Aaron Friedman, a stand-up comedian who performs for shuls and university Hillels, was recently named “Funniest Jew in New York” by The Jewish Week. He is a graduate of List College (JTS/Columbia) and in 2018 earned a Masters in Jewish Education from the Davidson School (Jewish Theological Seminary). He is currently leading the B’nei Mitzvah program at The Brotherhood Synagogue in New York City.

Aaron Rotenberg is the spiritual leader of the Annex Shul. He is passionate about soulful davening and creating traditional egalitarian spaces.

Cantor Abbe Lyons is dedicated to enhancing the spiritual and emotional power of music and Jewish learning in everyday life as well as in sacred spaces. She is on the faculty at ALEPH Ordination Programs, where she received smicha as Hazzan (Cantor) in 2010. She is Jewish Chaplain at Ithaca College, where she received a B.Mus. in voice performance in 1987, and also works for Hillel at Binghamton.

Cantor Lyons is an innovative liturgist and composer whose published work includes poetry, alternative social justice haftarot, and original music on the album Listen! with her multifaith band, Resonate, and solo album Household Chores. She is a dynamic SpeakChorus Torah group midrash facilitator, and offers Contemplative Torah groups and presentations/performances on Jewish Communities Around the World Through Music. Current projects include multigender and nonbinary liturgy and Torah translations.

Rabbi Aderet is an innovative spiritual leader, inspired educator, social entrepreneur, relationship-based community organizer, and serves as the Den’s Executive Director. Since her adolescence she has expressed a love of meeting new people as well as an interest and instinct for gathering people together in sacred community to learn, connect, celebrate, heal, and to create impactful change in our world.

After receiving her rabbinic ordination and a concentration in pastoral care from the Jewish Theological Seminary, Rabbi Aderet served as senior rabbi for a congregation in Northern California. She has also served as the Campus Rabbi for Hillel at the University of Maryland, where she was part of UMD’s Interfaith Campus Chaplaincy and a co-founder of UMD’s first Interfaith Student Fellowship.

Rabbi Aderet holds a certificate in Mindful Leadership in Higher Education from NYU’s Of Many Institute For Multifaith Leadership, is an AJWS Global Justice Fellow, and a fellow of RRC’s Campus Chaplaincy for a Multifaith World. She is an alumnus of the Gladstein Fellowship in Entrepreneurial Leadership, the Rabbis Without Borders Fellowship, and the Clergy Leadership Incubator. Rabbi Aderet loves traveling to different places, spending time by the water, cooking and coming up with new recipes, and having spontaneous dance parties with her husband, Brett, and two incredible daughters.

Alice Frank is creator of Silence Retreat at home retreat- ZEROBOX and teacher of silence. A Poet, Performance Artist, and Filmmaker, she was named one of the Top 100 Creatives Creating Change by ORIGIN Magazine. She has taught Shal(om) Yoga, which she created, for the past 18 years. Her short film, “Open,” (coming soon) defines her concept of Uniamory and navigates how to optimally spread love around the world. She is the creator of OnesiesForOneness.com and is a lover and teacher of Kabbalah. She is a dynamic speaker who has taught Public Speaking to Fortune-500 companies and Gubernatorial officials around the globe.

Alyssa Silva, Houston Hillel’s Assistant Executive Director, is a graduate from the University of Arizona, where she received her bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies with a minor in Judaic Studies. Prior to moving to Houston, Alyssa lived in DC, where she was a resident at Moishe House Columbia Heights, and a retreatology mentor/educator. After two years in that role, she moved to Jerusalem and received a certificate in Jewish Experiential Education from The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies. She is currently pursuing her masters degree in Jewish nonprofit Management at the Zelikow School of Jewish Nonprofit Management. Alyssa’s love of Jewish community building has grown over the years through her work with various Jewish nonprofit organizations including leadership and mentorship roles within the Jewish nonprofit world. She is knowledgeable in many areas, from experiential education, teaching Jewish text and Jewish ritual, and the logistics that go into creating your dream retreat! Alyssa has been there before, and knows the hard work and dedication that goes into planning a peer-led retreat, and is ready to be your cheerleader, Jewish guru, and guide every step of the way!

Andrew Davies is an improviser and facilitator based in South Philly where he lives with his wife Molly Wernick and tiny dog Ducky. Andrew received a B.A. in English Literature from Brandeis University, went on to study Improvisation at The Magnet Theater, and received a certificate of Facilitation from Georgetown University.

In 2011 Andrew Co-Founded The Bible Players, a comedy team which is Improv-ing Jewish Lives. The Bible Players have toured to 25 states, visiting hundreds of camps, schools, and synagogues teaching Jewish Values with a sense of humor. He walks softly and carries a big Shtick!

In 2016 Andrew Co-Founded the Non-profit CharacTours, an interactive theatrical walking experience where the past visits you. He is the Executive Director of both The Bible Players and CharacTours. Andrew can be reached at Andrew@TheBiblePlayers.com

Anise Simon is a reproductive health advocate and non-profit professional. She is an alumnus of the Brandeis Collegiate Institute program through AJU and a co-founder of the Triangle Moishe House (Chapel Hill, NC). As a racial and reproductive justice facilitator, she enjoys weaving Jewish themes to help “wrestle” with Jewish text and connect our values with our religious and cultural tradition. Anise grew up in Jewish communities in both the US and the Caribbean and currently lives between South Florida and Northern California with her partner and two dogs. Currently, Anise works as the Member Systems Manager at the National Network of Abortion Funds and renovates vacation rental properties near the beach. Anise enjoys community organizing, vegetable gardens, and live music. You can find her online @Aniseyy.

Arielle Krule works at Hillel’s Office of Innovation. In her role, she supports and trains Jewish educators to build cohort-based Jewish learning experiences for young adults. Arielle is a student in the Yeshivat Maharat Beit Midrash Program. Arielle is also a social worker at a clinic in Brooklyn and the founder and Director of the CUNY Hillel Social Work Fellowship for MSW candidates across the New York City area. She and her husband Jackson live in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, where they are community conveners, Burning Man alumni, Prospect Heights Shul members, dance party enthusiasts, and artisanal challah bakers. Previously, Arielle was a birth doula, yoga teacher, and women’s health educator.

Arya Marvazy, Managing Director, JQ International
Arya is a first-generation American born to Iranian-Jewish immigrants. Raised in Los Angeles, and driven by human connection, Arya earned his B.A. in psychology at UC San Diego, and completed an M.A. in organizational behavior at NYU. Raised as a cultural Jew with less formal Jewish education, involvement with his undergraduate Hillel shaped the trajectory of his adult life and career. In 2015, he returned to LA after ten years between San Diego, Tel Aviv, and D.C., encouraged by his ability to fully come out as a gay man to his family. Soon after, Arya began a body of work he had dreamt of advocating for the full equality of LGBTQ+ people and community. Arya has advanced from consultant to assistant director to managing director of JQ, an LGBTQ+ Jewish non-profit that transforms Jewish communities by ensuring inclusion through education, support, and identity-enrichment. His dedication to the Jewish and LGBTQ+ communities earned him a spot on LA Jewish Journal’s 30 Under 30 list, IranWire’s 50 Iranian-Americans You Should Know, and most recently the 2019 JPro Young Professional Award.

