PRESENTING STEVEN GOLDSTEIN AS RABBI AND TEACHER IN ISRAEL
Presented by Cantor Lois Kittner
Back in 2017, Steven Goldstein called to ask if I was available for Ritual Skills tutoring. Since he lived close by, our sessions were usually at my home. Steven and I have many shared interests. It was a friendship-match made in the second-best-place-to-heaven: The Academy for Jewish Religion!
A few years later, I was part-time Cantor at the Poconos’ Congregation B’ nai Harim, with my dear friend and mentor, Rabbi Peg Kershenbaum, when Steven became her Rabbinic intern! Those years hold precious memories for the three of us. It was a magical moment in time.
Steven would drive to my house, and I would drive us the 90-minutes each way. With my hot coffee thermos, and snacks for the road, we spent lots of time in earnest conversation, visioning Steven becoming a Rabbi. Collaborating with Rabbi Peg and with Steven was pure joy and, with the unusual challenges of service leading during Covid, we were all in learningwhile-teaching mode, every day.
Steven Goldstein’ s reputation as an LGBTQ and human rights activist, as a stalwart Zionist, as a TV producer, author, and audiobook narrator, precedes him. I don’ t know that Steven Goldstein. My friend, Steven Goldstein, is a devoted brother, a loyal friend, a fabulous father to his cherished dog, Fievel, and a man who has harbored a life-long dream of becoming a rabbi. The extraordinarily nurturing and respectful environment at The Academy for Jewish Religion allows each of their students to be the truest version of themselves, while they face each exhilarating hurdle on their path to receiving semikhah. Steven’ s path was uniquely his. Pursuing ordination at this stage of life is an act of faith and courage. It is not easy. It is extremely rewarding.
It has been a privilege to watch Steven develop into the rabbi he dreamed he might one day become.
With deep love, it is my honor to present Rabbi Steven Goldstein.
BEIT DIN
Rabbi Peg Kershenbaum- Somekhet Rabbi Jeff Hoffman, DHL Rabbi Jeffrey Segelman
8 AJR 2026