It’s no wonder that the heavens opened up and flooded the earth with tears when Rabbi Gilbert Kollin passed away on November 12, 2025, at the age of 91.

He was like a cup of kindness. It was in his handshake, his hug, his greeting.

It was the way his smile came through the phone, which is basically how our friendship began. Although he was my Rabbi at Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, I did not know him very well when I learned I had breast cancer. Feeling an aching need to talk to my Rabbi, I called and left him a disjointed phone message ending with something like, “I’m not even sure why I called.”

He returned the call several times, and when I did not respond he finally left a message saying he would like to come see me the following afternoon. I was moved and comforted by the kin

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