Five years ago, David Goodman quit his job as a Detroit-based reporter for Associated Press, packed up his Ford Focus and drove to Philadelphia to begin a new life as a rabbinical student. Now, he’s in his next-to-last year at Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and is excited to start a fresh adventure as a student rabbi for Nafshenu.
Last year, David worked with college students through Hillel at West Chester University. Before that, he taught third-graders and tutored b’nai mitzvah students at congregation Kol Tzedek in West Philly. He has lived and studied in Israel, first as a high school exchange student with NFTY and later at Haifa and Tel Aviv universities. For many years, he was a member and lay service leader at Congregation T’chiyah in Detroit. He loves to sing, study Jewish texts and to bring the joy of learning and spiritual connection into Jewish communal life. David and his wife, Pearl, a physical therapist, live in Elkins Park, PA. They have three adult children and (so far) one grandchild.
Deb Ferguson was raised in a Jewish household in Voorhees, NJ during the 1980’s and 90’s. Growing up in South Jersey, her family was a member of a Reform congregation that grew from a small community to a large one in South Jersey. As a young girl, she was proud to become a Bat Mitzvah in 1991 and stay through confirmation in 1994.
In 1995, Deb left her congregation and decided to learn about the religions of the world from anyone who would speak with her. As a student at the University of Pittsburgh in 1996 and 1997, she would enjoy speaking to leaders of all religious communities, including Hare Krishna’s Catholics, Christians, Muslims, as well as Atheists and Agnostics. As a result, she learned that G-d was in everything and that religion was not always the same as faith.
While she did not find a Jewish community that she felt was home for her and her family for many years, she always enjoyed a rich sense of faith and never lost her Jewish roots. Once her son, Jaxon, was born, she looked for a community she could feel comfortable in and enjoy raising her son to love and know G-d and appreciate his Jewish faith. That is when Deb found Nafshenu.
Aside from being a wife, mother, and proud member of Nafshenu’s Jewish community, Deb works as an investigative paralegal at a firm located in Cherry Hill, where she helps conduct corporate fraud investigations. She also is the owner of The Mighty Pen, LLC, a content writing business that helps companies find their voice. When she is not working or spending time with family, she enjoys helping the Alzheimer’s association with their mission and working with the South Jersey Paralegal Association with their goals to help the professionals in her paralegal community. During her free time, she may be caught sleeping for two or three minutes a day!
Shera and Eric Goldstein are proud to be among the founding families of Nafshenu.
Shera leads Nafshenu’s Hadracha (Education) program for children in Pre-K through 12th grade. She holds a Master’s degree in Education (Reading) and is a certified Reading Specialist. She taught second grade for eight years and currently works as a literacy instructional coach. Shera is excited to be a part of the Nafshenu family along with Eric and their daughter Lila and son Owen.
Eric is Nafshenu's photographer. A lifelong resident of the area and active member of a local synagogue in his youth, Eric is proud to be working alongside other families to make Nafshenu into the type of Jewish community that he and his family can call home. Being a part of this process holds a special place to Eric, as both his maternal and paternal grandparents were founding members of their synagogues in their respective hometowns on Long Island, New York.
Lauren currently resides in Cherry Hill with her husband Stephen and her two sons, Paul and Jason. After graduating Cherry Hill High School East in 1991, Lauren went on to receive her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Rutgers College – School of Business and became a CPA.
As an interfaith family, Lauren and Stephen decided to provide their children with the foundation of Judaism. However, not having grown up connected with the Jewish community through a synagogue or religious education, Lauren had been searching for her place in the Jewish Community for many years. Finally feeling inspired by Rabbi Larry, Lauren became a Bat Mitzvah in 2015.
Both Lauren and Stephen are extremely excited to be one of the founding members of Nafshenu, and is confident that its presence will be able to connect many people who are also searching for their place in the Jewish Community, one where everyone will feel like they belong.
Larry Ottenberg is a proud father to his two children Aaron and Danielle and husband to his wife Debbie. He has been a resident of Cherry Hill for the last nineteen years. Larry has a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from Trenton State College and a Master of Business Administration degree from Rutgers University. Larry works in the corporate facilities field and leads Integrated Facilities Management.
Larry and Debbie decided to join Nafshenu as it is a welcoming community where their children would want to embrace Jewish life and prepare for their Bar and Bat Mitzvah’s. The family has been regularly attending services since the founding of Nafshenu and Larry is proud to now join the core team
