Electrifying and ambitious, sweeping in scope and intimate in tone, “The Weight of Ink” by Rachel Kadish, is a sophisticated work of historical fiction about women separated by centuries, and the choices and sacrifices they must make in order reconcile the life of the heart and mind. This Jewish Book Award winning novel is the subject of discussion at Midbar Kodesh Temple's February 3 book review, held at the synagogue at 10:00 a.m. Kadish’s adept writing paints a vivid pi

I have only been in Henderson for ten years. Since our part of Henderson is not much older than that, I am beginning to think of myself as a real native. In the ten years that I have been here, I have watched our Jewish community in Henderson expand, even with the rough economic years of 2008-2011. One of the signs of growth of the Jewish community of Henderson is the expansion of the availability of fresh Kosher food. Thanks to the efforts of Rabbi Fromowitz of Ahavas Torah,

Hi Midbar Kodesh Temple! My name is Candice Walters and I am happy to announce that I am the new Office Coordinator for Midbar Kodesh. I am a southern California native who arrived in Henderson, Nevada three years ago by way of Carlsbad, CA. I am the mother of two adult children, one daughter and one son. I grew up in an interfaith family and attended Temple B’nai Emet in Montebello, CA growing up. When I am not working, I am usually knitting something atrocious for my cats a

Darren Schwartz moved to Las Vegas with his parents in 1981. He graduated from Durango High School and UNLV with a degree in Criminal Justice. Darren has served as an officer with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department since 1999 and is currently A Detective Sergeant assigned to the Bolden Area Command. Darren is married to the amazing Jennifer Schwartz and they have a soon to be 9 year old son named Zev (who thinks he is amazing). Darren and Jennifer were brought u

Most often, we start to think about teshuvah, repentance, in the days and weeks leading up to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We spend the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur focused on active repentance. Once the shofar has sounded at the end of Yom Kippur and the fast is over, we quickly revert back to our normal lives. We go about our activities, business, leisure, and family without giving repentance much thought. This week’s Torah portion, usually read some time

Nase Gadol Hayah Sham (Poh), A Great Miracle Happened There (Here) A spinner, a top, a toy, whatever you want to call it, the dreidel, or sivivon as it is referred to in Hebrew is synonymous with the holiday of Hanukkah. But why? How did this little knickknack get associated with the story of Hanukkah? The traditional, folk story told about the dreidel is that it was used to distract the Assyrian-Greek authorities. Antiochus IV decreed that, among other things, it was forbidd