Rabbi Susan Goldberg
Congregational Leader, Nefesh (Los Angeles)
“When I was a child my family made it clear to me that to be a Jew was to stand for justice. As Elie Wiesel said, ‘For a Jew, Judaism and humanity must go together.’ My life’s work is to cultivate empathy, love, and justice. As a rabbi, I hold three areas at once inside the depth and beauty of the Jewish tradition: the inner life, relationships, and the world around us. This city is filled with incredible human beings who work every day to heal the brokenness around us and I am grateful to learn from and work together with so many who are doing this work.”
Biography
Rabbi Susan Goldberg is a firebrand of an activist from a family of radicals. Her aunt, Jackie Goldberg, served on L.A.’s City Council as its first openly lesbian member and is now on L.A.’s School Board. In the past few years Rabbi Goldberg has focused on immigrant rights, deepening the connection between the Muslim and Jewish communities, advocating for trans rights and visibility in the Jewish community, creating healing rituals for survivors of sexual assault and abuse, and supporting kids in the foster care system in L.A. County.
Goldberg has formed her own congregation, Nefesh, which has an engaged group of members with information going out not just about the Jewish holidays, but about which protests are happening and when. She has been arrested more than once for putting her own body in the line of dissent—most recently surrounding the detention of immigrants and the separation of families. She has also been a key leader in the Muslim-Jewish organization New Ground, which brings together the two communities.
Photo Credits
Ryan Torok