New Shluchim to Panama

Rabbi Yakov and Hana Poliwoda (nee Rosenthal) will be establishing a Chabad presence in the town of Boquete, Panama.

Boquete, a town in the province of Chiriquí located in Panama’s interior, is the most popular retirement location for Americans in South America due to its natural beauty and year-round comfortable climate.

At around 1000 meters above sea level, it also has a low cost of living and a warm and friendly community of approximately 5,000 foreigners, “in which we have met many Jews,” Yakov Poliwoda says.

Rabbi Yakov Poliwoda is excited to work in outreach as a Chabad Shliach, a Baal Teshuva himself. Originally from Venezuela, he attended Tiferes Bachurim Yeshiva in Morristown, NJ for two years after graduating from college with a degree in industrial engineering. Hana Poliwoda is a graduate of Gani Chabad girls school in Brazil and Bais Chaya Mushka Seminary in Montreal. More recently, both Yakov and Hana were involved in education in Jewish schools in Panama.

The Poliwodas currently live in Panama City, and have been visiting Boquete on a regular basis to tend to the local Jewish community’s needs, giving Torah classes and leading holiday services and events, such as reading the Megillah on Purim and distributing Matzah for Pesach.

One of the Poliwodas’ crucial tasks will be to create a Jewish cemetery for the city. “Many local Jews choose cremation instead of a Jewish burial, because of the exorbitant expenses to ship the body back to the United States or even to Panama City,” Yakov Poliwoda says. “As of now, there are 2 Jews that we know of buried in a non-Jewish cemetery. This is something we want to avoid in the future, by offering a financially accessible and respectable Jewish option.”

The Poliwodas also plan on focusing their efforts on attending to the needs of tourists and backpackers, to arrange for Kosher food and other services to Jewish visitors to the area.

As Chiriqui is an agricultural center and hub for milk production, the Poliwodas plan to produce Cholov Yisroel milk to supply the surrounding communities such as Costa Rica and Panama City.

The Poliwodas, who will be working alongside Panama City Shluchim Rabbi Ari and Fradel Laine, will be moving out at the end of August – Elul time. They are raising $30,000 for expenses for the upcoming year.

To support the new Chabad Center, visit ChabadBoquete.com
Via PayPal to [email protected]
Or mail check to
Jacob Poliwoda
811 Montgomery St.
Brooklyn, NY 11213