Elisha Gordan: Bala Cynwyd Native Assisting Greece’s Jewish Community
Elisha Gordan, originally from Bala Cynwyd, has moved to Athens to serve as an assistant rabbi for the city’s Jewish community. In Greece, the Jewish population numbers about 5,000 people, representing roughly 0.05% of the nation’s total population.
Gordan, a recent graduate of Brandeis University, began his role in August after finishing his degree in the spring. His position focuses on supporting local rabbis, reading from the Torah, organizing minyans, and teaching at the community’s religious school.
Early Inspiration and Experience
His connection to Jewish life in Europe started after his freshman year at Brandeis, when he spent a summer working with the Lauder Foundation in Berlin. That experience gave him insight into the dynamics of Jewish communities across Europe.
“I got to see a lot of different Jewish communities in Europe. We were based in Berlin, but we visited several other places. It was a very enriching experience,” Gordan said.
Holding a Dutch passport and having family in the Netherlands, Gordan already felt linked to Jewish Europe. However, as he explained, the foundation deepened his understanding of Europe’s Jewish life as “a political, communal, and religious entity.”
Path to Athens
After graduation, Gordan leveraged his connections with the Lauder Foundation—an organization dedicated to strengthening Jewish education and community life across Europe—to secure his current position in Athens.
Author’s Summary
Elisha Gordan, a young rabbi from Bala Cynwyd, is now shaping Jewish community life in Athens by blending American education with European Jewish experience.