Rabbi Gerald C. Skolnik
Rabbi
Gerald C. Skolnik, spiritual leader of The Forest Hills
Jewish Center, was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary
in 1981. Immediately upon his ordination, he served as Assistant
Rabbi under the late Rabbi Ben Zion Bokser for almost three
years. With Rabbi Bokser's death in 1984, Rabbi Skolnik assumed
the rabbinic leadership of the congregation, and has served
in that capacity since then.
In addition to his responsibilities at The Forest Hills Jewish Center, the largest Conservative congregation in Queens, Rabbi Skolnik is involved in numerous communal activities. A past president of the Commission on Synagogue Relations of UJA-Federation and past chairman of its Committee on AIDS, he is currently a member of UJA-Federation's Board of Directors. Additionally, he serves as a member of the Board of Trustees and Executive Board of the Solomon Schechter School of Queens, and the Board of Trustees of the New York Board of Rabbis. He is the Financial Secretary of the Rabbinical Assembly, an Adjunct Lecturer in Professional Skills in the Rabbinical School of the Jewish Theological Seminary, and a Vice President of the Zamir Choral Foundation.
Rabbi Skolnik has published numerous articles- he is a frequent contributor to The Jewish Week- has lectured extensively throughout the New York area, and has appeared on national radio and television. His collaborations with the Western Wind Vocal Ensemble on "The Chanukkah Story," "The Birthday of the World: Music and Traditions of the High Holidays," and "A Taste of Eternity: A Musical Shabbat," have received wide critical acclaim. These productions, commissioned by Public Radio International, feature scripts written by Rabbi Skolnik, and read by Theodore Bikel and Leonard Nimoy.
Rabbi Skolnik is married to Robin Segal Skolnik, the Middle School Librarian at the Abraham Joshua Heschel School in Manhattan. They have four children: Hillel, who attends the Rabbinical School at the Jewish Theological Seminary, as does his wife Sharon; Leora, who is Director of Admissions for the Davidson Graduate School of Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary; Talya, who is an entering senior in the Ramaz Upper School; and Matan, who is an entering freshman at the Heschel High School in Manhattan.
Rabbi Skolnik also authors a blog for The Jewish Week,
entitled A Rabbi's World.
Rabbi Skolnik's sermons for Rosh Hashanah 5768/2007 Day 1 and Day 2 can be found here. Rabbi Skolnik's sermons for Yom Kippur 5768/2007 Kol Nidre and Yizkor can be found here.
