Richard Schachet Killed Wednesday in one-car accident on Interstate 15

After retiring last year as spiritual leader of Valley Outreach Synagogue, Rabbi Richard Schachet moved to Portland, Ore.

But, said Schachet's stepson, Allen Zalkind, "he found himself missing the people -- his congregation and the citizens of Las Vegas."

The rabbi decided to move back to Las Vegas, where he planned to work with Havurah Tikkun Olam, a consortium of chavurot, small group assemblies devoted to prayer and worship, that he had founded.

But Wednesday, while returning to Las Vegas from a visit to California, Schachet died in a one-car accident on Interstate 15, about eight miles from the Nevada state line.

According to the California Highway Patrol, Schachet's car veered into the center median from the freeway's northbound lanes. Schachet apparently overcorrected and veered onto the roadway and then back onto the center median, where his car overturned, the patrol said.

The accident is under investigation, the patrol said.

Zalkind said Schachet was returning to Las Vegas for High Holy Days services, transporting the family Torah in his car.

Schachet "lived life with immense gusto," said Rabbi Yocheved Mintz, Schachet's successor at Valley Outreach Synagogue. His stepfather, Zalkind added, "smiled a lot, and laughed a lot, and told jokes a lot, and he had a tremendous zest for life and for people."

Schachet, who turned 70 on Sept. 11, was born in Laurelton, N.Y., and earned undergraduate degrees in business administration and Hebrew education and a master's degree in social anthropology from New York University. After earning a doctoral degree in theology from Princeton University, Schachet completed rabbinical studies at the Academy for Higher Jewish Learning and Mesivta Rabeinu Chaim Ozer, graduating with honors.

Schachet co-founded Samaritan Halfway House in Long Island, N.Y., held positions in synagogues in Merrick and Bellmore, N.Y., and became noted for his work in the field of drug abuse. After working in Jerusalem for a year and leading a congregation in Brooklyn, N.Y., Schachet founded Valley Outreach Synagogue in Los Angeles. In 1993, he moved to Las Vegas and founded Valley Outreach Synagogue.

"He was not just my predecessor, but a mentor and friend," said Mintz, who assumed spiritual leadership of Valley Outreach Synagogue in June 2005, after Schachet's retirement.

Schachet was involved in the civil rights movement during the 1960s, marching with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and participating in protests in the South. More recently, during his tenure at Valley Outreach Synagogue, Schachet was one of a handful of local clergy who expressed a willingness to perform commitment ceremonies for gay and lesbian couples.

Articles about and by Schachet have appeared in books, on Web sites and in publications ranging from religious journals to such popular publications as Good Housekeeping and The New York Times. He also is co-author of a nonsexist High Holidays prayer book.

In 2002, the Rabbinical Academy in New York City awarded Schachet a Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his years of service to the Jewish community. In Southern Nevada, Schachet worked with such organizations as Planned Parenthood, the National Organization for Women, Nathan Adelson Hospice and the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada.

Schachet "made a huge impact, (and) not just in Las Vegas," Mintz said. "I've been getting calls from people all over the country. The people he met became friends, and his friends were legion.

"He made a huge impact on the Jewish community and the interfaith community. He had very strong beliefs not always in sync with the rest of the world, but he stood up for what he believed."

Schachet enjoyed sports, movies and travel, and sometimes would be asked to serve as a shipboard rabbi during commercial cruises, Zalkind said. "As a result, he went to quite a few places. I remember him calling me on his cell phone as he was going through the Panama Canal. He was very thrilled about that."

Schachet's wife, Barbara Zalkind Schachet z'l', died in 2004. Survivors include his daughters, Tammy Schachet-Briskin of Northridge, Calif, Lori Dahl of Brentwood, N.H., and Deborah Morrissey of Chelmsford, Mass.; son, Allen Zalkind of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., and 11 grandchildren.

A memorial service is set for 3:30 p.m. Sunday at King David Memorial Chapel, 2697 Eldorado Lane. Funeral an d interment will be at Mount Ararat Cemetery in Farmingdale, N.Y.

Donations may be made to Valley Outreach Synagogue, 3431 E. Sunset Road, C-21, Las Vegas, NV 89120, or Havurah Tikkun Olam, 3441 Sioux Way, Las Vegas, NV 89169.