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| "Ahavat Olam" |
Karen Webber Gilat was awarded a Masters in Sacred Music from the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of
Religion in NYC in 1990. Since her investiture Karen has served in worship settings ranging from a large
suburban congregation to a state penitentiary. The thread that weaves all of these communities together is Gilat’s
love of Judaism expressed through prayer, art and performance.
She began her career at Temple Israel in Omaha NE, quite a shock after living in Brooklyn, and partnered with the
Rabbi in every aspect of congregational life; including worship, adult education and weekly hospital visitation.
Karen trained a professional quartet for holy days, created an intergenerational choir, developed religious school
curriculum around prayer melodies, and wrote and adapted scripts to be performed on the stage and Bimah.
In Texas, Karen crossed the great divide often, splitting her time between Congregation Beth El Binah, a small, lay-
led, gay congregation in Dallas and Beth El congregation a mainstream traditional Reform setting in Ft. Worth
where she jazzed up worship, holidays and senior adult programming. Her thirst for seeking God in unlikely and
outlying areas was quenched with prison chaplaincy that began on Chanukah with a musical-poetry program
rededication.
Seattle brought two contrasting opportunities. At Beit Aleph Meditational Synagogue she introduced traditional
and original melodies into a meditative worship setting and facilitated a women’s “moon” circle. Beth Or in
Everett, WA, a family oriented congregation enabled Gilat to concentrate on one on one study with bar/bat
mitzvah and adult students. Her pastoral care muscles were flexed at Beth Or.
In Ohio, Karen served as a guest Cantor at Beth Adam, a humanist congregation in Cincinnati and took a more
“traditional” Cantorial role at Temple Israel in Dayton, Ohio. While in Ohio she spent a year as a Cantor in
Residence at HUC-Jewish Institute of Religion, mentoring students in Bimah presence, participating in worship and
special events. At the Reform Jewish High School, Karen pioneered a class in Meditation. One of her favorite High
Holiday pulpits was Miami University Hillel. Gilat also completed two units of CPE at Twin Towers Retirement
community.
So far the Scranton area, has yielded Cantorial work at Temple Hesed, Colgate Hillel, and in Harrisburg for a
collegue on maternity leave. There have also been several opportunities to perform interfaith marriages.
Religion in NYC in 1990. Since her investiture Karen has served in worship settings ranging from a large
suburban congregation to a state penitentiary. The thread that weaves all of these communities together is Gilat’s
love of Judaism expressed through prayer, art and performance.
She began her career at Temple Israel in Omaha NE, quite a shock after living in Brooklyn, and partnered with the
Rabbi in every aspect of congregational life; including worship, adult education and weekly hospital visitation.
Karen trained a professional quartet for holy days, created an intergenerational choir, developed religious school
curriculum around prayer melodies, and wrote and adapted scripts to be performed on the stage and Bimah.
In Texas, Karen crossed the great divide often, splitting her time between Congregation Beth El Binah, a small, lay-
led, gay congregation in Dallas and Beth El congregation a mainstream traditional Reform setting in Ft. Worth
where she jazzed up worship, holidays and senior adult programming. Her thirst for seeking God in unlikely and
outlying areas was quenched with prison chaplaincy that began on Chanukah with a musical-poetry program
rededication.
Seattle brought two contrasting opportunities. At Beit Aleph Meditational Synagogue she introduced traditional
and original melodies into a meditative worship setting and facilitated a women’s “moon” circle. Beth Or in
Everett, WA, a family oriented congregation enabled Gilat to concentrate on one on one study with bar/bat
mitzvah and adult students. Her pastoral care muscles were flexed at Beth Or.
In Ohio, Karen served as a guest Cantor at Beth Adam, a humanist congregation in Cincinnati and took a more
“traditional” Cantorial role at Temple Israel in Dayton, Ohio. While in Ohio she spent a year as a Cantor in
Residence at HUC-Jewish Institute of Religion, mentoring students in Bimah presence, participating in worship and
special events. At the Reform Jewish High School, Karen pioneered a class in Meditation. One of her favorite High
Holiday pulpits was Miami University Hillel. Gilat also completed two units of CPE at Twin Towers Retirement
community.
So far the Scranton area, has yielded Cantorial work at Temple Hesed, Colgate Hillel, and in Harrisburg for a
collegue on maternity leave. There have also been several opportunities to perform interfaith marriages.
Cantor Karen Gilat
