Students
Our students hail from around the globe and come from a variety of backgrounds. Their experiences, education, and careers prior to their joining Maharat shape who they are as students and as future leaders.
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Core Semikha
Zan Alhadeff
Zan Alhadeff
Zan Alhadeff grew up in Portland, Oregon and had a career as an urban planning consultant. She learned Torah at Hadar and Drisha and is a graduate of Maharat’s Beit Midrash Program (2023). Zan has taught Hebrew school and is currently a teaching intern at a local Jewish day school. Zan was also the Assistant Director of Drisha’s Dr Beth Samuels High School Summer Program, an intensive Torah learning program for girls. Zan lives in Riverdale, New York with her family.
Writings
Emily Bell
Emily Bell
Emily Bell has a passion for Jewish texts going back to her days as an undergraduate studying Yiddish literature. She currently serves as Programming Director at Congregation Orach Chaim, a shul on the Upper East Side. Emily is a UJA Graduate Fellow and Hadar Institute Binyan Olam Fellow and completed one unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at Mount Sinai Morningside. She holds a BA in Comparative Literature and Jewish Studies from Smith College.
Writings
Karolyn Benger
Karolyn Benger
Karolyn Benger was the Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council in Phoenix and served as the Executive Director of the Jewish Interest Free Loan in Atlanta. She is a graduate of Emory University with a degree in Political Science and a specialization in the Middle East where she studied Arab and Islamist opposition groups in Egypt. Karolyn has taught at Emory University, Georgia Tech, and Emerson College. Her love of Judaism, combined with her love of teaching and social justice, led her to join Maharat. You can find her writings in the Arizona Republic, eJewishPhilanthropy, Blue Avocado, The Times of Israel, and Bina. Karolyn is a board member of the Arizona Interfaith Movement, serving as the Vice President of Education. She also serves on the Jewish Advisory Board for the Phoenix Police Department, was a member of the Valley Interfaith Project’s 3rd Monseigneur Ryle Public Policy Faith Leader Institute, and a mentor in the Women’s Leadership Institute.
Writings
Rachel Berke
Rachel Berke
Rachel Berke was an attorney at the New York and Dallas offices of Fulbright & Jaworski LLP (now Norton Rose Fulbright) and in-house counsel for Blockbuster Inc. She is a graduate of Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women and Cardozo School of Law. Rachel served as Chair of the Akiba Academy of Dallas Board of Trustees and as a Trustee of Yavneh Academy of Dallas. She is the Treasurer of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance and is a member of its executive committee. Rachel and her husband have three children and are members of Darkhei Noam in NYC.
Denise Blumenfeld
Denise Blumenfeld
Denise Blumenfeld is a holistic existential counselor, holds a degree in NGO management, and has a master’s in Jewish Studies. She has over 10 years of experience leading religious services in Jewish communities in Argentina and more than 30 years of experience as a teacher of Judaism and Hebrew for children and adults. Her teaching experience spans Argentina, Panama, and a global audience through online platforms. Denise is deeply involved in educating about Jewish values and well-being, emphasizing the integration of body, mind, and spirit, and helping individuals—from children to adults—fully develop themselves and live in alignment with their highest values. She is also the creator of the educational platform Limud Jai, which includes a YouTube channel and a social media presence.
Chana Borow
Chana Borow
Chana Borow has a master’s in Jewish Education and a BA in History, and she currently serves as a Pulpit Intern at Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel in Chicago and Program Assistant at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale. Her experience includes teaching Middle School and High School Tanakh, Talmud and Jewish history at multiple institutions including the Abraham Joshua Heschel School. Chana specializes in making traditional Jewish texts accessible while fostering inclusive community spaces.
Writings
Shana Krakowski Burstein
Shana Krakowski Burstein
Shana Krakowski Burstein grew up in Chicago where she attended a Chabad elementary school and Bais Yaakov High School. Her family background was an intellectual one; open to different perspectives, so conversations at the Shabbat table were often religious debates and discussions. From a young age, she wanted to move to Israel and she did so after high school. She went to Seminary to MMY which she chose because they taught women gemara. Throughout her 19 years in Israel, she continued learning and searching for religious truth in various Yeshivot and institutions. While her perspectives and hashkafa changed with time, her passion for learning and teaching did not. Professionally in Israel, she worked in the social justice sector, running non profits and working for governmental organizations. She also pursued a degree in social work and a MA in public policy. Since moving to the United States, she has become a mother and has been working in Jewish Education and in a local refugee organization.
