Ellen Jaffe-Gill - Homestead



Enter Ellen, Student Rabbi, “Take One!” at Bristol Jewish Center

By Cate Murway

Student Rabbi Ellen Jaffe-Gill is warmly welcomed to the raised bima platform of the Bristol Jewish Center to stand before the small, active congregation.

She has prepared and waited almost her whole life for this moment.

Rabbi Ellen will connect with the ancient words of tradition, hold the Kiddush cup and bless the wine and reach out to the BJC people who will have come to share the sacred moment with her.

Since August 2009, Ellen Jaffe-Gill, a former New Yorker, has been a student at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote, surrounded by trees and the beautiful detailed furnishings of the old family mansion.

Her RRC education will enrich her life and prepare her for full participation in a changing society.

She aspires to go out and make a difference. Not just as a student spiritual leader or a student rabbi. Not as Mrs. Jaffe-Gill. But as the Rabbi. She is most happy to study with special diligence so that the congregation will know they can ask her questions and trust her to provide them with an inspiring and meaningful sense of their place as links in the chain of the richness, depth and beauty of the Jewish people.

The rows of beaming faces with cordial smiles will be looking up at her with curious anticipation and she is focused on embracing and affirming each and every congregant.

Alan J. Vogenberg, BPharm, RPh, FASCP is the treasurer and caretaker of the small, intimate, friendly BJC adult community. He continually focuses on enriching the membership experience by revitalizing the synagogue structure to support the Jewish community in new ways of meaning, spirituality and connectedness.

Alan and his wife, Audrey first met with Ellen last November and they invited her to return for a tour of historic Bristol on the Delaware prior to the traditional Hanukkah activities. “Walked up and down the main street. It’s charming!”

Ellen shared, “Alan is lovely, so friendly. He is full of lore about Bristol. He is just a great guy, a ‘bale’bos’or ‘bal-ha bjis’[master of the house]”.

L’chai – to life, but rather in the plural L’chaim – to lives – for what in the world is a life without other lives. BJC reaches beyond the physical boundaries to give meaning to each other. This little, energetic congregation is always growing in spirit and community.

Ellen attended the cantorial soloist workshop and earned her M.A. in Judaic Studies at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles, a three-year program providing a background in synagogue motifs and music. She also completed the rigorous curriculum sponsored by the American Conference of Cantors and Hebrew Union College’s School of Sacred Music. Ellen was cantorial soloist at Temple Beth Israel in Pomona, CA and cantor of Temple Ner Tamid in Downey, CA.

Cantor Jaffe-Gill is an accomplished classic mezzo-soprano with characteristics of both alto and soprano, a member of the American Conference of Cantors and she has appeared in concert as a headliner, soloist, and ensemble singer. She and a friend, Leah Ellias perform as a duo, “The Six-Foot Sopranos”, bringing a combination of finesse and fun to the concert stage. Their soulful repertoire includes music of Jewish cultures in Hebrew, Yiddish, English, and Ladino.

Multi-talented Ellen has a background in a wide variety of subjects, encompassing a spectrum of Jewish history, ritual, philosophy, and liturgy. She graduated from the private research Brandeis University, MA at the age of 19 with a B.A. in English/ American literature while working on the college newspaper as well, as a reporter, columnist, and editor. She also wrote a book and created the lyrics for a well-received musical in her final year. After earning her M.A in Communications from Stanford University, Ellen moved to Los Angeles to try the challenging television scriptwriter business. Breaking into that field requires tenacity, time, and a thick skin. In her words, she “failed miserably”.

So she chose to seek out any work and all opportunities to make herself more marketable, developing a niche in different editorial mediums, publications as disparate as the Baltimore Jewish Times and The Hollywood Reporter, before making the decision to change careers.

She proceeded to become an enthusiastic, nurturing junior high school English teacher, ready to implant the love of learning in her students in the Los Angeles Unified School District until February 1998.

Later that year, Ellen decided to pursue a career in Jewish professional life.

As a cantor and now as a rabbinical student, Ellen loves to prepare children for bar and bat mitzvah and to be with families as they mark the milestones of their lives.

Her joy, driven by piety, love and personal example can be infectious.

Ellen was born on August 20th in Brooklyn, NY and grew up in a Reformed Synagogue.

Happy birthday, Cantor Jaffe-Gill!

Her parents Morton and Lois R. Jaffe shared their love of learning with their children. They currently reside in AZ but spend the summer in Logan, UT, taking motor trips and participating in Elderhostel studies, experiencing in-depth and behind-the-scenes learning opportunities.

