Author Archives: Rabbi George Gittleman

In the Torah reading cycle of the synagogue we are now in the midst of B’midbar, the book of Numbers, and among the extraordinary things written there is one line easily missed, yet worthy of serious consideration: “Now Moses was … Continue reading →

I was recently asked by the CCAR Press to submit my answers to four theological questions as possible entries in a book they will be publishing in the coming year. I’ve just finished the first draft of my answers, and … Continue reading →

The roster of Jewish holy days this time of year functions like a Rorschach chart for Jewish identity. Passover, for example, has many themes but it is safe to say that concern for the oppressed or Social Justice is its … Continue reading →

What does it mean to be a slave?  What does it mean to be free?  Pesakh could be summed up as a dialectic, a dialogue between these two poles of existence — from degradation to redemption; from slavery to freedom. … Continue reading →

JANUARY 26,2013 It’s a small world! Ran into Jason Bornstein & Ben Fine while having a Shabbat afternoon stroll in Tel Aviv…   Shabbat afternoon at the beach in TelAviv.        JANUARY 27, 2013 Tel Aviv restaurant with … Continue reading →

Thanks to the coincidence of the calendar, Martin Luther King, Jr.  Day always coincides with our reading of the book of Exodus.  No doubt, Dr. King preached the Exodus story many times in his ministry and in his fight for … Continue reading →

My dog Sarah died a few weeks ago. Well, she didn’t “die,” we “put her down” after she lost the use of her hind legs. She was 14, weighed 95lbs and was suffering. It seemed like the right thing to … Continue reading →

  Hope is one of those essential elements like air, water, love… It’s very hard to be fully human without hope. There is lots of hope in the narrative of Hanukkah: the victory of the few against the many, light … Continue reading →

Proposition 34 , which would abolish the death penalty in California, begs the question, what does Judaism have to say about capital punishment? While it is a common perception that “Judaism is against the death penalty,” the Jewish story (as … Continue reading →

The place was packed and tense before the meeting even started. To make things worse, the air conditioning wasn’t working and it was rapidly getting as sticky and humid as a locker room.  Usually getting a seat at a meeting … Continue reading →