Rabbi Atara Cohen is passionate about Torah which speaks to our social, intellectual, and emotional realities. She was ordained by Yeshivat Maharat and currently teaches Torah She’beal Peh at The Heschel Middle School. She has studied Torah in a variety of settings, including Midreshet Nishmat, Hadar, Drisha and a BA in religion at Princeton University. During rabbinical school, Atara focused on human rights and social change through various fellowships. She served as a rabbinic intern at the Columbia-Barnard Hillel and as a Cooperberg-Rittmaster Pastoral and Educational Intern at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah. Atara lives in Manhattan, where she runs, knits, and experiments with Persian cooking.

Avery Robinson is a Jewish culinary historian and educator. His connection to Torah/community is largely Eco- and Food-focused; he is farm-adjacent. Avery has worked in bakeries in NYC and Tel Aviv, leads Zoom baking classes, built a clay oven, and baked challah for over 300 in an open-pit fire. An experiential educator, he has been leading Jewish camping trips for over 10 years, is an alumnus of yeshivat Hadar’s year program, and has guided tours of 5+ Israeli shuks. He loves leading classes on bagels, wine, coffee, kugel, and the diversity of Jewish cultural histories. He has been working remotely since 2017 and may very well be living in your community; reach out, he’d love to join you on your retreat!

Benjamin grew up going to sunday school, shabbat services, JSTY, Bar Mitzvah, confirmation, etc. His father taught torah classes in their living room on Sunday afternoons for most of his upbringing. Benjamin resisted it out of rebellion but later would listen from the kitchen.

During college Benjamin attended learning seminars through a program called MEOR/Maimonides. He began meeting with Rabbis one on one to wrestle with texts related to contemporary issues, culminating in trips to Poland and Israel where he got a taste of learning in Yeshivas.

After graduating and beginning a career Benjamin lived in studied for a year in Israel with the Pardes Jewish Institute year program. Following this Benjamin attended the Middlebury Hebrew summer immersion program which included a class on Hebrew text study.

After moving back to the bay Benjamin started Moishe House Nob Hill in San Francisco and lived there for a year while leading monthly learning events covering themes such as “Punk Judaism” and “Judaism and Cannabis”. During this time Benjamin was the Jewish Educator for a Moishe House Men’s retreat with Moishe House Nopa resident Sam Gutin, leading sessions on “Biblical and contemporary models of Jewish Masculinity.”

Most recently Benjamin completed a course on Hasidut at the Aleph Alliance for Jewish Renewal and has been contributing Jewish content/ritual to several men’s retreats.

An Endless Passion for Music, for Voices, for Connection, Community & Healing.

Charlie Kramer is song & spirit.

Legally blind and with an acoustic guitar, Charlie Kramer unites, magnetizes and elevates the communities around him. A touring songleader, artist, spiritual leader and communal healer, Charlie has sung with communities throughout North America, Israel and Australia.

Founder and Creative Director of the blindfolded singing and healing experience, ​Singing in the Dark​,​ Charlie shares the story of his blindness across the world through music and meditation, helping others to face their challenges and uncover the many blessings within their lives.

In addition to his work leading, recording, healing and facilitating Singing in the Dark, Charlie serves as the Musician in Residence for Wilshire Boulevard Temple and the Music Director of Wilshire Boulevard Temple Camps, Camp Hess Kramer and Gindling Hilltop Camp (clap clap!).

Charlie is the host of two Podcasts, ​The Charlie Kramer Podcast ​and Jewish Rock Radio’s ​JRR Artist Feature. ​You can listen to Charlie’s podcasts​ ​here. Charlie is recognized as a Featured Artist on Jewish Rock Radio and serves as a Core Educator at the Songleader Bootcamp National Conference.

Charlie is set to release his debut album in the Spring of 2021, titled ​Blind. Charlie’s EP, ​We Will Overcome​ and singles ​Bring it Down (Oseh Shalom) ​& We Will Rise​ are available for streaming on​ ​Spotify​ and​ ​Apple Music.​

Want to know more about Charlie? Learn more at www.charliekramermusic.com

Cherie Brown is the founder and executive director of the National Coalition Building Institute, an anti oppression leadership training organization. She leads workshops on antisemitism, the intersection of anti semitism and racism, Jews and Climate justice. She is the author of: Taking on antisemitism while staying in Coalition: A Leadership Initiative for College Campuses.

Chloe Zelkha is a first-year rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College. She has spent the last ten years designing transformative programs for young people and adults. After graduating from Carleton College with a B.A. in Religion, she was trained as a community organizer through the JOIN for Justice Fellowship in Boston where she worked at The Food Project, a youth employment program that brings diverse cohorts of teens together to grow food and connect across difference. Looking to build immersive, farm-based experiences like these in the Jewish community, she transitioned into a role as Fellowship Director at Urban Adamah, a Jewish farm in Berkeley, where she led semester-long deep dives for young adults into Jewish spirituality, farming, mindfulness, and social justice. After her dad died suddenly in 2017, she felt called to grief work and trained as a chaplain at UCSF Mission Bay Hospital, where she earned 3 units of CPE and offered spiritual care to those who were ill and dying, and facilitated “grief retreats” for young adults outside the hospital. She is the co-founder of the COVID Grief Network, a mutual aid organization that offers free support and community to young adults who have lost someone to COVID-19. Chloe holds a Master’s in Education—focusing on transformative experiences—from Harvard University.

“Who is wise? One who learns from all”, these are the words that ring truest to Danniell. Through her work with the disability community, interfaith dialogue, and adult and family programming, Danniell excels at establishing connections and building relationships. Danniell is committed to cultivating mindful immersive opportunities for individuals to explore their Jewish identity and build community. Born and raised in Metro-Detroit, Danniell has also lived in Seattle where she helped individuals delve into their heritage through education and experiences, as the Jewish Life and Learning Professional at the SJCC, and currently lives in Atlanta serving as the Senior Director of Jewish Journeys, Places, and Welcoming and the Jewish Federation. Danniell loves bold flavors, deep conversations, and anything with peanut butter and chocolate.

If you want to explore your identity, values, beliefs or want to think about where you fit in a larger community – be it Jewish or secular – David Manchester brings the background and materials you need.

David is the Associate Director of Impact Assessment and Learning at the Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP), Greater Boston’s Jewish Federation. In his role he supports efforts to measure the impact generated through communal giving. Additionally, he is a Ph.D. candidate in social policy at Brandies University and a Berman Fellow in Jewish Socio-Demographic Studies.

He previously lived in Washington, DC where he began his career as a legislative assistant for Hadassah’s Washington Action Office. He then became an operations analyst at Blackboard, Inc., where he honed his skills in quantitative metrics and evaluation. Growing up in Scarsdale, NY, he was active at Westchester Reform Temple. David recently completed 12 years of service on the Board of Directors of American University Hillel. During that time, he was instrumental in reinvigorating the organization leading a reorganization and recruiting a new, executive director.

