Rabbi Elyse Goldstein

“Just back from a year in Israel, I was fired up with a newly revived Jewish identity in a city full of outreach institutions ready to embrace young seekers and turn them frum. But Rabbi Goldstein showed me that it was possible for a smart liberal rabbi to care deeply about individual students and model for them a life of observance, learning and Jewish passion rarely found in mainstream synagogues. She invited me to her home for the holidays, signed me up for classes with Kolel (her outreach organization) and challenged my passive acceptance of morally unacceptable stances within Judaism. Most important, she invited me to study with her one-on-one; this was an act of personal concern for my Jewish soul that changed my life plans, and set me on a career in the Jewish community.”
—NEAL LOEVINGER
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