Past Faculty

Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau served as Israel’s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi from 1993–2003. His son, Rabbi David, is the current holder of this esteemed position. Rabbi Lau is currently Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, the position he had previously served from 1985 until 1993.

Rabbi Lau, a child-survivor of the Buchenwald concentration camp, is Chairman of the Yad Vashem Museum. He immigrated to Israel with the only other surviving member of his family, his brother Naphtali, in July 1945.

In addition to several scholarly works, he authored a best-selling memoir about his experiences in the Holocaust entitled, Do Not Raise Your Hand against the Boy.

In 2005, Lau was awarded the esteemed Israel Prize for his lifetime achievements and special contribution to society and the State of Israel. In 2011, he was awarded the Legion of Honor (France’s highest accolade) by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, in recognition of his efforts to promote interfaith dialogue.

Dennis Prager is one of America's most respected moralists and radio talk show hosts. He has been broadcasting on radio in Los Angeles since 1982. Widely sought after by television shows for his opinions, he's appeared on Larry King Live, Hardball, Hannity & Colmes, CBS Evening News, The Today Show and many others.Mr. Prager was a Fellow at Columbia University's School of International Affairs, and has taught Russian and Jewish history at Brooklyn College. He was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the U.S. Delegation to the Vienna Review Conference on the Helsinki Accords. He holds an honorary doctorate of laws from Pepperdine University. Since 1992, he has been teaching the Bible verse-by-verse at the University of Judaism.

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz is a teacher, philosopher, social critic and prolific author who has been hailed by Time magazine as a "once-in-a-millennium scholar."

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz is the founder of Shefa and The Israel Institute for Talmudic Publications. In 2012 he completed his monumental, 45 volume translation of the Talmud into Modern Hebrew. Adin Steinsaltz was awarded the Israel Prize, the country’s highest honor, for his educational achievements in opening Talmud study to the masses and was among the first recipients of the Israeli Presidential Award of Distinction, for his contribution to Israeli society and its standing in the world. In 2012, Rabbi Steinsaltz received a National Jewish Book Award for the English Koren Talmud Bavli from the Jewish Book Council (USA). He was also the recipient of the French Order of Arts and Literature.

Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik is a leading Jewish thinker, theologian, and public intellectual. Rabbi Dr. Soloveichik currently serves as the Director of the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University. He is the Rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel in New York City, a Sephardic Synagogue, and the oldest Jewish congregation in the United States. Before joining Shearith Israel, Rabbi Soloveichik served as Associate Rabbi at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in New York City. He is the grandson of the late Rabbi Ahron Soloveichik, obm and the great nephew of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik obm.

Rabbi Soloveichik has lectured throughout the United States, in Europe and in Israel to both Jewish and non-Jewish audiences on topics relating to Jewish theology, bioethics, wartime ethics, and Jewish-Christian relations. He obtained his Rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University and holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University in Religion.

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.

Mr. Charlie Harary is an Associate Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship at the Syms School of Business in Yeshiva University. He is also a Senior Lecturer for the Orthodox Union and NCSY. He has created dozens of educational videos that have received worldwide attention reaching hundreds of thousands of people in over 15 countries.

Charlie co-founded H3 & Company, a multimillion dollar venture capital and advisory firm. Previously, he was the First Vice President and legal counsel at RXR Realty, a billion dollar real estate firm in New York. Prior to that, Charlie worked as an associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Davis Polk & Wardwell. Charlie received his law degree from Columbia University where he was awarded the James Kent Scholar and the Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.

Mr. Harary is an active community leader. He is the founder and president of Milvado Inc., an organization that develops innovative methods to teach spirituality in relevant and modern ways. He is a member of the Executive Board of the OU as well as the Founding Chairman of its Young Leadership Cabinet. He is also a member of the Conference of Young Jewish Presidents.

Rabbi Shlomo Yaffe is Dean of the Institute of American and Talmudic Law in New York, NY, iatlaw.org

Rabbi Yaffe has lectured, led seminars and visiting scholar programs throughout North America, as well as in Mexico, Europe, and Africa as well as having written extensively for various forums.

He has authored several turnkey educational programs, including serving as lead author for the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute's (JLI) "Living with Integrity" course.

In his capacity as Dean of the Institute he has sat on panels with distinguished members of the bar, including Justice Scalia of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Shimona Tzukernik is the creator of The Method, a therapeutic application of Kabbalah for individuals and corporations seeking spiritually based transformation. Known as “The Kabbalah Coach,” she has counseled hundreds of individuals, and now offers coaching certification in The Method. She is also an internationally recognized speaker and author for the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute. Shimona has been featured in media around the world including a documentary by National Geographic and NickMom’s “Take Me to your Mother.”

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.