David Maxa is a young, smart and very accessible rabbi. He serves at the Progressive Jewish Community Ec chajim in Prague, which he co-founded in 2019, as well as at the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic. In addition to it, he serves as Convenor of the Central European Beit Din, a Progressive rabbinic court for the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. He focuses on making Judaism accessible in post-Shoah Europe and educating people about finding answers to the issues of the modern world in traditional Jewish texts. He speaks English, German, Hebrew, and Czech. David is married to Judita Bergmann and they have the two year old son Rafael.

Dmitry is a Cantor with ROOPI (Religious Association of Communities of Progressive Judaism), a professional musician, and he conducts training courses for Bar and Bat Mitzvah. Being the only cantor for the progressive Judaism communities in the former USSR, Dmitry regularly participates in seminars, conducts services and master classes in the communities of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic states. The music for prayers is the music of his heart and in his work, the motives of Jewish, Ukrainian and Russian folklore were combined.

Don is an experienced educator with a background in history/education, as well as teaching Hebrew and Jewish values. He has worked at many congregations in youth education including Beth Hillel Academy, Peninsula Temple Beth El, Temple Sinai, and Wilshire Boulevard Temple. He has also developed and led workshops as a Moishe House resident in Palo Alto, and as regional coordinator for StandWithUs where he spoke in front of thousands of people over his tenure. He currently works at the Anti-Defamation League regional operations/hate crimes division in Los Angeles and volunteers as a docent at the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust. Don is also a plant aficionado and gardener and is excited to combine his knowledge of Jewish tradition and values to retreats focusing on a connection with nature.

Dr. Mira Neshama Niculescu is a Teacher of Jewish Meditation, a Jewish Educator, and an Artist. She received her Doctorate in Sociology of Religion from the Ecole de Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris, and her certificate of “Jewish Mindfulness Teacher” from the Institute for Jewish Spirituality in New York. She learned Torah at the Drisha Institute for Jewish Studies in New York and Pardes in Jerusalem, where she received a certificate in Jewish Experiential Education as a Yesod European Fellow. A former Art Fellow at Drisha, she published drawing in various magazines and books, and teaches drawing workshops to Israeli and Palestinian women in Israel. Her articles on Judaism and Jewish Spirituality have been published in Tenou’a, Jew Pop, L’Eclaireur, Jofa, Contemporary Jewry, ASSR, and Religions, as well as in collective books published by Sage, Ashgate, and Sunny Press. She currently lives in Jerusalem where she is a Rabbinic Fellow at Beit Midrash Ha’ El, chairs the Clergy Council at Roots/Shorashim, teaches Torah and Jewish Meditation with Pardes, Akadem, Applied Jewish Spirituality, Or Ha Lev, and completes a Yoga Teacher Training. She travels internationally to lecture and teach workshops and retreats on Torah, Jewish Spirituality, and Jewish Meditation. She can be found at https://www.miraneshama.com/

Emma Howitt is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor and a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor. Originally from Houston, Emma earned her Bachelor’s in Psychology at Texas State University and her Master’s in Mental Health Counseling at Yeshiva University. Prior to working at Shalom Austin Jewish Family Service (JFS), Emma was a therapist at several non-profit behavioral health and substance abuse agencies in the Austin area. Emma brings more than ten years’ experience as a professional in non-profit organizations. Her counseling and therapeutic focus covers a range of needs, including individuals, couples and families dealing with issues such as depression, anxiety, self-esteem, substance abuse, relationships, and life transitions.

As a therapist and community educator with Shalom Austin JFS, Emma has facilitated many psychoeducation workshops and group therapy sessions that incorporate Judaism in mental health and substance abuse treatment. She has created programming specifically at the intersection of mental health and Judaism, including a community storytelling event which highlighted Austin Jews in recovery, an ongoing Mood and Mindfulness workshop, and Shalom Village, a supportive social group for new Jewish parents. Emma is also a Gottman Institute-trained facilitator for the renowned couples’ workshop, The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work.

https://shalomaustin.org/jfs-staff/#howitt

Ezra Bookman is a ritual designer, artist, educator, and facilitator exploring the transformational power of ritual. He is the founder of Ritualist, a creative studio designing rituals to help build more conscious companies and connected communities; the former Artistic Director for Lab/Shul, an experimental, artist-driven, God-optional community for sacred Jewish gatherings in NYC; and the youngest member on the Board of Directors of The Secret City, an Obie Award-winning arts organization.

Working alongside Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie, Shira Kline, and Naomi Less, Ezra spent 6 years helping grow Lab/Shul from a small startup to a robust community. He has taught workshops, designed rituals, and co-created events with prominent organizations such as Moishe House, Union of Reform Judaism, Hebrew Union College, BASE Hillel, UJA-Federation of NYC, Slingshot, The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education, The Museum of Jewish Heritage, Schusterman Foundation, Honeymoon Israel, United Nations Church Center, New York Mayor’s Office, Reboot, Jewish Emergent Network, IKAR, Judson Memorial Church, New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, Death Over Dinner, and The Darrell D. Friedman Institute for Professional Development.

Gabriel currently works at the experience Documentation and Information Centre on Argentine Jewry, “Marc Turkow” Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) since 2016. He provides administration of the different collections and attention to scholars and students from Argentina and abroad. He also coordinates 10 volunteers and oversees the assignment of tasks and monitoring and evaluation of results. Gabriel is also involved in interdisciplinary work with other areas for the creation of multimedia content. He has experience in the assistance in strategic planning with management positions as well as the generation of reports and presentations, budget management and relationship with suppliers. He has helped with the implementation of the “Creando Memoria” contest, aimed at high school students where they have contact with educational institutions and teachers and the development of activities (communication, selection of winners, awards).

2011 – 2012 yy. – education in Machon seminary on the basis of Congregation of Progressive Judaism

2011 – 2012 yy. – “Social work and self-identity in the modern world” program on the basis of Congregation of Progressive Judaism

2008 – 2011 yy. – co-cantor in the “Emmanuel” congregation of Progressive Judaism in Odessa,Ukraine

2012 – 2017 yy. – cantor in the “Emmanuel” congregation of Progressive Judaism in Odessa,Ukraine

Independent researcher, professional guide, lecturer, museum curator & communications specialist. Research interests: Russian-Jewish literature, heritage of Jewish artists of Ukraine, history of the Jewish community of Odessa. Gera is the co-founder of the Odessa Jewish Film Festival, manager of the J-Camp (Jewish camp for children).

My name is Gregory and I am from Tula. I have been working as a psychologist for five years after graduating from university. I am fond of social sciences, especially history, also I am keen on sword fighting and I am good at it. I like camping and hiking. I am mad about beautiful nature landscapes, especially in winter. Now I am working with teens and children in Jewish community of my city and I like my job. Maybe I am not rather communicative, but quite amiable.

Now I am a psychologist and madrich in the community with at least 9 years of experience, I am good at Jewish literature, and Beit-Midrashim. I am also fond of sport sword fighting and training children this kind of sport

Hadar is a Mizrahi feminist multi-media artist, healer and educator. She is the founder of Feminism All Night, a project that designs communal immersive learning experiences about feminism and spirituality. Hadar is a Jewish mystic who works to build decolonial frameworks for worshiping God. She teaches Jewish scripture and embodied practices through various platforms, including At The Well. Her artistic mediums include performance, movement, writing, weaving, sound and ritual. hadarcohen.me.

