Meet the Gorkins: Bringing Jewish joy to Squirrel Hill’s young and old
'We have a wonderful community here and we want to continue to grow those connections'
The community’s generations are in good hands. For the past two years, through Chabad of Squirrel Hill, Rabbi Yehuda Gorkin and Nechama Gorkin have overseen programming for older adults and children, including classes, parties, summer camp and general check-ins.
Chanukah, the couple said, was a whirl of activity.
Over eight nights, the Gorkins organized eight events and engaged with nearly 200 older adults — many of whom the couple had never before met.
“We were working so hard to make the parties happen, but they didn’t happen just on our own,” Yehuda Gorkin, 28, said. “The seniors were the ones who made it happen.”
Shuttling between Squirrel Hill complexes night after night was a reminder of Pittsburgh’s strengths, Nechama Gorkin, 25, said. “It’s nice for us to be a part of this beautiful community and truly have the pleasure of each other’s company.”
Nechama Gorkin is no stranger to Squirrel Hill. At age 11 she moved to Pittsburgh with her family from North Carolina. Yehuda Gorkin is originally from New York.
Both Gorkins carry a world of knowledge regarding Jewish engagement. Before making Pittsburgh home again, Nechama Gorkin lived and worked in Kansas, California, Alberta and Ghana.
The latter was a pandemic-era pursuit, Nechama Gorkin explained.
While finishing up employment at a Chabad center on Long Island in 2020, she got a call from a friend who knew someone at the Chabad in Accra, Ghana.
“They said they really needed help and asked if I would be willing to come,” Nechama Gorkin recalled.
She flew to the African coastal city and ended up spending two months working at Chabad.
“It was a great experience,” she said.
She helped with a winter camp, taught at the preschool and offered assistance wherever needed.
Yehuda Gorkin cut his teeth on non-American Jewish life while in Caracas, Venezuela.
“I was part of a group of yeshiva students that were sent from the main Chabad yeshiva in New York to the community in Venezuela to help sort of make our own little yeshiva,” he said.
Yehuda Gorkin spent half the day studying rabbinic texts with his peers. Remaining hours were dedicated to partnering with local residents on other educational projects and community-building endeavors.
“During summertime, we made our own camp there,” Yehuda Gorkin said. The overarching goal was to bring “a real Jewish energy to the community there.”
Accra has about 500 Jewish residents. Caracas has fewer than 6,000. Relative to both, Squirrel Hill’s Jewish community is colossal, as the neighborhood is the home of 30% of Pittsburgh’s 50,000 Jewish residents.
The size of the Jewish population isn’t the only thing differentiating Squirrel Hill from other places, Yehuda Gorkin said. “People you meet on the street just tend to know more than average about their Judaism, their customs, their family traditions, and really just basic Jewish practice. People are very, very, knowledgeable here.”
Nechama Gorkin said the biggest difference she notices about life in Squirrel Hill is the amount of “Jewish pride” exhibited by Pittsburghers of all ages.
Rabbi Yisrael Altein, co-Director of Chabad of Squirrel Hill, praised the Gorkins for their work and said the young couple is “enriching the lives” of local Jewish residents.
While Yehuda Gorkin has focused on directing programs for local older adults, Nechama Gorkin spent the past two summers overseeing Camp Gan Israel of Squirrel Hill.
Though the program operates merely six weeks in the summer, managing camp-related affairs is a yearlong endeavor. From the moment the last session ends, plans are already underway on how to “make next year even better,” she said.
The joy of water balloon fights and tie-dying activities are somewhat difficult to imagine with Squirrel Hill currently blanketed in snow, but Nechama Gorkin is focused on warmer days and bolstering community youth.
“We’ve already almost finalized our summer calendar,” she said. Once that’s complete, “it’s about hand-picking each one of our staff.”
Potential hires come from as far as the Gorkins can imagine.
“Chabad is an international network,” she said. “We look all over the world to see who are the counselors who are going to come and give the kids an unforgettable summer.”
The Gorkins, who are the parents of two children, plan to leverage their talents and create programs between Pittsburgh’s oldest and youngest community members. In the meantime, they will continue promoting Jewish engagement while finding meaning in the process.
In Hebrew, the word zaken has a “dual association,” Yehuda Gorkin said. “We typically think of it as ‘old,’ but the truth is zaken is also used to mean ‘the wise ones.’”
Whether it’s during formal classes or regular meet-ups, “I get to glean a lot from the wisdom of the seniors,” he continued. “And that’s really wonderful.”
Walking through the neighborhood it’s clear that both the residents and surroundings enhance the “Jewish richness of Squirrel Hill,” Nechama Gorkin said. “The takeaway is that we have a wonderful community here and we want to continue to grow those connections.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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