Rabbi Shmuel Lew, a Senior Chabad Emissary to London, UK, is a beloved spiritual mentor, guidance counselor and educator. He is the head of the Senior Girls School in London since 1975. 

In the early 1960’s, Rabbi Lew pioneered outreach activities on college and university campuses as head of the Lubavitch Council for Universities and has positively influenced thousands during the past five decades.

Rabbi Lew is a sought after motivational speaker who lectures internationally, and is renowned for his wit, wisdom and uncanny ability to connect with the audience, regardless of their background or affiliation.

Rabbi Dovid M. Cohen has served as Rabbi of the Young Israel of the West Side since 2006. During his tenure, the congregation has doubled in size and has become the "hot spot" on the Upper West Side for singles and young families with over 500 people each Shabbos morning. Rabbi Cohen received his BA from Yeshiva University in 1994, graduating with honors in History. He was ordained by the Rabbi Isaac Elchanon Theological Seminary in 1997 and holds a juris doctor degree from Columbia Law School. He worked at two major Manhattan law firms and also acquired a Masters in counseling from University of North Texas.

Rabbi Cohen is a Dayan for the Beis Din of America and serves on the national board of Yachad (OU) and spends much time speaking and advocating on behalf of individuals with special needs. He is also a member of the executive committee of the RCA and serves as a synagogue consultant for the Orthodox Union, helping to ensure that synagogues across the country are innovative and creative. He has also served as Mashgiach Ruchani at Yeshiva University and Stern College and maintains a private therapy practice on the upper west side.

He has published many articles on contemporary issues and is a frequent contributor to Mishpacha magazine, Hamodia, the Jewish Press and the Jewish Week and often serves as scholar-in-residence in communities throughout North America.

Rabbi Cohen was invited this past year to President Obama's Chanuka reception at the White House, reflecting his growing stature as a leader in the orthodox community.  He has also done course work at the Tikvah Fellowship.

He is married to Ruchi (Eisenberg) Cohen, daughter of the Chief Rabbi of Vienna, Austria. The Cohen's have four children.

Rabbi Asher Crispe is the Founder and 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 sometimes inaccessible texts and concepts of Kabbalah and Chassidic philosophy and making them palpable and understandable to the general public.

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.

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.

Mrs. Rivkah Slonim is the education director at the  Rohr Chabad Center for Jewish Student Life  and a lecturer on Jewish Medical Ethics 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. Mrs. Slonim serves on the Editorial Board of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute and is co-author of one of JLI’s most popular courses, Fascinating Facts.

Devorah Halberstam is an American political activist.

Halberstam is noted for her advocacy of gun control. She is the mother of Ari Halberstam who was killed in the 1994 Brooklyn Bridge shooting in which an immigrant Lebanese gunman used automatic weapons to attack a van filled with Brooklyn school children. In the years following this tragedy, she "campaigned obsessively" to have her son's death investigated as politically-motivated terrorism rather than as simple murder, gradually transitioning from a parent traumatized by her son's violent death to "an authority on terrorism with close ties to law enforcement officials." Former New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly describes Halberstam as, "a major force in the political world, and certainly those people who focus on the issues of counterterrorism know that well.” She is credited with being a major force behind the creation of anti-terrorism laws in New York State.

Devorah Halberstam is the director of Foundation and Government Services at the Jewish Children’s Museum, which is dedicated to the memory of her son Ari.

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.

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.

 Sheri Fink has reported on health, medicine, and science in the U.S. and from every continent except Antarctica.  Most recently her news stories about Hurricane Sandy and Hurricane Isaac in the New York Times, ProPublica and The Times-Picayune were awarded the 2013 Mike Berger Award from Columbia Journalism School and the beat reporting award from the Association of Health Care Journalists. She was lead reporter and co-editor of a series of radio stories about healthcare rationing around the world for Public Radio International’s “The World,” which won the Lowell Thomas Award from the Overseas Press Club and the Global Health Council’s Excellence in Media Award.  Fink is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation’s Future Tense program and at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. She has taught at several universities, and previously worked with humanitarian aid organizations in more than a half dozen emergencies in the United States and overseas.  She was the recipient of a Kaiser Media Fellowship in Health from the Kaiser Family Foundation, and a Public Policy Scholarship at the Woodrow Wilson Center.

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.

Rabbi Shais Taub is an internationally known speaker, writer and teacher on topics of Jewish spirituality who is also known for his work in the field of addiction recovery. NPR dubbed him “an expert in Jewish mysticism and the 12 Steps” and The New York Times called him “a phenomenon.”

Rabbi Taub is the author of the bestselling book, G-d of Our Understanding: Jewish Spirituality and Recovery from Addiction which was a #1 Jewish bestseller on Amazon.com and was praised by Publishers Weekly as "a singular resource for those in need."