Heather (she/her) is a self-declared nerd for all things related to Judaism, psychology, and cooking. She loves exploring and sharing the depths of Jewish tradition (Holidays! Rituals! Texts!) and is currently a rabbinical student at Hebrew College. Prior to rabbinical school, Heather worked as the program coordinator for J-Pride, which brings together the Jewish LGBTQ community in the Twin Cities. Her other recent roles have included selling bread, teaching Talmud through cooking, and planning a retreat about the power of doubt. In the Moho universe, she’s been an MHWOW host, Retreatologist, retreat educator, and Moishe House Somerville resident. You can often find Heather cooking way too much food for the people she loves, getting excited about sea creatures, and talking about death, smashing the patriarchy, and loving black cats (not in that order).

Heela lives and works in Florentine, Tel Aviv. Coming from an orthodox background in Jerusalem, Heela is a graphic designer (working at Eretz Nehedert tv show, among others), a cultural creator of colorful events around the city (notably, through collaborations with TEDER.FM and others), a member of Onya collective, the Florentine community garden, and a managing partner in CTLV urban tours. Heela is an urban activist and community organiser, taking part in most of the significant community struggles of recent years against the municipality’s unbalanced development plans for south Tel Aviv. In the past few years she’s been studying local edible flora and botanicals and leads seasonal urban foraging tours.

CTLV.org.il
Florentine Community Garden: https://www.facebook.com/Florentin2012/
Onya Collective: http://onyacity.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nomi.berg

Hindy Finman is a rabbinical student at Hebrew College and loves fusing her passion for Torah and commitment to normalizing mental health into her teachings. She enjoys challenging our traditions and texts to align with the here and now in nature’s classroom- the great outdoors. She is an avid dirt lover, be it ceramics, gardening, creating composting systems, or trying to understand the Earth’s messages.

Spiritual Mentor integrating sound, BioAcoustics, NLP/HiTea to reclaim your power.
Artist, Radio Host

iLan is a certified Sound Therapist who embraces the divine power of words and Kabbalistic meditation in the healing process and certified in Reiki, Solution Focused Coaching and NLP and BioAcoustics.

Through heart guided Kabbalistic meditation, sacred names, musical instruments, Tibetan bowls, and HiTea™ custom tea mix, (www.facebook.com/hiteamix), you will be guided on a journey inwards, cultivating healing to your body, clearing energy blocks, releasing toxins.

Consultant, University Lecturer, Cross Culturalist, Mediator, Urbanist and Entrepreneur. Ilyll has over a decade of experience in leading, training and guiding diverse groups and individuals in cross-cultural fields in English, Hebrew, French and Spanish. Ilyll has lived and worked in the USA, France, Spain and Argentina while researching cultures and initiating and leading entrepreneurial projects. Through international encounters she has gained knowledge and hands-on experience of how cultures shape business interactions and organizational norms. In one-on-one sessions, group trainings and workshops, Ilyll’s mediator skills allow her to bridge the challenging cultural gaps and transform them into strengths. Over the years she has developed elaborate models and tools for implementing the impact of cultures on the ways in which people think, feel and act. Ilyll holds an MA in Mediation & Conflict Resolution from Tel Aviv University.

Contemporary Artist, Teacher, Kabbalistic Tarot and Jewish Divination Practitioner.

Jackie is originally from Seattle. She came to Chicago to study Art, and found a community with whom to continue her lifelong study of Jewish Mysticism. She is passionate about Intuitive Judaism and experiencing life as endless opportunities to connect with spirit. In her practice, she gains access to this connection with God and the world around her through a practice of listening and acknowledging the voice and agency of her collaborators, be they rabbinic scholars or trees in the park, as fellow vessels of divinity. She is excited for any opportunity to share her meditative methods of integrating classic Jewish ideology into accessible and inclusive empowerment practices.

Jackie works as a Hebrew School Teacher and B’nai Mitzvah Tutor at Temple Sholom of Chicago, and a Substitute Teacher for multiple public schools in the Chicago area. She has many years of experience creating and leading engaging programs, both in person and online. She also completed a year as the Education Chair on the Metro Chicago Hillel Student Board, as well as the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs Social Justice Organizing Fellowship.

Jamie Salter is a Jewish Educator and officially licensed Israel Tour Guide. He has a BA in Modern History from Oxford University and a MA in Jewish Education from the Hebrew University. Jamie works in many different Jewish educational arenas – in recent years he has taught in a Jewish school in America, guided British Members of Parliament on their trip to Israel, and worked as an educational consultant for the Jewish Agency. He is a regular guide and educator in Israel for, amongst others, Hebrew Union College, the Nachshon Project, and the Brandeis Schusterman Centre for Israel Studies. Jamie served as the educational director of the Ministry of Tourism Tour Guide course at the Yad Ben Zvi Institute. He currently holds a position as the Director of Israel Education at Machon Pardes. Jamie has completed about a quarter (so far!) of the ‘Israel Trail’ hiking trail. He and his family live in Jerusalem.

Former Moishe House resident and Senior Director of House Programs, now a training mental health counselor with a specialism in holistic approaches, Joel has a background in dance and movement meditation, facilitation, theater, and creative methods of Jewish education. He has taught at multiple Limmud conferences, Moishe House programs, and various retreats, and co-led the first Retreatology.

Julie Dean specializes in Mussar/Middot learning, Mindfulness and Facilitator Development. She has over 25 years experience as a facilitator and combines her background in experiential education with a passion for Jewish spirituality. Julie’s workshops and retreats are dynamic, engaging and meaningful. She seeks to help people connect with Jewish spirituality in ways that are relevant, uplifting and community building. LGBTQIA+ sensitive.

Kendra Fried is the founder of Neshamah Yoga & Wellness.™ She is a yoga therapist, educator, and facilitator of embodied Jewish devotion.

She is a board-certified holistic health counselor, and a graduate of the Yoga and Jewish Wisdom Teacher Training offered by Jewish Learning Works in San Francisco.

Kendra has been a specialist in the field of mind/body/spirit for 25 years. She leads Jewishly inspired classes and wellness retreats, independently and through organizations such as Moishe House, Camp Nai Nai Nai, and the Grief and Growing™ retreats offered by the Bay Area Jewish Healing Center. She has provided ECE courses for the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, to support self-regulation for teachers and their students. Kendra has also established a staff and clergy wellness initiative at Temple Isaiah in Lafayette, California, and has extended that to the Women’s Rabbinic Network.

Her soul’s passion and calling are to guide people inward on a journey toward healing, transformation, and a deeper connection to themselves and the Divine.

Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife (she/they pronouns) sprinkles sparkles, disrupts expectations, and offers blessings wherever she goes. She serves as Oreget Kehilah (Executive Director) of the Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute, founder/co-leader of Kesher Pittsburgh, Program Director of the ALEPH Kesher Fellowship, Lead Facilitator for Keshet’s GLBTQ+ Jewish Youth of Colour programming and member of the leadership team of the JOC Mishpachah Project. Additionally, she delights in serving as a davennatrix (shlichat tzibbur), life spiral ceremony/ritual creatrix, liturgist, songstress, teacher and public speaker. Her work in these realms is informed by her lived experience as a queer Jewish Woman of Colour and the quandaries she encounters as a scholar of the Orphan Wisdom School. Keshira received Kohenet smicha in 2017 and earned her BS 2000 and MS 2001 at Carnegie Mellon University. Dual-citizens of the USA and Australia and avid travelers, she and her beloved are currently leaning into stillness and sheltering-in-peace on Osage and Haudenosaunee land also called Pittsburgh, PA.

