Rabbi Robert Goldstein and his family came to Andover in July 1990.  Throughout his three decades as the spiritual leader of Temple Emanuel, Rabbi Goldstein has become the most consistent and recognizable face of the Jewish community in the Merrimack Valley.  Widely sought as a lecturer on Judaism as well as a speaker on the challenges facing the broader community, Rabbi Goldstein has spoken and written with eloquence and clarity about issues ranging from anti-Semitism, the common values shared by different faith communities, and the current divisiveness in the public debate.

 

Rabbi Goldstein was a co-founder of the Center for Jewish/Christian/Muslim Relations at Merrimack College

and was an adjunct professor in the Religion Department. 

He has served on a number of boards including the Lawrence General Hospital, Merrimack Valley Hospice, Samaritans, Greater Lawrence YMCA, and the Edgewood Retirement Community. He was a member of the Lawrence Rotary and is a member of the Lawrence Monday Night Club. For more than two decades, Rabbi Goldstein has hosted along with other area clergy, “Faith Matters” (now “A Rabbi, A Priest and A Minister Walk into a Studio!”) a local access cable television show.

 

In 2003, Rabbi Goldstein received an honorary doctorate from Merrimack College and was the commencement speaker. In 2006, he was awarded a Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa from Hebrew Union College.

 

Rabbi Goldstein has been a beloved teacher and preacher. From the pulpit and in the classroom, Rabbi Goldstein has shared his love of Judaism with erudition, eloquence and humor.

 

To the more than five hundred families who call Temple Emanuel their “Jewish home,” Rabbi Goldstein has been a beloved pastor. He has welcomed numerous babies into the fold, officiated at hundreds of bar and bat mitzvahs, rejoiced with scores of couples beneath the wedding canopy, and with sensitivity and compassion comforted families during their time of loss.

 

 

Rabbi Goldstein has been widely recognized for his many contributions to the greater Merrimack Valley community by: the American Red Cross, the Lawrence Bar Association, Lawrence General Hospital, the Andover Chamber of Commerce, and the Andover Rotary Club. 

 

Rabbi Goldstein and his wife Faith Goldstein are the parents of three daughters, Hannah, Sarah and Emma.  Faith has been an elementary school teacher in Andover for twenty-seven years.