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Who We Are: Staff
ELLIOT B. GERTEL, RABBI
773-752-2770, ext. 101
Rabbi Elliot B. Gertel has been spiritual leader of Congregation Rodfei Zedek since 1988. A native of Springfield, Massachusetts, he attended the Joint Program at Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary from 1972 to 1976, earning a B.A. in philosophy and a B.H.L. in Bible. He received a M.H.L. from the Seminary, where he was ordained in 1981. He did research and editing for Dr. Gershon D. Cohen and for the Rabbinical Assembly, and from 1982 to 1988 served his first pulpit, Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel in New Haven, Connecticut. In December 2007 Rabbi Gertel received a Doctor of Divinity degree, honoris causa, from JTS in recognition of his contributions to Jewish life (Rabbi's response and photos).
In Chicago Rabbi Gertel has been chairman of the Joint Television Commission of the Jewish Federation and the Chicago Board of Rabbis, President of the Hyde Park and Kenwood Interfaith Council, and a board member of the Chicago Jewish Historical Society.
Rabbi Gertel has been a contributing editor of Conservative Judaism and Jewish Spectator magazines. He has contributed many essays and reviews to popular and scholarly publications in the fields of Jewish thought, Jewish literature and American Jewish history, and, since 1979, has been the media critic for the Jewish Post and Opinion, American Jewry’s longest-running national English-language weekly. His recent books include Jewish Belief and Practice in Nineteenth Century America: Seminal Essays by Outstanding Pulpit Rabbis of the Era; What Jews Know About Salvation, which prodded the Library of Congress to list "salvation" as a Jewish concept; and Over the Top Judaism, which discusses the depiction of Judaism in film and on television.
On the congregational level, Rabbi Gertel has been an innovator whose programs have won Solomon Schechter awards for music and publications and "unique programming." He has pioneered in outreach to synagogue alumni and in joint ventures with other communal agencies, such as Jewish Family Services. Rabbi Gertel has written several intergenerational Festival services, and he developed the concept of "one synagogue with many schools," which has become fundamental at Rodfei Zedek.
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ISABEL SCHECHTER
ADMINISTRATOR
773-752-2770, ext. 107, Administrator@rodfei.org
At its June meeting, the Congregation's Board of Trustees approved the appointment of Isabel Schechter to the new part-time position of Synagogue Administrator. Isabel has begun work as of July 6. Some of us already know her as the teacher for the past two years of the successful mother-daughter classes on the Book of Ruth and Women in Genesis, while others enjoyed her session at our first Yom Limud (Day of Learning) in February.
In addition to her talents as a teacher and active involvement in Jewish life, Isabel has extensive administrative experience as an event planner as well as in synagogue operations (most recently at Anshe Emet Congregation on the north side). Her skills and background are particularly well suited to the primary responsibilities of her role at Rodfei Zedek, which are to manage our building, finances, and communications while also providing the support we need to implement our programs and services.
Isabel's work schedule will be developed over the coming weeks as we prepare for the New Year; but if you can, please arrange to stop by and say hello, share thoughts, and extend encouragement.
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DIANA GANGER
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY LEARNING
773-752-2770, LearningCommunity@rodfei.org
Diana Ganger joined Rodfei Zedek in September 2009, serving as a catalyst for all educational activities at Rodfei Zedek, working as a community organizer to discover the Jewish learning interests of all congregants, linking them with educational resources and other congregants with similar interests, and developing new learning opportunities. A long-time Jewish educator, she was a Fellow of the Wexner Heritage Foundation and a recipient of the 2008 Covenant Award for Excellence in Jewish Education. Ganger is a native of Argentina, born to a German-Jewish family that fled the Holocaust. She made aliyah to Israel with her husband and earned degrees in social work from Haifa University and then Washington University in St. Louis. In 1985 Ganger became Director of the Moriah Childcare Center in Deerfield, where she created a model of a family-centered school that gained recognition throughout the country. This work won her the appointment in 2004 as Program Director of the renowned Jewish Early Childhood Education Initiative (JECEI), spearheading efforts to redefine how families and institutions can become co-visionaries of Jewish life.
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ETTY DOLGIN
DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION at MOADON KOL CHADASH
312-988-7993, ettydolgin@aol.com
Etty Dolgin is a co-founder and presently the Director of Education of Moadon Kol Chadash, Rodfei Zedek's North Side religious school affiliate. Etty has held the position of Master Israel Educator at the Community Foundation of Jewish Education of Metropolitan Chicago Area since 2002. An active fellow in the Master Teachers' Institute of the Community Foundation for Jewish Education and a member of the Principals' Center, Etty has been a vibrant moving force in Hebrew education in Chicago since 1970. She served for 18 years as Hebrew Director and Youth Director of Temple Sholom. Etty has been involved with the Hebrew program at Olin Sang Ruby Union Institute (OSRUI) since 1970. She founded the Merkaz Ivrit of OSRUI and has been Director of Hebrew Learning there since 1982. In 1989 she and Gloria Mintz together established Moadon Kol Chadash. They have also co-directed the Kesher team, publishers and distributors of Hebrew learning materials for many years.
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