In June of 2018 Rabbi Gayle Pomerantz became the third Senior Rabbi in Temple Beth Sholom’s history. She has served the congregation with passion and integrity since 1994 and was the first woman rabbi at Temple Beth Sholom. She has touched the lives of Temple Beth Sholom’s congregation, from the tiniest tots to our seniors, in many rich and significant ways. Her rabbinate is committed to nourishing Jewish souls through learning, acts of tikkun olam and innovative spiritual engagement. Her guidance has opened paths for sacred living by integrating women’s spirituality and leadership, initiating social justice projects, and creating original and transformative worship experiences with Cantor Lisa Segal. She has brought enthusiasm, joy, compassion and creativity to Temple Beth Sholom and serves with a full heart.
In 2006, Rabbi Pomerantz launched “The Open Tent,” a Jewish engagement initiative to make Judaism accessible to Jews outside of the synagogue. Now part of Temple Beth Sholom, thousands of Jewish lives have been touched by Shalom Baby Jewish childbirth classes, and The Tribe, a young adults group. She launched Temple Beth Sholom’s Mitzvah Day over 26 years ago and has led over 100 adults to become b’nei mitzvah.
Rabbi Pomerantz was the first female president of the Rabbinic Association of Greater Miami in 1998. She has been recognized by the Jewish Museum of Florida with their “Breaking the Glass Ceiling Award,” by the City of Miami Beach as “A Woman to Know,” and as a “Woman of Valor” by the National Council of Jewish Women. She currently serves on the Union for Reform Judaism’s (URJ) National Commission on Social Action and the clergy advisory board of URJ’s Camp Coleman. Rabbi Pomerantz is also a graduate of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality’s rabbinic learning program and participated in AIPAC’s mission for progressive rabbis.
Prior to coming to Temple Beth Sholom, she served as assistant rabbi of Temple Emanu-El of San Francisco and as rabbinic intern at Central Synagogue in New York City. She graduated from Brandeis University Magna Cum Laude with High Honors. Rabbi Pomerantz was ordained at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1989. In May 2014, Rabbi Pomerantz received a Doctor of Divinity degree, marking twenty-five years in the rabbinate. She is married and has three children.
When she is not teaching, preaching, counseling or organizing, you might find her riding her bike, walking her dog, Samson, or catching up with friends and family.
