2013 Faculty

Carole Basri is the Executive Director of the Fordham Law School Corporate Compliance Institute and she is an Adjunct Professor at Fordham Law School and Peking University.  She has written the four treatises as follows:  Corporate Legal Departments by Practicing Law Institute, International Corporate Practice by Practicing Law Institute, eDiscovery for Corporate Counsel by West, and Corporate Compliance Practice Guide by Lexis.

Ms. Basri is also a documentary film producer and her films have been shown at film festivals and PBS. Recently, she produced a documentary on hemophiliacs in Iraq who got AIDS through tainted blood parts.  She has advised, on a pro bono basis, a preparatory PBS production of Saddam’s trial.  She has been a commentator on the Iraqi elections and its constitution for MSNBC, CNN, FOX and Al Iraqiya TV.

Dr. Daniel Eisenberg is affiliated with the Department of Radiology at the Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA and is an Assistant Professor of Diagnostic Imaging at Thomas Jefferson University School of Medicine.

Jeffrey S. Gurock is the Libby M. Klaperman Professor of Jewish History at Yeshiva University. Gurock served from 1982-2002 as associate editor of American Jewish History, the leading academic journal in that field and was twice chair of the Academic Council of the American Jewish Historical Society. He is the author or editor of fifteen books. His works include A Modern Heretic and a Traditional Community: Mordecai M. Kaplan, Orthodoxy and American Judaism. In 1998, A Modern Heretic...was awarded the bi-annual Saul Viener Prize from the American Jewish Historical Society for the best book written in that field. Gurock's, Orthodox Jews in America was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award in the area of American Jewish Studies. His most recent study is Jews in Gotham: New York Jews in a Changing City, 1920-2010.

Helen Nash was born into an old rabbinical family in Cracow, Poland. In New York City, where she has spent most of her life, she studied with world-famous cooks Michael Field, Marcella Hazan, Lydie Marshall, and Millie Chan. An accomplished lecturer and teacher, she has given demonstrations at New York University and the legendary De Gustibus cooking school at Macy’s, as well as at numerous synagogues and Jewish community centers.

She is the author of three kosher cookbooks: Helen Nash's New Kosher  Cuisine; Kosher Cuisine; and Helen Nash’s Kosher Kitchen. Since the publication of these books, she has developed many more kosher recipes, all of which embody her principles of nutritious, uncomplicated, and attractive kosher food for every day.

Mrs. Molly Resnick has produced numerous documentaries on the Middle East, Jews, and Judaism. A veteran newswoman, she has worked for Israeli TV, PBS, NBC News, and The Jewish Press and has interviewed VIPs such as Menachem Begin, Yizhak Rabin, Moshe Dayan and Henry Kissinger. An international speaker, fluent in five languages, Mrs. Resnick is the founder and director of the grassroots organization MATCKH (Mothers Against Teaching Children to Kill), an organization that has drawn attention to the dangers of teaching bigotry and violence to Arab children.

Rabbi Abba Perelmuter started The Shul by the Shore at the High Holidays. During the sub-sequent years, the rabbi has attracted all manner of worshippers. For many in his congregation, the information he provides is new and interesting, and for others his wit and humor infuses old knowledge with new insights. The rabbi's services are an opportunity for every individual to grow both spiritually and intellectually.

With the help of several dedicated families, in September of 2000, the Shul began to offer full synagogue services to the community. In addition to High Holiday services, there are now Shabbat services and educational courses, covering such topics as Torah study, Jewish History and Kaballah.

Rabbi Asher Crispe is the Executive Director of Interinclusion.org, an educational initiative celebrating the convergence between contemporary arts and sciences and Torah thought. Rabbi Crispe is a warm and engaging speaker whose talent is taking the esoteric and often inaccessible texts and concepts of Kabbalah and Chassidic philosophy and making them palpable and understandable to the general public.

