Our Senior Rabbi
Rabbi Matthew Soffer is the Senior Rabbi of Judea Reform Congregation in Durham, N.C., where he leads a community of over 650 families through the cycles of an engaged, pluralistic, and modern Jewish life.
As a writer, musician, and community organizer, his rabbinate is informed by the belief that friendship and love are Jewish values, life is precious, and Judaism exists for the purpose of improving the human condition - both individually and systemically. Rabbi Soffer has provided years of pastoral care as well as ritual innovation and he is devoted to mining ancient texts for meaning with an embrace of challenging questions.
Rabbi Soffer was ordained by HUC-JIR, where he earned an M.A. in Hebrew Literature and was in the inaugural class of the Tisch Rabbinical Fellowship. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Muhlenberg College with a degree in English Literature. His formative Jewish learning developed at URJ Camp Harlam, where he experienced Judaism as a way of living meaningfully, rather than a conventional religion.
Prior to joining Judea Reform Congregation Rabbi Soffer, was the Senior Associate Rabbi of Temple Israel of Boston, the largest Reform Temple in New England, where he directed the Riverway Project, led its social justice work through its community organizing arm (“Tikkun Central”), and founded and directed the Village for Families with Young Children, a project that has touched thousands of families with the blessings of Judaism.
Rabbi Soffer joined Judea Reform Congregation in 2019 as its Senior Rabbi. His leadership blends humor, compassion, and creativity. He currently serves on the Strategy Team of DurhamCAN, the Board of Jewish for Good (Jewish Federation), and is on the Board of the North Carolina Jewish Clergy Association. He is committed to building personal and communal interfaith relationships that empower and enrich progressive coalitions in the South.
Rabbi Soffer diversifies the experience of Jewish practice through musical composition, performance, and even his stand-up comedy troupe called Three Rabbis Walk into a Bar. He has been recognized by Newsweek/Daily Beast as one of “10 Rabbis to Watch,” and he was selected as one of the Religious Action Center’s “50 Faces of Justice.”
