The Jewish Roots of Classical Education

Rabbi Alec Goldstein is the Managing Director of the Lobel Center for Jewish Classical Education, part of the Tikvah Fund in New York City. He received his B.A. in French Language & Literature from Yeshiva University and earned his rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. For the past two years, he has taught the tenth-grade classical track at Heichal HaTorah, a Modern Orthodox high school in Teaneck, New Jersey, where his students studied the literature and history of Renaissance, Enlightenment, and Romanticism, from a western and Jewish perspective. Previously, Rabbi Goldstein has worked at Manhattan Jewish Experience, Congregation Shearith Israel, Mount Kisco Hebrew Congregation, and Yorkville Synagogue. In addition, he holds a Masters in Accountancy from Baruch College, is a licensed CPA, and worked as a tax accountant at KPMG for three years. Rabbi Goldstein is also the founder of Kodesh Press, a Jewish publishing house dedicated to publishing scholarly and inspirational religious titles. He is the author of A Theology of Holiness, Maimonides on the Book of Exodus, and is a co-editor of Strauss, Spinoza & Sinai: Orthodox Judaism and Modern Questions of Faith. He lives in Teaneck, New Jersey, with his wife, Caroline, and two daughters, Emilia and Layla.