Rabbi Friedman grew up in Great Neck, N.Y., where his family was proud to be dedicated members of Temple Beth-El. He holds a B.A. in History from Yale University and was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in 2004. He has served as associate rabbi at Central Synagogue since 2008. Prior to that, Rabbi Friedman was director of high school programs at the Union for Reform Judaism from 2004 until 2006 and served as assistant rabbi at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in Short Hills, N.J., from 2006 until 2008.
During his time in rabbinical school, Rabbi Friedman spent two years as a rabbinic intern at Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale, N.Y., and one year as a rabbinic intern at the New York Kollel. Rabbi Friedman served as program director for Project Understanding, an interfaith experience for Jewish and Catholic youth on Long Island, and as a coordinator of the HUC-JIR Soup Kitchen. He is a member of the Running Rabbis, who use distance running to improve the world in which we live. In his free time Rabbi Friedman likes to play golf, hike, run marathons, and cook.
