Rabbi Solomon Hoffman

Rabbi Solomon Hoffman is the associate rabbi of Kehillah Synagogue in Chapel Hill, N.C. He was previously the rabbinic leader of Mishkan Ha’am, and an educator and musical director at his childhood synagogue, the Reconstructionist Synagogue of the North Shore in Plandome, N.Y. He completed a year-long chaplaincy residency in the Mount Sinai Health System with focuses in palliative care, behavioral health and gender-affirming surgery. Hoffman graduated from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 2023. While in school, he enjoyed researching early rabbinic attitudes toward music, supporting his classmates as a liturgy tutor and convening the RRC Music Collective. Hoffman brings a diverse musical background to his prayer leadership and liturgical compositions. An interdisciplinary video for his setting of Psalm 147, “Harofei,” has been played in services around the world and was profiled by the radio program “Interfaith Voices.” He has shared his music as a guest prayer leader in several communities, and has produced concerts and recordings for Reconstructing Judaism and the Music Together Sing Shalom program. His first album of Jewish music, “Psalms for the 2020’s,” will be released in September.

Essays

Close-up of a sheet of classical music with handwritten notes and markings on the pages.

Have We Composed Enough New Melodies?

September 5, 2025

Music can be understood as another form of midrash, textual interpretation.

Rabbi Solomon Hoffman

Essays

Have We Composed Enough New Melodies?

Sign up for our newsletter

The Reconstructionist Network

Read & Rite

Havaya Summer Programs

Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association

Placement Office

Reconstructionist Educators of North America