Founder: Rabbi Joel E. Soffin

Rabbi Joel Soffin has been a life-long social activist, addressing the needs of the poor and the vulnerable in many places around the world. His study of economics drew him to the poor and his rabbinic career of more than thirty years enabled him to begin to address their needs. He has been recognized for this work with several awards and most especially, through the renewed lives of others. In retirement from the congregation, he continues his work through Jewish Helping Hands.

Rabbi Soffin initially studied to become an economist. He studied the economy of El Salvador and developed a deep sensitivity for the poor of the world. He has a PhD pending at Yale University.

In 1971, he began his studies for the rabbinate at Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City. He was the student rabbi/youth director at Temple Emanuel in Westfield, New Jersey where he was inspired by the deep sense of justice and social action demonstrated by the teen-agers. He was ordained in 1976 and then served as the Assistant Rabbi at Temple Beth Israel in Hartford, Connecticut.

Three years later, Rabbi Soffin became the Rabbi of Temple Shalom in Succasunna, NJ. While there, he developed a long series of social action projects. There were visits to Soviet Jewish refuseniks and the creation of the International Committee to Rescue the Mendeleev Family, the resettlement of a Vietnamese boat family and six Soviet Jewish families, and the housing and feeding of the homeless.

The range of his concerns broadened as projects were undertaken in several different countries. There was the Chicken Project for campesino families in Ciudad Romero, El Salvador and the help to restore homes that had been destroyed in a series of earthquakes and hurricanes. During the depression in Argentina, the Jewish community of the city of Mendoza was adopted. Enough money was provided to enable the community to meet all of the needs they had identified and soon to get back on their feet.

Rabbi Soffin and members of Temple Shalom traveled to Zvenigorodka, Ukraine, twice to help the community rebuild the synagogue that was returned to them and to provide a Torah scroll, an Aron Kodesh (Ark) and a Ner Tamid (Eternal Light). The pensions of the poor elderly were doubled, transportation to the regional Religious School was provided, and a para-rabbinic leader was supported. The synagogue insisted on naming itself "Temple Shalom." It now has double services for the High Holidays.

Most recently, Rabbi Soffin went to Ethiopia. After the trip, he adopted an orphanage of HIV+ children and created Shalom Ethiopia - the Million Quarter Project to provide over a million meals to Ethiopian Jewish children still in Ethiopia. He served as the national president of the North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry until June 2007.
He also created the Adult Mitzvah Corps of the Reform Movement and led weeks of Jewish Religious Living in New Orleans and several other American cities, including home building and restoration projects.

Upon his retirement from Temple Shalom, generous donors enabled him to create the Yad Soffin Foundation. He presently serves as the Social Action Rabbinic Scholar-in-Residence at the Barnert Temple in Franklin Lakes, NJ, and will be the Sabbatical Rabbi at Bet Ha'am synagogue in South Portland, Maine, beginning January 2008.

Rabbi Soffin attributes his passion for social action and all of Jewish life to his mother, Sarah Soffin, aleha hashalom, may she rest in peace. He has been married to Sandy for more than forty years and is the proud father of Jeremy and Aaron.