Teaching
A passionate educator, Gila spent seven years teaching small-group Judaic Studies and B Mitzvah students. She then founded a Rosh Hodesh group, and spent four years as group leader. In San Jose, CA, Gila worked as a teacher, tutor, and mentor at a local high school. She also led a weekly fellowship for college student writers at New Voices Magazine.
Gila has taught at Rise Gatherings, facilitating “Just As We Are: A Body Acceptance Workshop” and a class for LGBTQ+ participants and allies. At Temple Sinai, she taught the class “Prayer During Painful Times”, and was the Pride Shabbat guest teacher at Temple Kol Ami’s Torah Study. She was honored to join Temple Reyim’s annual Shabbaton as a student rabbi, leading community building and family programming.
Review from a workshop participant:
“Gila is such a delight! This was such a powerful and vulnerable workshop and I felt so seen and supported and held by everyone in the group. Gila is such a great facilitator, she heard each and every one of our stories and validated and supported each one of us. We laughed and we cried and I honestly just wish it was longer.”
Gila designs classes for folks of all ages – reach out if you’d like to learn together or bring her into your community!
Speaking
In every speech, Gila seeks to bring warmth, depth, vulnerability & accessible Torah. She was honored to be the Pride Shabbat speaker at Congregation Kol Ami. Previously, Gila toured synagogues as the keynote speaker for Torahfund, raising record amounts to support scholarships for Jewish education. She spoke at Moving Traditions’ gala, and led a daylong national conference for Jewish writers & artists through New Voices. She loves to speak about the Torah of queerness, disability, neurodivergence, grief and more.
Music
Whether facilitating song circles or leading musical t’fillot (prayers), Gila is happiest when singing with others. She began writing songs to process life at age 8, and never stopped. In Brooklyn, Gila regularly hosted community open mic nights, and led services at local minyanim. She founded a musical mincha group at Hebrew College, and continues to write songs, niggunim, and melodies for Jewish liturgy. Check out some of her music below.