Writings
Yaffa Cheslow
Yaffa Cheslow
Yaffa Cheslow is a corporate and hedge fund lawyer and founder of Paint & Sip Studio New York. After graduating high school, Yaffa attended a gap year at Lindenbaum. She completed her undergraduate degree at Yeshiva University Stern College graduating summa cum laude and thereafter received her Juris Doctor from Benjamin N. Cordozo School of Law graduating magna cum laude. From a young age Yaffa felt a deep connection to Judaism which she has nurtured and cultivated. Yaffa enjoys analyzing and learning in-depth Jewish text and incorporating those principles into her daily life. Yaffa is married and has two children.
Elisheva Cohen
Elisheva Cohen
Elisheva Cohen grew up in Brooklyn where she was initiated into Charedi culture at a young age. Although she always dreamed of being involved in Jewish education at a high level, the opportunity to do so was not available to her. Instead, she completed medical school and went on to have a career as a doctor. Since the COVID pandemic, Elisheva has had the opportunity to engage in Jewish learning while continuing to work as a doctor. She attends multiple classes in her community including the daily Daf Yomi. In addition, she has begun studying languages in an effort to build bridges among others and get a better appreciation for flow and prose of the Gemara. It is her hope that in becoming part of the Maharat community she will be able to integrate aspects of psychiatry with Torah learning to better serve the Jewish community and help to build peace amongst our neighbors.
Lilinaz Evans
Lilinaz Evans
Lilinaz Evans was born and raised in South London, but her learning has taken her to study around the world. She learned in Stockholm, at Paideia-The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden as an Amos Oz Fellow, where she found the beauty in small community life, in Jerusalem at Nishmat the Alisa Flatow Post-College Program, where she learned Torah is for everyone, and now to New York, where she is excited to be learning much more. Before dedicating more time to her learning, Lilinaz had a background in automation engineering, specialising in electrical safety.
Writings
Chelsea Garbell
Chelsea Garbell
Chelsea Garbell is an educator and interreligious leader, serving as the Associate Director for Global Spiritual Life at NYU, Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Wagner School of Public Service, and Adjunct Lecturer in the Silver School of Social Work, where she teaches about religion, democracy, and peacebuilding. Chelsea has 15 years of experience in interfaith activism, and currently co-chairs a chapter of the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom, sits on the board of Friends of Givat Haviva, and is a member of the Interfaith America Emerging Leaders Network. Chelsea has also spent many years involved in adult Jewish education, teaching classes for Based in Harlem, the Jewish Learning Fellowship, and IYUN. She has previously held positions at the NYU Bronfman Center, the New York Southeast Asia Network, the Asia Society Policy Institute, the Council on Foreign Relations’ Religion and Foreign Policy Program, and spent a year teaching English in Samut Sakhon, Thailand. Her writing has been featured in USA Today, The Diplomat, Religion Dispatches, Tablet Magazine, The Times of Israel, and MyJewishLearning.com. Chelsea holds a BS in Communication and an MPA in International Policy & Development from New York University.
Ilana Gimpelevich
Ilana Gimpelevich
Ilana Gimpelevich is a lifelong learner and educator, always open to new fields of knowledge. Originally from Kishinev, Moldova, she holds a BA in Biochemistry (YU) and a Masters in Structural Biology (NYU). She is a founding member of New Toco Shul in Atlanta, GA, where she chaired the Childcare Committee. Ilana homeschooled her children and was an invited speaker at Torah Home Educators’ Conference. Additionally, she organized local Jewish homeschoolers while actively participating at the Atlanta Homeschool Cooperative. While living in Richmond, Ilana was involved in adult programming at Kenesseth Beth Israel. She started an innovative multigenerational program, Oreg, which combines her two passions of hands-on craftsmanship with Torah learning. She is a blogger and a writer, having published at Hevria and Nshei magazines. Ilana teaches a variety of community classes on Jewish topics, and her hobbies include reading, baking, sewing, quilting, knitting and crocheting, and painting.