She has two younger sisters, Allison who is a Real Estate agent and Michelle who has a background in television and production.

Ellen showcased her remarkable energy and talent as a future leader in the Girl Scouts throughout elementary school. Athletics? Never really her forte! “I was tall enough to keep the ball in the air in volleyball.”

She admits to being a “musical/theatre geek”. She dabbled in music, an enormous part of Jewish worship. “Know my way around a keyboard and have very basic guitar skills.”

Classic films and classic rock are her all-time choices.

Favorite song? “…Too many to list.”

But she always wanted to be a writer and a performer.

Ellen was first published in “Seventeen” magazine at the age of 17.

As an author and journalist, she has written two books and eagle-eyed copy edited many publications including daily and weekly newspapers and monthly magazines.

She has proven to be especially knowledgeable in areas such as intermarriage and conversion and the historical and contemporary roles of women in Jewish life.

She continues to sincerely and courageously devote her exceptional innovative mental power to her written work.

Her No Big Deal gives a smart, funny 9th-grade misfit a distinctive voice as it explores an issue that has grabbed headlines around the nation.

“A sensitive, realistic portrait of the courage it takes to address and understand homosexuality.” --The Boston Globe

She presented an informed and passionate plea for an ethic of inclusiveness in her engaging, easy-to-read book, Embracing the Stranger, giving an honest look at the growing number of intermarriages between Jews and non-Jews in America today.

In The Jewish Woman's Book of Wisdom that she edited, Ellen has compiled a provocative, insightful volume of short writings by Jewish women that includes voices across the spectrum of tradition and belief, representing women of many different nations and walks of life.

A year ago, Ellen moved from CA to Willow Grove with her husband Spencer G. Gill, III, whom she met 25 years ago. “I really love Philadelphia. It’s wonderful how green everything is and the air is cleaner.”

Real achievements are only produced after careful preparation and planning. They relocated so Ellen could attend the Rabbinical College.

Spencer had worked as a technician in special effects in the film industry. He currently works at Casual Male, the nation’s premier retail provider of big & tall clothing for men.

“I am in awe of how supportive and wonderful my husband has been through this whole process.”

Spencer is from VA and his late father Spencer G. Gill, Jr. was a judge in Norfolk.

His mother, Lloyd Bailey Gill will be 87 and she still plays tennis!

Ellen said she would really miss Spencer and their adorable Dalmatian mix, Molly, during this month of August as she is affirming the importance of her broad and critical education. She is studying Modern Hebrew, especially the speaking and listening parts to “improve her ear”, in the cultural hub of Haifa, Israel, a bustling Jewish-Arab port city in a Mediterranean climate. No need to pack a coat or an umbrella!

The University of Haifa offers language intensive courses that she believes will provide her with “a running start” on her year of Modern Hebrew at RRC.

In September 2011, she and Spencer will be spending the academic year in Israel.

Spencer is a “really good cook” and Ellen loves cooking signature holiday meals. A special dish is her cranberry lime salsa with jalapeño, “it’s sweet and hot at the same time”. For Passover, she will be preparing her 4-layer vegetable/matzah casserole.

Purple is her color and she loves natural antioxidants, the dark chocolate kind.

P.S. Eating a small, 1.6-ounce bar of dark chocolate every day is good for you!

Their TV time includes lots of police/medical procedurals. Ellen is “unhappy that the original Law & Order is no more.” She’s a “Cold Case and big ER fan”.

The Bristol Jewish Center is anxiously awaiting her return from Haifa, so she can come to share and sing her soul! “Take One!” at the Bristol Jewish Center.

Last week marked the beginning of the month of Elul, the period of introspection leading up to the "Days of Awe", the 2010/5771 High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. This is a period of deep reflection on who they are; who they have been in the past year, and who they would like to become in the year ahead.

“The people are just so lovely, so welcoming and so friendly. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am over the prospect of being there for the whole year. It will be a real treat.”

 

Perhaps the greatest gift of the Hebrew calendar is that each year ends and begins with an opportunity to consult one’s conscience and rejuvenate one’s spirits by realigning one’s life with the very best values.

L’Shanah Tovah to you all.

"May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year."  

Bristol Jewish Center

Congregation Ahavath Achim

216 Pond Street

Bristol, PA 19007

215.788.4995

Contact:

Alan J. Vogenberg

215.750.3514

avogen@

info@



Recommend a “spotlight”: e-mail vjmrun@

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