RABBI SCOTT HOFFMAN

Rabbi Hoffman was born and raised in Silver Spring, MD, as was his wife Phyllis.  His parents were long-time members of Shaare Tefila Congregation, and as a child was identified as one of the synagogue's "promising" boys.  As such, he was taught personally by Rabbi Martin Halpern z"l, Cantor Gershon Levin, and the gabbaim. Rabbi Hoffman learned how to read the megillah and the Torah, how to daven, how to read a haftorah, and represented the U.S. twice in the International Bible Contest in Israel.

After graduating high school, Rabbi Hoffman attended the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in Biological Basis of Behavior and minoring in Jewish studies.  Rabbi Hoffman earned a BA at Penn in December 1985 and, after spending a semester in Israel, began his studies at JTS in 1986.  He was (re)introduced to his wife Phyllis (who he knew from childhood) by a mutual friend, and had a first date at the march for Soviet Jewry in Washington, D.C., in the fall of 1987.  After spending the 1988-9 academic year in Israel, Rabbi Hoffman and Phyllis were married in July 1989.

The rabbi was ordained by JTS in 1991. He then served as rabbi of Congregation Chevra Thilim in New Orleans and assistant rabbi of Beth El Synagogue in New Rochelle, New York.  In 1995, he assumed the pulpit of Lake Success Jewish Center, where he served the last 12 years.  Rabbi Hoffman's additional roles included visiting instructor of Talmud at JTS, nursing home chaplain at Grace Plaza and Sterling Glen, and first vice president of the Rabbinical Assembly of Nassau and Suffolk.  The rabbi's wife Phyllis has held various positions over this span, but is an opera singer by training who recently received certification to teach in the public schools.

Rabbi Hoffman and his wife are proud parents of three boys, David, Reuven and Ethan.