Rabbi Jeremy Gerber - Teaching and Tutoring

04/22/2026

My latest blog post is now online! Check it out and feel free to share comments/thoughts/responses. Thanks!!

Acharei Mot-Kedoshim, 5786 (2026) - Even After Pain, There is Gain

Most weekends, we get just one Torah portion, but several times throughout the year, we actually read *two* of them back-to-back. That is, in fact, the case this Shabbat, where we combine the parshiot of Acharei Mot and Kedoshim. Acharei Mot literally means “After the death(s),” and talks about laws and rituals given after two of Aaron’s sons are killed for angering God. Kedoshim means “holy,” and gives us a long series of mitzvot, commandments, that lead to sacred behavior. What if, however, we set aside the contextual meanings of these readings and just spent a minute looking at the titles in relation to one another: “After death – holiness.” In this case, I imagine “death” represents tragedy of all forms: illness, pain, suffering, accidents, and of course, actual death. These terrible calamities certainly don’t seem like opportunities for holiness, sanctification, or meaningful insights, do they?

Keep reading here:

https://www.rabbijeremy.com/post/acharei-mot-kedoshim-5786-even-after-pain-there-is-gain

03/05/2026

Hello friends!

I am working on my new professional website, and appreciate everyone who has written testimonials or offered feedback. I am adding more and more content all the time, including my new weekly “blogette,” Torah for Real Life. Right now, I’d love to upload more pictures, so I wanted to reach out and invite people to share photos from any lifecycle events I’ve officiated with you. You don’t have to post them here, just send them to me directly. I’m mainly looking for B’nai Mitzvah pics at the moment, but all snapshots are welcome! Thanks so much. And here’s a link to my website again, if you want to check it out:

www.rabbijeremy.com

02/23/2026

I decided to start writing a blog again. I sent out my “Take on Torah” for 14 years; now it’s time to launch “Torah for Real Life.” A fresh start seemed like a good Idea. I’m half-jokingly calling it a “blogette,” because I endeavor to pick one idea each week, based on something in the Torah portion, and share a bite-size thought to keep with you. Here’s installment #1 from this past Shabbat:

This week's Torah portion is Terumah, from the middle of the Book of Exodus. It's kind of an odd place to begin a new blog, being heavy on laws and not a lot of narrative. However, we really think of the whole Torah as a circle that we go around every year, with no beginning and no end, so I guess any place is just as good as any other. Much of Terumah focuses on building plans for the construction of a Tabernacle, which is sort of like a synagogue-on-the-go for the Israelites wandering in the desert.

With God decreeing such specific plans for how to construct this holy space, it's fascinating to me that the Tabernacle looked nothing like the later, permanent structure in Jerusalem, namely the Temple of Solomon. A thousand years later, after two Temples had been destroyed, we shifted over to synagogues... which again looked nothing like either of these ancient models!

Do any two synagogues look alike today?? This may seem surprising, given the Torah's instructions, except there's a key phrase at the start of our Torah portion which might help us make sense of this. God instructs Moses to accept gifts for the construction "from every person whose heart is so moved." Worshipping God isn't meant to be uniform. In each generation, our hearts have moved us to pray, connect, and converse with the Divine in our own unique ways. Our prayer spaces across Jewish history reflect that diversity, and it sounds to me like God is thrilled that this was, and still is, the case.

My new website: www.rabbijeremy.com

02/05/2026

Hello friends!
I know I haven’t posted in a while, but I wanted to share with you a new website I just launched. I’m trying to increase my presence online and spread some information about counseling, teaching, and tutoring that I offer. Please feel free to check it out, and if we’ve ever worked together and you’d like to give a testimonial of some sort, that would be most appreciated! Shabbat Shalom!!

I believe questions create relationship and engagement, and that spiritual care begins not with solutions, but with presence and conversation. You don't need to arrive with answers, clarity, or the right words. This is a place to come exactly as you are - with questions, uncertainty, faith, doubt, o...

