Interview with Gail Cohen, March 27, 2018

Interview Summary

Gail Cohen, a former math teacher, recounts her life from growing up in Manhattan, New York in the 1940s to spending her adult life in Lexington, Kentucky from 1970s to the present. Cohen attended Hofstra University in the 1950s, formerly called Hofstra College. Gail majored in math and became an officer in the Jewish student organization Hillel, where she met the man who later became her husband. After completing her university studies and getting married, she became a high school math teacher and remained a teacher after moving to various cities, like Long Island and Warwick, with her husband, Irwin Cohen, for his job as a chemist. Gail Cohen has experienced different forms of Jewish communities while living in different cities.

After having her first child in 1964, Cohen retired from teaching and instead became more active in her Jewish faith and her Jewish community. When her family moved to Lexington, Kentucky in 1968, she and her husband became active members of Ohavay Zion Synagogue. In the late 1960s, her husband became president of the synagogue. Her husband, Irwin Cohen, was not the only one to take on leadership roles at OZS, as shortly thereafter Gail Cohen became president of the women’s Zionist organization, Hadassah in 1970. Hadassah provided a way for her to get involved in the Jewish Community and to meet other like-minded Jewish women. Cohen and her late husband have a strong connection to the Jewish community in Lexington. Cohen expects to stay in Lexington for many more years, however, she expresses she would be willing to move if needed. But for the time being, Lexington is home.

Interview Keyword

Long Island (N.Y.) Manhattan (N.Y.) Hofstra College Hofstra University Ohavay Zion Synagogue Hadassah Holidays. Fasts and feasts--Judaism.

Interview LC Subject

Childhood Jewish children Jewish families. Jews--Identity. Judaism. Worship (Judaism) Religion Jewish women Teachers Teaching Education Lexington (Ky.) Jewish leadership Families

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Interview Usage

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