Author Archives: Rabbi George Gittleman

  I am writing this blog from the porch of my room in Ein Hod, an artists’ colony in the Carmel Mountains overlooking the Mediterranean; two days here, Shabbat with Levi in Harduf (see last blog), and then back to … Continue reading →

As I type these words, the sun is setting into the Mediterranean, a warm red orb slowly sinking into the purple-blue waters – going, going, gone. Tel Aviv, “the White City,” seems now to take a deep breath. Hundreds of … Continue reading →

I’ve been on sabbatical for over 3 weeks now – what a gift! I spent a week with Laura mostly on the Sonoma Coast, 5 days on a silent retreat at Spirit Rock, a couple days with my father and … Continue reading →

In Praise of Leira Leira, we have lived a lot of life together, almost all of it in this community. I believe Dianne found you at Simcha Sunday, a few months before I arrived. You were the new Choir Director. … Continue reading →

Our hearts go out to the families of those murdered in Toulouse on Monday. What can we say in the face of such cold-blooded killings? There are no words for such a loss; silence is better than trying to fill … Continue reading →

I just came home from teaching at the Sunday night meditation group at Shomrei Torah hosted and often lead by Sheila Katz & David Rubinstein. They have been faithfully holding the meditation space at Shomrei Torah for years. Thank you … Continue reading →

So, what does it mean to be a Jew? Other than the Halakic/Jewish legal definitions – your mother was Jewish or you converted through a recognized/acceptable process – are there other elements of Jewish identity, like a minimal level of … Continue reading →

Last month, I gave two talks on the Jewish American Experience as a “Lunch & Learn” and also for the “Rebbe’s Tisch”.  I started with an overview of American Jewish history, and then made some general observations about the exceptional … Continue reading →

Last night, to get ready for Hanukkah, I pulled off the shelf a volume of the Mishnah Torah, Maimonides’ great compendium of Jewish law, to see what it had to say about Hanukkah. Four chapters deal with the laws of … Continue reading →

Some 20 years ago I was sitting at the dinner table at Rabbi David Hartman’s home in Jerusalem. Rabbi Hartman had assembled an interesting mix of people from all streams of Jewish life. Sitting across from me was a man … Continue reading →