A native New Yorker, Rabbi Linda Henry Goodman holds a Bachelor’s degree from The Mannes College of Music and an M.A. from Queens College. During the 1970's she was a member of the faculties of Mannes College and The State University of New York College at Purchase. In addition, she appeared often as piano recitalist, accompanist, and chamber player.
In 1980 she entered the Rabbinic School of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, first at the campus in Jerusalem, and later in New York. There she earned an M.A. in Hebrew Literature. As a student, Rabbi Goodman served as Student Chaplain at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, as well as Lenox Hill Hospital and the Hospital for Special Surgery. She also received awards in Homiletics, Bible, Hebrew, and Humanities. In 1999 she earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Hebrew Union College.
Upon her ordination in 1985, Rabbi Goodman became the first woman to join the Rabbinic staff of Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York. Subsequently she went on to serve as Rabbi of the Nassau Community Temple in West Hempstead, and Hillel Director and Jewish Chaplain at Adelphi University. She also spent several years as Adjunct Instructor in the Theology Department at Molloy College, and as Adjunct Professor of Jewish Studies at the New York Theological Seminary. In 1992 Rabbi Goodman became the first woman to occupy our pulpit here at Union Temple as Rabbi of the Congregation.
Rabbi Goodman has long been a leader and spokesperson in the community, particularly in the areas of Reproductive Rights and fighting hunger. She helped to found a Jewish coalition in West Hempstead, spanning all segments of the Jewish community, in service to the INN (Interfaith Nutrition Network) in Hempstead. She serves on the Executive Board of the New York State Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, and also has served on the Clergy Advisory Council for RCRC on the national level in Washington. She also is a member of Concerned Clergy for Choice in affiliation with Family Planning Advocates in Albany. She is a recipient of the Roe v. Wade Award from the New York and New Jersey affiliates of RCRC. She currently holds the office of Vice President of the New York Board of Rabbis, the first woman in the organization’s history to do so. She was awarded the prestigious and Rabbi Israel and Libby Mowshowitz Award for Public Service, and the Zagelbaum Family Award for Chaplaincy, both from the New York Board of Rabbis. The Zagelbaum Award was primarily in recognition of her emergency pastoral service to the community in the wake of 9/11. She also has served on the Board of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and the CCAR Committee on Jewish Sexual Values. Currently she serves on the CCAR Resolutions Committee. She is a member of the Rabbinic Advisory Board of the Reform Jewish Voice of New York State, and is also a member of the Rabbinic Council of ARZA.
Rabbi Goodman’s husband, Rabbi Stephen Wise Goodman, is Rabbi of the Garden City Jewish Center, and an attorney in the Law Department of the New York City Housing Authority. The Goodmans’ son Philip is a student at Binghamton University.
Sacred Music of Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion. Last year she served as Student Cantor of the Port Jewish Center in Port Washington, NY. Lauren graduated from Tufts University with a major in Music and a minor in Communications and Media Students. She also holds an MM in Vocal Performance from The Boston Conservatory. She has won numerous vocal competitions and awards, and has put together an impressive array of roles in opera and musical theater. In May of 2006, Lauren made her Lincoln Center debut as a featured soloist in a Gala Concert at Alice Tully Hall with the Zamir Choral Foundation. Other notable concert appearances include solo recitals with the “Fridays at Noon” series at Manhattan’s 92nd Street Y and the “Sundays@3” series with the Great Neck Park District; the soprano solos in the Gilbert and Sullivan Light Opera Company of Long Island's touring revue show; a Gala Chanukah Concert at Congregation Mishkan Tefila in Chestnut Hill, MA; and the soprano solos in Handel’s Messiah with the Long Island 