Gail Susan Kleinman was born in New York City on March 21, 1949, the daughter of Anne and Bertrand Rotberg and died on October 14, 2023.
The former Livingston resident married Max Kleinman 50 years ago and was the proud mother of Beth Fleischer and her husband Brian; Howard Kleinman and his wife, Alicia; and grandmother to Marlee and Xander Fleischer.
She was a well-respected psychotherapist and psychoanalyst and on the faculty of the Center for Advanced Psychoanalytic Study of New Jersey.
She chaired the Business and Professional Division of Women’s Philanthropy for UJA and served on its board, as well as the Jewish Federation’s Board of Trustees.
AtAgudath Israel Congregation, she served on its Board and chaired its Interfaith Committee, sponsoring dozens of programs promoting interfaith understanding among Jews, Muslims, and Christians. She was a lifetime member of Hadassah and the Lester Society of the Jewish Foundation of MetroWest.
Gail shepherded an interfaith cookbook, Nourishing Our Souls, which features essays by religious leaders on protecting the environment by the foods we eat and celebrating recipes from over a dozen different religious and ethnic groups. The proceeds from the hundreds of copies sold has been donated to local food banks to feed the hungry.
Her life serves as an inspiration for her many admirers throughout the United States. Her memory will surely be for a blessing.
Services were held on Monday, October 16, at Bernheim-Apter-Kreitzman Suburban Funeral Chapel, and may be viewed on the Chapel’s website for 90 days.
The family has suggested that memorial donations be made to the Emergency Fund for Israel of the UJA; the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest New Jersey; the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; or Congregation Agudath Israel.