Prior to beginning Interinclusion.org, he served as the Chief Technology Officer of Link Capital Group, a Hedge Fund dealing with emergent technologies and future trends. From 1997 to 2004, Rabbi Crispe lived in Israel where he spent a year as a research fellow for Mercaz Shalem, the national policy institute for public policy and social thought. He additionally served as the Educational Director of Torat Chesed, an advanced learning institute for Jewish women under the guidance of world renowned scholar, Rav Yitzchak Ginsburgh. He was the Educational Director for the Gal Einai Institute, the Center for Advanced Interdisciplinary Study of Torah, Art and Science.

He has been a guest lecturer at numerous Torah centers and universities, both in Israel and abroad, and has appeared both on television and radio programs speaking on the topic of Kabbalah. He specializes in teaching week-long seminars in the arts and sciences as seen through the lens of the Torah. Topics he has taught in this field include: music, medicine, art, psychology, genetics, physics, law, education, economics and political science.

Rabbi Benjamin Blech is an internationally recognized educator, religious leader, author, and lecturer.

Rabbi Blech is the author of twelve highly acclaimed and best selling books, with combined sales of close to half a million copies, including three as part of the highly popular Idiot’s Guideseries. His book, Understanding Judaism: The Basics of Deed and Creed, was chosen by the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations as “the single best book on Judaism in our generation”. Together with an accompanying six hour video, filmed by the producers of 20/20,featuring Rabbi Blech, it is presently being used as the basis for study groups in numerous synagogues and universities around the country. His book Taking Stock: A Spiritual Guide To Rising Above Life’s Financial Ups and Downs was featured in a full page article in the Sunday New York times and one of his recent works, If God is Good, Why Is The World So Bad? has been translated into Indonesian where it has had a powerful reception in the wake of the country’s tsunami, as well as into Portuguese .

In a national survey, Rabbi Blech was recently ranked #16 in a listing of the 50 most influential Jews in America.

Rabbi Dr. Eddie Reichman is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center, and Associate Professor of Philosophy and History of Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM) of Yeshiva University, where he teaches Jewish medical ethics.

Rabbi Dr. Reichman received his rabbinic ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University and writes and lectures widely in the field of Jewish medical ethics. He is the recipient of a Kornfeld Foundation Fellowship and the Rubinstein Prize in Medical ethics, and is a member of both the board of the Halakhic Organ Donor Society and the advisory board of the Institute for Genetics and Public Policy. His research is devoted to the interface of medical history and Jewish law.

Rabbi Manis Friedman is a world-renowned author, lecturer, and social commentator with a provocative and incisive wit. He has been featured in over 200 print articles and interviewed on over 50 television and radio talk shows. He hosted his own critically acclaimed cable television series, Torah Forum with Manis Friedman, syndicated throughout North America. Friedman’s 1990 book, Doesn’t Anyone Blush Anymore, is currently in its fifth printing. In 1971, Friedman founded Bais Chana Institute of Jewish Studies in Minnesota, the world’s first yeshiva exclusively for women, where he continues to serve as dean. Rabbi Friedman served as simultaneous Yiddish-to-English translator for the televised talks of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

Rabbi Shais Taub is an internationally known speaker, writer and teacher on topics of Jewish spirituality who has become known for his work in the field of addiction. NPR dubbed him “an expert in Jewish mysticism and the 12 Steps” and The New York Times called him “a phenomenon.” His bestselling book, G-d of Our Understanding: Jewish Spirituality and Recovery from Addiction was the #1 selling Jewish book on Amazon.com and was praised by Publishers Weekly as "a singular resource for those in need."

He is one of the word's leading exponents of the fundamental chasidic text, Tanya, and created two groundbreaking works on the book: The Map of Tanya and the most successful JLI course to date, Soul Maps.

He is a frequent and popular contributor to The Huffington Post as well as an editor at the leading Judaism website Chabad.org and Jewish.TV. He also writes a weekly advice column for Ami Magazine.

He lives in Pittsburgh, PA with his wife and children.

Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, one of the foremost leaders in Jewish life in North America and worldwide, is executive vice-president emeritus of the Orthodox Union. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Rabbinical Council of America. Rabbi Weinreb received his rabbinic ordination from the Rabbi Jacob Joseph Yeshiva. He has an MA in psychology from the New School for Social Research and received his PhD from the University of Maryland.

