With four decades of experience studying and teaching Biblical history, philosophy, and ethics, Rabbi Yonason Goldson draws on 3000 years of ancient wisdom to meet the challenges of the modern world. He is the author of seven books, and his column, The Ethical Lexicon, appears weekly in Fast Company magazine. His mission is to communicate the universal values of traditional spiritual discipline to an increasingly secular society.

Also known as the Ethics Ninja and the Hitchhiking Rabbi, Yonason works with business and community leaders, as well as students, to create a culture of ethics that earns trust, sparks initiative, and limits liability. He is a keynote speaker, business advisor, and TEDx presenter, as well as an award-winning podcast host. He also serves as Executive Vice President of the Missouri chapter of the Coalition for Jewish Values.

After graduating from the University of California with a degree in English, Yonason embarked on an adventure hitchhiking across the United States and backpacking across Europe. He ended up in Israel, where he spent nine years studying to receive his rabbinic ordination. He then taught high school for the next 23 years in Budapest, Hungary, Atlanta, GA, and St. Louis, MO, where he and his wife live happily as empty-nesters.
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Yonason has circumnavigated the globe, seen the Taj Mahal, the pyramids of Giza, and the tea plantations of Sri Lanka. He has hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and to the tops of the Sierra Nevada. He’s jumped out of an airplane and undergone open-heart surgery (but not at the same time).