Stephen Wise Temple and Schools would like to congratulate our cantorial intern, Josh Goldberg, as he takes his next steps in his career. At the end of the school year, Goldberg will officially take his post as cantor at Congregation Micah, a reform synagogue in Nashville, Tenn. We will celebrate all Goldberg has brought to the Wise community in a special Shabbat service on June 17 with our clergy and the Stephen Wise Temple band. All are encouraged to attend in person to wish him well.
The move not only concludes Goldberg’s two-year internship at Wise, but marks a new chapter in a relationship that stretches back more than a decade. He started a song leader with our Center for Youth Engagement while he was a sophomore at USC, worked with Camp Wise, met his wife Andrea across the street at AJU, and married her in the Wise sanctuary in 2017. He eventually came to be involved with music in Wise services, concerts, and recording sessions as well, before officially becoming our cantorial intern in July of 2020.
“We have been blessed to have Josh as our intern the past two years here at Wise, and he has been a part of our musical team for years before that, contributing to many concerts, services, and programs in our schools,” said Senior Cantor Emma Lutz. “Josh is a very special talent, and while we will miss him here in L.A., we wish him and Annie the greatest blessings in this next chapter in Nashville! We hope he will be able to visit and that we will continue our sacred collaborations for many years to come.”
“To get to serve as the intern at Wise for two years during cantorial school really felt like coming full circle,” said Goldberg. “Wise has been my spiritual home and family for the past decade. I have so much love and respect for everyone in the Wise family who I’ve gotten to collaborate with over the years; including the clergy team, the band, the sound and tech crew, all the temple and admin staff, CYE staff, Wise School teachers and administrators, and our incredible maintenance and security teams.”
Wise’s next cantorial intern is a familiar face to the Wise community. For the past year, Andrew Paskil has been part of our musical retinue, singing and chanting at services, lending his voice and guitar to Aaron Milken Center Shabbats, and working with our CYE.
Originally from Huntington Beach, Paskil was passionate about Jewish music from an early age, singing in his synagogue’s High Holy Day choir at the age of 10. Like Cantor Emma, he has a background in musical theater, performing in New York for six and a half years before returning to Southern California in 2020.
Currently in his second year of cantorial school at AJRCA in Los Angeles, Paskil has served as a song leader at Temple Akiba in Culver City and a Hebrew tutor at Kehillat Israel in Pacific Palisades. He chose to take on his new role at Wise because of the opportunity to learn under Cantor Emma and new Stephen Wise Temple and Schools Music Director Tali Tadmor.
“Both are incredible leaders and role models in the Los Angeles Jewish community,” Paskil said.
Having worked with children for the last 12 years, Paskil is driven by his passion for reaching young congregants through music and inspiring the next generation of Jewish leaders.
“We are so looking forward to officially welcoming Andrew as our cantorial intern beginning in July,” said Cantor Emma. “Andrew has already been an integral part of our Wise community, song-leading weekly in Aaron Milken Center and singing frequently on Friday evenings. Andrew is friendly, warm, and has a glorious voice and bimah presence. We are lucky to be able to sing with and learn from Andrew as he serves as our intern during this year of his cantorial studies.”