Kiki Lipsett is a musician, educator, performer, and prayer leader. Her work meets at the intersection of social justice and music. She is a professionally trained vocalist, pianist, and guitar player and has a background in musical theater performance. Kiki uses her music and arts training to support youth experiencing homelessness to develop their unique voices and to elevate their songs and stories. She also regularly leads music for Shabbat and High Holiday services and is involved in musical projects for community-building and for individuals who are ill or grieving.

Kiki is known in the Bay Area for writing, directing, producing, and performing in “Irreverently Yours, The Shushan Queens,” an annual, politically satirical, feminist, musical comedy for Purim all in rhyme. She and her cast have performed to sold out Bay Area audiences each year for the past 3 years. While on a fellowship in Israel/Palestine, she created and performed an original one-woman show called, “The Land is Shaking,” exploring the relationship between land and identity.

Kiki is also a creative consultant and musical content creator. She works with individuals, organizations, and companies to create original or parody songs for events, marketing, or just for fun.

I am interested in the universal values that come through Judaism, such as truth, love, celebration, kindness, and beauty. I believe it is irrelevant how much someone ‘knows’.

Contemplative, honest, experiential, natural, free, & creative Judaism are phrases that relate to my orientation. ‘You are more important’ is a tenet of my approach.

My translation of the beginning of Genesis into English is currently in manuscript form. You can find me on both youtube and bandcamp. Based in Santa Fe, NM, I am sometimes available to travel.

Habla español. Thank you for your interest and inquiry.

Liz Alpern is co-founder of The Gefilteria and co-author of The Gefilte Manifesto: New Recipes for Old World Jewish Foods. She is passionate about the ways in which food creates meaningful gatherings, builds identity and strengthens community. In 2017, she created the international party and fundraising series, Queer Soup Night. She is also a food systems consultant for national non-profit Fair Food Network. Liz has spent the pandemic leading dozens of virtual workshops and is shocked by the power of food to leap through the screen.

Logan Zinman Gerber (she/hers) is a community organizer and Jewish educator whose Judaism is rooted in social justice. Logan worked for seven years as the NFTY Chicago Director, partnering with student leaders to create programs and experiential learning for hundreds of high schoolers. In addition to supporting teens, Logan implemented a professional development curriculum for youth professionals in the region, and oversaw programming and staff in three other regions. As the National Campaign Organizer for the Religious Action Center for the past three years, Logan teaches high schoolers, college students, and young adults how to be community organizers and use their skills and stories to mobilize their communities to make change. In the past year that included creating a virtual curriculum for 150 Fellows, who led projects in their home communities that resulted in thousands of people getting out the vote for the 2020 elections. You can hear from some of Logan’s Fellows and learn more about their Get Out The Vote work in the Georgia Senate Runoff Elections in The Forward. She also loves teaching under trees at retreats and summer camps, and can’t wait to safely resume teaching in person.

In her free time, Logan is the Co-Chair of the American Cancer Society’s National Volunteer Training Team, where she develops content used in training 600+ volunteers and staff each year, both virtually and in person. She also serves as a keynote speaker and facilitator for groups of society volunteers and staff on systematic inventive thinking, fundraising, thriving through change, volunteer recruitment and management, and event planning.

Logan loves learning almost as much as creating educational experiences for others. She holds a BA in Jewish Studies and Sociology from the University of Wisconsin, an MA in Social Administration and Social Work from the University of Chicago, and a Certificate in Jewish Education Specializing in Adolescents and Emerging Adults from Hebrew Union College. She is currently enrolled in Leadership, Organizing, and Action, an executive program through the Harvard Kennedy School, to deepen her community organizing practice.

You can find Logan running by the lake in Chicago, searching for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe, and celebrating Shabbat with her husband and one-year-old, Jude, by baking challah and singing “Bim Bam” approximately one thousand times every Friday night.

Matthew has worked with many different age groups and had multiple experiences leading jewish experiences in a retreat type setting. During his time on staff at Kivunim, Matthew led programing centered around unplugging for shabbat, and adding mindfulness and intention framework for the participants. From his time at Ramah Matthew planned lessons incorporating nature into campers’ shabbat experience. Matthew is also skilled in content creation, travel, photography/video production, community engagement, social media marketing, the Adobe Suite, event planning, and more.

Maximiliano Diel has a Masters degree in Education, and a degree in Psychology, focused in Psychoanalysis.

Since 2008 he has taught the History of Zionism, Jewish Culture, Theory of Knowledge and Shoah at the baccalaureate in the Escuela Integral Hebreo Uruguaya, which examines issues of Shoah, Antisemitism, the history of the Jewish state, and major Jewish thinkers, philosophers and writers. He has designed and imparted an online course named “Moses: between psychoanalysis, archeology and jewish tradition”, at the Universidad Hebraica from Mexico, and has been invited to teach at several universities in Uruguay.

He has collaborated in different Jewish publications and radio programs like Radio Sefarad from Spain and the monthly Relaciones.

Languages spoken: Spanish, English, Hebrew.

Mazal/Maz Etedgi (they/them/theirs), is a trans/non-binary artist, arab/mizrahi/amazigh jew, spoonie/chronically ill person, Drama Therapist, community facilitator, clown, poet, and herbal medicine maker living on Ohlone land in Huichin Village (Berkeley, CA). Maz utilizes imagination, play, and ritual as tools for liberation, healing and connection. They honor, study and practice the plant medicines, liturgy, piyutim (sacred songs) and rituals of their mizrahi, arab jewish and amazigh lineages. Their plantcestral herbal practice and apothecary (B’samim Apothecary) offers community herbal support through consultations, custom formulations and herbal ritual. They graduated with a Masters in Counseling Psychology and Drama Therapy in December 2020 from the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Professional Ice Breaker, Wine Enthusiast, Passionate Activist
Megan is the Rabbi at Silverstein Base Hillel in Lincoln Park and one of the campus Rabbis of Metro Chicago Hillel. Megan grew up in Oak Park where she found her voice as a Jewish leader at her Conservative youth group and Reform summer camp. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2006 with a B.A. in Psychology and Women’s Studies. Megan then went to work for the Hillel at Yale University where she discovered her passion for working with college students, and realized that rather than pursuing a PhD in Clinical psychology she wanted to use the Jewish tradition as a source of meaning to empower young adults to create their own rich Jewish identities. Megan was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2014 and also received an MA in Jewish Gender and Women’s Studies and a certificate in Pastoral Care and Counseling.

Melanie Catan is an ​Uruguayan actress​, writer, director, producer and educator. She graduated from the Multidisciplinary Drama Art School (EMAD, ​Uruguay,​ 2015) and has a ​BA​ in Visual Communication​s​ (ORT University, ​Uruguay, ​2016).
She was nominated ​twice​ ​for ​“best actress” by the Florencios ​A​wards (Montevideo, Uruguay)​ and ​the ​play she ​co-w​rote​, “El mundo de Juan”, won the first prize in the category of “Best Multidisciplinary Play” (Florencios Awards, 2017). As a writer and director Catan has several other works in development. In 2020 she won a mention in the Onettis awards (Uruguay). Nowadays she lives in Barcelona and she is currently Studying Master degree in Theatrical Studies.

