Jewish life in Las Vegas

ALEX KLINER SOCIAL COLUMNIST

Las Vegas! Just say those magical words to anyone who's been there, and I'll wager two to one, there immediately emerges the image of a Nevada desert oasis to which no other oasis compares ... from the Sahara to the Sinai ... nor an oasis upon which Moses could ever imagine himself wandering. But that's another story. The story I want to talk about here is Elaine's and my visit to magical Las Vegas.

First, our hotel. This story actually begins in 1991. While honeymooning in the Italian city of Venice, American business and corporate knocker ... tycoon, that is ... and sole owner of the famous Las Vegas Sands Hotel, Sheldon G. Adelson, gets an inspiration for the theme of a new, mega hotel complex. So Sheldon gets together a few dollars ($1.5 billion US), proceeds to implode the Sands and, on the same site, begins construction of the luxurious, world-class 3,036 all-suite resort-hotel-casino which he completes in 1999 ... the Venetian.

Sheldon's Venetian, you should know, virtually transports you to the splendors of Renaissance Venice with all its art, music, history and architecture ... not to mention its canals, gondolas and romantic singing gondoliers. Then there's the Venetian's Guggenheim Hermitage and Guggenheim Las Vegas museums.

But getting back to Moses and Jews living in the desert ... Las Vegas, a town with the fastest growing Jewish community in the United States, has some 70,000 Jews, among them 150 Holocaust survivors. Of the 70,000, approximately 25 per cent to 30 per cent are affiliated.

Elaine and I found in Las Vegas 20 synagogues in all, which include a Chabad Kaballah Centre. There are eight Reform congregations, three Conservative, three Orthodox, four Chabad, one Contemporary Traditional and one Reconstructionist.

Twenty shuls ... wonderful! But what about delicatessens? Nothing to worry about! Las Vegas has (not counting the many hotel delis) four kosher-style delis (Bagels 'n' More Deli-Southwest; Bagels 'n' More Deli-Southeast; Harrie's Bagelmania Deli-Southeast; Leo's Celebrity Deli-Southeast), three kosher delis (Haifa Kosher Restaurant; Jerusalem Kosher Deli; Las Vegas Kosher Deli) and one glatt kosher deli/restaurant (Shalom Harnan). Sure, Moses may have found manna from heaven in the Sinai desert, but with such a selection of delis as one finds in Las Vegas ... who needs manna?

So what else does the Las Vegas Jewish community provide? To name just a few, I'll start with education. There's the Milton I. Schwartz Hebrew Academy for kids pre-kindergarten through to the seventh grade. There's the Jewish Community Day School. For university students, there's Hillel at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Entertainment? For movie enthusiasts, there's the Las Vegas Jewish Film Festival. Into sports? Then for you there's the Jewish Community Centre Maccabi Games teams, a volleyball league, a hiking club and more. Family history your thing? There's a Jewish Genealogical Society. What about friendship clubs, a Hebrew club? Got 'em! You're a senior, you say? All sorts of seniors' groups and activities from golf to gardening. Of course, there are many retirement living areas and/or care facilities. There are Jewish war veterans posts, a resource library and media centre for Holocaust study. You name it, Jewish Las Vegas has got it.

There's an independently owned and operated bimonthly newspaper, Las Vegas Israelite, serving the entire state of Nevada. Then there's the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas newspaper Jewish Reporter, also published twice a month. Yet, for some reason or other, strange as it may seem, neither of these publications has, to date, syndicated my Menschenings column. An apparent oversight into which I'll definitely need to look.

In any case, mighty impressive the variety of year-round programs and activities for all ages and interests offered by the organizations of the Las Vegas Jewish community ... especially the JCC, which offers a fine lecture series among its many cultural events. And, I might add, all this without the existence of a JCC building, which the community is planning to build, and for which it is presently in the midst of raising funds.

"It'll take a while, but it will come," says JCC administrative assistant Myrna Hills with confidence. Nu, Sheldon from the Venetian ... take a hint!

So ... lotsa ways to add a little Jewish life to your Las Vegas vacation. You can start by calling their federation at 702-732-0556 or their JCC at 702-794-0090. They'll lead you in the right direction ... you can bet on it!

Alex Kliner has a varied background in theatre, education and community service.

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