About the GPJCA

The Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Clergy Association was originally founded in 1953 as the 'Rabbinic Fellowship' by Rabbi Solomon Freehof of Rodef Shalom and Rabbi Baruch Poupko of Shaarei Torah. Years later, the organization came to be known as the Greater Pittsburgh Rabbinic Association, and after the addition of cantors to the group, as the GPJCA.

We are a group focused on collaborative efforts between the represented Jewish communities in Pittsburgh. The GPJCA also serves as a professional support and networking group for Jewish leaders, and as a collective voice on important issues in our community and beyond. It represents rabbis and cantors who are credentialed from national rabbinical and cantorial schools. The organization covers all of Western Pennsylvania and also has members in West Virginia.

Prior to 2021, many synagogues in Pittsburgh offered their own Intro to Judaism classes all throughout the region. It seemed beneficial to bring our collected classes under one roof, allowing Pittsburgh clergy to teach specific classes that they were best suited to, and allowing participants the opportunity to hear from a wide variety of perspectives and approaches.

Members of the GPJCA represent all movements of Judaism: Reform, Orthodox, Reconstructionist, Renewal, non-affiliated, and Conservative. We are committed to creating and supporting vibrant Jewish life throughout the Greater PGH region.

---

The itjpittsburgh.org website was built by Rabbi Mark Asher Goodman