Rabbi David Gorelik

Kashruth Division, Orthodox Union, New York, NY

Mar 14, 2014

Rabbi David Gorelik has been a rabbinic coordinator for kashruth at the Orthodox Union since 1995. His responsibilities include yoshon, jams and jellies, dried fruit, nuts and snacks. Among his major companies are General Mills and Smuckers. Rabbi Gorelik also assists the Vaad of Passaic for its kashruth supervision.

Prior to joining the Orthodox Union, Rabbi Gorelik was the educational director at Park East Synagogue in New York from 1986-1991. Afterwards, he was a rabbi in Richmond, VA from 1991-1995.

Rabbi Gorelik's initial reasons for joining the rabbinate have been borne out in his professional experiences. "The reason for entering the rabbinate was quite simple for me," he says. "When I was a youngster, my father mentioned that the rabbinate has two prominent features. The first is that the individual has greater opportunities for limmud hatorah. The second is the unlimited possibilities to affect positive feelings toward Judaism. In my personal experiences, this has been valid both when I served as a congregational rabbi and presently in my capacity with the Orthodox Union. The work continually revolves around the application of halacha and the opportunity to portray Judaism as something special."

Rabbi Gorelik received his education at Yeshiva College and its affiliate rabbinical school, Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He also received a masters degree in Jewish History from YU's Bernard Revel Graduate School. In addition, he studied at Yeshivat Har Etzion in Israel.

Rabbi Gorelik lives in Passaic, NJ with his wife, Jacki, and two of their three children - Eliezer and Chana. His son, Yechezkel, is married and lives in Israel.