| Eric Yoffie | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1947 United States |
| Occupation | Rabbi |
| Religion | Jewish |
Eric H. Yoffie is a Reform rabbi, and president of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), the congregational arm of the Reform movement in North America which represents an estimated 1.5 million Reform Jews in more than 900 synagogues across the United States and Canada. He has remained the unchallenged head of American Judaism’s largest denomination since 1996.[1]
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Yoffie was raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, where his family belonged to historic Temple Emanuel, and he was involved in the Reform Movement's Youth organization, the North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY). Yoffie first held the position of president in the Northeast Region of NFTY before moving on to be the organization's Vice President in 1966-1967.
After high school Yoffie spent his freshman year at Stanford University, and graduated from Brandeis University. He received his Rabbinical ordination from Hebrew Union College in New York in 1974. He served congregations in Lynbrook, NY, and Durham, NC, 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 Reform Judaism 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 named Yoffie the number one Jewish leader in America.
He is married to Amy Jacobson Yoffie. The couple has two children, and resides in Westfield, NJ.
On June 10, 2010 Yoffie announced his plan to step down from the post of president of URJ in June 2012, when he will be 65.[2] Rabbi Richard Jacobs, currently the senior rabbi at Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale, NY, is appointed as his successor.[3]
Some of the many issues that Rabbi Yoffie has been involved with as president of URJ are gun control, LGBT rights, the death penalty, religious pluralism and assistance on various Israel-related issues. Religiously he has been a proponent of increased traditionalism within Reform Judaism, urging a greater focus on Jewish text study and prayer. Yoffie has led the Reform Movement to move congregational life toward greater attention to Torah study and adult literacy. He has spearheaded a major expansion of the Union's summer camping program. In 2005 he introduced the Sacred Choices curriculum to teach sexual ethics to teens in camps and congregations.
He has announced two worship initiatives. The first, in 1999, was designed to help congregations become "houses in which we pray with joy." The second, eight years later, encouraged congregations to rethink their Shabbat morning worship and fostered Shabbat observance among individual Reform Jews.
Yoffie has been a pioneer in interfaith relations and has launched Movement-wide dialogue programs with both Christians and Muslims. In 2005, he was the first Jew to address the Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Later that year, he harshly criticized the Religious Right for its exclusionary beliefs but in 2006 he accepted the invitation of the Rev. Jerry Falwell to address the students and faculty of Liberty University, where he spoke frankly of areas of agreement and disagreement. In 2007 Rabbi Yoffie was the first leader of a major Jewish organization to speak at the convention of the Islamic Society of North America. Recently, he has been a proponent of Muslim-American Rights and is a strong supporter of the Park 51 Community Center.
Yoffie has also been deeply involved in issues of social justice and community concern. A prominent spokesperson for sensible gun control, he was the only religious leader to appear at the Million Mom March in Washington, DC. He has also worked tirelessly on behalf of the Jewish state and the rights of Reform Jews in Israel, and meets frequently with Israel's elected officials to present the concerns of the Reform Movement and North American Jewry. Along with other Jewish Leaders, Yoffie has been outspoken against all legislative efforts that would limit religious freedom in Israel or impact Israel’s law of return.
In April 2006, evangelical pastor Jerry Falwell invited Yoffie to address the students at his very conservative Liberty University. Yoffie first spoke shared values of family and morality before defending church-state separation and gay marriage, which elicited boos from the students.[1]
In June 2006, Yoffie declined to meet with Israeli President Moshe Katsav after the President refused to address Yoffie by the title "Rabbi". The Chief Rabbinate of Israel does not recognize rabbinic ordinations from non-Orthodox institutions.[4] Katsav explained that he was not the one who decides "on matters of ordination and titles in Israel".[5]
On August 31, 2007, Yoffie gave remarks at the Islamic Society of North America's 44th annual convention in Chicago, IL.[6] Yoffie speaks of "a huge and profound ignorance of Islam" by Jews and Christians in North America. He states that, "the time has come to listen to our Muslim neighbors speak, from their heart and in their own words, about the spiritual power of Islam and their love for their religion." He conversely asks the conference for more understanding of Judaism; "The dialogue will not be one way, of course. You will teach us about Islam and we will teach you about Judaism. We will help you to overcome stereotyping of Muslims, and you will help us to overcome stereotyping of Jews."