By Lynn Wexler

Temple Sinai’s Extreme Makeover

Desert Sanctuary

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Temple building … and rebuilding … has been around since antiquity. For the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, sacred space was a humble a�air, far di�erent from the elaborate

structures that Temple builders fashioned later in Jerusalem. �e Mishkan (Hebrew for Tabernacle) was a portable structure that was easily assembled and disassembled by the Israelites as they ventured from place to place in the desert.

G-d’s explicit instructions for building the Tabernacle, and its furnishings, are found in Terumah (Hebrew for o�ering or contribution), the 19th Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah readings after Simchat Torah – the Jewish holiday marking the conclusion of the Torah readings and the beginning of the new cycle.

�e seven aliyahs (Hebrew for sections) of Terumah specify a building plan every bit as comprehensive and meticulous as any modern day temple blueprint. Both contain precise directives for mood enhancement, measurements, placement, materials, colors,

textures, decorative objects, furnishings, outer enclosures and cost factors.

Even more essential to the building e�ort is the spirit of volunteerism necessary to get the job done, including fundraising. According to Rabbi Moshe Lichtenstein, a teacher at Yeshiva Har Etzion in Israel, G-d denotes in Terumah … And they shall make me an o�ering, suggesting the importance, from a spiritual perspective, “of involving the people in participating in and contributing to the process of establishing a Mishkan in whose construction they were partners.”

Martin Buber, the Austrian-born Israeli Jewish philosopher, believes “the building of community depends for its vitality and direction on a Living Center. �e Israelites built a Tabernacle in the center of their camp to make space for G-d, but also to come together as a community. We do the same today in and through our sacred spaces.”

Enter Temple Sinai, a Union for Reform Judaism congregation

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in Summerlin, on the west side of Las Vegas. Situated on a tranquil campus nestled in a verdant neighborhood on Hillpointe Road, the Temple has undergone various transitions, and a few name changes, over the past 30 years before arriving at this location. In 2007, it merged with another congregation and took on its present name.

Signi�cant growth followed. In 2009, the Temple board hired a new and vibrant spiritual leader, Rabbi Malcolm Cohen. Together, the rabbi, the board and the congregation have embarked upon an ambitious project to build a 20,000-square-foot synagogue, with an additional renovated 10,000-square-foot space. Just last month, the Temple Sinai team welcomed Mayor Carolyn Goodman to break ground at a commemorative ceremony.

Mark Levin of Levin/Brown Associates of Baltimore created the Temple’s interior and exterior plan, re�ecting and articulating the creative vision of Temple President Rick Hollander and immediate past President Larry Copeland. Burke Construction Group Inc. of Las Vegas is executing the design. Congregant Steve Haberkorn

provided the funds enabling this elaborate makeover, via “the hand of G-d.”

“I call this project �e Miracle on Hillpointe,” says Copeland, who should know. “�e entire building project is the culmination of a dream I’ve had for over 20 years — to have a URJ temple on the west side of Las Vegas, dedicated to educating the next generation and carrying on ethical traditions. �ere was a time, however, when the prospect for this was bleak.”

As Hollander puts it, “Temple Sinai’s survival is the biggest ‘miracle’ I’ve seen in my lifetime.”

When Copeland, a physician, became Temple president in 2007, expenses were $70,000 a month; there was $300,000 in the bank; and the organization was carrying $5 million of debt inherited from the previous congregation at that site. Copeland shared his woes with Haberkorn, a friend and patient. Inspired by the president’s determination to save the Temple, Haberkorn decided to take a gamble to sustain Copeland’s dream.

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According to Hollander, when Las Vegas Sands stock plummeted in 2009 to less than $2 a share, Haberkorn – based on a feeling he attributes to “the hand of G-d” – bought a million dollars worth of the corporation’s pummeled issues. He also promised to donate the entire proceeds, should the stock rebound, to Temple Sinai in honor of Larry and Linda Copeland.

“�e stock �ourished, and funds, skimmed o� the growth, were generously gifted to the Temple to retire its previously accumulated debt, create a modest reserve for temple operations and pay for the temple’s building project,” Hollander says.

