Oral History with Rabbi Josh Goldstein

Interview with Rabbi Josh Goldstein conducted by Mara Olmstead on April 12, 2023. Recorded at the Princeton Public Library.  Part of the Voices of Princeton partner project with the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Mercer County.

Rabbi Joshua Goldstein served as Temple Sha’arey Shalom’s leader for 30 years, retiring on June 30, 2012.  In July, 2012, he became our Rabbi Emeritus.

Rabbi Goldstein has been active in a number of local and national organizations. Included among these are his positions on the Rabbinic Cabinet of the Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA), on the Rabbinic Advisory Committee of Camp Harlam, and on the Board of Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). He is a Past President of the Springfield Clergy Association.

He received his undergraduate degree from Temple University, and his rabbinical degree from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. In 2000, he was awarded the Honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree. He had served congregations in Geneva, New York and Springfield, Illinois before coming to Temple Sha’arey Shalom in 1982.

Rabbi Goldstein is a native of Princeton, New Jersey. He is married to Sally Reiter Goldstein. They have two sons– Dov and his wife Stacey, and two granddaughters, Rose and Abby, and son Zachary.

A selection of Rabbi Goldstein’s articles and sermons was published in 2007, under the title “Standing on the Shoulders.”  In 2012, a more recent selection of his writings was compiled, entitled “Jewish Passions, Realities. and Visions.”

Rabbi Goldstein is a warm person with a great sense of humor. His passions run from a love for Israel and books to Tar Heel basketball and a fascination for Africa. He loves teaching all ages, sharing his love for our Jewish heritage and our Jewish homeland.