Our Clergy (3)

RabbiMark 

Rabbi Mark N. Goldman

            Rabbi Mark N. Goldman and his wife, Dr. Meryl Goldman, have chosen St. Augustine and Temple Bet Yam — Temple By The Sea — as their new home, relocating after 18 years of service to K.K. Bene Israel/Rockdale Temple, in Cincinnati. He is being welcomed with an outpouring of affection and respect by the Bet Yam Reform Congregation, as the Temple’s first Rabbi-In-Residence.

               Rabbi Goldman’s record of achievement is indeed impressive. Wherever he has served, Rabbi Mark and Dr. Meryl touch hearts, heal souls, and enrich lives. Theirs has been a lifelong commitment to repairing the world through building bridges of faith and love for all. A farewell Community-Wide Interfaith Celebration, held June 6, 2004, in Cincinnati in their honor, was replete with messages of enduring love and appreciation. “We have loved, wept, celebrated, prayed, studied, and rejoiced together. You have opened our hearts and we are forever bound together.”

               Recognizing that Cincinnati’s loss is St. Augustine’s gain, Marty Cohen, Temple Bet Yam’s Past-President states “The newest temple in the Nation’s Oldest City welcomes them with open arms and hearts.”  Rabbi Goldman was ordained a Rabbi in 1967, upon graduation from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati. He also received Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees of Arts in Hebrew Letters from HUC/JIR.  Rabbi Goldman attended the the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of  Music and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a major in English literature from the University of Cincinnati College of Arts and Sciences in 1962.

               Rabbi Goldman served as U.S. Army Chaplain from 1967-69, was Assistant Rabbi for three years at Temple Emanu-El, New York, and served as the Rabbi in Temple Sinai of Long Island, Lawrence, NY, from 1972-86.

            During his 18 years as Senior Rabbi, in Cincinnati, Rabbi Goldman’s activities included: Instructor and Guest Lecturer and Field Work Supervisor in Practical Rabbinics, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion; Mentor in Mayerson mentoring program for rabbinic students; faculty member at Cincinnati Reform Jewish High School; Created High Holy Day prayer books, combining the Union Prayer Book with the gates of Repentance; frequent speaker and teacher on interfaith issues at area churches; community activist for civil rights and Quality-Of-Life issues

            Reflecting on this latest chapter of his life, Rabbi Goldman senses, “. . . my life work as a pastorally-inclined rabbi is not completed. God willing, there will be additional years during which I may continue to explore my potential as an active Reform Rabbi. I cherish working and learning with people of all ages and backgrounds. I consider the USA a promised land for modern Jewish life. Simultaneously, I feel strongly about liberal and progressive Jewish rights in Israel, our Biblical Promised Land.

            “I believe firmly in the covenantal relationship we experience spiritually with God and with each other, while I am thoroughly committed to discovering the divine spark in all relationships. I continue to marvel at the revelation of God’s presence in all nature and in human nature. I am mainstream Reform philosophically, treasuring tradition, ritual and creative innovation. 

            “I have been truly blessed by my marriage covenant. Meryl served with distinction for 16 years as our congregation’s Director of Life-Long Learning, with responsibilities for our Nursery School, Religious School, and Adult Jewish Learning.  She earned her doctorate at Columbia University and continues to evoke my pride, joy and love.  We feel blessed in discovering Temple Bet Yam, in St. Augustine — an intimate congregation of learners, worshippers, and do-ers, within whose lives we may make a modest difference.”

            The Goldmans have three adult children and six grandchildren.