Keep Smiling: The stories of Rabbi G

Prologue 

Joy is not an individual feat, but rather, something inherited from the people around us. It is only fitting that Rabbi Gershon, one of the most joyous voices in our community, was raised by parents even more energetic and exuberant than himself (if you can imagine that)! His mother gained a plethora of worldly experiences, as she was born in Morocco and later moved to France for seminary. His father was a total hippie who explored places like Southeast Asia and San Francisco in the early 60s. He knows tall tales of his father, such as that time he paid $99 for a Greyhound Ticket that would take him anywhere across the U.S. for 99 days… or that time he won a game of Hollywood Stars and bought a car with the prize money. His parents met in Antwerp, Belgium and the rest is history! 

Chapter 1 - Conker Ball 

Gershon was born and raised in Manchester, England along with four siblings. He was the star soccer player at school, which brought him great popularity. He was also an avid reader and could fly through a 500 page book in a day. All of this reading would later make him a phenomenal storyteller, as we all know from his weekly emails. A core memory from Gershon’s childhood was the thrilling game of Conker Ball! Around his neighborhood, European horse-chestnuts (also known as conker trees) would drop seeds surrounded by a spiky shell. The objective of this game was to hide in neighbors’ gardens and chuck these sharp objects at your friends. Gershon describes Conker Ball as “not a very safe game.” 

Chapter 2 - Little English Boy Comes to America 

Gershon attended school in Manchester until his early teenage years. Half the day was spent on Jewish studies, and the other on secular subjects. He loved learning history and literature and continues to study these topics today. He did very well in all of his classes except for design technology. This is not apparent in his weekly emails, as they are fantastic and user-friendly. At age 15, Gershon studied in Chicago for a year. He experienced an enormous culture shock when comparing British and American ways of thinking. He admired how open-minded Americans are and was astonished by how well they could improvise and problem-solve. Meanwhile, his frustration grew with the overly cautious British attitude that he grew up with. Those British blokes never rock the bloody boat! What rubbish, innit? Total load of tosh! Surrounded by Americans, Gershon felt encouraged to try new things and go with the flow. 

Chapter 3 - The Wandering Jew 

In his late teenage years, Gershon was constantly on the move. After completing his program in Chicago, he attended Yeshiva in London for a year. He then spent two years back at home in Manchester, and then a year in Israel. This was a time of soul-searching and self-discovery for Gershon. He lived in the small town of Kiryat Gat, which he describes as “the armpit of Israel.” He simply could not romanticize the apartment towers, hospital, and strip mall surrounded by nothing but dirt. Though he slightly despised Kiryat Gat, Gershon enjoyed visits to Jerusalem and Chevron throughout that year. Following this, he moved to Morristown, New Jersey, and became a rabbi there. From the armpit of one nation to the armpit of another, I guess.

Chapter 4 - Big Love in the Big Apple 

Rabbi Gershon decided he was done living in armpits, so he moved to New York City. During this time, he was part of a program that paired up Yeshiva students with Jewish children from around the world over the phone. Gershon was a mentor for a boy who lived in San Diego. The child experienced a lot of difficulties and Gershon was able to become a brother-like figure for him. His mother was very appreciative of Gershon and set him up with a Jewish woman she knew of living in New York. On December 16th, 2016, Gershon picked Miri up in an Uber for their first date. He remembers being very nervous and letting Miri do most of the talking. Gershon liked Miri a lot and wanted to see how long this could go… and it has been going ever since! After ten dates, they got engaged and then married shortly after. 

Chapter 5 - The American Riviera

Gershon’s brother-in-law was the previous Chabad rabbi in Isla Vista. Due to circumstances, he moved away and needed to replace himself with someone that could look over the UCSB community. Naturally, Gershon and Miri filled this spot, and have been providing care, education, and joy for students ever since. When they first moved to Isla Vista, Chabad was very small. They lived in the Tahitian apartments on El Collegio until 2020. The family would host Shabbat dinners in their tiny living room. Now they fill an entire backyard every Friday night! Word of Miri’s delectable baked goods must have gotten out. 

Chapter 6 - Raising Children in a Party Town 

Gershon and Miri are the parents of three young girls. Of course raising children in Isla Vista, infamous for its enormous consumption of alcohol and affinity for dangers, is an adventure in itself. Gershon has noticed that children become resilient and aware of who they are when surrounded by a culture that is not necessarily their own. Their oldest, Muska (age 5 ½) will ask interesting questions from time to time, but has become very confident in her identity while seeing her life side-by-side with those of college students. This environment has also made Mushka socially intelligent and wanting to help others. Gershon emphasizes how important it is to prioritize family over all else. He says this is an important lesson for all of us when we write the future chapters of our lives. “No matter how busy and involved you are, your loved ones come first.”

Chapter 7 - The Man, The Myth, The Legend 

What is a day in the life of Rabbi Gershon? Around 6:00 am, he wakes up with the kids and enjoys breakfast with them. He gets Mushka to online school and then discusses the day with Miri. After this, he likes to meet with various students individually. Later, he typically goes to a coffee shop to get work done, such as accounting, fundraising, and writing those excellent weekly emails. When he gets back, he spends time with the kids before event planning and prep, as there is something happening at Chabad practically every night! After clean up, he likes to pop over to students’ houses in the evenings to learn and shmooze. He finds joy in every day because he spends it with the right people. 

Epilogue

Joy is not an individual feat, but rather, something inspired by the people around us. When we are put in a positive environment with genuine people, we absorb and share that energy. That’s why Rabbi Gershon loves fostering friendships at Chabad–he knows the connections we make will have a lasting impact on both our day-to-day and future stories. That’s why he tells us to “keep smiling,”-- so we can give someone else a reason to smile too.