Wednesday, Oct. 21, 1998 | 11:03 a.m.
Julie Scheibner is becoming Jewish.
Each week, she attends conversion classes at Congregation Ner Tamid, the largest Jewish Reform congregation in Southern Nevada.
She's learning Hebrew, becoming familiar with Jewish holidays, and studying thousands of years of religious history.
"I love it," said Scheibner, a former Christian. "I feel very comfortable there. From the minute I walked into the temple, I was comfortable -- more comfortable than I had been at any of the other congregations I'd ever been in."
Scheibner is a radio station executive who made her decision to convert to Judaism a year ago, when she was 32, after spending years searching for a religion that suited her.
"It's very exciting," she said. "It's a simple, humble, religion with so much history."
Judaism is based on the belief in one God and an obligation to God carried out through the observance of commandments. But while Christians believe humans are sinful by nature and can achieve salvation only through Jesus Christ, Jews believe sin is a personal failure to keep God's commandments. Through redemption -- by living a holy, prayerful life in accordance with the commandments -- Jews believe that a divine kingdom will be established on earth.
Judaism laid the cornerstone for both Christian and Muslim monotheism. Jews believe in the Torah -- a scroll of holy scripture, or covenant, which contains the commandments. They also believe that as descendents of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the land of Israel was promised to them by God.
About 3 percent of Clark County residents are Jewish, according to the UNLV Cannon Center for Survey Research. About 5.5 million Americans are Jewish.
"More and more people are interested in Judaism," said Rabbi Sanford Akselrad, of Congregation Ner Tamid. "And there is definitely tremendous growth in the Jewish community here in Las Vegas."
(SUBHEAD: Organizing a community)
Fifty years ago, there were no synagogues in Las Vegas.
However, a prominent contingent of Jews has always been associated with the development of the Strip -- from Moe Dalitz and Davie Berman in the 1950s to Steve Wynn today.
"Jews have always been represented on the Strip, and until fairly recently, the Jewish community has been overwhelmingly secular," said Vern Mattson, a professor of history at UNLV.
The first congregation, Temple Beth Sholom, was started in 1947. But throughout the next couple of decades, many Las Vegas Jews gathered in casino conference rooms for services -- as some still do today.
Susan Berman, daughter of Strip developer Davie Berman, remembers her father taking her to Jewish services at the Last Frontier Hotel in the 1950s:
"He would walk me through the casino, where as usual I'd be straining to see who was winning a jackpot, but my father would say, 'Not tonight Susie. Tonight is special. It's Passover,'" Berman wrote in a memoir reprinted in Literary Las Vegas.
"The dining room would be transformed, all the small tables lined up in long rows. In their (ITALS) shiksa (ITALS) zest, our naive mothers decorated the ceiling with streamers from all the Jewish holidays ... Occasionally, confused guests would wander in and ask why there was no floor show that night, and we kids would laugh hysterically at their mistake," Berman wrote.
Ronni Epstein, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas, said that as recently as five years ago, the community lacked the synagogues and services necessary to accommodate the inflow of new Jewish residents.
"Even that recently, this was a community trying to find itself," said Epstein. "Everyone was working very hard trying to begin the process of creating a Jewish community. It was very difficult -- the Jews moving here from other places didn't feel that the organized Jewish community was providing them with the facilities and programs to meet their needs.
"But then all of the sudden it was like everybody woke up at the same time... Now finally there is an infrastructure on its way," Epstein said.
Today there are 17 synagogues, two schools, and construction plans for a non-profit Jewish home for the elderly and a Jewish Community Center. All four of the major American denominational traditions of Judaism are represented in Las Vegas -- Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist. There are Jewish day care centers, a growing Hillel student organization on the UNLV campus, and an active Jewish Federation, which serves as a centerpoint for Jews in each of the traditions. In addition to its role as organizer of the local community, the Federation sends one-third of its funds to Israel to support educational programs and provide relief for estranged Jews around the world.
As with most religious groups in the Las Vegas Valley, the growth in Jewish congregations largely is due to the influx of new residents. Half of the Jewish population in Las Vegas comes from Los Angeles, according to a study commissioned by the Jewish Federation in 1996. Only 1 percent of the Las Vegas Jewish population was born in the city. The median age of Jews in Las Vegas is 46; 25 percent are older than 65 and 9 percent are younger than 18.