From a young age Melanie have experienced her Jewish identity as a part of her life. Both, her way of seeing the world and her personality, are influenced by Judaism: its philosophy, values and education. This is traduced naturally in her art, which tries to be as faithful as possible to her feeling and thinking. In fact, it was her involvement with the Jewish community that triggered her interest in creative writing. When she started her undergraduate studies in acting, she was already writing and directing plays for the Jewish movement that she was part of, as well as getting involved in the theatre plays that were produced in Jewish schools. Moreover, her first play, a children´s play called “Juan’s World”, emerged as a response to fundraising for one of the most important institutions of the Uruguayan Jewish community: The Jewish Elderly home. That is why she has always seen the influence of Judaism together with her art as an opportunity for growth and progress. The dialogue and intersection, has been constant and fruitful, and has always driven her to more.

She is currently involved in projects which are strongly committed to generating a social impact through theatre. She is deeply interested in exploring how artistic events have the potential to open doors, generate dialogue and mold our worldviews. She is currently directing and producing a project entitled “The Black Box”, which was created by Helen Marcos in Mexico. This project employs improvisation, representation and interaction to cover a wide array of social issues.

During her adolescence and youth, she volunteered at the Tnuá Betar for a 15 year period. During this period, she held different positions, such as: Madrija of young people of 9 and 10 years old, young people between 15 and 16 years old and people between 19 and 20 as well as a member of the hanagá (directory) of Betar fulfilling the position of external relations and also of preparing activities, seminars, talks, majanot etc. for the bogrim and the madrijim. She was also in charge of the educational area for all the bogrim of the Tnua advising, training and helping with any doubt or issue they might have with the young people they could be in charge of. On the other hand, she was also in charge specifically of the madrijim of young people between 12 and 13 years old meeting them each week in order to make a plan for all the year. Once she finished her stage as a volunteer, she continued participating in the different activities such as a speaker and teacher of: The Shoa project doing hasbara referred to the Shoa in non-Jewish schools and also coordinating it, as well as The institute of “Nativ” the training center for the madrijim of the tnuot.

Having told all of the above, she feels that she is qualified to be the mentor due to different reasons: her experience in all aspects of the community, both artistic and institutional. Since she was a girl, she knew very closely and deeply, all aspects of the Jewish community and she has trained throughout her life both artistically and educationally to be able to transmit all of her knowledge and reach the people who are in positions to exploit everything to their potential. Being part of different areas and institutions, made her know the community and its problems so closely, as well as Uruguayan problems in general, she has carried out many activities outside the community, She believes that she is able to demonstrate her knowledge and make people grow both personally and artistically, understanding the reason of everything we do and what the person who is listening needs from us.

Mihal Stamova was born in 1973 in Rovno, Ukraine. In 1991, she graduated from the Rovno Music college with a degree in piano. She started her Jewish life in 1995 in JAFI Ulpan in Donetsk. Since 2000, she worked as a Hebrew teacher and teacher of Jewish music in Donetsk. In 2003, she graduated from the Jewish studies department at Donetsk State University. In 2005, she graduated from the Philology department at Rovno State Humanitarian University. She made Aliyah, then, in 2010, graduated Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem. Since 2012, she has worked as a the director of Jewish public-educational center “Masoret”. In 2017, she became a Master of History in Jewish studies in National University “Kiev-Mohylyanska Academy”. She now studies at a PhD program at Donetsk National University. She also works as a director of Family camp and organizes original courses on Jewish literature, history and music. She specializes in the history of the Jews of Bukovina and Galicia region in Ukraine.

Miriam Kanani, M.A. is a singer, educator, storyteller, and Jewish ritual leader and would love to support you in your next Moishe House Retreat. Miriam cna be found leading prayers, running teen programs, running summer camp, leading text studies, and playing Jewish music. She has supported two Moishe House Retreats and is able to support in the Jewish component and in the overall planning of the retreat.

Miriam attained her Master’s Degree from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. She holds a Multi-Subject California Teaching Credential, as well a certificate in Jewish Education from Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles. She has taught children of all ages around the Bay Area and has been a Hebrew teacher at Congregation Beth El in Berkeley for the past 6 years. She is an educator with over 17 years experience in the Jewish education world, and has taught in both preschools, elementary schools, synagogues, Jewish summer camps, and informal Jewish education programs. Miriam’s Area of Expertise is Jewish music, storytelling, ritual leadership, and teaching.

Rabbi Miriam-Simma Walfish is a doctoral candidate in Rabbinics in the department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. Her specific interests include rabbinic approaches to gender, parenting, and education. Her article, “Upending the Curse of Eve: Reframing Maternal Breastfeeding in BT Ketubot,” was published in the 2017 volume Mothers in the Jewish Cultural Imagination. Rabbi Walfish has taught Tanakh, Talmud, and Jewish Law in numerous settings including the Conservative Yeshiva, Hadar Institute, Harvard University, Hebrew College, and the National Havurah Committee’s summer institute. She revels in the process of learning Torah with and from her students.

Natanya Ruth Silverman brings a dynamic background in Jewish education, performing arts, yoga, breathwork, retreat design and transformational coaching to her facilitation. Founder of The Clearing Yoga studio and GIFT 200 Hr Yoga Teacher Training, Natanya collaboratively designs retreats, events and workshops infused with inclusive co-creative ritual, mindfulness, ecstatic movement, sound healing, theater creation practices and exercises that connect participants in a safe space of creative, heart-centered expression.

As a former Hebrew Day School teacher and child of a rabbi, Natanya brings a playful approach to Jewish spirituality transmitted through lifelong study and integration of varied wisdom traditions. She draws on Jewish language in her yoga instruction, including the Kabbalistic Tree of Life as a body map to guide practice.

Highlights from Natanya’s adventures in facilitating transformation include: facilitating weekly yoga retreats on the jungle island of Koh Phangan, Thailand; leading Yoga + Meditation retreats in Uvita, Costa Rica; co-facilitating a Moishe House Passover Retreat and Sisterhood retreat on Cape Cod, studying & producing physical theater in Barcelona, Spain & Paris, France; delving deeper into silent meditation & Yogic practice & philosophy with Guru Amma Sri Karunamayi in Andhra Pradhesh, India & with the Blooming Lotus Yoga School in Bali. An adventurer & lifelong student, Natanya loves to support & guide others to know and trust their true nature as pure, loving & limitless creative force.

