Rabbi Hershel Brooks

The son of Cantor Mordecai Brooks of the Clymer Street Shul in Williamsburg NY, Rabbi Brooks was educated in traditional yeshivot. He was ordained with the extraordinary symbol of Yoreh Yoreh Yadin Yadin in May of 1951. At the age of 21, Rabbi Brooks was the youngest man to be ordained from Torah Vodaath. He also received Smicha from Rav Moshe Feinstein of Tifereth Yerushalayim and Rav Yisroel Hutner of Chaim Berlin. He earned a BA from the University of Miami in 1962 and then Masters Degrees in sociology and counseling in 1964. He was admitted to the Rabbinical Assembly in 1965. In 1961, he married Alma Lois Pachino of Baltimore when he was rabbi of Temple Zamora in Coral Gables, FL. She passed away in 2007. He served as rabbi in Coral Gables, Florida before becoming the rabbi in 1965 of Agudath Achim in Savannah. From 1968-1971, he served Beth David in Greensboro, NC. While in Greensboro, he taught at the University of North Carolina in the Department of Religious Studies and in the Department of Theology at Guilford College. He served as campaign chair of the Greensboro UJA and was instrumental in founding the Solomon Schechter Day School there. He had a prominent role in coordinating the Wild Acres rabbinic retreats which take place each August until this day. He was the vice president of the Greater Carolinas Association of rabbis. In 1972, he became the rabbi of Temple Beth Emeth in Northeast Philadelphia and five years later left the East coast in 1977 when he became the rabbi of Temple Beth Emet in Anaheim, CA. After three years in Anaheim he became the spiritual leader of Temple Sholom in Ontario, CA, which he served for 13 years before he and Alma retired to Las Vegas, NV. During his tenure in California, Rabbi Brooks served as vice president of the Board of Rabbis and chairman of the Kashrut Committee of the Orange County Board of Rabbis. He was also instrumental in establishing a Jewish day school in Orange County, CA which later became Tarbut V’Torah in Irvine, CA. In recognition of his years of service, The Jewish Theological Seminary awarded him a Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa, in 1984. In 1996, Rabbi Brooks “retired” to Las Vegas, NV where he became the part-time rabbi of Bet Knesset Bamidbar, a position he held for close to 15 years until his second retirement in 2011. In 2010, he published Worship in Joy with co-author, Robert Mirisch (president of Bet Knesset Bamidbar) which articulated his vision of teaching and preaching. He expressed the value of including humor in preaching. From snappy one-liners to stories that illustrated his point, he understood how important it was to keeps his congregation's attention by virtue of warmth, insight and sense of humor. His philosophy is that there is no reason a person should leave services without a smile on his or her face. He is survived by his children, Dr. Sharna (Yakov Levy) Shachar, Zev (Yvette) Brooks, David Brooks and Sasha Brooks. Grandchildren: Ziva Shachar, Micah Shachar, Noah Shachar, Jacqueline Brooks, Danielle Brooks, Brooke Neubauer, and step grandchildren Aviv Levy and Elan Levy. He is also survived by his siblings, Temi Kamenetsky, wife of Rosh Yeshiva Shmuel Kamenetsky in Philadelphia, Moishe Brooks, and Hendel Nadoff. King David Memorial Chapel handled the arrangements.