Eva Goldfinger
MAJS
MASHJ
Rabbi & Psychotherapist
Thornhill, Ontario
e-mail: evagoldfinger@rogers.com
Eva Goldfinger graduated from Bais Yaakov High School and Teacher's College in Toronto, studied Sciences, Psychology and Hebrew at University of Toronto, and is a graduate of the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism ("IISHJ") headquartered in Jerusalem and in Farmington Hills, Michigan. In 1988, she was ordained by the Leadership Conference of Secular and Humanistic Jews as a "Madrikha" and certified as a "Philosophical Counsellor". She has completed training in Jewish Family Education and is a Psychotherapist with advanced training in inner child, cognitive, systems and humanistic therapy. Eva has earned a Bachelors and Masters in Jewish Studies from Hebrew College, Boston, a Masters in Secular Humanistic Judaism at the IISHJ and was ordained by the IISHJ as a rabbi in 2005.
Eva is a rabbi of Oraynu Congregation for Humanistic Judaism in Toronto and sat on its Board of Directors from 1986 to 1997. She was the part time rabbi of Adat Chaverim in LA in 2005 and 2006. She represents Oraynu on the Board of the Society for Humanistic Judaism ("SHJ"), is the Past President of the Leadership Conference of Secular Humanistic Jews ("LCSHJ"), a professional association of its Rabbis, Madrikhim, Musical Directors, Educators and Spokespersons and Treasurer of the Association of Humanistic Rabbis ("AHR"). Eva travels to Congregations all over North America to lead their festival services, provide education and training to the communities and their leadership and to promote the Movement.
Eva is on the faculty of the IISHJ, the Director of the Canadian Section of the IISHJ and is the Conference Coordinator for the Society for Humanistic Judaism ("SHJ"). She sits on the board of the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Jews (“IISHJ”), having been the founding Chair of the Youth Education Committee, the chair of the Leadership Program Committee, a member of the Seminar Committee and Publishing Committee. In addition, she sat on the Boards of the Congress of Secular Jewish Organizations ("CSJO"), the International Federation of Secular and Humanistic Jews ("IFSHJ") and the North American Section ("NAF") of the IFSHJ. She is actively involved in building the Movement and developing its philosophy and practices locally, nationally and internationally. With the death of the Movement founder, Rabbi Sherwin Wine, Eva has taken on additional Movement responsibilites. Eva is a sought-after Jewish educator, offering courses and lecturing extensively in Toronto, other parts of Canada and the States. She offers guidance and leadership for the Secular Humanistic Jewish Community, provides philosophical counselling, creates festival and life cycle ceremonies and officiates at all life cycle events.
She trains teachers and Leaders and writes youth and adult curricula for the Secular Humanistic Jewish Movement. In 1995, she co-wrote with Madrikha, Karen Levy, Curriculum for Secular Humanistic Jewish Supplementary Schools, a developmental, values and history based curriculum from Junior Kindergarten through Grade 7, which is currently being used by many of the schools in the Movement. She also created Introduction to Judaism: An Evolving Civilization, an intensive adult education course endorsed by the IISHJ, which is also used for converstion/adoption classes. Her book, Basic Ideas of Secular Humanistic Judaism, was published by the IISHJ in May, 1996 and is being used as a basic text for the Movement. Eva has also created widely used publications for a Humanistic Jewish celebration/observance of festivals and life cycles. Her articles and poetry have appeared in numerous magazines in Canada and the United States. Her group called “Intertalk”, a support group for couples in inter-cultural relationships is a model for such groups all over North America. Eva has created a prototype for couples’ workshops on learning how to communicate effectively.
She also runs a successful counselling practice for individuals and couples and specializes in counselling the inter-married and their families. Eva was involved in the Continuity Committee of the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto's Task Force on Jewish Continuity and was on the Continuity Forum for Supplementary Schools of the Board of Jewish Education. She recently participated in the Posen Conference on Secular Jewishness at Hebrew College, Boston, where scholars, policy makers and communal leaders discussed the future of secular Jewishness in American Jewish life. Eva has appeared in numerous TV programs and talk shows and national magazine and newspaper articles.
Eva was born in Hungary after the War, into a Chasidic Jewish family and escaped during the Hungarian Revolution to Austria. She immigrated to Canada with her family in 1957. Upon reaching teenagehood, Eva became a feminist and began to question the authoritarian and patriarchal systems of organized Judaism and to speak out against them. Eventually, in 1984 she discovered the Secular Jewish Association and became involved first with the Secular Jewish Movement in North America and eventually the Secular Humanistic Jewish Movement worldwide. For Eva it was a meaningful way of expressing her Jewish identity in contemporary society. She finds its rational spirituality, egalitarianism and universalism, in ideology and practice, refreshing and wants to make her mark on Jewish society by spreading the word and enabling other Jews to find ways to express their Jewishness with integrity and to strengthen their Jewish identity. She is also committed to raising the level of Jewish literacy (classical to contemporary) among adults.