Rabbi Joel Abraham served as Rabbi of Temple Sholom from 1999 to 2025, guiding the Temple in its move from Plainfield, through its time in the wilderness in Fanwood, to its new location in Scotch Plains. During his tenure, he served as a leader in social and racial justice, in civic community, and in interfaith relations.
Before becoming Rabbi at Temple Sholom in 1999, he served pulpits in California, Nevada, Virginia, and West Virginia. Rabbi Abraham is a member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis; and the Past President (and current Secretary) of the New Jersey-West Hudson Valley Association of Reform Rabbis; mazkir of the NFTY-GER Clergy team; member of the Central New Jersey Va'ad haRabbanim and the Steering Committee of the MetroWest Rabbis' Roundtable; a member of the steering committee for the Union County Interfaith Coordinating Committee; (twice) past president of the Scotch Plains/Fanwood Ministerium; he is a co-founder and Board member of Social Justice Matters, and Board Secretary of Faith in New Jersey, and is fiercely committed to increasing justice in our turbulent world. In 2019, he was the joint recipient of the Union County Human Relations Commission's Unit Award for Achievement for the work of Social Justice Matters, and was awarded the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Martin Luther King Day of Service award in 2022.
Rabbi Abraham lives in Fanwood with his spouse, Michelle Shapiro Abraham, DRJE, the Executive Director of JBI Library. They have two children, Avital and Ezri.
