As senior rabbi of Congregation Emanu-El of Westchester, Rabbi Goldsmith takes an intensely personal approach to Jewish leadership. He believes that each of us is on a personal Jewish Journey and that we best actualize our Jewish selves in a warm, supportive, non-judgmental community. As such he continually fosters a breadth and depth of worship experiences, programs, educational opportunities and social action initiatives in partnership with fellow clergy, staff, lay-leadership, congregants, and community members. These allow each member of the congregation to forge a personally meaningful Jewish path.
Rabbi Goldsmith currently serves as the Treasurer of the Westchester Board of Rabbis where he head’s the Westchester 2040 initiative to develop a joint rabbinic vision for the future of the Westchester Jewish Community. He also proudly serves as a Chaplain for the Westchester County Police Department. He was a fellow in UJA-Federation of New York’s Rabbinic Fellowship for Visionary Leaders. The No Pay No Way campaign of Port Chester’s Don Bosco Center awarded him their Economic Justice Award. He is also active with AJC and a member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis.
Rabbi Howard J. Goldsmith was born and raised in the New York area. He graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management and Marketing. After a few years of human resources consulting work with Sibson & Company, Howard attended Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC) from which he received rabbinic ordination in May 2007. While at HUC he served a wide range of communities including: Eisner Camp, the Laramie Jewish Community Center, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York, the Israel Religious Action Center, Syracuse University Hillel and Stephen Wise Free Synagogue. HUC awarded him the Aaron & Margery Levenstein Prize in Human Relations, the Sarah & Samuel Chernick Memorial Prize in Halakhic Literature, and the Temple Emanu-El (Dallas) Prize in Liturgy & Spirituality.
After ordination, Rabbi Goldsmith served as the Assistant Rabbi of Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York where he was involved in all areas of synagogue life. In addition to regular pulpit and life-cycle responsibilities, he led Emanu-El’s first-ever family trips to Israel, brought Emanu-El to the cutting edge of programming for those in their 20s and 30s, helped to reinvigorate the Religious School and developed new models for family worship. During this time Rabbi Goldsmith was a member of Synagogue 3000’s Emergent Sacred Communities Working Group with other dynamic young rabbinic leaders from all different streams of Judaism. He served as a Rabbinic Advisor and Maven for Lab/Shul – Storahtelling, a Torah through arts organization. Rabbi Goldsmith co-chaired Cornell Hillel’s Jewish Student Life Advisory Council.
Rabbi Goldsmith’s hobbies include cycling, hiking, skiing, cooking, wine, listening to music and kayaking. He and his wife, Rabbi Jennifer Goldsmith, live in New Rochelle, New York with their children Lev and Talia.