Howard Jaffe

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Rabbi Howard L. Jaffe was ordained by the Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion in 1983, and has been the Senior Rabbi of Temple Isaiah of Lexington since August of 2000. Previously, he was the rabbi of Temple Har Shalom in Warren, New Jersey, and Associate Rabbi of Temple Israel, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Rabbi Jaffe’s early involvement in the youth group of his local synagogue ignited his passion for sharing the meaning and values of Judaism. During his college and rabbinical school years, he directed the youth programs of several different synagogues, as well as the New York City region of NFTY (the North American Federation of Temple Youth). His many years as a staff member of Reform movement camps are echoed in his continued service as a camp rabbi at the URJ Eisner Camp, where he spends a portion of each summer.

Throughout his rabbinic career, Rabbi Jaffe has served on the boards of a variety of community organizations, including the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition of Minnesota, the Twin Cities Human Rights Coalition, and the Somerset County (NJ) Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. He served for two terms as president of the Minnesota Rabbinical Association, and is the immediate past co-chair of the Lexington Interfaith Clergy Association, as well as the immediate past chair of the Boston Area Association of Reform Rabbis. During his years in Minnesota, he served on the faculty of Macalester College and the University of St. Thomas, and was a guest lecturer to the student bodies of St. John Vianney (preparatory) Seminary and the St. Paul Seminary.

Much of Rabbi Jaffe’s efforts beyond the synagogue have been directed to the work of the Reform movement. He has been a member of the board and of the executive committee of ARZA (Association of Reform Zionists of America), is currently vice-chair of the Reform Movement’s Commission on Outreach and Synagogue Community, and served as co-chair of the planning committee of the symposium celebrating the twentieth anniversary of Reform Jewish Outreach. Rabbi Jaffe is a past-president of the New Jersey Association of Reform Rabbis, and a former board member of the Central Conference of American rabbis.

Rabbi Jaffe has a single mission: to continue to build a vibrant, dynamic Jewish community dedicated to the values and traditions of Judaism and the Jewish people.