International Duo Redefine Vegas Reform Congregation

Hang on to your kippah, or perhaps your bowler or chambergo, and take Temple Sinai’s fast track to reinvigorate Reform Judaism on the Westside of Las Vegas, with British suave

and South American allegria de vivir! Inspired by a determined board president with a dream, a pas-

sionate team of bright and committed people – with clear priorities — set out to hire the best Reform rabbi and cantor a trainload of patience and a trusty GPS could yield. They succeeded.

Rabbi Malcolm Cohen hails from the West London Synagogue, Eng-land’s oldest reform temple, located in the Jewish ghetto in north-west London; Cantor Mariana Gidlin is originally from Argentina’s Temple Libertad, a now-conservative shul nestled in a traditional Buenos Aires neighborhood.

Each of these passionate Jewish leaders is a trailblazer and brings a historic perspective to the pulpit. Together, they make up a dy-namic duo the Temple Sinai board believes was well worth the effort and exhaustive interviewing process to bring them here. Having spent time with them recently, I’m inclined to agree.

Still, I had to ask, “Why?” Why search so far afield? The answer lies in the leadership style of Dr. Larry Copeland, the Temple Sinai

believe

32_35_believe_Temple_Sinai.indd 32 8/23/11 4:38 PM

board president whose approach echoes the sentiment auto mag-nate Henry Ford expressed long ago: “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.”

Copeland’s dream began in 1994 when the Howard Hughes Corp. initiated development of the arid Westside of Las Vegas. Copeland and Temple Sinai board Vice President Seymour Kaplan quickly grasped the need for a Reform temple on the Westside.

As Kaplan recalls, “Congregation Ner Tamid was the Reform tem-ple on the Eastside, then located at Eastern and Emerson. With the development of Summerlin under way, a Reform temple was needed to accommodate the Jews who would soon move west.”

Copeland, in conjunction with Rabbi Mel Hecht, spearheaded the purchase of a beautiful, four-acre property on Hillpointe Road in the tranquil heart of the West Valley. It would become the new home for Temple Beth Am, a Reform synagogue that Hecht founded in 1984. The congregation previously had gathered in a number of places, in-cluding the Dunes, the Sahara and The Interfaith Center for Religion and Life at UNLV. This new location served the dreams of Copeland and Hecht, but there were plenty of obstacles and disagreements that popped up over the ensuing years, primarily over the temple’s chang-ing religious philosophy. Still, Copeland and others never lost sight of the original goal. And with renewed conviction and dedicated fund-raising, they reopened the Hillpointe campus as Temple Sinai in 2007.

But an institution is only as viable as its leaders, in this case its rabbi and cantor. The board understood this implicitly, and resolved to find a tandem that could relate to each other and engage the di-verse population of multigenerational Jews and interfaith families they would confront.

32_35_believe_Temple_Sinai.indd 33 8/23/11 4:38 PM

Over evening coffee recently, I sat comfortably with the rabbi and cantor at Cohen’s home. His wife Sarah, mother of 2-year-old Elijah and baby Rachel, was gracious to allow the intrusion during family time and on the rabbi’s day off.

Cantor Mariana had just arrived after a long car ride from Los An-geles. Somehow, she managed to look fresh and vibrant. She’s single, effervescent and statuesque. We embraced like old friends. She exudes energy. And she’s powerful. So is he. But it’s power derived from pas-sion, not ego. He’s been at the temple for two years now, and she came on board in July. They were at once playful, with each other and me. They were not self-conscious. I was witness to their remarkable compat-ibility. He could almost finish her sentences. Both are strong and deci-sive, yet respectful of the other’s space. Each admires the other’s talent.

“His heart is in his vision. Mine is in the music. It’s a good com-plement on the bima,” Mariana said, referring to the platform from which a Jewish prayer service is led. An aura seemed to surround her as she explained her joyful journey with Judaism through the power of music. She was influenced as a little girl while attending shul with her father, who sang in the choir for 30 years. There she learned the songs, cultivated her voice and discovered her destiny as a Jewish woman. Through soulful Jewish notes, she hopes to illumi-nate the path to Judaism for others, just as her father did for her.

The rabbi is tall, slender and offers a beguiling twinkle in his eye. His self-effacing humor is endearing, as is the sincere manner in which he inquires into each person’s well-being at a Shabbat service. “Often, as I go about my daily business tending to the needs of the congregation, I wonder how I got so lucky to be in this special place,” he says.

He loves the fact that it’s all about the members and not the board. He calls this “congregation-centric” as opposed to the “top-down ap-proach.” Board Vice President Beth Asaf notes how “the rabbi remem-bers everyone’s name.” Tina Drago says the rabbi and cantor “relate so easily to everyone, from young to old, toddler to teen, women to men, and Jew to non-Jew.” Tina’s son Nick, a recent high school gradu-ate, calls Cohen “the coolest rabbi ever! He brings in quotes from rap songs, and I love the stories he tells about his life.”

