Who is Rabbi Gila?
For 27 years as a congregational rabbi, Rabbi Gila walked beside families through some of life’s hardest moments. She sat with loved ones during long hours of surgery, prayed with people at the end of life in hospice, and helped families navigate the daily challenges of caring for an elder or someone with illness or disability.
Caregiving is not abstract for her—it is personal. She cared for her own mother from age 98 until her passing at 102, helping her maintain dignity and joy, coordinating medical staff and family visits, and handling the countless details that caregiving demands. Most of all, she gave her mother a life filled with love and meaning.
Tree of Life
She also knows firsthand what it’s like to be on the other side. Diagnosed with breast cancer at 38 and later living with severe, disabling hip arthritis, she understands the vulnerability, frustration, and courage required when illness or disability changes daily life. After double hip replacements in 2006, Rabbi Gila recommitted herself to healing of body and spirit for others.
As a chaplain at Sheppard Pratt Hospital, one of the nation’s leading psychiatric hospitals, Rabbi Gila learned to focus not only on what was broken, but on what was still whole and strong. This philosophy—seeing the light in the midst of struggle—guides her work with caregivers today.
Outside of her rabbinic and caregiving journey, Rabbi Gila is also a mosaic artist. Her art, displayed in synagogues, a museum, and a hospice center, reflects her deepest belief: that broken pieces can be reshaped into something beautiful and whole. She brings this same spirit to her coaching, helping caregivers transform exhaustion and overwhelm into resilience, purpose, and even holiness.
The wisdom and creativity of Rabbi Gila—sermons, poems, and essays—is gathered in a collection, The Wisdom and Creativity of Rabbi Ruskin, lovingly compiled by her husband of nearly 50 years.
Through it all, one thing has never changed: Rabbi Gila’s gift for walking with people through their most difficult seasons, and helping them discover strength, hope, and meaning along the way.
Contact Rabbi Gila to set up a free 30 minute Zoom consultation to assess challenges, obstacles, and goals you are facing on the caregiving path.