He is a leading exponent of the fundamental Chasidic text, Tanya, and created two groundbreaking works on the book: The Map of Tanya and the JLI course, Soul Maps.

Rabbi Taub is a frequent and popular contributor to The Huffington Post. He also writes a weekly advice column for Ami Magazine.

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.

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.

Chava Shapiro is the Associate Director and Director of Curriculum for the Rosh Chodesh Society, JLI’s women’s studies division. She is a published editorialist and blogger on Judaism-related topics and has served on panels addressing issues related to women and Judaism. Chava is also a classical singer and has performed across the U.S. for audiences of up to 3,000 women. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Michoel and son, Moshe Aharon.

Rabbi Chaim Block is the director of the South Texas Chabad-Lubavitch branch since 1985. A highly articulate presenter of Jewish thought and mysticism, Rabbi Block’s educational and outreach work has sparked a Jewish renaissance in San Antonio and surrounding areas in South Texas.

Rabbi Block is a founding member of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute’s executive board and the Chairman of the JLI Teens division.

Alyza D. Lewin is a lawyer specializing in litigation and government relations.  She currently practices law together with her father, Nathan Lewin, at Lewin & Lewin, LLP.  Her work involves criminal defense and civil litigation matters.

Her clients include individuals and corporations under investigation by the Department of Justice, individuals who have been denied a security clearance and government employees who are the subject of inquiries relating to their official duties.  In addition, together with her father, Ms. Lewin has won landmark cases defending First Amendment rights and civil liberties.

Ami Eden is the Editor-in-Chief of the JTA, the premier Jewish news service whose articles and columns are syndicated worldwide. He previously served as Executive Editor of The Forward newspaper.

Avi Liberman's quirky style has made him a favorite in comedy clubs from Los Angeles to New York. Born in Israel, raised in Texas, having gone to college in New York, and now living in Los Angeles, his style is a winning combination of life experiences and topical issues told through a varied blend of characters and voices with worldwide expertise.

A successful commercial actor, Avi has appeared in spots for "Mercedes," "L.A. Cellular," "Miller Lite" and most recently "Starbucks" and "Net Zero." he has appeared at the prestigious Montreal Just For Laughs Festival.since 2001. Avi has successfully arranged widely acclaimed stand-up comedy tours in Israel to help boost morale while donating all of the proceeds to a charity. The successful "Comedy For Koby" tour is now a bi-annual event, benefiting the Koby Mandell Foundation.

Abraham Cohen is the youngest brother of Eli Cohen, Israel’s most famous spy. Before retiring in 2009, Abraham Cohen was the senior economist for the Industrial Development Bank of Israel, in charge of feasibility studies for the electronics, high-tech, and defense industries.  He currently does volunteer work for the Weizmann Historical Archive and is active in the Association for the Preservation of the Legacy of Eli Cohen.

Ben G. Frank, author, and journalist, is considered one of this country’s most distinguished travel writers and commentators on Jewish communities around the world.
The Scattered Tribe, Traveling the Diaspora from Cuba to India to Tahiti & Beyond, (Globe Pequot Press), breaks new ground in reporting on far-flung exotic Jewish outposts. He is the author of 3 other well received travel guides to distant Jewish communities.

Bernd Wollschlaeger ,  is the son of a highly decorated  World War II, German tank commander. He considered his  father’s Nazi allegiance to be a cardinal sin.  This led him to study the suffering of the Jewish people; an ultimate conversion to Judaism; and a decision to serve in the Israel Defense Forces.

Bronya Slavin Shaffer was born in France and raised in Montreal where she attended Bais Yakov High School, Hebrew Teacher's Seminary, and Sir George Williams University. Mrs. Shaffer is noted lecturer on Jewish women's issues, bringing to her listeners a refreshingly modern view grounded firmly in Torah values.

Although Chassidic, Mrs. Shaffer's broad scope of knowledge enables her to present a Torah perspective on modern life in a uniquely sensitive and sensible fashion. She has traveled extensively in the United States and Canada, as well as to Israel and the former Soviet Union, speaking on varied topics within the umbrella themes of marriage, intimacy, parenting, religious identity, and women’s issues.

Mrs. Shaffer serves as a mentor to people of all backgrounds and offers guidance to women, couples and adolescents. In addition to conducting regular classes, Mrs. Shaffer serves as a facilitator for several women’s self-awareness and support groups and leads workshops on child-rearing and relationships. She is a resident scholar on AskMoses.com and Chabad.org.

Brooke Goldstein is a New York City-based human rights attorney, author, and award-winning filmmaker. She serves as director of The Lawfare Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about and facilitating a response to the abuse of Western legal systems and human rights law. Brooke is also the founder and director of the Children’s Rights Institute.

