The Palm Mortuary / King David Memorial Garden at Congregation Ner Tamid on the Greenspun Campus for Jewish Life, Learning & Spiritual Renewal.

The Palm Mortuary / King David Memorial Garden at Congregation Ner Tamid on the Greenspun Campus for Jewish Life, Learning & Spiritual Renewal.

Copies of the Torah: A Modern Commentary are on shelves in the Congregation Ner Tamid Joyce & Jerome Mack Sanctuary on the Greenspun Campus for Jewish Life, Learning & Spiritual Renewal.

The Emerson Avenue front doors were saved from the previous location, refurbished, and installed in Congregation Ner Tamid's Joyce & Jerome Mack Sanctuary on the Greenspun Campus for Jewish Life, Learning & Spiritual Renewal.

Names etched in stone adorn the Palm Mortuary / King David Memorial Garden at Congregation Ner Tamid on the Greenspun Campus for Jewish Life, Learning & Spiritual Renewal.

In this audio clip, Gil Shaw talks about being the default historian for Congregation Ner Tamid, and his interest in preserving history for future generations.

In this interview, Hecht talks his life experiences leading him to becoming a rabbi, eventually being a spiritual leader in Las Vegas. He discusses his experiences at Ner Tamid as well as the joy of starting Temple Beth Am, with the support of Morris and Lillian Shenker. Hecht shares stories about working with unions and Ralph Engelstad.

In 1939, Rabbi Mel Hecht was born in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of five, his family moved to Miami, Florida where they had a large, extended Jewish family, complete with relatives who were hazzans and mohels. Soon after moving to Florida, his parents bought a hotel in Hialeah, about 10 miles outside of the city, where Hecht spent the remainder of his childhood. Hecht attended the University of Miami where he earned a Ph.D. in Divinity, and subsequently attended the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 1971, he became a rabbi upon graduating from seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio. Three years later, Hecht joined the U.S. Army and served as a race relations officer in Germany. After his service, Hecht returned to Florida (Fort Pierce) to lead his own congregation, and in 1980, he moved to Las Vegas and became the congregational rabbi for Congregation Ner Tamid. Two years later, he left Ner Tamid to start a new congregation?Temple Beth Am?which grew swiftly. In 1982, Hecht also married Michelle (?Micki?). The couple have three children: Melissa Hecht, Karin Toti, and Adam Hecht.