"I've been in Las Vegas and watched this community develop for 19 years, said Rabbi Mel Hecht, Temple Beth Am in Summerlin. "It has gone through growing pains, but it's getting better."
(SUBHEAD: Reform and Conservative traditions)
Flanked by the more stringent Orthodox and the more liberal Reconstructionist movements, the Reform and Conservative congregations make up mainstream American Judaism. In Las Vegas, 52 percent of Jews belong to Reform congregations, and 44 percent belong to Conservative congregations, according to the Jewish Federation.
As in Christianity, Jewish denominations evolved in movements throughout history, prompted in part by cultural and political events. But at the core, the difference between Jewish denominations lies in how each views God's revelations to Moses on Mt. Sinai, according to Rabbi Felipe Goodman of Temple Beth Sholom, a Conservative congregation of 400 families.
"It all comes down to that," Goodman said. "In the Conservative movement, most believe that the Torah was divinely obtained by Moses at Mt. Sinai and at some point humans added to it. But it is impossible to discern which is made by God and which is made by man; therefore, we observe all of it.
"In the Reform tradition, Jews are not bound by Jewish law. They understand that every individual has a right to interpret Jewish law by him or herself and apply it to his or her life -- the laws are not optional, but they are a directive."
Epstein said that the range of denominations in Judaism allows Jews to pick the one that best suits them, while also shielding the denominations themselves from being affected by shifts in popular culture.
"We cover the whole spectrum, so there is something for everybody's lifestyle, and we don't see things changing within the traditions that much," she said.
As a result of the basic difference in interpretation of the binding nature of the Torah, there are lifestyle differences between the denominations, such as "keeping kosher." Reform Jews do not necessarily avoid eating pork and other foods that the Torah says one should not eat; Conservative Jews are encouraged to keep kosher; Orthodox Jews follow the word of the Torah to the letter.
There is no definitive answer as to why the Torah says to keep certain dietary laws; many Jews believe that one ought not question the Torah, and that leading a disciplined life is in itself an important part of the faith.
Worship styles in the different denominations' synagogues share some similarities, but Reform services are more likely to focus on contemporary themes.
"A lot of people are very interested in what religion has to say and how it relates to contemporary society. That's part of my role as rabbi," said Akselrad. " One of our mitzvot -- commandments -- says that as Jews we need to become involved in the world and leave it a better place. I teach, 'If I am not for myself, who will be for me; but if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?'
"In my sermons, I talk about universal themes with a Jewish spin -- hope, loneliness, finding God, the importance of listening -- things like that."
On any Friday night at Ner Tamid, where some 600 Reform families are members, Akselrad conducts Sabbath services to a nearly packed house. The congregation -- men wearing yamulkas, or skullcaps, to show respect for God in the synagogue, women and children dressed in skirts and cleanly-pressed slacks -- rise from their seats and read aloud from Hebrew service books. The Torah is kept behind the altar and referred to frequently. A cantor stands alongside Akselrad and sings Hebrew songs, sometimes accompanied by the congregation.
Jews believe that work is forbidden on the Sabbath, which begins at sundown on Friday and lasts through sundown Saturday. By resting and attending services, Jews are reminded of their God-given freedom.
(SUBHEAD: Orthodox lifestyle)
Every Friday night, some 50 Las Vegas families leave their homes -- without their cars -- and begin the walk to synagogue for the Sabbath services.
Some walk across the street; some walk more than three miles.
"We believe that we cannot drive on the Sabbath," said Rabbi Shea Harlig, of Chabad of Southern Nevada, an Orthodox congregation. "We follow the Torah literally."
Harlig said that the Torah prohibits certain behaviors on the Sabbath, one of which is kindling a fire. Orthodox Jews will not drive a car on the Sabbath because cars operate on internal combustion engines, burning gas and oil -- a violation of the prohibition against kindling a fire.
"We push that it's not enough to be moral and ethical and help others," Harlig said. "You also have to be a holy person, you have to follow the rituals to elevate yourself above the animal level. If you only do what's convenient -- well that's how animals live. They do whatever is convenient for them."
