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RABBI MARC GELLMAN
*In Yiddish, “a gute neshome,” is a good soul.
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe
Syosset, New York
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*In Yiddish, “a gute neshome,” is a good soul.
The late Sam Levenson wrote [on religious humor]: “Our rabbi is a truly saintly man. He always preaches resignation but so far he hasn’t.” (Source: “You Don’t Have to Be in Who’s Who to Know What’s What.”)
Bart Jones wrote a column in Newsday (May 18, 2014) titled, “A mensch moves on.” We all know that a “mensch” is a Yiddish “vort” (word) denoting
a good person. This word is not to be confused with a “luftmensch.”
Marnie Winston-Macauley’s Yiddish Dictionary of Fools defines a “luftmensch” as a dreamer--who never wakes up. He could paint a
masterpiece, if only he had an easel--and knew how.
Jones--and many other columnists--reported that Rabbi Marc Gellman, 67, is retiring from Temple Beth Torah in Melville, New York. He has been the rabbi at this congregation for 33 years.
Shown below is a Yiddish Guide to Rabbi Gellman:
“ainikel” (grandchild)
Rabbi Gellman wrote, “I just returned from Los Angeles where I saw my
only grandson, Ezekiel, graduate with a group of cute and charming
5-year-olds from his nursery (kinder-tsimer”) school. From what I was able
to observe when I saw Zeke in class, I would say he graduated with honors
in finger painting, magna cum laude in crayons, summa cum laude in
knocking down things made with blocks; undoubtedly, Zeke was the
valedictorian of snacks.”
“bafaln” (to attack)
Gellman was president of the New York Board of Rabbis during the
attack on New York in 2001.
“beys-oylem” (cemetery)
An anonymous reader asked “The God Squad” if a Jewish person with
a tattoo can still be buried in a Jewish cemetery. Rabbi Gellman
answered--in part--”It is NOT true that if you have a tattoo you can’t be
buried in a Jewish cemetery. Tattoos are, indeed, against Jewish law
because they constitute an act of wounding yourself (havalah), but many
sinners are laid to rest with much more than a tattoo on their spiritual
ledger book.”
(Source: God Squad, “Contemplating a tattoo--and thinking of burial”)
“briv” (letter)
Rabbi Gellman, in an open letter to “goniff”/”ganef”) thief, Bernie Madoff
wrote, “Not since Julius Rosenberg spied for the Soviet Union has one
person so damaged the image and self-respect of American Jews...”
(Source: Newsweek)
“brokhe” (blessing)
“Blessings are the spiritual equivalent of breathing in, and prayer is the
spiritual equivalent of breathing out.”
(Quote by Monsignor, Tom Hartman and Rabbi Marc Gellman)
“bukh” (book)
A visit to your local “bicher-krom” (bookstore) may contain some or all
of Rabbi Gellman’s books:
“Always Wear Clean Underwear (and other ways your parents tell you they love you)”
“Someday You’ll Thank Me For This”
“Where Does God Live?” (written with Monsignor Hartman)
“Lost and Found: A Child’s Guide to Overcoming Grief and Loss” (written with Monsignor Hartman)
“Religion for Dummies”
Note: The Yiddish word meaning “dumb/stupid” is “narish.” And a dumbbell is a “dumkop.”
“denkmol” (memorial)
Rabbi Gellman told this “vunderlekh” (wonderful) story in his Rosh
Hashana 2009 sermon: “The rabbi noticed a child looking at the
memorial plaques in the hallway (“koridor”) and explained to the lad
that this was very meaningful because it had the names of all the men
and women who had died in the service. And the little boy asked the
rabbi, “Which one? The morning or the evening service?”
“droshe” (speech)
At the height of “The God Squad’s” popularity in the late 1990s, Rabbi
Gellman and Msgr. Tom Hartman made up to 150 speeches a year at
churches.
“frage” (question)
Gellman said “Kids want to know the answers to three questions:
Where’s the bathroom (“vashtsimer”)? Do you have snacks (a “nash”)
in this place? If I decide to leave, can I keep the snack?
“froy” (wife)
Rabbi Gellman is married to Betty Schulson of Chicago and they have
2 children, Mara and Max. Gellman’s wife jokes that she is the only woman in America married to a rabbi and a priest. They are the proud “zeyde-bobe” (grandparents) to Zeke and Daisy.
“Got” (God)
Gellman is half of “The God Squad.” He plans to continue writing his “God
Squad” column after his retirement. Note: The Yiddish words meaning “to
retire” are “tsuriktsien zikh.” Hartman suffers from Parkinson’s disease
(“krankayt”) and resides in a nursing home on Long Island.