Sustainability Campaign Chair Nancy Weinberger says what remains “is for the congregation to participate in collectively, pledging gifts totaling $2 million to sustain the new building’s operations.”

Accomplishing an extreme temple makeover of this magnitude is a labor of love entrusted to those with the passion, talent and credentials to bring it about. �at is why Levin’s company won

the commission to plan and design Temple Sinai’s new home and campus. Levin has been fascinated with synagogue design since he was a teen. In�uenced by his Jewish upbringing, he understood early on that a properly designed environment helps foster Jewish connection and experience.

“Our �rm specializes in synagogue design,” he says. “We have designed over 130 synagogues to date. To give you perspective, our competition nationally has designed about 35 synagogues, and locally about three or four.”

Historian Samuel Gruber, in his 2003 co�ee table pictorial American Synagogues - A Century of Architecture and Jewish Community cited Levin/Brown & Associates as “the most active synagogue planner and design �rm in the world, with involvement in more than 80 projects.”

Levin says the process of getting “from the interview to the groundbreaking takes about two years. It begins with getting to know the congregation and the clergy. No two congregations are

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alike. We start with an extensive questionnaire to be answered by the building committee and the rabbi to help reveal the spaces and uses that are needed; and the � ow and feel they are looking to achieve.”

� e Temple Sinai team identi� ed eight wants: a worship space to encompass a large sanctuary and a small chapel; a social/communal space; a learning center with library, beit midrash, computers, audio/visual and meeting rooms; a youth center; business and administrative space; a merkaz (Hebrew for central place) lobby, or schmooze area, to include a co� ee bar; and a memorial space.

“From here we generate the organizational plans — placing the spaces where they are best utilized, how they � ow from one to the other and their size and proportion,” Levin says. “We then develop the actual � oor plan. � is is where the details begin to emerge, though we’re still working in two dimensions. For instance, in the merkaz, where should the tallit stand be placed? In the learning center, how many feet of bookshelves are needed, where should the A/V go? Where are you waiting for the rabbi? What about con� dentiality as you walk through?”

Finally, the three-dimensional picture is developed, starting with the sanctuary as the focal point. According to Levin, this informs how the other spaces will look, as unity of design thought is applied, eventually extending to the spaces outside the property as well. Here, color palettes come into play; carpets and � ooring; textures, patterns, walls, lighting, decorative pieces, art and furniture.

Hollander says the goal in choosing these elements was to ensure “a warm, welcoming, and spiritually peaceful environment. We chose mostly earth colors to achieve this, as well as to create harmony between our indoor and outdoor environment.”

“� e design bid package is developed next,” Levin says. It details all components necessary to complete the project, including electricity, plumbing, construction, etc. “� is is where we understand the cost of the project, and make adjustments where necessary.”

“� e contractor is selected,” he continues, “all documents to begin the project are re� ned and we’re ready to break ground.”

Burke Construction’s Tom Selvaggio considers it “a great honor to be a part of (Temple Sinai’s) dream,” especially for Hollander and Copeland. “We’ve been in business for 29 years,” Burke’s chief operating o� cer says, “and it’s not often you get the opportunity to work on a project intended to educate and cultivate well-being and community. � ese are good folks with good hearts, and this is a special project to us.”

Rabbi Cohen, who moved his family to Las Vegas from London, has played a key role in the temple’s growth. With an a� nity for remembering everyone’s name, he is highly regarded by the congregation for his insight, warmth and ability to bring modern relevance to Jewish texts.

“I can hear the heavy machinery outside my door already,” the rabbi says. “I’m excited because the new building will be a facility where we will ‘construct’ and strengthen the ties and bonds between community members.”

Arnold M. Eisen, chancellor of � e Jewish � eological Seminary, believes the Tabernacle we build for G-d elevates our own sense of safety and well being, as it connects us to the sanctity of our environment and inspires us to � nd strength and solace in community. Temple Sinai aims to do just that through its extreme makeover, scheduled for completion in time for next year’s high holidays.

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