Writings
Sophie Goldblum
Sophie Goldblum
Sophie Goldblum is the director of Ze Kollel, a pan-European Talmud programme and works at Paideia, the European Institute for Jewish Studies. She earned an MA in Jewish Philosophy for which she obtained the Research Prize in Jewish Studies of The Benveniste Center. She also holds a MA degree, magna cum Laude, from Hebrew University in Jewish Studies. She has studied at Bar Ilan University, Pardes, Hadar, Drisha, and the Conservative Yeshiva, where she later became part of the summer faculty. She runs a column at the Juedische Allgemeine Zeitung and has been published in Jewish journals in the US and Europe.She is part of the founding team and an editor at Dai, a progressive Jewish journal.
Amanda Goldstein
Amanda Goldstein
Amanda Goldstein is a community leader, educator, and advocate dedicated to strengthening Jewish life and advancing inclusivity, wellness, and access. A graduate of the Borns Jewish Studies Program at Indiana University, Amanda has built a career in Jewish communal service with a focus on program development, education, and a deep love of learning. A member of the Skokie Jewish community, she is active at Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob Synagogue and the Skokie Women’s Tefillah Group. She also serves on the front lines of community innovation, collaborating with the nonprofit, Solu, to establish “Hersh’s Fridge,” the first free, kosher, community fridge in memory of Hersh Goldberg-Polin z”l. Amanda is an alum of the Sinai Temple Israel Center Rabbinical School Fellowship and a current fellow in the iCenter’s Master’s Concentration in Israel Education (iFellows) program. Beyond her communal work, Amanda is a recent breast cancer survivor who speaks out to empower women to know their bodies, recognize important health signs, and prioritize preventative screenings. In addition to her professional and advocacy efforts, she finds fulfillment in pottery, vegan cooking, and gardening, as well as spending time with her family.
Sophie Stern Greenbaum
Sophie Stern Greenbaum
Sophie Stern Greenbaum is from Los Angeles CA, where she currently lives with her wonderful husband and sweet little kids. She has a deep love for in-depth text study, learning Jewish women’s history and Jewish mysticism. Before dedicating her life to Torah study, Sophie made a living as a songwriter. She enjoys using this same creativity to find ways to make Torah accessible. She wrote a pop album from the imagined voices of the matriarchs of Torah for the Maimonides Fund Digital Storytellers Grant program. Sophie has a passion for mikveh accessibility and has worked as a mikveh attendant. She teaches monthly Rosh Chodesh groups as well as Judaic studies at a local hebrew school. Along with her studies, Sophie works for the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles helping young Jewish families build community. For fun, Sophie loves doing dance parties with her kids, cooking Shabbat dinner with fresh farmers market finds, and jumping in the ocean.
Writings
Hannah Greenberg
Hannah Greenberg
Hannah Greenberg, originally from Bucks County, PA, is a Jewish educator who specializes in working with students with disabilities. Hannah holds a master’s in Education in Exceptional Children and Youth with a concentration in Autism and Severe Disabilities from the University of Delaware and holds a certificate in advanced Judaic studies from the Pardes Institute. Besides teaching, you can find her learning Talmud and can follow her Daf Yomi Instagram: @dafyomiadventures. She has also had the honor of being published in Feeding Women of the Talmud, Feeding Ourselves (2023) and At the Well Blog (2023), and spoke at Sefaria’s Masechet Eruvin siyyum (2020). Hannah additionally enjoys exploring and finding accessible ways to navigate NYC.
Writings
Shoshana Jakobovtis
Shoshana Jakobovtis
Shoshana Jakobovits’ passions are texts and languages (both human and computer languages). She is a software engineer, occasionally a teacher, and consistently a wholehearted Jewish learner born in Geneva, Switzerland. She studied at Ein haNatziv, Hadar, and the Center for Modern Torah Leadership and is passionate about the places where life meets text, with a particular interest in the process of psak and halakha in general. She has been teaching Jewish thought in adult education settings and a high school after-school program as well as tutoring bnot mitzvah to lein Megilah and Torah. Shoshana holds a bachelor’s in Physics from EPFL and a master’s in Computational Science and Engineering from ETH Zurich. When she’s not in the Beit Midrash, Shoshana expresses her love for text by working as a software engineer in natural language processing at Google AI Research. Though she is dedicated to honing her skills in programming and machine learning, her heart beats for Jewish texts. She is fluent in English, French, Swiss/German and Hebrew. Shoshana lives in Zurich, Switzerland, where she and her family can be found spending time in the beautiful nature, singing, and debating about podcasts, articles, and answer to life, the universe, and everything.
