Rabbi Gouze: People person and community builder

Rabbi Andrea M. Gouze was born in the Bronx, New York, and was ordained at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. After living in Israel, she returned to the United States, and came to love New England while she was the rabbi at Congregation Agudas Achim, in Attleboro.

After a brief stint in the Midwest, Rabbi Gouze returned to the area and settled in Providence. She has since worked at the Jewish Community Day School and as the rabbi of Temple Shaare Tefilah, in Norwood, Massachusetts.

Gouze is now the rabbi of Temple Beth Emunah, in Easton, Massachusetts, as well as director of pastoral care at New England Sinai Hospital, in Stoughton, Massachusetts.

Gouze has master’s degrees in social work and Hebrew letters. She was awarded an honorary doctorate of divinity, in honor of her 25 years of service to the community as a rabbi, from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. Gouze is a board-certified chaplain through Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains.

Rabbi Gouze is pleased to be both an American and an Israeli citizen, having lived in Israel

for over four years. She is the proud mother of four children, Eitan, Daniella, Nili and Aurora, and a dog and cat. She is married to Gershon Levine and says she is blessed to have such a  supportive and loving family.

Q: Favorite Jewish food? 

A: Chicken soup with really fluffy and light matzah balls.

 Q: Favorite Jewish holiday?  

A: It’s a tie between Sukkot and Pesach. I love the magical atmosphere of the sukkah and having friends and family over, eating, sharing and laughing together. But I also love the pageantry and special rituals connected to Pesach and the feeling that I am setting aside a week to eat different foods that connect to my historical community.

Q: Favorite Jewish songs?

A: “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen and “Yo Ya” by Poogy [an Israeli band].

Q: Favorite Jewish movies?

A: “Exodus” and “Bag of Marbles.”

Q: Favorite Jewish celebrity?

A: Leonard Nimoy.

Q: Favorite Israeli city to visit? 

A:  Safed, because there is something very spiritual about Safed, and the views from the mountains are absolutely incredible, especially when watching the sunset. One can totally imagine the emotions that the rabbis felt that caused them to want to write “Lekhah Dodi” [a song that welcomes Shabbat after sundown and before evening services] while standing on that mountaintop watching the sun go down.

Q: Favorite Israeli city to live?   

A: Jerusalem, because you can feel the history and the spirituality is palpable in the actual stones of the Old City.

Q: Favorite Hebrew word and why?

A:  Kehillah [congregation], because it encapsulates my idea of the importance of community and viewing it as the foundation upon which Judaism is based.

Q: Favorite Yiddish word?

A: “Nu,” [which means] so, tell me more … what’s happening?

Q: Best part of keeping Kosher, worst/most difficult part?

A:  Best part: The fact that I am maintaining a tradition that has been observed so many thousands of years – and it allows anyone in the community to come and eat at my house.

Most difficult part: When I go out to a restaurant and I see a description of a meat item that sounds like it would be incredible and the restaurant is known for – and I’m choosing not to eat that. This helps to strengthen my identity, but also can be challenging.

Q: Favorite part of being a rabbi?

A: Connecting with people, hearing their stories, and creating a spiritual and joyous atmosphere, which allows them to find meaning and joy in their Jewish identity.

Q: Favorite Jewish memory?

A: Sitting in synagogue with my father and playing with his tzitzit and the fringes on his tallis.

Q: Greatest piece of advice someone has given you, and who gave it to you? 

A: My rabbi suggested that I become a rabbi – and it came to fruition.

Q: If you could have three dinner guests, living or from history, who would they be and why?

A:  Beruriah – she was quoted in the Talmud and her opinions were respected. Maimonides – he was such an incredibly deep thinker and helped to carry forward the understanding of Judaism the way we are now living it. He was such a well-rounded and well-versed intellect in so many different areas of knowledge. Eleanor Roosevelt – she was an incredible woman. I would love to be able to talk to her about where she got her strength from and how she had such feminist views before feminism was even coined as a word.

SAM SERBY is a freelance writer who lives in East Greenwich. He previously worked at the Peres Center for Peace in Tel Aviv.