Mazel Tov Ellie and the Pack Family!

Ellie Judith Pack, daughter of Midbar Kodesh Temple members Heather and Dr. Ed Pack, and older sister to Ari and Henry, will be called to the Torah in May. She will be joined in celebration by her grandparents Barbara and Herb Nalitt from Monroe Township, New Jersey and Rebecca and Harry Pack of Pompano Beach, Florida. Aunts, uncles and cousins from New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, and Florida will also travel to Las Vegas to join other friends and family for the weekend. Ellie, a 7th grader at a local middle school, is a member of the National Junior Honor Society and a company dancer with The Dance Zone. She will return to Camp Alonim for her 5th summer and is a member of MKT USY. She also takes classes with Rabbi Bradley Tecktiel in Ma'ayan, a program designed for b'nei mitzvah, and high school students.

For her Mitzvah Project Ellie will be collecting gently used or new professional, formal and semi formal wear for high school students' use. These items will be donated to the student run charity "Twice As Nice," a project designed to help homeless and disadvantaged students look their best as they seek employment or participate in special occasions. Ellie hosted an afternoon of live Trivia with the proceeds going toward this special project.

Earlier this year Ellie joined her B'nei Mitzvah classmates, each accompanied by a parent, Rabbi Tecktiel and Cantor Daniel Gale on a trip to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. Ellie was joined by her mom Heather, a co-President at Midbar Kodesh Temple. A quote by Anne Frank was particularly inspiring to Ellie..." I keep my ideals, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart." Ellie, always good at heart and always carrying the high ideals of her family and heritage, makes her family proud each and everyday.