Rabbi Yosef Y. Shusterman is the Spiritual Leader of Chabad of North Beverly Hills, and serves as the Halachic authority for the Chabad community of Greater Los Angeles and across the country. Rabbi Shusterman is a member of the worldwide Committee of Lubavitch Rabbis and serves as Judge on its central Beit Din.

Rabbi Shusterman is recognized worldwide for his knowledge of complex Jewish law and mystical teachings, as well as his keen insight into human relationships and education. He is an internationally sought-after speaker and counselor.

Rabbi Yossi Paltiel is a popular teacher and mentor with a gift for communicating his passion for Torah and Judaism. His classes weave together classic commentaries, Jewish Law, history and philosophy, personal stories, and a deep knowledge of Chassidus and Kabbala into a whole that's both intellectually challenging and heartwarming. He currently teaches at Yeshivas Tomchei Temimim Chovevei Torah (United Lubavitcher Yeshiva), Machon Chana Women's Institute for the Study of Judaism, and at the Beis Midrash L'Nashim (Women's and Girls' Beis Midrash and Seminary for Higher Learning) at 770 Eastern Parkway, Crown Heights, Brooklyn. He also gives lectures at many events in Brooklyn and travels to speak in Jewish communities throughout the country and is the founder of insidechassidus.org.

Mrs. Rivkah Slonim is the education director at the Chabad Center for Jewish Student Life at Binghamton University. A self-described "Chassidic Feminist", she lectures internationally on the intersection of Jewish observance and contemporary life with a special focus on Jewish women. She is the editor of Total Immersion: A Mikvah Anthology and Bread and Fire: Jewish Women Find G-d in the Everyday, an anthology on Jewish women’s spiritually.

Saranne is a stage IV cancer survivor, with no visible disease, and a world-renowned mind/body and therapeutic humor/laughter expert. Motivated by her own experience, Saranne founded the ComedyCures Foundation, and travels worldwide to bring joy, laughter, and therapeutic humor programs to kids and grown-ups living with illness depression, trauma and disabilities.

Born in Philadelphia, and educated in Los Angeles, New York and Italy, Saranne holds degrees in Broadcast Journalism, Humanities, Special Education Consulting, and Italian Language and Culture.  She has received grants from the US Government, major corporations and foundations to support her studies, research and innovative programs.

Shahar Azani is the consul for media affairs at the Consulate General of Israel in New York. He has since been responsible for maintaining direct contact with American media in the tri-state area since 2011.

Prior to joining the Consulate in New York, Shahar served as deputy spokesperson at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Israel’s consul for culture, media and public affairs in Los Angeles; and deputy ambassador at the Embassy of the State of Israel in Nairobi, Kenya. Shahar began working in the Foreign Ministry in 1998, where he served as assistant spokesperson at the Embassy of Israel in London and then spent a year at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ legal division’s department for international agreements and treaties.

Before joining the school of diplomacy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Shahar practiced Law at Haim Zadok and Company, based in Tel Aviv. Shahar has a law degree (LLB) as well as an MBA.

Shaindy Jacobson is the director of JLI’s women’s studies division, The Rosh Chodesh society.

Mrs. Jacobson has been involved in the field of Jewish education for over twenty five years, teaching at the Bais Rivkah Teacher’s Seminary and serving as a community liaison and counselor for Operation Survival – a substance abuse prevention program.

Shaindy lectures around the world, educating women about their Jewish heritage and its practical application to their daily lives.

She is also an accomplished musician and composer and frequently accompanies her lectures with song and music.

A native of South Africa, Mrs. Tzukernik, a corporate trainer, personal mentor, artist, and lecturer, creates innovative curricula designed to help people achieve maximum performance by disrupting their conventional ways of thinking. Her corporate training workshops offer business training solutions that allow for lasting change from the inside out.  Tzukernik is the founder and director of Omek, a center devoted to in-depth transformational learning for women. She is the creator of the Inner Vision Seminar and a course author for the JLI.