On the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula lies Cabo San Lucas. Once a Jewish desert, today Cabo is home to a vibrant Jewish community. Its new pride and joy—a magnificent synagogue and community center—is the grand vision of a professor at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, also a drug-development pioneer.
The 21,000-square-feet community center—named the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue after one of the two remaining synagogues in Alexandria, Egypt—opened Chanukah of 2021 and is the culmination of a decade-long partnership between Chabad-Lubavitch in Cabo and the Cabo Jewish community. The striking edifice contains ample space for the community’s growing numbers and includes school classrooms, a mikvah, a sanctuary, a social hall and two kosher restaurants.
Once a remote Mexican village, Cabo hit the international tourist scene in the late 1980s with the construction of its international airport. It quickly became an appealing destination for expats, second-home owners and retirees, as well as a bustling tourism sector. The rise of Jewish life, however, was years away. “When I first came to Cabo, there was nothing,” says Adrianna Kenland, who arrived in 1986. “I had to go back to the States for synagogue services.”
Over the years, various solutions were tried, and a rabbi even settled there for a short time. In 2003, community members contacted Chabad of Tijuana, some 1,000 miles away, asking for help. After years of traveling back and forth on a regular basis, Rabbi Mendel Polichenco, who then lived in Tijuana, knew that Cabo needed a permanent rabbinic presence.
That’s when he contacted Rabbi Benny and Sonia Hershcovich and proposed that they lead the community.
Benny is a native of Montreal, and Sonia is the child of longtime Chabad emissaries in Milan, Italy. Both share a wacky sense of humor, which is on display on the many Torah-themed videos they have released over the years.
Then living in Brooklyn, N.Y., with a child, they visited Cabo the last Shabbat of 2008 and were duly impressed. They had found a growing Jewish community with many families, and they made the decision to settle down.
An Acclaimed Researcher With a Vision
Life in Cabo was difficult during those first years, Rabbi Hershcovich tells Chabad.org. “It was our second year here, Kol Nidrei night. We had a nice service, and I met a fellow who I hadn’t seen before, Dr. Raymond Schinazi.” The two exchanged pleasantries and briefly spoke of Schinazi’s Egyptian-Jewish heritage but didn’t cross paths again for some time.
On Chanukah of 2011, Chabad held a communal holiday event. It was well-attended, though Hershcovich adds that “we were in bad financial shape.” The rabbi was worried. The next day, he received a call from a community founder. “I met a fellow at the gym this morning,” he told Hershcovich. “He was at the event last night, and he’d like to speak with you.”
It was Schinazi. That day, Schinazi explained to the rabbi that he had a vision to impact the Jewish future. He wired a significant sum to the struggling Chabad center and made it clear that he wasn’t done.
Schinazi, a professor and researcher at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta whose work led to the discovery of several important anti-viral drugs, was serious. “Cabo is a beautiful destination that had limited Jewish life,” he explains. “It had everything except a Jewish center”—something he felt was deeply “important for me and my family and close friends.”
Over the course of several years, Hershcovich looked for a suitable plot of land. It would have to be centrally located for the many tourists they serve, but also in an area quiet enough for the local residents to feel comfortable. It was a difficult search, but eventually, Hershcovich found a property that “couldn’t have been more perfect.” Centrally located, but in a serene part of town near the marina and next door to a botanical garden, when Hershcovich showed it to Schinazi, he “fell in love with it.”
‘If You Build It, They Will Come’
The center is named after Schinazi’s childhood synagogue in Alexandria, the Eliyahu Hanavi synagogue, before his family was expelled in 1964 by Nassar’s regime. Built in 1850 on the site of its 14th-century predecessor, the grand structure was restored in 2017 by the Egyptian government. The Cabo Eliyahu Hanavi synagogue was inaugurated this past Chanukah, with community members and supporters in attendance. “Tonight, we begin celebrating Chanukah, a holiday affectionately known as the ‘Festival of Lights,’ ” the rabbi told the gathered. “Indeed, this magnificent Jewish center is truly a Chanukah miracle story. We celebrate the miracle of this Jewish center—this great, sturdy candle of light that will shine forever in this beautiful city.” The word “Chanukah,” he noted, means “inauguration.”
Catering to two different demographics can be a challenge, but the Hershcoviches are “amazing at balancing the locals and tourists,” says Kenland, who understands both perspectives. She and her husband first visited Cabo as tourists “and loved it.” Not long after, her husband passed away, and when Kenland retired, she chose to settle in Cabo.
Kenland says the Hershcoviches have brought the community together. “Everyone started coming out of the woodwork. He’s open-minded, one-in-a-million.” Kenland attributes an equal share of Chabad’s success to Sonia Hershcovich. “She’s incredibly warm and friendly; they never judge anyone.” Shabbat dinner at Chabad is a highlight. “Sonia is an Italian cook, and her Shabbat dinners are unbelievable,” adds Kenland.
Of course, the true success of any Jewish community is up to the next generation and therefore lies in education. “I made the Hebrew school my focus from day one,” Sonia Hershcovich emphasizes. Kenland’s 4-year-old grandson, Kay, just started Hebrew school and he loves it, she says. “This is going to grow; Sonia is amazing.” The new campus will give the school ample space to continue expanding, as the community itself attracts more and more people.
“Cabo is a free-spirited place,” notes Kenland, and it’s the Shabbat dinners, social events and Jewish holiday festivities that bring everyone together. That’s why when “they built this huge, beautiful synagogue,” Kenland acknowledges. “I didn’t ever think we’d fill it.”
But all along, Schinazi’s tagline was “If you build it, they will come.” That’s exactly what happened, and today the synagogue is close to full. “It’s mind boggling, it has really brought more people in,” says Kenland.
Under the leadership of the Hershcoviches, she also predicts “the community will grow considerably.”
Schinazi agrees: “We love Rabbi Benny and Sonia. That is why we chose them. They came 13 years ago and took the risk. They give so much with a smile, they are truly pioneers with a huge heart for giving and for healing. G‑d willing, with their guidance and energy, the center will thrive.”
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