MEET

Rabbi Joel Goldstein

I am deeply in love with Jewish texts, particularly the Talmud and its commentators. I also have an affinity for halakha (Jewish law), Tanakh (Bible), and Rabbinic literature. I love teaching how to understand what is written on the page, while at the same time taking the text off the page and getting swept away in its generative nature and ability to hold multiple interpretations. I love teaching people interested in learning how to parse each word and also those who want to see the bigger picture (what some of my students call zooming in and zooming out on the text). I enjoy teaching Torah for the sake of understanding Jewish practice and also teaching Torah as a Jewish practice. I believe deeply that a student has as much or more to contribute to understanding Torah as I do as a teacher.

I am a former engineer (with a master’s in physics) who switched careers to teach Torah. Since then I have taught Talmud and Rabbinics at high schools in Chicago and the DC area and taught in an after-school Talmud program for high school students. I have also taught Tanakh (Bible) to 6th graders and a weekly Torah portion discussion to 5-7 year olds. I served as a Rabbinic intern at Yale Hillel (Slifka) and as the Campus Rabbi at Syracuse. I also spent a year serving as the Rabbi for a wonderful synagogue in Hull, MA. I have ordination from Rabbi Daniel Landes and from Hebrew College and I spent time learning at the Conservative Yeshiva and Hadar. Currently I teach Talmud and halakha for Yashrut, an organization founded by Rabbi Daniel Landes. Originally from Los Angeles, I now live in Ann Arbor, MI. When I’m not studying or teaching, I obsess about the Los Angeles Dodgers, enjoy reading Shakespeare and Harry Potter, practicing Shotokan Karate, and hiking with my spouse, our two children (who are motivated to hike if there is a chocolate reward at the end), and our dog.