09/09/2025

Hi friends!
Excited to share that I’m going to be teaching a couple of courses with Mekom Torah, thanks to my wonderful friend, Rabbi Helen Plotkin! I’ll be teaching a beginner’s Hebrew course in October and an intro to the prayer book in January. All courses are live on Zoom. Please share with others, and I hope you’ll consider joining.

I’m also available for individual tutoring, group classes on Bible, Hebrew, and other Jewish topics, as well as one-on-one spiritual counseling. Please let me know if you’re interested or would like to learn more. Bye for now!

https://www.instagram.com/p/DOWj_E0AaCQ/?igsh=cmJyY2c0b3d5aXVo

08/19/2024

Hi everyone!
As the summer winds down and we prepare for the start of the new Jewish year (Rosh Hashanah is getting closer! Yikes!! 😱), I wanted to reach out to everyone here on Facebook:

- Are you looking for a B’nai Mitzvah tutor for your child?
- Are you considering an adult Bat/Bar Mitzvah ceremony for yourself? Learning Torah reading, Haftarah, leading services, or other Jewish ritual and life skills?
- Looking to learn more about Judaism in general?
- Interested in working on your Hebrew skills, either starting at Alef-Bet or more of an intermediate level?
- Curious to delve into the Bible, whether the Five Books of Moses or a later book somewhere in the Tanach?
- Hoping to study one-on-one or set up a group?

I’d love to work with you! I currently have a few students already, and am preparing to start an adult B’nai Mitzvah class. I am always excited to start new endeavors and learning opportunities. Feel free to DM me anytime! I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the summer and has a great launch into the fall.

Bye for now!

12/04/2023

OPPORTUNITY FOR A DOUBLE MITZVAH!!

I know that at this scary and upsetting time in Israel and Gaza, we are all grieving for the innocent victims of the war and especially praying for the safe return of the hostages still held by Hamas. While our hearts are focused on the conflict there, Jews around the world still also need our attention and our help. But now we can do both!

My friends in the Nasenyi Jewish community in Mbale, Uganda, have started making kippot to support the hostages in Gaza. I have included pictures below. And while purchasing a couple or a handful is also helpful, it is difficult to arrange shipping all the way from their small town to the US. Instead, I am hoping communities would be willing to buy 25-50 (or more!) to give out or sell to congregants. Perhaps for a solidarity Shabbat service? You would be showing support for the hostages AND helping a truly struggling Jewish community in Uganda.

Please write to me directly or put your name in the comments, if you’d like to learn more. Thank you!

11/29/2023

Hi folks!
Wanted to update everyone and gauge interest for another course. So far, I have three weekly classes running, all accessible on zoom. On Tuesday we study the Torah, Wednesday the Biblical Books of Samuel, and Thursday is a Basic Judaism course for grownups.

I was wondering if anyone was looking for a Beginners’ Hebrew course? In-person or over zoom? Let me know if you’re interested, and if we have critical mass, we’ll get it set up asap!

My podcast is also going well, and I hope you’ve had a chance to listen. The recordings are always available online at:

Delving into the issues we all need to confront. Toni and Jeremy facilitate bold, open discussions on difficult matters, tough topics like bias, prejudice, injustice, and misconceptions.

11/22/2023

I don’t think I posted last week, so now I have TWO new podcast episodes to share. Listen in, as Toni and I discuss the history of racism, and then have on a guest, George Burrell, to talk about the thorny intersection of Faith and Politics. (Also, stay tuned for the launch of a YouTube channel where you can watch our podcast recordings!)

https://wwdbam.com/episodes/episode-05-digging-deeper-into-the-history-of-racism/

https://wwdbam.com/episodes/episode-06-faith-politics-with-special-guest-george-burrell/

Rabbi Jeremy Ge**er and Reverend Toni Truehart tackle the tough conversations we need to be having today.

11/07/2023

New Courageous Conversarions podcast episode is out now! Toni and I talked to Dr. Khalid El-Hakim about the history of racism and why we need to understand it better. Check it out!

Rabbi Jeremy Ge**er and Reverend Toni Truehart tackle the tough conversations we need to be having today.