Eric Yoffie
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Eric H. Yoffie is a
Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...
rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...
, and President Emeritus of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ). He was the head of the URJ denomination from 1996 to 2012.Forward 50, 2007: Eric Yoffie
, ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', November 10, 2006
Following his retirement in 2012, he has been a lecturer and writer; his writings appear regularly in ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
'', ''
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'', and ''
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...
''.


Family and career

Rabbi Yoffie was raised in
Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...
, where his family belonged to Temple Emanuel, and he was involved in the North American Federation of Temple Youth (
NFTY NFTY: The North American Federation for Temple Youth (formerly known as the National Federation for Temple Youth, often referred to simply as NFTY, commonly pronounced ''"nifty"'') is the organized youth movement of Reform Judaism in North Amer ...
). He was president in the Northeast Region of NFTY before becoming the organization's Vice President in 1965–1966. After high school, Yoffie spent one year at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
before graduating from
Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...
. He received his
semikhah ''Semikhah'' () is the traditional term for rabbiinic ordination in Judaism. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 CE. Si ...
from
Hebrew Union College Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until ...
in New York in 1974. He served congregations in
Lynbrook, New York Lynbrook is a village in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 20,438 at the time of the 2020 census. History The area currently known as Lynbrook has had o ...
and
Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...
, before joining the URJ as director of the Midwest Council in 1980. In 1983 he was named Executive Director of the Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA). In 1992 he became vice president of the URJ and director of the Commission on Social Action. In addition, he served as executive editor of the ''
Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish religious movements, Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its Jewish ethics, ethical aspects to its ceremo ...
'' magazine. On July 1, 1996, he succeeded Rabbi Alexander M. Schindler as president of the Union for Reform Judaism. In 1999 ''
The Jewish Daily Forward ''The Forward'' (), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ''The New York Times'' reported that Set ...
'' named Yoffie the number one Jewish leader in America. In 2009 ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'' named him #8 on its list of "50 Influential Rabbis." He is married to Amy Jacobson Yoffie. The couple has two children, and reside in
Westfield, New Jersey Westfield is a Town (New Jersey), town in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located southwest of Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 31,032, an increase of 716 (+2.4% ...
. On June 10, 2010, Rabbi Yoffie announced his intention to step down from the post of president of the URJ at the age of 65, in June 2012. He was succeeded by Rabbi Rick Jacobs


Views on Jewish life

Rabbi Yoffie has promoted increased traditionalism within Reform Judaism, encouraging greater focus on Jewish text study and prayer.
Jonathan Sarna Jonathan D. Sarna (born 10 January 1955) is the Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History in the department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and director othe Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis Universit ...
observed that Yoffie, during his presidency of the URJ, urged Reform Jews to enrich their spiritual lives and expand their knowledge of Judaism. During his tenure, Yoffie announced two major worship initiatives. The first, in 1999, aimed to help congregations become "houses in which we pray with joy." The second, introduced eight years later, encouraged individual Shabbat observance and urged congregations to rethink Shabbat morning worship. He also supported lifelong Jewish study by helping synagogues develop programs to enhance adult Jewish literacy. In 2005, he introduced the ''Sacred Choices'' curriculum, which focused on teaching sexual ethics to teenagers in Reform camps and congregations. In his recent writings, Yoffie has opposed
Jewish secularism Jewish secularism (Hebrew: יהדות חילונית) refers to secularism in a Jewish context, denoting the definition of Jewish identity with little or no attention given to its religious aspects. The concept of Jewish secularism first arose ...
and cultural interpretations of Judaism. He has stated that a religiously grounded Judaism is essential to the future of the Jewish community.


