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DRISHA Faculty

Faculty  ||  Administration  ||  Board


Gayle Adler has an MA in Jewish Education from Hebrew University and a Certificate of Advanced Jewish Studies from the Pardes Institute in Jerusalem. She currently teaches 2nd and 3rd grade at the Beit Rabban Day School in NYC, and is working on curricula for day schools on Prayer, Jewish Art, and Food.

Wendy Amsellem is Director of the Dr. Beth Samuels High School Program and an alumna of the Drisha Scholars Circle. She is pursuing a PhD in Judaic Studies at New York University and has a BA in History and Literature from Harvard University.

Yitzhak Berger is Assistant Professor of Bible at Hunter College. He has a PhD in Bible from the Bernard Revel Graduate School and ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He has taught Bible at Yeshiva College, Jewish Studies at the Yeshivah of Flatbush High School and Talmud in Drisha’s full-time programs.

Shira Billet has a BA in Religion from Princeton University. She has studied at Midreshet Lindenbaum, the Stella K. Abraham Beit Midrash for Women (Migdal Oz), and the Drisha Matmidot program.

Rachel Friedman is the Chair of Tanakh Studies at Drisha where she teaches Bible and Parshanut. She also directs the Yesodot skill building program at Drisha. She has served as scholar-in-residence at synagogues and educational institutions throughout the United States and abroad. She has an MA in Bible from the Bernard Revel Graduate School and a JD from Columbia University.

Rachel Furst teaches Talmud at MaTan, Ulpanat Amit-Noga, and Beit Midrash Hevruta, and is pursuing a PhD in Medieval Jewish History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She received a BA from Barnard College, an MA from Hebrew University, and is a graduate of the Advanced Talmud Institute at MaTan.

Rachel Gordin has a JD and PhD from the Department of Hermeneutics and Culture at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, and an MA in Educational Psychology from Northeastern University. She has been a teacher at the To'anot Institute in Jerusalem.

David Goshen is a graduate of the Har Etzion and Mir Yeshivot and has studied Philosophy and Religion at the Hebrew University. He taught at the 'Havruta' Beit Midrash program at Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University.

Chasiah Haberman is in her second year of the Drisha Scholars Circle and is a CLAL intern. She has a BA in English Literature from Washington University in St. Louis. She has taught at Bais Abraham Congregation, St. Louis Hillel, and at Nehirim.

Yehuda Halpert
is an associate at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. He received ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, has a BA in History from Yeshiva College and a JD from Columbia Law School. He has lectured on Jewish law topics throughout the metropolitan New York and New Jersey areas.

Tammy Jacobowitz is pursuing a Phd in Midrash at the University of Pennsylvania with a Wexner Graduate Fellowship. She has a BA in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania and has studied at Midreshet Lindenbaum. She is a graduate of the Drisha Scholars Circle.

Moshe Kahn teaches Halakha in the Drisha Beit Midrash Program. He is a full-time instructor of Talmud and Jewish Law at Stern College. He received ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.

Amy Kalmanofsky is an Assistant Professor of Bible at The Jewish Theological Seminary, teaching courses on Biblical Literature, Religion, and Feminist Interpretation of the Bible. She has written many articles and has a forthcoming book Terror All Around: The Rhetoric of Horror in the Book of Jeremiah (forthcoming T&T Clark/Continuum). She has a BA from Wesleyan University, a PhD from The Jewish Theological Seminary, and received ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.

Elie Kaunfer is Executive Director of Mechon Hadar: An Institute for Prayer, Personal Growth and Jewish Study. A Wexner Graduate Fellow, he received ordination and has an MA in Liturgy from the Jewish Theological Seminary. He is pursuing a PhD in Liturgy. The Forward named him one of 50 Top Jewish Leaders.

Jenny Labendz is pursuing a PhD in Talmud at the Jewish Theological Seminary, and has an MA from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Ancient Jewish History and Talmud. She studied in Makhon Pardes Kollel for two years, and has taught at the Ramah Wisconsin Beit Midrash and Kollwl, Pardes, and the Segev Kollel Initiative.

Erin Leib is a member of the Drisha Scholars Circle and is pursuing a PhD in Philosophy and Religion at the University of Chicago's Committee on Social Thought. She has a BA with honors from Harvard University. She has taught adult Jewish education throughout the DC and Chicago areas. Formerly Assistant Literary Editor of The New Republic, her writing has appeared in The New Republic, The New York Times Book Review, The Jerusalem Report, and The New York Jewish Week.

