What They’re Saying

“Gruber is America's foremost authority on the preservation of Jewish sites.”

— Preservation Magazine

"Our congregants thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Gruber's three lecture series on the history of Jewish art. They found the series enjoyable, stimulating and informative. It was the highlight of our adult education programming for the year. We are receiving many requests to try and engage Dr. Gruber for another series of lectures."
— Barbara Simon
Executive Director & David Simon, co chair, Adult Education Committee, Temple Adath Yeshurun, Syracuse, New York

"Dr. Sam Gruber lectured at Congregation Beth Israel in West Hartford, CT on 'Arise and Build: American Synagogues and Jewish Identity.' Participants, both from our synagogue community and from the Greater Hartford area, were fascinated by his knowledge and his ability to clearly discuss the relationship of synagogue design with the changes in the organization of the American Jewish community and its relationship to American culture as a whole. Dr. Gruber is engaging, knowledgeable, and generously willing to share his expertise. We at Beth Israel would heartily recommend him for any program or scholar-in-residence covering topics around synagogue architecture!"
— Jane Zande
Membership Director, Congregation Beth Israel, West Hartford, CT

"Sam Gruber is a captivating speaker whose wealth of knowledge about Jewish architectural sites is unparalleled. His lectures are learned, stimulating, and provide rich visual documentation of important trends in the Jewish built environment."
— Prof. Gavriel Rosenfeld
Professor of History and Director of the Undergraduate Program in Judaic Studies at Fairfield University

"Sam is a brilliant scholar and writer and an engaging, accessible speaker.  He makes architectural history interesting with beautiful images and well-researched anecdotes.  Following his sell-out lecture on New York synagogue architecture at New York’s Temple Emanu-El we received great feedback from our diverse audience of 300, including historians, preservationists, board members, donors, clergy of several faith traditions, Jews and non-Jews."
— Ann-Isabel Friedman
Director, New York Landmarks Conservancy’s Sacred Sites Program