Born and raised in Seattle, WA, Rabbi Forman was ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio, Rabbi Forman received his Masters of Arts in Hebrew Letters from the Seminary, adding to an impressive list of educational credits that includes a Doctoral degree from Boston University's School of Theology, and a Doctor of Divinity degree from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and a bachelors from the University of Washington, where he was an honorary member of the National Forensic Society.

Upon Ordination, he accepted a commission in the U.S. Army, attaining the rank of Captain, and serving as Post-Jewish Chaplain at Fort Carson, Colorado. After completion of his tour of duty Rabbi Forman became an Associate Rabbi at the Abba Hillel Silver Temple in Cleveland, Ohio where he was honored to have served for six years with Dr. Daniel Jeremy Silver, the senior Rabbi of the congregation.  The Rabbi has taught courses in Bible, Philosophy, and History at Baldwin-Wallace College, Cuyahoga Community College, and at Cleveland State University.  In addition to his rabbinical duties in Cleveland, Rabbi Forman earned another Master of Arts in Religion and Philosophy at Case Western Reserve University. In 1970, the Rabbi was called to Ohef Sholom Temple in Norfolk, Virginia. During his first years in the Tidewater community, he taught in cooperation with the Jewish Chautauqua Society at Old Dominion University, and at colleges and universities throughout Virginia.  Rabbi Forman helped establish a Chair of Jewish Studies at the College of William and Mary, and The Center for Religious Freedom at Virginia Wesleyan University in Virginia Beach.  He was the only Reform Rabbi appointed to Governor Charles Robb's Commission on the Future of Virginia; also serving on Governor Gerald Baliles’s Virginia-Israel Commission.

Rabbi Forman is a Past President of the Tidewater Board of Rabbis, and is the first Rabbi to serve as President of the Norfolk Clergy Association, and on the Executive Committee of the Theophilus Club.  Additionally, he is a Past President of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, Mid-Atlantic Region, and has participated on national commissions of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, serving on the Commission of Worship, Commission on Reform Judaism and Reform Jewish Education, and the nominating committee.

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