You don’t have to love your enemy, but you do have to help him/her. Rabbi Jonathan Sachs points to the Sermon on the Mount which tells us to love our enemy. Loving our enemy is not an easy task when someone has physically or emotionally harmed us. In this week’s Torah portion, we get a law in the Torah that is a little easier to absorb and follow, “if you see your enemy’s donkey sagging under its burden, you shall not pass by. You shall surely release it with him.” You do no

Bennett Daniel Warnick, son to Allison and Matthew Warnick, will be called to the Torah at Midbar Kodesh Temple in February. He will be joined in celebration by younger sister Sydney and grandparents Marsha Warnick of Morton Grove, IL P.E. Warnick and Nina and Les Boshes from Las Vegas. Aunts, uncles, cousins, and good friends from throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and Hong Kong will also be in attendance.. Bennett is a 7th grader and a member of the National Jun

Midbar Kodesh Temple’s United Synagogue Youth (USY) members packaged bins of household goods for distribution to teenagers who are aging out of the foster care system and looking towards independent adulthood. Step Up, a program of the Clark County Social Services, provides guidance to students aging out of the Clark County foster care program, helping them to transition from foster care to economic self-sufficiency by providing them with goods and services including case man

Shabbat Shira, the shabbat of song. For many it feels like every Shabbat is a Shabbat of song. Each Shabbat we have the beautiful melodies of Kabbalat Shabbat, the Friday night service and the extended Shacharit, the morning service on Shabbat morning. But this week’s Shabbat has the distinction of being referred to as Shabbat Shira, the Shabbat of song. This week is parshat B’shallach, when we read Shirat Hayam, the Song of Sea that Moses and the Israelites sang after su

At the Midbar Kodesh Temple board meeting this past Sunday, Marco Villanueva was installed as the 12th president of Midbar Kodesh Temple. Marco is a real estate agent with LIFE Realty District. Born in Queens, New York, Marco met his wife Abbie in 2004, converted to Judaism in 2006, and married in 2008. Together they have three children: Corinne, Lainee and Spencer. Corinne and Lainee are graduates of the Midbar Kodesh Early Childhood Center, and current students of the Midba

Hello Midbar Kodesh Temple! We are Rachel, Max, and Johanna Herzl-Betz. We moved here from the midwest last December, and we’re glad to report that the summer wasn’t as rough as we expected. Rachel co-runs the Writing Center at Nevada State College, Max is a hospital IT consultant with Epic, and Johanna (aka Jojo) is a little ball of curiosity. If you run into us at services, we’re always happy to talk about books, board games, baby adventures, and dogs.

Kayla Rose Klein, daughter of Midbar Kodesh Temple members Rita and Perry Klein, will be called to the Torah at Midbar Kodesh Temple in January. A 7th grader, Kayla will be joined in celebration by family and friends including her grandparents Florence and Ronald Schassburger from Chicago, Illinois and Nanette and Peter Klein from Brooklyn, New York. Kayla is very athletic, enjoying Jazz and Contemporary Dance, BMX Riding and Basketball. A broken wrist has kept her temporaril

One of our biggest Gemilut Hesed (Act of Loving Kindness) programs during the year is our Family Promise week. For one week, we host families that are transitioning into permanent housing. We house, feed, entertain and socialize with the families, all while offering them a safe, warm and caring environment. We have been working with Family Promise of Las Vegas for over 8 years. You can check out the organization at their website. Over the years, I have seen families from eve