Our Rabbi is the spiritual leader of our Congregation and a leader in creating a vibrant Jewish community in Southern Nevada.
Sanford Akselrad has served as the spiritual leader of Congregation Ner Tamid since he came to Las Vegas in 1988. During this time, the Synagogue grew from approximately 60 to over 600 families, becoming the largest Reform Synagogue in the State of Nevada. In his 30 years of service to our Congregation, Rabbi Akselrad has served on a wide variety of community boards including the Humana Hospital Pastoral Advisory Board, the Jewish Nevada, Jewish Family Services and the National Conference of Community and Justice.
A firm believer in K’lal Israel and building a strong Jewish community, Rabbi Akselrad has spearheaded many community-wide Boards, Commissions and organizations that have helped shape the Jewish community we live in today. He is a founding member and current President of the Clark County Board of Rabbis. He is also a founding member and past Chair of the National Conference of Community and Justice’s Interfaith Council and of the Federation’s Community Relations Council (CRC). Rabbi Akselrad also spear-headed the effort to bring the Interfaith Hospitality Network model of sheltering homeless families to Las Vegas. Now called Family Promise, this model uses the facilities and volunteers from local faith communities to shelter, feed and encourage homeless families to live with dignity and hope, and ultimately end their period of homelessness.
In the wake of the Great Recession of the late 2000’s, Rabbi Akselrad envisioned Project Ezra, a partnership between the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas, the Board of Rabbis, and Jewish Family Service Agency. Project Ezra helped over 600 people of all faiths secure new employment during this challenging economic climate.
Rabbi Akselrad is currently a board member of the Anti-Defamation League of Las Vegas and the Interfaith Council of Southern Nevada. Rabbi Akselrad has served on the National Commission on Jewish Living, Worship and Music for the Union of Reform Judaism (URJ) for over ten years. He has also served on the Outreach Committee (to interfaith families) of the URJ.
Rabbi Akselrad was ordained from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1984. His rabbinic thesis dealt with the moral implications of the Holocaust and how the Holocaust is taught in public and private schools. Because of his expertise, Rabbi Akselrad helped form the Governor’s Council on Holocaust Education, and he faithfully served as a member of that Board for over twenty five years.
Upon ordination in 1984 Rabbi Akselrad served as the associate Rabbi of one of the largest Reform Congregations in the mid-west, Temple Israel of Columbus, Ohio. In 2009, Hebrew Union College-JIR awarded Rabbi Akselrad an honorary doctorate of Divinity upon his 25th year in the rabbinate. Rabbi Akselrad also served as President of the Pacific Area of Reform Rabbis, one of the largest rabbinical organizations in North America.
Through his involvement in the interfaith community, he has been a constant presence in Interfaith forums, and the co-founder of the annual Interfaith Thanksgiving service.
Rabbi Akselrad’s community contributions and leadership are the best example of Congregation Ner Tamid’s commitment to Tikkun Olam and Social Justice.
Rabbi is married to Joni and has two children, CJ and Sam. His daughter-in-law is Ana and his granddaughter is Genevieve.
Warmly welcomed by our Congregation, Cantor Hutchings joined the synagogue in 2014.
A national award-winning educator, Cantor Jessica Hutchings has spent almost a decade conveying the beauty of Jewish music to children and adults in Southern California as well as Las Vegas. Cantor Hutchings did her undergraduate work at California State University, Long Beach’s Bob Cole Conservatory from which she received a Bachelor of Music degree with an emphasis in Vocal Performance and a concentration in Opera. She then continued her studies at the American Jewish University’s Fingerhut School of Education, receiving a Bachelor’s in Literature in Hebrew Letters as well as a Master’s of Arts in Education. In May 2014, Ms. Hutchings was ordained as a Chazzan/Cantor and received a second Master’s in Jewish Sacred Music from the Academy for Jewish Religion, CA.
Cantor Hutchings has worked as a Hebrew and post-B’nai Mitzvah teacher at Congregation B’nai Tzedek (Fountain Valley, CA), a Cantorial Soloist at Valley Outreach Synagogue (Las Vegas, NV), a B’nai Mitzvah coordinator at Temple Shalom of the South Bay (Hermosa Beach, CA) and as the Youth Director (grades 3-12) of Congregation Tikvat Jacob (Manhattan Beach, CA). A long-time educator and Guest Cantor at Temple Israel (Long Beach, CA), she also was a Guest Instructor there teaching an Adult Education class entitled “Contemporary Jewish Music.” Between 2010-2014, Cantor Hutchings served as the Cantorial Soloist and Director of Music Programming and Education at Temple Menorah (Redondo Beach, CA). In addition to co-leading all Shabbat and holiday services as well as the B’nai Mitzvah, Cantor Hutchings established and directed the Kol Hakavod youth choir, established Jews Next Dor, a young adults social chavurah for singles and couples ages 21-36, an adult choir and band, and worked with the Director of Education to develop and implement music curriculum. Cantor Hutchings’ renown as a superlative Jewish educator received national validation in 2009, when she won the national Grinspoon-Steinhardt Excellence in Jewish Education Award for being an “Exceptional Teacher, Mentor and Leader.” That same year, she also received the Smotrich Family Foundation Educator Award. Cantor Hutchings has performed in a number of major concerts all over the world, from Carnegie Hall in NYC to historic venues in Europe, of both Jewish and secular music. And she also proudly sang the National Anthem at a Los Angeles Dodgers game as well as at two games of the Los Angeles Kings.
