Clergy

Jessica Spitalnic Mates, Rabbi
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Rabbi Jessica Spitalnic Mates feels blessed to be part of Temple Emanuel. She previously served Temple Beth El of Boca Raton for 22 years where she coordinated the congregation’s vibrant adult education and enrichment effort. This included a variety of targeted learning programs for doctors and health-care workers, as well as “Project Nuremberg,” a continuing education program for attorneys that attracts hundreds of attorneys and world famous speakers annually, and through which she built a partnership with Lynn University and the South Palm Beach County Bar Association. Rabbi Mates guided the adult b’nai mitzvah program, and taught a wide variety of courses for adults and children. She also participated in the Kathleen Brush Women in Executive Leadership program at Florida Atlantic University.

Rabbi Mates has had works published in several books and publications, including Theological Terms in the Talmud, The Women’s Torah Commentary and the website, “myJewishlearning.com.” She is an ardent Zionist, blessed to have been in Israel many times as part of her fellowship with the Shalom Hartman Institute and her involvement with AIPAC.

Rabbi Mates received rabbinic ordination from the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in 1999 and is a proud alumna of the University of Wisconsin. She is a native New Yorker who has worked in Jewish communities in New York, Chicago, London and Jerusalem. In Israel, she served as a tour educator for North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY) summer program, guiding Jewish teenagers through the historical sites of the land of Israel. She is married to Mitch and is mother to Noah (an Eisner Camp alum) and Shira, and stepmother to Rachel and Brianna.

Rachel Reef-Simpson, Cantor
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Cantor Rachel Reef-Simpson is honored and privileged to be selected to serve the Temple Emanuel community as our Cantor. Previously Cantor Rachel served as a part time Cantor at Temple Shalom of Newton while serving as a Chaplain for Constellation Health Services in Maine. A Massachusetts native, Cantor Rachel has served congregations in MA for the past 19 years at Temple Emanuel Sinai in Worcester, Temple Beth David in Westwood and Temple Etz Chaim in Franklin. Cantor Rachel is a graduate of the Cantorial Certification program at the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York and also has a Certificate in Cantorial Arts from Hebrew College. Earlier in her professional career, Cantor Rachel was a Boston area singer/actress and musical theatre director. She is the proud mother of two working musician sons on each coast. Cantor Rachel lives in Cape Neddick, Maine with her husband and Oreo, her singing dog.

Dr. Robert S. Goldstein, Rabbi Emeritus
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Robert GoldsteinCrop

Rabbi Robert S. Goldstein served as the rabbi of Temple Emanuel from July 1990 until his retirement in June of 2021.

At the core of Rabbi Goldstein’s rabbinate is his attempt to help families and individuals find greater understanding and meaning in the milestone rituals of their lives. By making Jewish ritual accessible through creative adult education, he believes that many more people will discover the relevance of the Jewish path of life.

Throughout his ministry rabbinate Rabbi Goldstein has sought to bring creativity and vitality to the communities from within and always to serve the emotional and religious needs of his community. This requires a commitment to work beyond the Jewish community, working with others in the broader community to create coalitions which attempt to resolve some of the expansive challenges which face our society. With representatives of the Christian and Moslem communities he continues to participate in an ongoing direct dialogue. In 2001, he was the recipient of the Tikkun Olam Award, and in June 2003 the Rabbi received an honorary doctorate from Merrimack College. In 2006 Rabbi Goldstein received an honorary doctorate from Hebrew Union College for 25 years of exemplary service as the leader of his community.

Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, Rabbi Goldstein resides in Andover, with his wife Faith, an elementary school teacher. They have three daughters.

Rabbi Harry Roth, Rabbi Emeritus

Rabbi Harry A. Roth served as rabbi of Temple Emanuel from June 1962 through his retirement in 1990. He was the driving force behind the congregation’s move from Lawrence to Andover. He made interfaith initiatives a priority, originating the Catholic-Jewish Dialogue of the Merrimack Valley and taking a dozen ministers to see the newly established State of Israel. He also traveled the Soviet Union to provide aid to Soviet Jews known as Refuseniks, at one point getting arrested by KGB agents.

His loving wife Lillian, of blessed memory, ran the temple gift shop. She was by his side for 71 years.

Rabbi Roth was born in 1924 in a village along the Romania-Hungary border, and he came to the United States in 1929. He served in the Army Signal Corps during World War II, spending time in Germany and Japan. He later enrolled at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati. He was ordained in 1958.

Rabbi Roth now lives in Los Angeles, near his daughter Sheilah and son Michael.