As members of the most strict of the major American Jewish traditions, Orthodox Jews believe that the commandments are an absolute obligation between God and man. Reconstructionists are the most liberal, emphasizing the integration of Jewish beliefs with cultural traditions.
When Harlig arrived from Brooklyn, N.Y., seven years ago, he was the first Orthodox rabbi in Las Vegas.
"The Las Vegas Orthodox community is definitely smaller than in many other parts of the country," he said. "But at Chabad, we're sort of missionaries -- but just to the Jews -- we try to get Jewish people more involved in Judaism. And the Orthodox community is growing."
Currently, Harlig said, there are about 750 Orthodox Jews in Las Vegas attending one of five Orthodox synagogues.
In addition to eating only kosher foods, the faithful attend services three times a day. Men and women are separated for services, and women in the Orthodox tradition immerse themselves monthly in mikvah baths at the synagogue as a ritual of purity.
"People think (Orthodox Judaism) doesn't relate to them in 1998 in Las Vegas, but it does," Harlig said. "So many people in this generation did not have the traditional education that their parents' had, so they don't understand some of the traditions. And that's our job as rabbis, to educate them."
Harlig calls Jews at home to invite them to renew their interest in Judaism through attending classes and coming to programs.
"I look at myself as a salesman from God. I call them up and say, 'I want to sell you the ultimate retirement plan,'" he said. "I'm not trying to make them Orthodox or take all their money, I just want people to understand more about Judaism."
(SUBHEAD: Rising interest in mysticism)
At the other end of the spectrum, a portion of Judaism is reaching into the New Age realm, attracting followers with Jewish backgrounds, and those from other faiths.
A couple of nights each week, about 20 people gather in the clubhouse of an apartment complex on west Sahara Avenue. A lucky few get to sit on the white cloth sofas, others sit on the carpet, leaning on glass block walls under fake plants.
They have come to learn about Kaballah, a form of Jewish mysticism.
"Kaballah is spiritual wisdom," said Rabbi Avraham Kelman, founder of the Las Vegas Kaballah Centre (cq), which does not yet have its own independent building. Each week he leads Kaballah classes -- which cost $168 for 10 weeks. Kelman said he also holds private Kaballah sessions for a small group at the home of Irwin Molaskey, a longtime developer in Las Vegas.
In recent months, Kaballah has garnered publicity because stars such as Madonna have begun practicing its teachings. Its appeal has reached into non-Jewish communities, and many who come to Kelman's sessions are not Jewish, but want to learn the basic principles of Kaballah.
Despite Kelman's assertion that Kaballah has always been a part of Judaism, many Jews consider it to be a controversial area of worship.
"It is not mainline Judaism," Akslerad said.
Kabbalah Centres, founded in Israel in 1922, dot the international map and offer education about creating a "spiritual connection with the Creator," according to Kaballah Centre literature.
"Kabbalah can provide one with true meaning of their being and the knowledge necessary for their ultimate benefit. It can show one spirituality which is beyond belief," reads one introductory Kaballah book, To the Power of One.
Kaballah dips into metaphysics, astrology, and light energy, which some Jewish leaders say can be dangerous to individuals who do not first have a firm grounding in Jewish theology.
"It's part of mainstream Judaism, but without knowing the Torah and Talmud, it would lend itself to be somewhat cultish," said Rabbi Gary Golbart of Adat Ari El, a Reform congregation. "There is some controversy because there are organizations that teach Kaballah to Jews or non-Jews, who don't have the tradition. You need the background of Judaism to understand it correctly, and without that, it can be a little misleading."
"It would be like deciding to be a brain surgeon and skipping undergraduate and medical school and just saying, 'Give me the scalpel and show me where to cut.' But people are always looking for the short cut," Golbart said.
Still, interest is rising, according to Kelman, who is now looking for a building to be his synagogue. He plans to continue teaching the Kaballah, and to hold regular Jewish services as well.
"It is an integral part of Judaism, but the bulk of Judaism tells you what to do. Kaballah tells you why to do it," Kelman said. "And when I give you a reason for something, you'll try anything within reason to see if it works. The things you do are definitely very important -- keeping Kosher, observing holidays -- it's all very, very important. But if you do all of those things and still treat your fellow man poorly, you've missed something."
(TAG:) Next: Eastern religion are on the rise in Las Vegas -- as result both of immigration and conversion.
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