In July of 2014, Jessica, her husband Jeremy, and their two dogs: Matzah Ball and Latke, moved back to Las Vegas so that she could begin her tenure.
This year, Congregation Ner Tamid welcomes back Rabbi Cookie Lea Olshein to its staff as CNT’s “Resident Rabbinic Scholar.” She assists when Rabbi Akselrad and Cantor Hutchings are not available, such as leading worship and holiday events, as well as working with the Social Action Committee on issues related to social justice, and teaching adult education, including Torah Study as well as one-off sessions and focused series, all on topics requested by Congregants.
“As some of you know, I began my Rabbinic career at CNT as its Rabbinic Intern for four years and was a Board Member here before attending Rabbinical School,” she said. “It is truly an honor to assist Rabbi Sanford Akselrad (my dear mentor who supported me when I decided to stop practicing law and attend Hebrew Union College) and one of the most talented Cantors I have ever known, Cantor Jessica Hutchings.”
Rabbi Olshein grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta, receiving a Bachelor’s of Business Administration degree (International Business) from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., followed by a Juris Doctorate degree from California Western School of Law in San Diego, California, at the age of 23.
Before becoming a Rabbi, she practiced law here in Las Vegas, for almost 11 years, during which she became the youngest person ever to rise to the role of statewide Chair of the State Bar of Nevada’s Continuing Legal Education Committee. While an active member of CNT, she created a young adult program for those 25-39; and served as a Vice President of the Board of Trustees. She also created a successful singles’ program in partnership with the Jewish Community Center.
During Rabbinical School at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (Jerusalem and Los Angeles), Rabbi Olshein served as Student Rabbi of Congregation Havurim in Temecula, California, for two years. In addition to being CNT’s Rabbinic Intern for two academic years and four full-time summers, she also completed an additional year-long Rabbinic Internship at the Board of Rabbis of Southern California. She received the Cantor William Sharlin Award for Excellence in Liturgy and, after completing her Rabbinic thesis on the topic of “Synagogue Transformation and Change Issues” (with a focus on the use and effects of technology in worship), she was ordained as a Rabbi in May of 2008.
In addition to her Rabbinic and legal training, Rabbi Olshein has received three years of private voice lessons at the university level, has intermediate guitar and song-leading skills, worked as a Music Specialist in religious schools, and has led multiple worship bands and choirs (for children, intergenerational, and adults) during her career as a Rabbi. She also paid for an entire year of law school singing in a bar in San Diego.
Upon ordination, Rabbi Olshein served as a Rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel in Austin, Texas, where she replaced a full-time Associate Rabbi and full-time Cantor, sharing all pulpit and life cycle responsibilities with the Senior Rabbi for four years.
She then became the Rabbi of Temple Israel of West Palm Beach, Florida, where she was the first woman to lead an established congregation in Palm Beach County, as well as the first female President of the Palm Beach County Board of Rabbis. She was awarded the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County’s first Tikkun Olam/ Community Service Award in 2016 and the 2019 Judy Waltzer Award for service to the Women’s Philanthropy Division of the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County. Rabbi Olshein also served Temple Emanuel of Tempe, Arizona, as its first female Rabbi, before returning home this year to become CNT’s “Resident Rabbinic Scholar.”
Rabbi Olshein is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. She was also a member of the “National Campaign Leadership Team” for the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism for 3 years, as well as part of the inaugural cohort of the “Rukin Family 18Doors Rabbinic Fellowship,” focusing on helping unaffiliated interfaith/intercultural couples and families figure out their Jewish path.
Her professional passions include creating meaningful, creative worship opportunities, teaching adult education, bringing awareness to local and international social justice issues, creating interfaith opportunities for dialogue and worship, and facilitating workshops on spirituality in everyday life. Her own “Jewish journey” was featured in the URJ’s Reform Judaism magazine.
In her spare time, Rabbi Olshein enjoys crocheting handmade kippot (one of her kippot is currently on display in the Jewish Museum of Berlin), and planning meaningful Jewish travel (she has spent her vacation time as an official Chaplain for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, and has preached and taught as a Visiting Rabbi and Scholar-in-Residence around the world).
Rabbi Olshein believes that we create the meaningful spiritual communities we seek to join through sharing our experiences and stories of change … she hopes that you will introduce yourself and share a part of your journey with her!