Views on interfaith relations

Rabbi Yoffie initiated dialogue programs between the URJ and both Christians and Muslims. In 2005, he was the first Jew to address the Churchwide Assembly of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. As of December 31, 2023, it ...
. Later that year, he accepted an invitation from Rev.
Jerry Falwell Jerry Laymon Falwell Sr. (August 11, 1933 – May 15, 2007) was an American Baptist pastor, televangelist, and conservatism in the United States, conservative activist. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch ...
to speak at
Liberty University Liberty University (LU), known simply as Liberty, is a Private university, private Evangelicalism in the United States, evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservativ ...
, becoming the first rabbi to address a university-wide convocation there. In his remarks, he discussed shared values of family and morality, as well as differences, including
church-state separation The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular sta ...
and
gay marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 billion people (20% ...
, which drew boos from some students. On August 21, 2007, Rabbi Yoffie became the first leader of a major Jewish organization to address the convention of the
Islamic Society of North America The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is a non-profit Muslim religious organization based in the United States and serving North America. It provides a number of programs and services to North America's Muslim communities and broader societ ...
. He spoke about ignorance of Islam among Jews and Christians in North America and called for mutual understanding. He suggested that Jews and Muslims educate each other about their respective faiths and work to overcome stereotyping. Yoffie later supported Park51 and advocated for the rights of Muslim Americans. Rabbi Yoffie has expressed opposition to
atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...
, stating that it lacks "humility, imagination, and curiosity."


Views on social justice

As President of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), Rabbi Yoffie addressed a range of social justice issues. He opposed the death penalty, supported LGBTQ+ rights, and advocated for
gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms and ammunition by civilians. Most countries allow civilians to own firearms, bu ...
. He was the only religious leader to speak at the
Million Mom March The Million Mom March was a rally held on Mother's Day, May 14, 2000 in the Washington, D.C. National Mall by the Million Mom March organization to call for stricter gun control. The march reportedly drew an estimated attendance of 500,000 to 75 ...
, where he stated that "the indiscriminate distribution of guns is an offense against God and humanity." He further remarked that "our gun-flooded society has turned weapons into idols, and the worship of idols must be recognized for what it is—blasphemy. And the only appropriate religious response to blasphemy is sustained moral outrage."


Relationship with Israel

Rabbi Yoffie has focused much of his public efforts on supporting the State of Israel and strengthening the relationship between Israel and
American Jews American Jews (; ) or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by culture, ethnicity, or religion. According to a 2020 poll conducted by Pew Research, approximately two thirds of American Jews identify as Ashkenazi, 3% id ...
. As President of the URJ, he met frequently with Israeli officials to convey the concerns of the Reform movement and North American Jewry. He has been an advocate for religious freedom and pluralism in Israel, maintaining that Judaism should be promoted through education and persuasion rather than coercion. In June 2006, Rabbi Yoffie declined to meet with then-Israeli President
Moshe Katsav Moshe Katsav (; born Musa Qassab; 5 December 1945) is an Israeli former politician and was the president of Israel from 2000 to 2007. He was also a leading Likud member of the Israeli Knesset and a minister in its Cabinet of Israel, cabinet. He ...
after Katsav refused to address him with the title "rabbi." This decision highlighted the
Israeli Chief Rabbinate The Chief Rabbinate of Israel (, ''Ha-Rabbanut Ha-Rashit Li-Yisra'el'') is recognized by law as the supreme rabbinic authority for Judaism in Israel. It was established in 1921 under the British Mandate, and today operates on the basis of the ...
's policy of not recognizing non- Orthodox rabbinic ordinations. In 2014, Rabbi Yoffie questioned presidential candidate
Reuven Rivlin Reuven "Ruvi" Rivlin ( ; born 9 September 1939) is an Israeli politician and lawyer who served as the president of Israel between 2014 and 2021. He is a member of the Likud party. Rivlin was Minister of Communications from 2001 to 2003, and su ...
on whether he would address Reform rabbis by their title. Rivlin did not address the issue directly during his candidacy.


Contemporary spirituality

Rabbi Yoffie has written on belief and spirituality in American life, addressing topics such as sin, atheism, community, immigration, health care, and economic justice from a progressive religious perspective. In ''What it Means to be a Liberal Person of Faith'' and other writings, he stated that progressive religion has a role in the modern era.


References


External links


Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, biography
Interview by Aron Hirt-Manheimer, Union of American Hebrew Congregations, Fall 1996
Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie Contemplations
Interview by Aron Hirt-Manheimer, Union for Reform Judaism, Spring 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Yoffie, Eric Living people 1940s births American Reform rabbis Rabbis from Massachusetts Brandeis University alumni Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion alumni 20th-century American rabbis 21st-century American rabbis Clergy from Worcester, Massachusetts People from Lynbrook, New York People from Durham, North Carolina People from Westfield, New Jersey Year of birth missing (living people)