I think I know what Nick means. At Friday’s service I was amazed at the more than 200 people in

attendance! And at least half were young families! Now, that’s got to be a record in this town for a Shabbat in August, where the crowd is mostly seniors, people are away or many are too hot to be bothered. I joined families, couples, seniors and singles all praying, swaying and singing to the emotional chanting and music. I even found my-self dancing around the sanctuary with the rabbi and other congre-gants during Miriam’s song. Definitely cool.

I asked the rabbi to clarify what the Reform movement stands for versus other Jewish movements.

“As a Reform temple, we’re affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism,” he explained. “The URJ is based on the acceptance of three tenets: God, Torah and Israel. But we’re progressive and in-clusive in the way we embrace and express those tenets. We accept interfaith marriages and alternate lifestyles, and place a strong em-phasis on responsibility for the environment and social action.”

Temple Sinai participates in the Family Promise program. Twice each year it hosts single, homeless mothers and their children for a

34 DAVID ELUL 5771/TISHREI 5772

32_35_believe_Temple_Sinai.indd 34 8/23/11 4:41 PM

week, teaching skills to help get the clients back on their feet. The essential difference between the Orthodox, Conservative, Re-

constructionist and Reform movements is in each group’s approach to Jewish traditions and laws, or halacha.

Orthodox Judaism maintains that the Torah and the Jewish laws are divine in origin, eternal, unalterable and must be strictly followed. Conservative Judaism seeks to preserve those same tra-ditions and laws, but applies a flexible and modern approach to their interpretation. Reform Judaism seeks to reconcile historical Judaism with modern life, and does not require strict observance of the traditions and laws. And the smallest of the movements, Recon-structionism, views Judaism as an evolving civilization. Jewish law is not considered binding, and is treated as a valuable cultural rem-nant that should be upheld unless there is reason to the contrary.

I had further inquiries pertaining to this article and phoned the temple. I was greeted with, “Shalom. Temple Sinai. Your Family. Your home. Debra speaking.” It was the melodic voice of Executive Administrator Debra Lazar, who oversees the flow of daily temple business. She takes care of the rabbi and cantor. She coordinates the many volunteers who help publish The Sinai Shofar, and do the eblasts, filing, website development, marketing, etc.

“We run on a lot of volunteer steam,” Lazar says. “That’s how we keep costs down. Members with professional skills are glad to do-nate their expertise to the temple. It’s great!”

Great, indeed, since the temple campus includes so much more than meets the Shabbos and High Holiday eye. The Temple Sinai religious school is a shining star on campus, with an enrollment of more than 100 students in grades Pre-K through 12. “That’s incred-ibly high compared to the number of registered temple families we have,” says Education Director Avigail Eisenberg.

The campus is also home to The Shenker Academy and the Jewish Community Center. Shenker arguably offers the best secular early child-hood education in the city. Many Las Vegas notables have sent their children there, including Andre Agassi and the late Gov. Kenny Guinn. And after years of searching for a permanent home, Temple Sinai board Member Rick Hollander, in conjunction with Jewish Federation CEO Elliot Karp, and JCC Board of Directors President Richard Frankoff, was instrumental in bringing the JCC to Temple Sinai’s campus.

“It was a mitzvah,” says Hollander. “We had 4,000 square feet available and offered it for lease to the JCC for $1 a year! It’s vital that Las Vegas families have a place to go where core Jewish values and culture are taught and experienced year-round.”

A visit to the temple’s website is well worth it for the list it provides of celebrations, clubs, affiliations, services, programs and events for all ages. Or better yet, attend a Shabbat service, or give Debra a call. Either way, you’ll likely be received with a smile and welcomed with open arms.

That is perhaps what captured my attention the most at Temple Sinai. They are dedicated to getting it right, and understand that success lies in the details. How we treat people matters. Tikkun Olam starts within our own communities. Allegria de vivir is alive and well here, and gives texture to the multicolored dream. But I will venture to say that the real reason for the temple’s rapid growth is that it comprises a hamishe group … that’s Yiddish for family-like.

It starts with the board, perpetuates with the rabbi and cantor, and is sustained by all the rest who simply want this in their lives. But hold on to your bowler. Plans to build a dedicated sanctuary are in the air. Yep … that’s what you get when you cross a dream with the heart of the people. This Reform temple on the west side of town is on a roll! —Lynn Wexler-Margolies

L’ Shana Tovah!Wishing you health, happiness and peace in the New Year from your friends at JFSA

702.732.0304

www.jfsalv.org

4794 S. Eastern Ave.

Las Vegas, NV 89119

SEPTEMBER 2011 DAVID 35

32_35_believe_Temple_Sinai.indd 35 8/23/11 4:42 PM