He leads Congregation Netivot Shalom of Teaneck, New Jersey, and served as president of the International Rabbinic Fellowship.
Helfgot studied at Yeshivat Har Etzion for two years and later attended Yeshiva University, the Azrieli Graduate School, and the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, where he obtained his semikhah (rabbinical ordination).
[6] In July 2010, as a response to the December 2009 panel held at Yeshiva University under the title "Being Gay in the Modern Orthodox World", Helfgot published an online "Statement of Principles on the Place of Jews with a Homosexual Orientation in Our Community" which garnered hundreds of signatures.
[7] In February 2019, a three quarters majority of the Rabbinical Council of Bergen County's (RCBC) board voted, after meeting twice, to amend its bylaws in order to remove Helfgot and Netivot Shalom from its affiliation over his hiring of a female rabbinic intern from Yeshivat Maharat.
Helfgot, who was present at both meetings and addressed the council, issued a statement both praising the RCBC as an institution and expressing his "disagreement and disappointment" with its decision.