Writings
Yael Turitz Kaplan
Yael Turitz Kaplan
Yael Turitz Kaplan is originally from Silver Spring, Maryland. She is passionate about Jewish education and wants to help make Torah accessible and inspiring for the next generation. Yael comes to Maharat after four years of working as a special education teacher at The Shefa School. While there, Yael earned a master’s in special education and Jewish education from Touro College, and she holds a BA in religion from Barnard College. She lives in New York City with her husband Eitan, their child, and dog.
Writings
Yehudit (Yuliya) Mazur-Shlomi
Yehudit (Yuliya) Mazur-Shlomi
Born in the Soviet Union, Yehudit (Yuliya) Mazur-Shlomi started her Jewish learning in the Great Moscow Synagogue in the early 1990s. She immigrated to the US in the summer of 1997 and has been involved in the New York Russian-speaking Jewish community since her arrival. After working for the JCC Association’s Mandel Center for Excellence in Leadership & Management, she transitioned to a career in Jewish education. Today, she teaches Torah, Hebrew, and Jewish women’s history to those in her global Jewish community. For four years, she served as a co-author of the Global Limmud Chavruta book. Yehudit has an MA in English from Russia, MJCS from Gratz College, and MA in Jewish Studies from Touro Graduate School for Jewish Studies. In her free time, she is a kosher cooking enthusiast blogging about kosher food at https:/noshingacrossthenation.wordpress.com/. She is a loving mother, a grandmother, a wife, and a daughter.
Writings
Sarah-Beth Neville
Sarah-Beth Neville
Sarah-Beth Neville grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland and read Law at the University of Cambridge. After graduating from university, Sarah-Beth moved to London and spent a year working as a youth movement worker and informal educator for Noam Masorti Youth UK. Sarah-Beth then trained as a lawyer at an international corporate law firm and began practicing as an employment law specialist. While pursuing her law career, Sarah-Beth remained a very active member of the London Jewish community. In November 2021, Sarah-Beth moved to Jerusalem, studying at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem. Sarah-Beth has also studied Maharat’s Beit Midrash Program. Sarah-Beth often returns to London to deliver shiurim and to facilitate Jewish events. She spends her summers providing education and wellbeing support to Noam UK’s programs in Israel and UK summer camp. Sarah-Beth hopes to return to London with the aim of building engaging and inclusive Jewish spaces.
Writings
Sarah Pincus
Sarah Pincus
When she’s not in the beit midrash, Sarah Pincus is the clergy fellow at Bnai David-Judea Congregation in Los Angeles, rabbinic intern for Columbia graduate students through Columbia/Barnard Hillel, and supports women in the final steps of their conversion process. She previously served as the congregational intern at Congregation Orach Chaim on the Upper East Side and worked with high school and college students through the Shalom Hartman Institute. Before attending Maharat, she taught and held administrative positions in a variety of educational settings including Camp Stone, Friendship Circle, the Genesis Program at Brandeis University, the Drisha Institute, and the Maimonides School. Sarah also spent a few years working doing community organizing and political advocacy. Sarah studied at Midreshet Lindenbaum after high school, Sarah attended Binghamton University where she earned a BA in Politics, Philosophy & Law, and a master’s in Public Administration. Sarah completed two units of Clinical Pastoral Education through New York Presbyterian Hospital. Sarah lives on the Upper West Side and can be found scouting out cute coffee shops and exploring different neighborhoods in the city.
Writings
Brooke Pollak
Brooke Pollak
In her Westchester community, Brooke Pollak has co-chaired her synagogue’s Women’s Tefillah group for the last eight years and has been a frequent gaba’it for their services. She has also worked with families to plan for, practice, and facilitate meaningful s’machot for numerous Bnot Mitzvah each year. Brooke has also been active in her community’s partnership minyan. Brooke earned her bachelor’s degree in Judaic Studies from Yale University and her law degree from New York University School of Law. During and after her undergraduate years, Brooke studied at Drisha and Pardes. She practiced as a trusts and estates attorney in private practice for a decade before going in-house at a private bank to work exclusively administering estates. Brooke is married to Rabbi Yossi Pollak and has two children.