Nessa Norich is a writer, director, producer, performer and educator living in Brooklyn, NY. Her work illuminates pathways towards rebuilding and strengthening community through ritual, storytelling, and collective transcendence. Nessa designs immersive diversions – performance, gatherings, workshops and retreats – that awaken and embolden the voices, bodies and imaginations of performers and participants. Valuing creativity as a key to holistic wellbeing, she facilitates mindful movement workshops that foster play, intuition and the courage to express. She uses performance to center voices and stories that have been historically marginalized. Last May, Nessa was invited to join Bnot Eash, a collective of Jewish feminist spiritual leaders and activists who have been on the frontlines in the fight for gender equality in American Jewish communities since 1981. Nessa is also co-Founder and Theater Educator for Well of Wills, a Brooklyn-based Jewish female-led collective that creates educational tools and community art projects that support and empower Jewish women and gender non-conforming leaders. This past Yom Kippur, Nessa was commissioned by Lab/Shul to write and perform an hour-long performance Dvar Torah at the Hammerstien Ballroom. Nessa has created Jewish performance art for the New York Neo-Futurists, Lab/Shul’s Purim Schpiel and Yiddish New York.

Originally from Toronto, Canada, Olivia spent 13 years as a student in the Jewish education system. Olivia was a head staff member at Camp Massad Manitoba, a pluralistic Hebrew immersion overnight camp where she lead programs on inclusion, Jewish identity, Jewish religion, and leadership. Over the past 3 years in Boston, she spent a great deal of time with the Moishe House, developing friendships and connections with the Jewish community. Olivia currently works as a Speech-Language Pathologist.

Olivia feels strongly connected to Judaism through art, film, comedy, food, and holiday customs. Her undergraduate thesis was on Jewish ritual objects of the Venetian Ghetto. Her most prized possessions are her great-great grandfather’s siddurim.

As the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, Olivia attends as many survivor speakers as she can during Holocaust education week.

In her spare time, Olivia enjoys watching Hebrew movies and TV with English subtitles, hosting Shabbats, putting modern spins on her bubbie’s recipes, practicing mindfulness and yoga, and reading about modern Israeli politics. She was a participant of the March of the Living and Birthright, and volunteered with Jewish organizations in Toronto.

Ophir Haberer is a Men’s Retreat Facilitator and MenschUp Facilitator/coordinator for the Jewish Center for Domestic Abuse. Ophir, along with his brother Dor, has facilitated over 7 retreats and numerous workshops focused on creating immersive experiences for men to intimately relate to one another, claim more authentic expressions of themselves, and position themselves as better allies. Ophir has facilitated and consulted with numerous Jewish organizations around masculinity, Earth-based Judaism, and Sephardi/Mizrahi culture.

He is also a permaculture, culinary, rites-of-passage, and wilderness enthusiast/educator, self-published poet, and Esalen Massage practitioner. He is teaching currently an online series on ReWilding Judaism.

Piero studied at Beit Hamechanech Hahieudi (The House of the Jewish Educator) in Argentina and at Yad Vashem in Israel. He is an expert in Jewish values and has experience working in huge and small communities. He has expertise in combining traditions and new meanings.

A rabbi, writer, meditation teacher, and yoga instructor, Benjamin Shalva regularly leads seminars in Spiritual Cross-Training, Kabbalah Yoga, Jewish Meditation, and Mindfulness Meditation. He received his rabbinical ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary and his yoga teacher certification from the Yogic Physical Culture Academy in Los Cabos, Mexico. He is the author of two books — Spiritual Cross-Training: Searching through Silence, Stretch, and Song and Ambition Addiction: How to Go Slow, Give Thanks, and Discover Joy Within.

Danny received his semicha (rabbinic ordination) from Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg after completing his studies at the Leo Baeck College.

He is the founder and director of HaMakom, an organisation which runs Jewish mindfulness meditation retreats for people from all parts of the Jewish community. Rabbis and lay people from all the different Jewish denominations (Masorti, Reform, Orthodox, Liberal) regularly attend. Prior to commencing his rabbinic studies, Rabbi Danny worked as a corporate lawyer in the City of London.

He read Jewish Studies at Oxford University and has studied at several Israeli yeshivot. He has been practicing meditation for over 20 years.

David Paskin is an accomplished spiritual leader, singer/songwriter, entertainer, Jewish futurist, social activist, award-winning Jewish educator and founding rabbi of OHEL. Prior to moving to Florida, David served as the rabbi and spiritual leader of Temple Beth Abraham in Canton, Massachusetts for seventeen years. David currently serves as the Director of Youth Education at Temple Sinai of North Dade and as the Educational Director of the Institute of Jewish Knowledge and Learning in Broward County.

A graduate of Brandeis University (1993) and the Academy for Jewish Religion (2002), David has been working in the Jewish world for over two decades teaching at various religious schools, day schools, and camps around the country. In the Boston area, David served as Music and Judaics Director of Grossman Camp, as Judaic Studies Coordinator of the Rashi School of Greater Boston and as co-head of school at Kehillah Schechter Academy.

David has taught and performed at a number of conferences including the Shefa Network, CAJE, the National JEA Convention, the UAHC Biennial, the United Synagogue Biennial, and USY International Convention. His presentations have focused on prayer and spirituality, Jewish music, and formal and informal Jewish education.

David is a blogger for the Times of Israel and the World Wide Reblog and is a proud contributor to Not By Might: Channeling the Power of Faith to End Gun Violence​. David’s first book, The Search for the Sacred was published in the summer of 2016. In 2018, David collaborated with Rabbi Joseph Meszler on his second book: Go and Study: A Pluralistic Guide Through the Jewish Denominations’ Torah Commentaries.

In addition to his congregational work, David has taught Torah and Technology, prayer, music and rabbinics at the Academy for Jewish Religion – a pluralistic rabbinic and cantorial school in Riverdale, NY. For many years David served as an advisor to the Delet/MAT program at Brandeis University and volunteered as a Jewish chaplain at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. David is a past-President of the Association of Rabbis and Cantors; past-President of the Canton Clergy Association and a past trustee on the Board of Directors of the National Brain Tumor Society.

David has become known as the “Rock n’Roll Rabbi” having written, performed and produced six albums of contemporary Jewish music. His music is a mix of joyful, upbeat tunes and moving liturgical compositions. David’s music is sung in synagogues, camps, and schools around the country. David was honored to produce and record the anthem, Olam Chesed Yibaneh with his dear friend and musical partner, Rabbi Menachem Creditor. In addition to his Jewish music, in 2004, David produced a cd single entitled, So We Ride in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Brain Tumor Society’s Ride for Research.

David’s accomplishments in Jewish education were recognized when he received the Keter Torah Award from the Bureau of Jewish Education in Massachusetts. David has also been recognized by the Association of Rabbis and Cantors (2012), the South Area Solomon Schechter Day School (2009), The National Brain Tumor Society (2008), The Hellenic Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (2008), Ordinary Heroes Hall of Fame (2007), Synagogue Council of Massachusetts (2007), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (2005), Boy Scouts of America (2005), South Area Solomon Schechter Day School (2004), Boston JCC Maccabi Games (2004), Temple Beth Abraham (2003), State Senate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (2002), Grossman Camp (2001) and Temple Shalom of Milton (1996).

After the loss of his second daughter, Liat Chanina, David and his wife Heather founded the Liat Chanina Foundation, a non-profit foundation dedicated to creating and sustaining opportunities for hope and healing. David currently lives with his wife Heather, his daughters Dalia, Ayelet and Naomi, and the memory of his beloved daughter Liat (z’l) in Boca Raton, Florida.

