Rabbi Mark Asher Goodman (he/him) is the spiritual leader for Brith Sholom Jewish Center of Erie, PA and the Associate Rabbi of Congregation Beth Shalom in Pittsburgh, PA. 

He recently published a book, 'Life Lessons from Recently Dead Rabbis: Hassidut for the People', a spiritual self-help book arranged according to the weekly Torah portion. You can purchase the book here.

He is the immediate past-president of the Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Clergy Association, and served as vice-president of the Rocky Mountain Rabbinical Council from 2015 to 2017. He is on the clergy council of Squirrel Hill Stands Against Gun Violence, Cease Fire PA, and HIAS. He is also part of the spiritual leaders caucus of the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network (PIIN).

He likes texts from the Hassidic tradition in particular because they probe our own personal stories and struggles by using Torah as a vehicle for self-examination. He is Congregation Beth Shalom's instructor for Introduction to Judaism, and sponsors and mentors many people who are on a path toward becoming Jewish.

From 2012 to 2017 he served as School Rabbi and Director of Judaic Studies at Denver Jewish Day School in Denver, CO. He concurrently served as the rabbi for Congregation Har Mishpacha in Steamboat Springs from 2014 until 2018. 

From 2006-2011, he was a teacher of Talmud and Jewish Law at JCHS of the Bay in San Francisco, CA, when he also served as coach of JCHS’s Moot Beit Din team, a national Jewish day school competition in Jewish Law. His team won three consecutive national championships.

Rabbi Goodman was ordained in 2006 from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, the Conservative movement’s seminary on the West Coast. While at Ziegler, he was an intern with Clergy and Laity United for Economic justice (CLUE), advocating for the rights of low-wage workers, and co-founded the Ziegler School's LGBT Advocacy group, Dror Yikra. From 2004-2006 he was the founding spiritual leader of the Surf City Synagogue, the Conservative shul of Huntington Beach, CA. 

Rabbi Goodman is married to Noa Goodman, a pelvic-floor physical therapist. He is also the proud Abba of Yigal and Etta Goodman. He and his family have lived in Pittsburgh since 2018.

Rabbi Mark is a big soccer fan, a competent skier and harmonica player, and an accredited archery instructor. He used to be a runner, but he is slow enough these days that he might be more appropriately termed a 'jogger.' Despite the misleading photo above, he is a terrible guitarist. He has one misdemeanor conviction for political protest, and a turtle named Lefty. Lefty is 19 years old.

Rabbi Goodman tweets on Torah at twitter.com/rabbimarkasherg.

​He tweets about soccer at twitter.com/soccer_rabbi.

If you'd like to reach Rabbi Goodman, you can contact through twitter, or email him at mgoodman@bethshalompgh.org.