Virginia Beach —Esther Levine Goldman, of Virginia Beach, passed away on January 24, 2015 at age 87.
She was predeceased by her husband, Rabbi Joseph Goldman, the first rabbi to serve Temple Israel from its founding until his death in 1983. She was also predeceased by her son, Jordan Hillel Goldman.
She is survived by her daughter, Shira Goldman Salzberg (married to Mark) of Denver, Col., by her son, Dr. Daniel Goldman, of Houston, Texas, and by seven grandchildren: Ilan Salzberg, Yaniv Salzberg, Rachel Goldman Miller, Talia Salzberg Horowitz, Johannah Lowin, Sarah Reinitz, and Carmiella Salzberg. She is also survived by five great-grandchildren: Judah, Phoebe and Emmett Salzberg, Sophie Miller, and Henry Reinitz, as well as other distant relatives.
Esther Levine was born in Halberstadt, Germany, in 1927, immigrating to the United States at age three. She grew up in St. Joseph, Missouri, where her father, Rabbi Isser Levine, was the Orthodox rabbi.
Esther earned several academic degrees: B.A. from the University of Chicago, M.Ed. from the University of Virginia and Doctor of Education from George Washington University. In later years, she focused on Jewish studies and earned her Master of Arts in Jewish Studies from the University of Judaism.
Both during and after Rabbi Goldman’s tenure at Temple Israel, Esther was active in the educational endeavors of the synagogue and community. She taught in the congregational religious school and in the inter-congregational United Hebrew School.
Esther was a proponent of interfaith dialogue. She participated in the annual ecumenical retreats of the Greater Carolina Association of Rabbis. She also lectured at the interfaith “Nexus” series at Virginia Wesleyan College. At Norfolk State University, she enriched the perspectives of her students by sharing her Jewish learning.
Memorial services were held at Temple Israel, with Rabbi Michael E. Panitz officiating. Burial followed in the Levine family plot in the Jewish cemetery of St. Joseph, Missouri.
Memorial donations in her name may be sent to the Rabbi Joseph Goldman Education and Endowment fund of Temple Israel, or to a charity of the donor’s choice.