Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum
575 3rd Street NorthwestIn 1960s Washington, the Goldbergs hosted annual seders famous for weaving the Haggadah together with the songs and history of the labor movement. As Arthur Goldberg’s career carried him from representing steelworkers, to serving as JFK’s Labor Secretary, to a seat on the Supreme Court, the guest list grew from local Jewish families and labor leaders to include Washington’s A-list. Arthur and his wife, Dorothy—an artist and activist in her own right—filled their civil-rights-themed seders with joy and music. (Picture Dorothy singing Yiddish labor songs, AFL-CIO leader George Meany belting Irish ballads, and Chief Justice Earl Warren warbling “The Yellow Rose of Texas.”)
Join us for a night of stories from guests lucky enough to have known the Goldbergs and attended these gatherings.
Presented in partnership with the Supreme Court Historical Society.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Stephen Breyer clerked for Justice Goldberg in the 1964 Term and served as an Associate Justice from 1994 to 2022. He will participate by a recorded video.
Kathleen Brylawski Miller and her family lived next door to the Goldbergs on Albemarle Street and attended their seder in 1961. Kathleen’s father Henry was a lawyer and historic preservationist and was a president of The Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington, the predecessor to the Capital Jewish Museum. Kathleen is a retired librarian.
Michael Caplin and his family were guests at a Goldberg seder shortly after moving to Washington in 1961 when Michael’s father, Mortimer Caplin, was appointed Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service under President Kennedy. Michael is an attorney specializing in social entrepreneurship and non-profit management.
James A. Feldman attended a Goldberg seder in 1962 when his father, Myer (Mike) Feldman was a close aide, speechwriter and counsel to President Kennedy and a close friend of Arthur Goldberg. James clerked for Supreme Court Justice William Brennan and was Assistant to the Solicitor General from 1989-2006. He was an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and has argued over 50 cases before the Supreme Court.
Steven V. Roberts. In 1966 Steve, who is Jewish, married renowned journalist and author Cokie Roberts, who was Catholic. Her parents, Hale and Lindy Boggs, had befriended the Goldbergs in the early 1960s while Hale was serving as a member of the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives. Justice Goldberg helped conduct Steve and Cokie's wedding and invited them to a seder in New York in the late 60s. The young couple then started holding their own seders partly inspired by the Goldbergs, and published their own Haggadah aimed at interfaith families. Steve is still a practicing journalist and professor at George Washington University and carries on their seder tradition.
John Shulman is the founder and managing partner at Juggernaut Capital. John has had a lifetime of connections to the Supreme Court: his father, Stephen, worked for several justices and Shulman and his brothers each had a Supreme Court justice as a godparent: John Harlan, Arthur Goldberg, and Felix Frankfurter. The Shulman family attended a Goldberg family seder in 1972.
Image caption: Arthur and Dorothy Goldberg at home with their son, Robert, in 1961. President Kennedy had just appointed Goldberg to be Secretary of Labor.
Thu, Nov 12, 2026 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum
575 3rd Street Northwest
The Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum collects, preserves, and shares the diverse stories of Jewish history and culture in the National Capital Region. Through exhibitions and programs, we build connections across generations and communities, encourage reflection on the relevance of the past to today, and inspire civic and community engagement.
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