Menachem Leibtag is one of the pioneers of Torah education via the internet. He is the founder of Yeshivat Har Etzion’s Virtual Beit Midrash and more recently founded the Tanakh Study Center. He also lectures at Midreshet Lindenbaum, MMY, Pardes and Orot College for Women.

Ayelet Libson is pursuing a PhD in Talmud at New York University. She holds a BA in Jewish Thought from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is a graduate of the Advanced Talmud Institute at MaTaN. Ms. Libson has taught at MaTaN, Yakar, Pelech High School and Emunah College in Jerusalem.

Dov Linzer is Rosh HaYeshiva of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. He is pursuing a PhD in Religion at Columbia University and has a BA in Philosophy from the University of Maryland. He has published in Torah journals and lectures widely at synagogues and conferences on topics relating to Halakha, Orthodoxy and Modernity.

Adina Luber has an MA Mishpat Ivri (Jewish Law) from Tel Aviv University, a BA in Law from Bar Ilan University, and a teaching degree from Herzog College. She is a graduate of the three­year Advanced Talmud Program at MaTaN and was a recipient of the ATID fellowship for leadership in Jewish Education. She teaches Talmud and Tanakh at
S.A.R. High School.

Daniel Reifman teaches Halakha at Midreshet Lindenbaum and Midreshet Amit. He taught Halakha in the Drisha Scholars Circle. He received ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary and has an MA in Bible from the Bernard Revel Graduate School.

Joshua Schreier teaches at Midreshet Lindenbaum in Jerusalem and has taught at Yeshivat Ohel Shlomo in Beer Sheva. He has a BA in History and an MS in Jewish Education from Yeshiva University. He received ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.

Jennifer Seligman is a graduate of the Drisha Scholars Circle and has a BA in Judaic Studies from SUNY Binghamton. She taught Talmud and Tanakh at the Jewish Community High School of the Bay in San Fancisco.

Yehuda Septimus is a doctoral candidate in classical Jewish history and literature at Yale University. He has a BA in English Literature from Yeshiva University and ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He served as assistant rabbi at Riverdale Jewish Center for three years, completing his tenure in June 2005. 

David Shyovitz is pursuing a PhD in Jewish History at the University of Pennsylvania, where he also received his BA. He has studied at Yeshivat Har Etzion, and has taught in a number of day school and synagogue settings. He has served as an ATUDA Fellow and an Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies Fellow, and is currently a Wexner Graduate Fellow.

David Silber is the Founder and Dean of Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. He received ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He received the Covenant Award in 2000.

Ben Skydell teaches Talmud and Chumash and is the Director of Religious Guidance at North Shore Hebrew Academy. He has ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.

Ethan Tucker teaches in the Drisha Scholars Circle. He has studied at Yeshivat Ma'ale Gilboa in Israel and has completed all exams for ordination from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. He has a PhD in Talmud and Rabbinics from the Jewish Theological Seminary.

Shayna Weiss has a BA in Jewish Studies and International and Global Studies from Brandeis University. She will be pursuing a PhD in Israel Studies at NYU in the fall. She is an alumnus of the Drisha High School and Beit Midrash Programs.

Sara Tillinger Wolkenfeld is pursuing an MA in Talmud from Yeshiva University and has studied in the Drisha Scholars Circle and various yeshivot, including the Talmud Program at Beit Morasha in Jerusalem. She has taught Talmud and Halakha at United Orthodox Synagogues in Houston, where she was an intern for two years, at the S.A.R High School, where she was a Beit Midrash Fellow, and at The Hampton Synagogue.

Devorah Zlochower is the Rosh Beit Midrash at Drisha. She teaches Talmud and Halakha, and mentors students of all ages. A 1996 graduate of the Drisha Scholars Circle, she has an MA in Political Science from Columbia University. She was the first woman scholar-in-residence to accompany a delegation of rabbinical students on the AJWS mission to El Salvador. She serves on the board of JOFA (the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance), and speaks in communities across the United States and overseas on topics such as the social and historical factors that influence the development of Halakha.


 

Narrative Traditions in the Bible and Beyond – June 23-26

Menachem Leibtag – June 26


Drisha cited for being "profoundly innovative"

Drisha feature in Jewish Week

VIEWPOINT: Debra Waldoks - Graduation Speech

Drisha featured in PBS documentary “The Jewish Americans” on January 23