Rabbi/Cantor Geoffrey Goldberg serves as Rabbi to Rochester congregations Temple Beth Am and Congregation Beth Hamedresh-Beth Israel. He leads a number of joint Shabbat and Festival services between the two synagogues throughout the year.
Rabbi Goldberg's rabbinical experience is extensive, having served congregations in England (where he was ordained at Leo Baeck College and also completed a History degree) and the New York City area, most recently in Jersey City. He became an American citizen in time for the November 2008 presidential election. He feels enriched and blessed by his “multi-cultural” experiences of Jewish life and energized by the richness of talent and generosity of spirit of the Rochester Jewish community.
Rabbi Goldberg most recently served as Interim Rabbi at Temple Beth David, also in Rochester, for two years and taught a course title “Judaism and its Music” at the University of Rochester. He is also a trained Cantor, with a doctorate in Jewish Musicology from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. His knowledge of Jewish music is extensive, and he has a number of publications in that field, as well as serving on the editorial board of the Journal of Synagogue Music and being a research scholar for the Jewish Music Research Centre in Jerusalem.
Donations to either synagogue's Rabbi Fund will be used to enable Rabbi Goldberg to officiate at additional services throughout the year. Donations may be sent to either synagogue and clearly marked "Rabbi Fund".
