Congregation’s religious director honored for 20 years of service
Gary Wolfman has always loved to sing. Growing up in Racine, Wolfman told the Chronicle in a recent telephone interview, he was also “very interested in liturgical Judaism as a child.”
And he has spent more than the last 20 years combining his two passions.
After earning an undergraduate degree in music education from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and a master’s in music education and orchestral conducting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wolfman brought his music to synagogue life.
He first began to assist in leading cantorial services at an Appleton synagogue, and then became the religious director for Congregation B’Nai Israel in Oshkosh, a position he has held for the last 20 years.
Now Wolfman, who lives in Appleton with his wife and children, serves as the synagogue’s rabbi, cantor, and religious school teacher for sixth and seventh graders preparing for their bar or bat mitzvah.
On Friday, May 14, the congregation honored Wolfman with a surprise recognition service for his 20 years of service to the synagogue.
“We are what we are because of Gary,” said Julie (Grossman) Kurutz, synagogue president, who calls Wolfman “an all around interesting Jewish leader.” “This is a very warm and wonderful place.”
The surprise took place during the last of the school year, a service that usually honors synagogue teachers, students, and classroom aides.
“He was very touched. I think the service brought back a lot of memories for him,” Kurutz said. After the service, Wolfman received a standing ovation.
And Wolfman was moved, he said during a phone interview last week. “The service was very humbling. Everyone was so generous.”
Kurutz recalled an example of how Wolfman makes experiences special for children at B’Nai Israel: “When a child is having his or her bar or bat mitzvah, he will come up with a 13 letter word or phrase that describes the child, and then relate it to a Torah portion.”
For his service on May 14, Kurutz thought it would be perfect to come up with a twenty letter word or phrase to commemorate Wolfman’s 20 years of service.
“I had to come up with a 20-word phrase, because the only 20-letter word I could think of was a disease,” she said. What she came up with was “Teaching With Your Life,” which was engraved on a plaque that was presented to Wolfman at the service.
That seems an apt phrase to describe Wolfman’s life. In addition to his role at B’Nai Israel, he also serves as the director of orchestras at Appleton North and West High Schools. He is a music lecturer at Lawrence University, and the conductor and music director of the Fox Valley Youth Symphony.
How does he fit all of this into his schedule? “I am a little crazy,” he admits. But, he said, he takes one event at a time and tries “to live in the present,” so that he can focus on the lesson or service at hand.
Although Wolfman is not a rabbi, he has received extensive rabbinical training. He has completed Level I and II of the Para-Rabbinical (now called Sh’liach K’hilah/Synagogue Associates) program at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, which teaches students, among many things, how to lead Shabbat and holiday services, conduct Torah study and provide life-cycle assistance.
He also attends annual summer workshops every year at the Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE). In addition, he is the recipient of many awards, including the Teacher of the Year at Appleton East High School, and the first recipient of the Cutting Edge Award, for his outstanding creativity and excellence in teaching.
As Wolfman said about his work at B’Nai Israel, “I feel privileged to have helped so many people.” Kurutz could not agree more: “He has effected and affected hundreds of lives in positive ways. Our congregation has grown and flourished under his lead.”
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