According to Art Carey (Inquirer staff writer), “The God Squad” has been called “the Siskel and Ebert of religion,” and “the Odd Couple of Ecumenism.” Also, “the Laurel and Hardy of Theology” and “the Butch and Sundance of eschatology.”
“gute” (person who’s good from the inside out)
“guts” means “good things like food, money, news, etc.
Gellman said, “One of the things that makes it [“The God Squad”] work is that it’s NOT AN ACT. WE DON’T DO SHTICK. Tommy is really my best friend (“fraynd”/”khaver”). I like him because he’s naturally good. In Yiddish, there’s a word--gute--a term for a person who’s good from the inside out, somebody who doesn’t have to try to be good. That’s Tom. At times I have to try.”
“Gut morgn amerike” (Good Morning America)
“The God Squad” appeared regularly with Joan Lunden on “Good
Morning America.” Kevin Magee, senior program producer, stated
that the God Squad received a universally positive response.
“hunt” (dog)
Rabbi Gellman and his wife raise guide dogs for the blind. When his dog,
Miles, passed away, he wrote a letter to Dr. Alan Corem, Chief
veterinarian at West Hills Animal Hospital in Huntington, New York. He wrote--in part--”You have cared for all the guide dogs we have raised
from puppyhood to faithful service. One of them, Topper, who flunked out
of Guide Dog School because he was an inveterate cat chaser, now
pads around the house looking for his pal. I still find myself instinctively
moving my feet under my desk expecting to slip them under Miles’s head. Topper is some consolation, but Miles was less like a dog and more like a
person in a dog’s suit. As you know, Miles came to us from my son, Max,
whose move to New York City could not accommodate Miles’s need to
chase rabbits and FedEx delivery guys.”
“khasene” (wedding)
Hartman was in Barbra Streisand’s movie, “The Mirror Has Two Faces.”
He had a cameo playing a priest who presides at an interfaith ceremony.
Gellman said, “I would have been there but I have principles.” This
is an indication of Gellman’s slice of humor with a serious edge. Gellman
will not preside at interfaith weddings, while Hartman will.
(Source: www.americncatholic.org)
“khinukh” (education)
Gellman was the youngest (“yingst”) rabbi ever ordained by Hebrew
Union College and the only person (“perzon”) to complete the six-year
rabbinical program in two years of residence.
“prister”/”galakh” (priest (Christian)
Gellman said of his relationship with Msgr. Tom Hartman, “For some
reason, a priest and a rabbi who are best friends is still a unique situation.”
“redner” (speaker)
Gellman delivered one of the keynote speeches at the Memorial Service
in Yankee Stadium on Sept. 23, 2001.
“religye” (religion)
Gellman said, “Religion is important to people. We’re [Gellman and
Hartman] about representing that in a public way. We have no angle.
We don’t ask for money.”
“sheyn” (handsome)
Rabbi Gellman called the Monsignor Hartman “the Robert Redford”--the
handsome one--of the duo.
“shpritsn” (to squirt)
Gellman frequently wears a bow tie, which he regularly twists and jokes
that it will, on occasion, squirt water on the unsuspecting.”
“tfile” (prayer)
Gellman said [Rosh Hashana 2009], “In the spirit of the season, I have a
confession to make. I think it might be best if I whisper it: Prayer is
boring. (A colleague said, “Yashar Koah,” meaning, “way to go.”) He
suggests a solution: “We shouldn’t be passive when sitting in services.
It is meant to be participatory, not a performance. If we want to be
spectators, we have the Kennedy Center or Strathmore Hall...”
“umglik” (disaster)
Rabbi Gellman and Msgr. Hartman presided at the wake and prayer service
for the families of the 230 passengers and crew who perished in the TWA
disaster off Long Island during the summer of 1996. Both recall it as the
most difficult task they have faced as clergymen.
“vitslen zikh” (to joke)
On “The God Squad” Rabbi Gellman cracked the jokes, while Msgr. Tom
Hartman brought serious (“ehrnst”) talk of religion to the masses.
Some of the material for this article came from “St. Anthony Messenger,”
feature article, “Priest and Rabbi: The Media’s God Squad” by Peter Feuerherd.
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Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe wonders if Rabbi Gellman agrees with the late
Sam Levenson, who said, “Working for the Lord doesn’t pay well, but
the Retirement Plan is the greatest.”
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