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ine Duo
A rabbi and a priest
treated a huge crowd
at Temple Israel to
their brand of
comedy.
PHOTO BY DANIEL LIPPITT
RICHARD HALPRIN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
Rabbi Marc Gellman and Monsignor Tom Hartman: The God Squad.
ith an overflowing
arking lot and
kamikaze drivers
jockeying for posi-
tion, the scene out-
side Temple Israel on
Monday night was
uncannily reminis-
cent of the High Holy
Days.
But it was a chilly
mid-November eve,
and the holidays were
just a faint blip in the
rear-view mirror. So why was this
night different from other nights?
For starters, the congregants wore
comfortable slacks and sweaters in-
stead of the customary suits and
skirts. Also, there was a priest on the
bimah. A priest? Either a diabolical
scheme had been hatched, or some-
thing special was about to unfold.
Fear not, for those in attendance were
in the good hands of the God Squad.
Typically, the word "squad" con-
jures images of the military or law en-
forcement, but this particular squad
was comprised of clergymen — two
specifically.
Rabbi Marc Gellman of Temple
Beth Torah in Dix Hills, N.Y., and
Monsignor Tom Hartman, director of
Telicare in Rockville Center, N.Y., be-
came best friends several years ago
following the taping of a religious
show on a Long Island cable station.
Instant friends, they forged a bond
based on their firm commitment to
their own faiths and a deep respect
for the other's. Sharing a similar view
of religion, both believed that priests
or rabbis could be contemporary and
humorous and still be pious.
After pioneering East Coast pro-
grams on interfaith relations, the duo
gained national attention from ap-
pearances on television's "Good Morn-
ing America," radio's "Imus in the
Morning" and from two acclaimed_
children's books, Where Does God
Live? and How Do You Spell God?
While primarily committed to their
respective congregations, Rabbi Gell-
man and Monsignor Hartman con-
tinue to appear in a variety of venues
with hopes of reaching an ever-broad-
ening audience.
Often billed as the "Siskel and
Ebert of Religion," the pair more close-
ly resembles a classic comedy duo,
with Monsignor Hartman playing the
straight man and Rabbi Gellman
cracking wise. That is not to say that
the rabbi gets all the good lines; he
just is more vocal, in stark contrast to
the soft-spoken monsignor.
On Monday evening, Rabbi Gell-
man joked that he once considered the
priesthood until he learned that it en-
tailed Catholicism and celibacy, two
deal breakers.
Good-naturedly, the rabbi bickered
with the moderator over the proposed
question-and-answer format, declar-
ing that it was he who should field the
questions because he is primarily re-
sponsible for the God Squad's many
appearance invitations. Before he got
too carried away, Monsignor Hart-
man quickly pointed out that Rabbi
Gellman is also the primary reason
they never get invited back anywhere.
In spite of the mock protests, the
question-and-answer session contin-
ued with topics ranging from inter-
faith marriage to assisted suicide.
Some of the responses were derived
from the biblical teachings of Isaiah
and Matthew; others sounded more
like Abbott and Costello.
Amid the revelry, the packed sanc-
tuary — the event drew between
1,200 and 1,500 people — was illu-
minated by a message of unity. A rab-
bi and a priest — it sounds like the
beginning of a bad joke. But all kid-
ding aside, the God Squad brought a
warm elixir to many on a cold autumn
night. 111