Writings
Anna Eisenstat Rimerman
Anna Eisenstat Rimerman
Anna Eisenstat Rimerman grew up between the United States and Israel and studied in the women’s beit midrash in Migdal Oz before serving in the IDF. She was awarded the Amirim Scholarship to pursue her BA in Comparative Religion and Interdisciplinary Humanities from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. During her time at Hebrew University, Anna participated in the Van Leer Institute’s Research Group on Secularism and Religion and worked as an editor for the Hayo Haya History Journal. She studied at the Mabua Beit Midrash where she continues to serve as a member of their Jerusalem community leadership board. Anna completed her master’s in Theological Studies at Harvard Divinity School with a concentration in Comparative Studies. While at Harvard, she served as the co-president of the Jewish Student Association Kehilla and focused on spiritual caregiving and chaplaincy training. Anna’s current research interests lie at the intersection of Disability Ethics and Theology in Judaism and Christianity in Late Antiquity. Anna lives in Jerusalem while studying Talmud and Halakha at Lindenbaum, Migdal Oz, Mabua, and Matan alongside interning at Beit Knesset Shir Chadash.
Writings
Shoshana Ruerup
Shoshana Ruerup
Shoshana Ruerup is an artist and educator. She earned an MA in Fine Arts and a Montessori Diploma. In addition to her own painting career, she worked with children and youth for over 30 years in her arts and crafts workshop. Her love for in-depth-learning of Jewish texts led her to studying with the first cohort at the Kreuzberg Kollel Berlin and the CTP at Yashrut. Shoshana finished four years of study at the International Halacha Scholars Program at Midreshet Lindenbaum/ Ohr Torah Stone. She loves to write and is published by the Times of Israel and the Juedische Allgemeine Wochenzeitung.
Sara Singer
Sara Singer
Sara Singer is an educator, writer, and community builder. She serves as the Director of Marketing and Communications at Eshel, where she facilitates Eshel’s mission of building Orthodox communities where LGBTQ+ members are full participants. Sara has taught middle and high school Jewish Studies and special education. She graduated summa cum laude from Brandeis University with a BA in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and earned a Master of Arts in Teaching through the DeLeT program, with a focus on teaching Tanakh and Talmud at the secondary level. In her spare time, Sara prepares students from a wide array of backgrounds for their bar and bat mitzvahs and is particularly sought after as a tutor for students with learning disabilities. A member of Anshe Sholom Bnai Israel, Sara serves her community in a variety of ways, including checking the eruv and as a mikvah attendant. Sara lives in Chicago with her wife, Isabel, where she can be found going on walks by Lake Michigan, listening to podcasts, and taking care of her houseplants.
Chanchkie Slavin
Chanchkie Slavin
Chanchkie Slavin is a passionate teacher and lifelong learner and part of the spiritual leadership team in Chabad Malvern. She spends her days working to foster a sense of community and Jewish pride in the younger generation and their families through her role as Director of the Early Learning Centre, teacher, and pastoral guide. She takes inspiration from the Torah, Jewish mysticism, rituals, customs, and songs that were such a vital part of her Chasidic upbringing and is committed to incorporating these into modern day life. She is a deeply spiritual person, who strongly believes that education and learning are the most powerful key to growth, self-actualisation, and to affecting change in society at large.
Writings
Michal Fox Smart
Michal Fox Smart
Michal Fox Smart has led ground-breaking work in the field of Jewish education for more than 30 years, working at the nexus of personal, spiritual, and professional development. Michal pioneered Jewish outdoor and environmental education in the US, co-founding COEJL, TEVA, and directing the Isabella Freedman Retreat Center. Michal served as Associate Principal of Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy and Director of Ayeka North America. Her book Kaddish: Women’s Voices, Winner of the National Jewish Book Award, addresses issues of inclusion in Jewish communal life, family dynamics, as well as the powerful role that ritual and prayer can play in healing. She also served as Chief Program Officer for IJS. As a leadership coach, Michal now helps executives in and beyond the Jewish community to show up as their fullest and most resourced selves. A Fulbright Scholar, Michal completed her undergraduate studies at Princeton University and earned her Master’s degree from Cornell as a Wexner Graduate Fellow. She lives in Stamford, CT and is the proud ema of five young adults.
Writings
Anna Veronese
Anna Veronese
Anna Veronese was born in Venice, Italy. Since 2009, she has been living in Paris with her husband and three children. She holds a BA in Archaeology, an MA in History from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and an MA in Information Science from the CNAM Institute in Paris. She is Project Coordinator at Ta Shma, an independent French Beit Midrash in Jerusalem. She is the vice-president of Kol-Elles, a Beit Midrash in Paris offering Jewish learning for women. She studies issues of gender, equality, and social justice within Orthodox Judaism. She is passionate about Italian Jewish traditions, rich and composite in both customs and liturgy, which she studies and passes on to the next generation.
