Jordan Soffer

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Mar 25, 2024, 7:23 PM

Of Influence and Impact: Esther and Our Children

“If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?” So goes the dismissive parental response to a child’s feeble attempt to contextualize his own bad behavior. The parent demands accountability and refuses to accept such dereliction. What if this passive-aggressive...

Jun 9, 2016, 6:20 AM

The Spectrum of Our Persuasions

Below are the remarks I shared moments before I was ordained as a rabbi at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah's chag hasemichah Birhshut Rosh HaYeshiva v'kol harabbanim. With the permission, too, of my parents, family, friends, classmates and my loving wife. Is our...

Mar 22, 2016, 10:59 PM

The Joys and Pains of a Diverse Community

I cherish the rampant diversity of thought and practice that permeates our Jewish community. I celebrate the multiplicity of opinions and experiences that defines our people. A lesbian, Reform rabbi from California and a heterosexual, Orthodox rabbi from Skokie...

May 9, 2014, 12:03 AM

A Time to Pray: Our Quest for Perpetual Purpose

One of the most profound attributes of a religious lifestyle is the gift of prayer. Though prayer can certainly be accessed from other avenues, I have found the rigidity of traditional Jewish liturgy particularly valuable in helping me to develop and...

Oct 30, 2013, 9:01 PM

Reviving the Torah Conversation

Throughout the past few weeks, the Orthodox Jewish press has been filled with articles screaming with horror about Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. Even a casual follower would notice a new headline everyday articulating the Orthodox Right’s refusal to accept YCT,...

Jul 15, 2013, 1:54 AM

A Long Overdue Thank You

To my Campers’ Parents, Thank you. Though it may seem odd for me to be thanking you, permit me to elaborate. For me, and for so many of my close friends, summer and camp have become synonymous. As the calendar transitions into...

May 29, 2013, 4:40 PM

An Open Letter to Rabbi Lippmann

Dear Rabbi Lippmann, Over the past weeks, a wonderful dialogue has emerged surrounding your polarizing “open letter” to the Reform Movement in which you propose that HUC-JIR admit intermarried students. Though I found your letter extraordinarily disheartening and problematic, I commend...

May 10, 2013, 12:30 PM

At the Kotel I lost the love of my life

Members of Women of the Wall gather at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Friday (photo credit: Michal Shmulovich/Times of Israel staff)

A young Orthodox man went to the Wall on Friday seeking joy and song and instead found obscenity

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About Me

Rabbi Jordan David Soffer is the Head of School at Striar Hebrew Academy. He received smicha from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah and a Master’s Degree in education from Yeshiva University, where he is currently an EdD candidate. Rabbi Soffer was awarded the 2020 Pomegranate Prize and is a Wexner Field Fellow. He is currently the Rabbinic Mentor for the Day School Leadership Training Institute. Rabbi Soffer lives in Sharon with his wife, Dr. Marti Soffer, and their four children Maayan, Reiut Shoshana, and Roey.