Congregation marks members' milestone

Senior bar mitzvah, bat mitzvah planned

One laugh gives you eight more years to live. The congregation of Bet Knesset Bamidbar in Sun City Summerlin takes that Jewish saying to heart.

"We're not a doom and gloom temple, there's no fear and regret," Rabbi Hershel Brooks said.

It's also not one to miss a party. In the Jewish religion, the age 13 marks a milestone in one's life, and is marked by a celebratory bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah. Also, the Bible says 70 years is the life span of man. So, when you're 83, you get to party again, with a second bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah.

On Nov. 1, Rabbi Brooks plans to conduct such a service for 15 members of his temple.

Undergoing a bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah involves a lot of study. Classes that the rabbi teaches include beginning Hebrew, laws and customs and the reasons behind them. A lot of the ceremony involves memorization, much of it done in song. But it also has one reaching back to remember the foundation on which the religion is built.

Preparation classes for the November event have been held over a three-month period.

"There were so many (people), I had to break it up into three classes," Brooks said.

The rabbi is marking a milestone of his own -- his 13th year with Bet Knesset Bamidbar -- so the event has an even fuller meaning.

"This is his bar mitzvah year with the temple," said Robert Mirisch, president.

The synagogue recognized Brooks' 13th year with a celebration dinner in July at the Santa Fe Station. It included a DJ, live entertainment and dancing.

During his tenure, Brooks has seen the congregation grow to more than 1,100 members, all 55 years of age or older. It has expanded from serving only residents of Sun City Summerlin to accepting membership from anyone in its age category.

Brooks has served on the Las Vegas Board of Rabbis and has provided life cycle services to other valley residents. There is a Men's Club and a Sisterhood program. As part of an outreach program, members visit nearby assisted-living facilities.

The rabbi created a local program called Ask the Rabbi in association with the National Jewish Outreach Program. This program teaches liturgical Hebrew to people and provides answers about Jewish history and practices.

Part of Brooks' duties include ministering to Jewish patients at area hospitals and hospices.

"The hardest part is seeing the sorrow, the hurt and sickness, and, indeed, the death that occurs," he said.

The temple meets at Desert Vista Community Center, 10360 Sun City Blvd. It meets at 7:30 p.m. for services on the second and fourth Friday of the month.

At those services, its choir performs at all the Shabbat services. Food for the Jewish Family Service Agency is collected at each service.

Financial support is given to Hillel at UNLV -- a group that helps students explore their Jewish identity -- and the Jewish Family Service Agency.

"To put the rabbi's tenure here in perspective, you need remember that BKB is a seniors-only temple," Mirisch said. "Many seniors are looking for social contact and cultural contact ... They think that retirement means they have completed what they felt they were obligated to do."

When it comes to his sermons, Brooks may be more staid than rabbis at other temples, where there's clapping and a lot of singing. However, he still likes to "shake them (members) up a little ... God didn't create us for despair and pain. When people leave my services, I like to see them go out the door happy."

As for the rabbi, he is 77. No word on whether he'll perform his own second bar mitzvah in six years.

"We realize that we are not immortal," Brooks said. "So live the best life you can."

And laugh a lot.