Gilah Dror

Rabbi Gilah Dror was born in Israel and grew up in Brooklyn, NY. She earned a BA in music from Brooklyn College and a law degree from Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She received her ordination as well as her master's degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1990. The current spiritual leader of Rodef Sholom Temple in Hampton, Virginia, Rabbi Dror also served for ten years at Eshel Avraham in Beer Sheva, Israel. While in Israel, she championed the Conservative Movement and was instrumental in setting up the first alternative cemetery in Israel in 1999.
As the President of the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel, Rabbi Dror is the first woman to lead a rabbinical organization. Through her work with the Va'ad Halakha [Law Committee] of the RA in Israel she has published a number of teshuvot [responsa] on issues ranging from the ordination of women as rabbis to the donation of bodies to medical science.
In addition, Rabbi Dror is a Vice President of Mercaz USA and a member of the WZO Zionist General Council. Rabbi Dror has also served on the Board of Directors of the Seminary of Judaic Studies, on the Committee on the Status of Women in the Masorti Movement and was a founding member of the Menucha Nechona Association in Beer Sheva.
As the President of the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel, Rabbi Dror is the first woman to lead a rabbinical organization. Through her work with the Va'ad Halakha [Law Committee] of the RA in Israel she has published a number of teshuvot [responsa] on issues ranging from the ordination of women as rabbis to the donation of bodies to medical science.
In addition, Rabbi Dror is a Vice President of Mercaz USA and a member of the WZO Zionist General Council. Rabbi Dror has also served on the Board of Directors of the Seminary of Judaic Studies, on the Committee on the Status of Women in the Masorti Movement and was a founding member of the Menucha Nechona Association in Beer Sheva.
טיול בשעות הצהריים
חפשתי אותך שוב היום בשדרות טוביהו בבאר שבע. חפשתי אותך כאילו שלא היית בשר ודם כאילו שאין לך עולם משלך, וגוף ונשמה, וחיים משלך. חפשתי אותך כשעברתי באותו רחוב כאילו שפשוט תופיעי עוד פעם כאילו שאת אליהו הנביא בפתח מחכה לפתיחת השער או הדלת. חפשתי אותך כי רציתי סימן שיש טוב בעולם ותקווה. חפשתי אותך שוב כי האמנתי... אתם לא מבינים. היתה אשה רכובה על אופניים. היא נראתה כבת שמונים, ואולי יותר. ראיתי אותה כשיצאתי לטיול בשעות הצהריים. לבושה בגדים קרועים סוחבת מצרכים מהמכולת בתוך הסל שעל גבי האופן האחורי. גרביים לבנות. אני זוכרת את הגרביים הלבנות. חייכתי אליה והיא אלי. שמתי לב ששן אחת היתה חסרה לה. ושערה לא היה מסודר. אבל רוח חיים לא חסר. ממש לא. חפשתי אותה שוב היום בשדרה כי האמנתי...סx |
A Stroll in the Afternoon
I looked for you again today On Tuviyahu Street in Beersheba. I looked for you as though you were not flesh and blood As if you did not have a world of your own, and a body and a soul, and a life of your own. I looked for you as I passed by that same street As if you would suddenly appear once again As if you were Elijah the prophet At the entrance Waiting for the opening of the gate Or the door. I looked for you because I wanted a sign That there is good in the world And hope. I looked for you again on that street because I believed... You don’t understand. There was a woman riding a bicycle. She seemed about eighty years old, Maybe more. I saw her when I went out for a stroll in the afternoon. Her clothes were tattered. She had groceries from the neighborhood store in her basket Above the back wheel. White socks. I remember the white socks. I smiled at her and she smiled back. I noticed that she had one tooth missing. And her hair was a mess. But she didn’t lack spirit. Definitely not. I looked for her again today on the street Because I believed... |