Kansas City area native Rabbi Edwin Goldberg became the senior rabbi at Temple Sholom in Chicago on July 1. Temple Sholom, founded in 1867, is one of Chicago’s oldest synagogues. Rabbi Goldberg is now only the seventh senior rabbi in the Reform congregation’s 145-year history.
“It is with great delight that I look forward to beginning at Temple Sholom of Chicago and returning to my Midwestern roots,” he said via email. “Although I grew up in Kansas City I often visited Chicago, since most of my extended family lived there. Chicago is where my mother grew up after escaping from occupied Europe.”
Rabbi Goldberg was most recently the senior rabbi at Temple Judea in Coral Gables, Fla., which he served since 1996. During his tenure that congregation grew more than 50 percent to nearly 650 families, at a time when the Jewish population in Dade County was declining.
He is also a respected teacher and scholar. In addition to his responsibilities at Temple Judea, Rabbi Goldberg is the coordinator of the core editorial team for the upcoming Reform Movement’s High Holy Day Prayer Book. He is the author of four books: “Midrash for Beginners; Heads and Tales: Stories of the Sages to Enlighten Our Minds”; ”Swords and Plowshares: Jewish Views of War and Peace”; “Love Tales from the Talmud”; and “Saying No and Letting Go: Jewish Wisdom on Making Room for What Matters Most.” He has also published numerous articles and sermons. Rabbi Goldberg has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Miami in the Departments of Judaic and Religious Studies. His courses have included: Judaism and Jewish Thought, an Introduction to the New Testament and Jewish Mysticism.
Rabbi Goldberg was born in Kansas City, Mo., and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Kansas in 1984. He attended Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles and Cincinnati and was ordained as a rabbi in 1989. He earned a doctorate from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1994. Prior to his arrival at Temple Judea, Rabbi Goldberg served as the assistant rabbi at the Isaac M. Wise Temple in Cincinnati, and as the associate rabbi at Temple Israel of Hollywood in Los Angeles. Rabbi Goldberg completed the Kellogg School of Management Institute for Jewish Leaders at Northwestern and will soon complete the Core Practice Leadership Development program at the Institute for Jewish Spirituality.
Rabbi Goldberg is married to Melanie Cole Goldberg, a Jewish educator. They have two children, Joseph (22) and Benjamin (19).