Writings
Ariel Wolgel
Ariel Wolgel
As an educator, artist, and spiritual seeker, Ariel Wogel is passionate about exploring the Torah’s wisdom on the complexity of human experience. Having learned and worked in diverse Jewish communities, Ariel centers all of her experiences around a deep pursuit of meaningful connection. She completed a certificate program through the Shay Center for Moral Injury & Soul Repair. For her capstone project, Ariel developed a Healing Toolkit to guide Rabbis in supporting those seeking care from moral injury. Ariel received her MA in Jewish Education from Hebrew College and is a graduate of the Pardes Educators Program, where she developed her interest in the intersection of learning and creative expression. Ariel taught Jewish studies at the Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit, guided new teachers in reflective teaching practices as a mentor for the Pardes Jewish Studies Teacher training program, and has facilitated personalized learning programs for Bat Mitzvah students. As Hasidah’s Resource and Support Coordinator, Ariel developed programs for Jewish people experiencing infertility, focusing on how Judaism can nurture those navigating the struggles of growing their family. As an Atiq Maker Kollel fellow, Ariel created an inquiry-based art installation. Ariel currently serves as the Youth Director for Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob and Kol Sasson congregations in Skokie, IL. Having revived the youth program, she now provides multiple pathways for the community to connect meaningfully to Torah and Jewish life as Skokie Valley’s Director of Experiential Learning and Rabbinic Intern.
Writings
Jennifer Zukerman
Jennifer Zukerman
Jennifer Zukerman is an accomplished non-profit leader. She founded and directed an experimental arts organization in 1995 and has since worked as a writer, a museum curator, an educator, and as a board member for the Midwest region of the Anti-Defamation League. She was recognized for her work in the field of contemporary art, having been awarded the Marjorie Susman Curatorial Fellowship at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. Jen is currently the Director of J-STEM, a non-profit organization that enhances educational opportunities for Jewish children in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Jen has a BA in Comparative Literature from Northwestern University and a master’s degree in Arts Administration from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and her academic interests include chasidus, Tanakh, the development of Medieval Jewish Philosophy and Contemporary Jewish Thought.
WritingsBeit Midrash Program
Yoanna Esther Blikman
Yoanna Esther Blikman
Yoanna Esther Blikman is a performance artist and founder of the Esther Method, a Jewish feminine martial art. A former Kung Fu champion, she trained under Master Chang Xiao Yan, was part of the French national team, and won eight national titles. Yoanna studied acting in Paris (Laboratoire de l’Acteur) and Tel Aviv (Yoram Levinstein) before deepening her research in movement and choreography at The Group (Jaffa) and the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. Her work explores the intersection of body, language, and identity through contemporary performance. Over the past decade, she has created and performed in leading art centers and festivals, including Dock 11 (Berlin), Experimentica (Cardiff), Neu Now (Amsterdam), and the Israel Museum. Now based in France, Blikman premiered Noga, a ritualistic performance reflecting transformation and Teshuva. She currently studies Torah under two grant programs (Nishma & Kol-elles). Her guiding question: How can we study Torah through all our limbs? (Tehillim 35:10).
Dr. Joanna Brown
Dr. Joanna Brown
Joanna Brown, MD, MPH, is a physician, poet, and active member of the Providence Jewish community. She loves organizing to promote egalitarian and feminist/queer davening, social justice, community building, and open conversations. Her writing covers themes such as climate justice, feminism, politics, adolescent health, and family. She cares for adolescent and young adult patients in a community clinic and teaches doctors-in-training about advocacy. She lives in Providence with her spouse and two teen children.
Noa Gorden-Guterman
Noa Gorden-Guterman
Noa Gordon-Guterman is a lover of Torah, nature, and a seeker of justice. Noa worked at Dayenu: a Jewish Call to Climate Action running NY State legislative campaigns and working on spiritually sustaining climate activists. When not typing on a computer, you can find her making music, cooking with loved ones, or scheming ways to fit as many people as humanly possible in her small Brooklyn apartment.
