Midbar Kodesh Temple News

Samantha Shire, daughter of Scott and Gail Shire, recently graduated from Green Valley High School with an Advanced Honors diploma. Samantha has been very involved throughout high school. She has been a member of Green Valley’s prestigious speech and debate team for four years. During this time, she served as captain of multiple events, mentored novice competitors, was a finalist at Districts, Counties, State and qualified and competed at Nationals. She has been swimming co

Tamar Tecktiel, daughter of Susan and Rabbi Bradley Tecktiel, was recently awarded the Layni and Scott Rothbort Judaic College Scholarship for college students of Midbar Kodesh Temple members, taking a course in a Jewish related subject at an accredited college or university. Tamar is a Junior at Indiana University, where she is majoring in Jewish Studies with minors in education and Hebrew. She is president of Sigma Delta Tau, where she encourages her sisters to build a bet

As the month of May winds down and we settle in for our typically hot summer in Henderson, I am announcing my yearly Summer Book Club and Summer Sermon Series. This year I found two interesting books for us to read together. The first is by author Paul Boorstin, called David and The Philistine Woman. In the book, Boorstin reimagines the epic moments leading up to the battle between David and Goliath. The book gives us a chance to jump back in time and experience the life o

Rachel Sonia Fleischer, daughter of Midbar Kodesh Temple members Magda and Dan Fleischer, graduated from The Pennsylvania State University, cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a Bachelor of Music degree in Flute Performance. While at Penn State, Rachel was a member of the Schreyer Honors College, Presidential Leadership Academy, and many musical ensembles. In the spring of 2017, Rachel studied abroad in Buenos Aires Argentina where she studied Sp

Midbar Kodesh Temple's Rabbi Bradley Tecktiel again introduces a summer Shabbat series to explore the Perkei Avot - Ethics of our Ancestors. For six Shabbats over the summer, beginning June 16 through August 11 the congregation and those wishing to participate will delve into the lessons of this great work with the help of the commentaries of Rabbis Gordon Tucker and Tamar Eldad-Applebaum and Dr. Martin S. Cohen. One of the most iconic rabbinic texts in our canon of Jewish h

Henrietta Ackerland, who entrusted her son, Willie, to a friend who was fleeing Nazi Germany to Israel, longed for the day in which she and her son would be reunited. Private investigator Adam Lapid begins the search and soon realizes that his hunt to unite mother and child is more than a missing person's case and that the investigator soon turns into the one hunted. “Ten Years Gone,” by author Jonathan Dunsky, is an emotional mystery novel full of riveting characters, twists

The juxtaposition of the joy of the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and the continued attempts by Hamas to infiltrate Israel through the guise of mass marches and “protests” at the Gaza border, has left me reeling with confusion and angst. I, like I imagine many of you, are torn between our love of Israel and believing in its right to defend herself, and our moral dilemma over what we think transpired at the Gaza border this week. Sadly, the media’s coverage does no

This weekend we will mark the 51st year since the reunification of the city of Jerusalem. That summer of 1967, when in the midst of the Six Day War, the Israeli military realized it had the opportunity to overtake the Temple mount and push back the Jordanian army, marked an auspicious moment in Jewish history. Not since 70 CE had there been Jewish sovereignty on Har Habayit, Mt. Moriah where the ancient Temples once stood. Despite much controversy and many lives lost, the m

Congratulations to Midbar Kodesh Temple member Dorothy Eisenberg, who was recently honored by Clark County School District administrators and the students, current staff and former educators of the Dorthy Eisenberg Elementary School, in celebration of her upcoming 90th birthday. Dorothy's long-term commitment to the Las Vegas community has been evident in her work to improve education in Las Vegas. In 1991 the elementary school was named for her. Dorothy, spouse of Paul Eisen

Sarah Dushoff will graduate with Advanced Honors from Green Valley High School. She has been extremely active in high school participating in Band, Student Council, Mu Alpha Theta, Israel Club and more. Sarah played four years of varsity tennis. She was a member of Midbar Kodesh Temple USY, attended Ma'ayan, and spent summers at Camp Alonim in California. Sarah's parents, Jessica Kartzinel and Matt Dushoff, along with bonus parents David Kartzinel and Stacy Gibrick, are beyo