rabbinical student, writer, speaker, educator
Gila Axelrod (she/they) is a rabbinical student at Hebrew College. She approaches all of her work with a deep love for our tradition and texts – and the goal to make them joyful, accessible, transformational, and healing for all.
While at Hebrew College, Gila launched a weekly Hebrew Conversation Collective, as well as an accessible t’fillah group that centers disabled/chronically ill experiences.
She loves to write — whether it’s essays, songs, or melodies for Jewish liturgy. Her publications delve into grief, disability theory, queerness, neurodivergence, and how these topics can be understood through a Jewish lens.
Prior to rabbinical school, Gila served as the Executive Director & Editor in Chief of New Voices Magazine, a Jewish, college-student publication that uplifts fresh Jewish voices.
After studying Jewish Thought & Sociology at JTS/Columbia University, she went on to manage research programs at the Shalom Hartman Institute, create a Rosh Hodesh group through Moving Traditions, complete a year of service with Americorps San Jose, work as a B Mitzvah educator, and lead workshops on radical body acceptance and LGBTQ+ issues.
Outside of school, you can find Gila going for walks with her girlfriend, Hannah, and their puppy (Penny Babka), lifting weights, biking around town, hosting shabbat meals, or scoping out the best matcha and gluten free pastries in Boston.