Wilhelmina Gottschalk
Wilhelmina Gottschalk
Wilhelmina Gottschalk has an MA from the Davidson School of Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary and a career in synagogue education. She has searched for hametz with preschoolers, taught havruta learning to elementary students, and lead family education sessions on topics ranging from sibling rivalry to the Kaddish. She is active in her local chevrei kaddisha, performing tahara for the dead and also volunteers as a mikvah attendant. Wilhelmina has a strong DIY Jewish ethos that she applies to community building, cooking, and learning. She believes that identifying, studying and trying “new to me” Jewish practices leads to a wiser and more engaged Jewish self. Wilhelmina lives in Washington DC, where she enjoys quilting, baking seedy sourdoughs, and preparing the chicken soup that she and her husband have perfected over years of shared yom tov cooking.
Chana Lanter
Chana Lanter
Chana Lanter is a graduate of Stanford University, where she majored in Philosophy and Religious Studies and pursued minors in Linguistics and Translation Studies. Chana wrote her honors thesis on the discursive practices of yoatzot halakha and her major capstone on hilkhot kabbalat lashon hara. Chana stayed in the same freshman dorm (an academic humanities theme house) all four years of college, serving as residential tutor for the latter two years. Coming from an academic background in Jewish Studies, Chana is excited to engage in Jewish text through a different epistemic lens. Hailing from Los Angeles, she loves warm weather (but is learning how to deal with the cold) and hiking around LA.
Aviva Bloch Lavie
Aviva Bloch Lavie
Originally from Strasbourg, Aviva Bloch Lavie grew up immersed in Jewish learning and community life, attending a local Jewish school and being an active member of the Éclaireuses Éclaireurs Israélites de France, Jewish scouting movement. After completing her medical studies, she became a family doctor, dedicating her career to patient care. She spent a semester studying at Pardes, took classes with Ta Shma and Ze Kollel, furthering her knowledge of Jewish texts and traditions. An avid traveler, she and her husband explore the world, focusing on connecting with local Jewish communities and learning about their distinct practices and heritage.
Judy Leserman
Judy Leserman
Judy Leserman is a writer and translator living in New York City. She is a current MFA candidate in poetry at George Mason University, where she was a 2023 Cheuse Center International Writer Fellow. She is the author of the chapbook When Spring Could Be Anyone (Aquila Review, 2024) and her writing has found gracious homes in Impossible Task and Juste Literary, among others. In addition to her studies, Judy works as an assistant editor for Poetry Daily, co-director of Translation Festival and Programs at the Cheuse International Writer’s Center, and as a speech-language pathologist.
Rebecca Millner
Rebecca Millner
Rebecca Millner is a community mental health practitioner with a specialization in maternal mental health and trauma-informed treatment. Rebecca currently works at Adath Israel in Merion Station, PA where she provides mental health services and programming in a congregational setting. Rebecca is also the co-founder and director of the Jewish Parent Empowerment Network, which integrates maternal mental health services into Jewish institutional spaces, filling critical gaps in care for mothers and families. Rebecca lives outside of Philadelphia with her husband and two daughters.
Avichag Ohayon
Avichag Ohayon
Avichag Ohayon is a passionate educator, community builder, and lifelong learner. Born in France to a North African Jewish family and raised in the UK, Avichag has always thrived at the intersection of cultures. She earned a BA in Jewish Studies from the University of Oxford before living in Israel, New York, and the Netherlands, gaining experience in education, Jewish programming, and peer-to-peer support along the way. In Helsinki, Avichag served as Jewish Program Director, running community programs, teaching Hebrew and Jewish Studies, and spearheading initiatives like the community’s first collaborative women’s megillah reading and revolutionising their Bnei Mitzvah program. Raising four spirited daughters, Avichag is committed to being part of a Jewish world where women have as many opportunities in our communities as outside of them.
Yael Savigni
Yael Savigni
Raised in a small town in central Italy, Yael Savigni graduated with a degree in law with a dissertation on minority rights, analysing the implications of religious pluralism for gender equality. After several years in criminal law, she decided to follow her heart and dedicate herself to Torah learning, first in Jerusalem at Pardes and then in New York. She’s passionate about travelling to visit remote Jewish communities, learning new languages, and writing.
