A Tree with Roots

About Me

Neal Gold teaches and writes about Jewish texts, Israel, and intersections between Jewish life and the contemporary world. He is the Founder and Director of A TREE WITH ROOTS, a blossoming platform that offers online Jewish learning and Jewish community for hundreds of students around North America and overseas.

Neal is sought-after Visiting Scholar for synagogues and Jewish communities. He is adjunct faculty at Hebrew College, and also teaches in the College’s Me'ah program, courses of study that empower adults to understand Judaism on a deeper level. He also is the spiritual leader of Am HaYam—The Cape Cod Havurah in Orleans, MA.

For over 18 years Neal led congregations in New Jersey and Massachusetts. He has served as the national Director of Program & Content for ARZA, the Association of Reform Zionists of America and Jewish Chaplain & Hillel Director at Babson College in Wellesley, MA. He is Past President of the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis.

Neal received smicha [rabbinic ordination], a MA in Hebrew Literature, and, in 2022, Doctor of Divinity honoris causa from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, as well as a (second) MA in Near Eastern & Judaic Studies at Brandeis University. He is a graduate of Colgate University with a B.A. in Philosophy and Religion. In 2022, Neal became a JJGI [J.J. Greenberg Institute for Advancement of Jewish Life] Fellow at Hadar Institute.

Neal is a prolific writer, teacher, counselor, and social activist, who loves how the beauty and power of Jewish texts and traditions unite communities, inform Jewish souls, and transform the world. He is the editor of Radiance: The Selected Prose and Poetry of Danny Siegel (Jewish Publication Society, 2020) and two volumes of Sparks (2023), anthologies of Torah and Jewish spiritual wisdom. Some of his recent writings have appeared in The Sacred Exchange: Creating a Jewish Money Ethic (2019), Fragile Dialogue: New Voices in Liberal Zionism, Navigating the Journey: A Guide to the Jewish Life Cycle, and A Life of Meaning (all 2018), and The Sacred Table: Creating a Jewish Food Ethic (2012), as well as regular writings on Israel in the weekly Torah portion for ARZA. His Master’s thesis (2018), “The Theology of Redemption in Contemporary American Reform Liturgy,” traced the history of traditional theological ideas—such as messianism, the resurrection of the dead, and the ingathering of the exiles—in liberal Jewish prayerbooks.

Neal has served on the national board of ARZA and was a delegate for ARZENU, the international Reform Jewish movement, at the 37th World Zionist Congress in Jerusalem in October 2016. He is an official delegate to the American Zionist Movement. He sits on the Executive Board of Ruach Hiddush, advocating for religious freedom and pluralism in Israel.

For years he worked in Israel with the Ziv Tzedakah Fund and noted educator and writer Danny Siegel, teaching thousands of teenagers about creative and offbeat ways in which people do the work of World-Repair. He has also been involved with creating meaningful interfaith projects, especially Jewish-Muslim dialogue. He is a founding board member of the Kavod Tzedakah Collective.

Neal is a founding member of the President’s Council of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. He also sits on the Advisory Committee of the Miller Center for Interreligious Learning & Leadership at Hebrew College.

Neal is a perpetual teacher of Torah texts and Jewish tradition to adults, teenagers, and kids. He especially loves Tanakh, Talmud, Midrash, early Hasidic spirituality, the roots of Zionism, and points of connection and departure between spiritual traditions of different faith traditions. He has also led a wide variety of off-the-beaten path, adventurous trips to Israel for adults, teens, and families. He has served on the faculty of the URJ Adult Summer Learning Institute (Kallah) and NFTY’s Leadership Summits.

Neal is married to Heidi Gold and they have two sons, Avi and Jeremy. He loves the history of rock and roll, as well as blues, jazz, Americana, and other indigenous forms of American music. He enjoys fishing, writing, playing bass guitar, yoga, and highly amplified music.