona and wish to share their talents with the local community.
In 2008 Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Eve Ilsen visited Kona to conduct a Grand Shabbaton as part of this series.
Other Varieties of Jewish Experience events 
have included performances by visiting musicians, including the San Francisco Yiddish Combo, and holiday workshops with rabbis from a range of backgrounds.