Rivka Sitbon
Rivka Sitbon
Rivka Sitbon, born in Paris, grew up in a traditional Jewish environment that shaped her curiosity and ambition. A mother of four, she has successfully balanced family life with a career as an engineer, holding a master’s degree and an engineering certificate in computer sciences. She began her professional journey at one of France’s leading banks before making aliyah to Israel in 2013, fulfilling a lifelong dream to connect more deeply with her heritage. Passionate about Jewish history, the Torah and Israel, she considers this as key to understanding the Jewish people’s evolving role in today’s world. Now based in Netanya, Rivka works as a Technical Solution Architect for a leading American high-tech start up, applying creativity and leading innovative projects. She also holds a certification in the Feuerstein Method, reflecting her dedication to personal growth and community impact.
Tehila
Tova Cahan
Tova Cahan
Tova Cahan made aliyah from Chicago at age 18 after graduating high school. Previously, she worked at Jewish summer camps throughout USA and was a counselor in Bnei Akiva movement. In Israel, she studied at Migdal Oz, and served as a logistics officer in Sirens IDF unit. After her distinguished service (IDF excellence award) she managed agricultural projects in Emek HaMa’ayanot. Last year, studied at Yeshivat Drisha. She is planning to move to ecological farm in Yavniel, with dreams of combining Torah study and agricultural work.
Or Gartenlove
Or Gartenlove
Or Gartenlove lives in Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu. She teaches Talmud, chasidut, and Jewish thought at Midreshet Ein HaNatziv. Or is a Yeshivat Drisha graduate with a bachelor’s degree in literature and Talmud from Herzog College. She is married and a mother of three.
Miriam Israel
Miriam Israel
Miriam (Klein) Israel studied at the Shtraus Kollel at Migdal Oz for five years and holds an MA in mathematics from Ben Gurion University. She lives with her husband and four daughters in Nahariya, where she teaches math and Jewish studies at the girls’ high school, Olpanit Ort-Harel. She is also an activist as part of “Beit Neria,” the Garin Torani in the city. Her dream is to connect women to Jewish learning and science.
Avivit Kristal
Avivit Kristal
Avivit Kristal learned at Midreshet Shuva and Matan Jerusalem. She holds a BA in science and an MA in humanities and Pphilosophy. Avivit was one of the founders of the Chut Hasheni Beit Midrash in Moshav Mehola. She lives with her husband and five children in Kfar Tavor. She works as the adult education coordinator at Malkishua, an Addiction Treatment Center.
Racheli Avisher Labell
Racheli Avisher Labell
Racheli Aviyashar Lebel is a gemara, halakha, and machshava teacher. She holds an MA in Judaism and Israeli History. Racheli has taught at Midreshet Ein Hanatziv and various other institutions. She is married with three children and is a member of Kibbutz Ein HaNatziv.
Yaara Lashem
Yaara Lashem
Yaara lives in Kibutz Tirat Zvi and is a proud mother of six children. She serves as the coordinator of Jewish culture in the Emek HaMaayanot region, where she works as a healthy sexuality facilitator and lecturer.
Zufit Portal
Zufit Portal
Zufit Portal learned in Midreshet Ye’od. She studied architecture, history, and Jewish thought. She has an MA in Jewish history. Zufit teaches in various institutions and lives in the Golan with her family.
Shimirit Rivkin
Shimirit Rivkin
Shimirit Katzover Rivkin is an accountant. Additionally, she edits and hosts a weekly program on Eretz Golan Radio and conducts weekly classes in Torah and chasidut. She lives in Moshav Netor.
Tova Sacher
Tova Sacher
Tova Sacher was born in Canada and holds a bachelor’s in Law from Bar Ilan University and a master’s in Jewish Education from Hebrew University. She received a PhD in Jewish History from the University of Haifa, where she continued her research with a post-doctoral fellowship. The focus of her research was on Midrash Tanchuma from the Cairo Genizah. Tova has also served as a shaliach in Australia and works in informal education. She currently teaches at the Women’s Beit Midrash in Maalot. She is a proud mother of eight and a grandmother.
Michal Fridel Shatman
Michal Fridel Shatman
Michal Fridel Shatman is originally from Ra’anana. She was a coordinator in the national service for two years and then studied at Migdal Oz. She has bachelor’s degrees in law and music from Bar-Ilan University. Michal interned for the Public Defender’s office Tel Aviv District and is a licensed attorney. After her internship, she returned to the Beit Midrash at Migdal Oz and spent three years in the kollel. Last year, Michal moved to Beit She’an where she works at Midreshet Neta.