About the Rabbi


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.

He will be serving as Temple Beth Am's Cantor during the High Holydays, working together with Rabbi Alan Cohen of Kansas City.

Rabbi Goldberg's schedule for the year can be found below.

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".

Shabbat

Month

Dt

Day

time

Location

Sep

5

Sat

10 am

Beth Am

Oct*

9

Fri

8 pm

Beth Am

Oct*

10

Sat

9 am

BHBI

Nov

14

Sat

9:30 am

BHBI

Dec

5

Sat

10 am

Beth Am

Dec

11

Fri

8 pm

Beth Am

Dec

12

Sat

9 am

BHBI/Toker Bar Mitzvah

Jan

9

Sat

9:30 am

BHBI

Jan

29

Fri

6 pm (dinner) 8 pm (service)

BHBI

Feb

12

Fri

8 pm

Beth Am

Mar

13

Sat

9:30 am

BHBI

Apr

3

Sat

10 am

Beth Am

May

8

Sat

9:30 am

BHBI

Jun

11

Fri

8 pm

Beth Am

 

Festivals

Holiday

Dt

Day

Time

Location

Shemini Atzeret

Oct 9*

Fri

8 pm

Beth Am

Shemini Atzeret/Yizkor

Oct 10*

Sat

9 am

BHBI

Simchat Torah

Oct 11

Sun

9:30 am

Beth Am

EVERYTHING BELOW IS TENTATIVE

Pesach/Yizkor

Apr 5

Mon

8 pm

Beth Am

Pesach/Yizkor

Apr 6

Tue

9 am

BHBI

Shavuot/Yizkor

May 19

Wed

8 pm

Beth Am

Shavuot/Yizkor

May 20

Thu

9 am

BHBI

* Oct 9/10 are both Shabbat & Shemini Atzeret