Rabbi Mintz is the current Rabbi of B’nai Israel The Downtown Synagogue. Rabbi Mintz lectures widely throughout the Baltimore community. He is active in community affairs, serving on the Executive Committee of Historic Jonestown, Inc., and various Associated Jewish Federation’s foundations and commissions.

Rabbi Mintz served for five years as Associate Rabbi at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale. He also taught Jewish thought, text and practice at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, Maryland, and has served as a summer rabbi at The Hampton Synagogue in Westhampton Beach, NY.

He received his pastoral counseling training through a year-long chaplain residency program at the University of Virginia Health System, where he counseled individuals of all faiths in times of crisis. Rabbi Mintz is a senior rabbinic fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute, and a long time group leader with the American Jewish World Service. Some of his fondest and earliest rabbinical experiences have included leading Passover seders in the Former Soviet Union and High Holiday services at Rashi’s shul in Worms, Germany.

He studied for two years at Yeshivat Sha’alvim in Israel, and received rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva University’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He also holds a Masters Degree in Jewish Philosophy and Mysticism from the Bernard Revel Graduate School, and an M.P.A. from the Kennedy School at Harvard University.

Ordained by Philadelphia’s Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, Rabbi Ora has worked as a congregational rabbi, hospital and long-term care facility chaplain, and Hillel advisor. Prior to attending rabbinical school, she served as the Program Manager of Resurrection After Exoneration, a New Orleans non-profit dedicated to helping men rebuild their lives after their release from wrongful imprisonment. As an undergraduate at the University of Toronto, she studied Jewish folktales of demonic possession, and as a graduate student she researched the intergenerational transmission of Holocaust trauma. Rabbi Ora has served as the spiritual leader of the Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation since 2017.

Rabbi Stephanie Crawley is a rabbi at Temple Micah in Washington D.C., and one of the founders of The Micah Storefront Project, which creates new, accessible Jewish spaces all around DC. She has served as a Jewish educator and musician across the US (from NYC to Ohio to Cali) and in Jerusalem, the Czech Republic, and Belarus. Stephanie has worked as a Spiritual Counselor at Beit T’Shuvah, a Jewish addiction treatment center; an education fellow at the Brandeis Collegiate Institute; and a tour educator with NFTY in Israel. Current passions are having conversations about sticky issues like addiction, class, and conflict with dignity and openness, and finding bridges between the explosion of rituals in secular society (think self-care and mindfulness) and Jewish wisdom. She loves tacos almost as much as she loves Torah, and believes that the search for hidden voices in sacred texts helps us find our own.

Rabbi Tiferet Berenbaum is the Rabbi of Congregational Learning and Programming at Temple Beth Zion in Brookline, MA. She received Rabbinic Ordination and a Master’s in Jewish Education from Hebrew College in 2013. She is originally from Brookline, MA and has served congregations in Milwaukee, WI and Mt. Holly, NJ before returning home to TBZ. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in Educational Leadership at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA.

In her multifaceted career, she has had a front seat at the intersection of race, racism and religion, giving her valuable insights into how different groups of people see the world and refining her powers of empathy. She teaches, “None of us can control what happens in the world, but we each have the power to control how we respond. We need to access our spiritual core and fearlessly acknowledge our dark places, both as individuals and a society, in order to shift what we see going on around us. The shadows serve to remind us that there is also light.”

Rav Natan is a native of São Paulo, Brazil, currently serving as the rabbi of Congregation Etz Hayim in Arlington, VA. Ordained by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, where he received the prize for Academic Excellence in Rabbinic Literature. He has served as a rabbinic intern at congregations in Marietta, Georgia; Los Angeles, California; and São Paulo, having experience teaching children and adults, staffing youth groups and summer camps, creating innovative family-oriented services, providing pastoral care, and leading large and small lifecycle events.

While studying in Israel, Rav Natan studied to become a shochet (ritual slaughterer) and later became the head mashgiach (Kashrut supervisor) for the American Jewish University and Camp Ramah in California. His rabbinic work also is informed by his background in business administration, marketing, entrepreneurship, and nonprofit management.

In his spare time, Rav Natan loves watching football, cooking, biking, studying Talmud, and talking about current events.

Rebekah Erev ha Kohenet is an artist, teacher, feminist, queer, dream worker, and healer living with disabilities. They are of Ashkenazi and Celtic Isles ancestry, living on the occupied lands of the Squaxin, Chehalis, and Nisqually people in Olympia, WA. In 2014 they self published the Moon Angels/ Malakh Halevanah Oracle Deck. They are joyfully working on Queer Mikveh Project – collaborating with the transformative power of water towards healing, liberation and justice from settler colonialism, assimilation and white supremacy and, The School of Letters – a class, oracle deck and book using the Hebrew letters and connections to plants, animals, the stars and hidden stories of diaspora. Their activist work includes leadership as a core member of SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice) and nationally they work with JVP (Jewish Voice for Peace). Learn more at: www.RebekahErevStudio.com

Sarah Chandler aka Kohenet Shamirah Bechirah is a Brooklyn-based Jewish educator, ritualist, artist, activist, and poet. Currently, she serves as the director of Romemu Yeshiva and the CEO of Shamir Collective. She teaches, writes, and consults on issues related to Jewish earth-based spiritual practice, farming, and mindfulness. Ordained as a Kohenet (Hebrew Priestess) in 2015, she is studying as a shamanic healer apprentice at The Wisdom School of S.O.P.H.I.A and Kabbalistic imaginal dream work at The School of Images.

Sarah is a passionate and opinionated leader. She currently runs a social media platform where she combines fashion, food, and Judaism together. She often hosts educational lives where she interacts directly with her audience and has open ended conversation about life, mental health and Judaism. The online community she formed has given her the ability to host live events with an array of different companies. Sarah is known for her natural ability to socialize, and is a great communicator. She also hosts Challah bakes in her home for a group of local girls. Sarah and her husband Yoni host Shabbat meals for students and young adults that come from a variety of Jewish affiliation. Sarah is a York University graduate of B.A. in Humanities. During her undergraduate years, Sarah was a Hebrew Sunday school teacher for kids who attended public schools during the week. She also did a year of Community leadership at Chabad of York Mills in Toronto upon completion of her studies. She then moved to New York where she studied Theater Acting during the day and was a dorm counselor for seminary girls at night. After getting married, she taught at Brooklyn Heights Jewish Academy as a full time Hebrew and English studies teacher. Sarah’s passion for education continues to grow as she constantly questions and learns with herself and the people around her. She loves to share her knowledge and listen to other people’s opinions and thoughts on complex issues within Judaism and Philosophy. Sarah has done and continues to volunteer work in Jewish and non-Jewish environments (old age homes, soup kitchens, volunteering etc). Sarah is known for her inclusivity and work she does as her Tikkum Olam.

Sarah Langer currently lives in Chicago, IL where she works in real estate, while balancing her work life with mindfulness practices. She is a Certified Mindfulness & Wellbeing Strategist through the United Nations University for Peace and received a Certificate in Jewish Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She specializes in leading mindfulness workshops and retreats focused on meditation and journaling. She serves in various leadership roles throughout the Jewish community including staffing Birthright, as a coach for OneTable, Moishe House Without Walls host, and Jewish United Fund committee member.