Monthly newsletters from Bet Knesset Bamidbar of Sun City for 2000. The newsletters include general interest information, columns by the congregation President and Rabbi, announcements and tribues.
The Bet Knesset Bamidbar is an adult-only Traditional Reform Congregation that was founded in 1990. With over 500 members, it’s one of the largest congregations in Southern Nevada. They hold their Shabbat Services twice a month, they observe many ritual holidays, there is a choir that sings at each service, and they make sure to cater to the senior communities with various activities and clubs.
The Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project Web Archive contains archived websites that were captured between 2016 to 2018 that are related to UNLV University Libraries community documentation project, the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. Archived websites of religious institutions and community organizations are primarily represented. The collection also includes archived websites of organizations such as Jewish Nevada, Jewish Family Service Agency, the Las Vegas Jewish Film Festival, and David Magazine. Archived websites for religious institutions include synagogues such as Temple Beth Sholom, Congregation Ner Tamid, Temple Bet Knesset Bamidbar, and Pnai Tikvah.
Hershel Brooks was born December 3, 1930 in Brooklyn, New York. He was raised in an orthodox Jewish household, along with his four siblings, and attended Jewish community schools before pursuing his rabbinical studies. He studied at TelsheYeshiva in Cleveland, Torah Vodaath in New York, and Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. Before assuming his first rabbinical position, Brooks married his wife, Alma, and graduated with his BA from the University of Miami. He was first hired by a conservative congregation in Miami, and subsequently led congregations in Savannah, Georgia, Greensboro, North Carolina and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Eventually, he joined a temple in Anaheim, California, where he served for twenty years. In 1996, Brooks retired to Las Vegas. He was soon asked to lead services at Temple Bet Knesset Bamidbar [BKB] twice a month as its rabbi. He still is active at BKB, though he retired in 2011. In this interview, Brooks reflects on his family background and the path that lead to his becoming a rabbi in the Conservative Jewish Movement. He talks about his career, including his involvement with BKB as well as other Jewish community service, including facilitating adult bar mitzvah classes and serving on the local Rabbinical court of Judaism, known as Bet Din.