Brooke’s first book, co-authored with Aaron Eitan Meyer and entitled Lawfare: The War Against Free Speech: A First Amendment Guide For Reporting in an Age of Islamist Lawfare, gives practical guidance to journalists who wish to speak truthfully about the national security threats faced by liberal democracies.

Brooke’s award-winning documentary film, The Making of a Martyr, uncovers the illegal, state-sponsored indoctrination and recruitment of Palestinian children for suicide-homicide attacks.

Brooke is a seasoned public speaker and commentator for the media, universities and government.

Siegel's first Rabbinic position was at Riverdale Temple in New York as the Assistant Rabbi. After just one year he became the Senior Rabbi. He was the youngest Rabbi to ever be the Senior Rabbi of such a major Reform congregation.

After ten years, he decided to become a Community Rabbi without a congregation. He taught many classes in various synagogues. He later decided to found his own congregation, the Shul of New York. From a handful of people, the synagogue grew to over a thousand members.

Unable to find what his soul longed for, he decided to go to India to explore Eastern Religion. Trying hard to comprehend the teachings of Buddhism and Hinduism, he travelled to India thirteen times, but in the end, nothing touched his heart and soul.

In 2013, after a time of great inner turmoil, he began going to Chabad in Manhattan. In Chabad he has found his spiritual home and his religious truth. He now hopes to to share his inspiration with as many people as possible.

Mrs. Chaya Epstein is the founder and director of "Women to Women", the women's educational division of Chabad-Lubavitch of the state of Illinois. Mrs. Epstein is the Assistant Principal of Lubavitch Girls High School of Chicago where she teaches advanced Bible studies.

Chaya Epstein has served for nearly twenty years with her husband Rabbi Baruch Epstein as a Chabad emissary to Chicago where she is the beloved Rebbetzin of Congregation Bais Menachem Nusach Ari and has complete several lecture tours spanning the U.S.

Daniel Schlessinger is a partner in the international law firm, Locke Lord, LLP. He is also Co-Vice Chair, the Chairman of the Lateral Hiring Committee and a member of the Executive Committee of the firm.  He served as the firm’s Managing Partner and Chairman from 2001 through 2004.

Mr. Schlessinger has over 30 years of experience in business litigation and has handled a wide variety of lawsuits and arbitrations involving many types of business and insurance disputes. He has tried more than 30 cases to verdict or judicial ruling and has obtained summary relief in hundreds of others.

Mr. Schlessinger represents pro bono clients through the National Immigrant Justice Center and Chicago Volunteer Legal Service, which twice has given him its Volunteer of the Year Award.  In his tenure as Chairman of Locke Lord, he helped elevate the firm's commitment to diversity and pro bono service.

Mr. Schlessinger is President of the American Friends of Hebrew University and is a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors of Hebrew University.  He is the recipient of the American Friends of the Hebrew University Torch of Learning Award.
Mr. Schlessinger is Chairman of the International Conference of Jewish Lawyers at the National Jewish Retreat.

David A. Hyman, M.D., J.D., is the H. Ross and Helen Workman Chair in Law and Professor of Medicine at the University of Illinois, where he directs the Epstein Program in Health Law and Policy. He focuses his research and writing on the regulation and financing of health care. He teaches or has taught health care regulation, civil procedure, insurance, medical malpractice, law & economics, professional responsibility, and tax policy.

David Nessenoff is an independet filmaker, singer/songwriter of contemperary Jewish music, and blogger. David gained national attention in June 2010 when he posted a video he had made of opinion columnist Helen Thomas making controversial statements about Israel to his website. Over the next several days, the video went viral. When Thomas resigned from her job, Nessenoff recieved over 25,000 pieces of hate mail, including several death threats.

He maintains a website, RabbiLive.com, which features short video clips and articles about Israel, and interviews with well-known rabbis.

David T. Brown is the Chairman of the Board of the Chicago based business law firm, Much Shelist, PC and is actively involved in strategic planning and leadership development for the firm.

Mr. Brown is a legal and business counselor, assisting his clients with their legal and business issues as well as their strategic and human talent development.  He also represents institutional lenders and commercial real estate firms in virtually all aspects of commercial real estate and corporate loan and workout transactions. David is a regular speaker and writer on a broad range of topics, including business planning and succession, and the business aspects of the legal profession.

Mr. Brown is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago (JUF).  He has held several leadership positions with the JUF including Chair of the Government Affairs Committee, where he presented the JUF’s position on important policy issues to government officials in Washington D.C. and President of the Young Leadership Division. David was a recipient of the JUF's Young Leadership Award.

He was recently named a member of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) and chairs JFNA's Human Services and Public Policy Council where he works closely with professional leadership in JFNA's Washington, D.C. office and lay leadership throughout the United States on health and long-term care issues, care of the aged, disability and tax policies. David is active in AIPAC and is a regular visitor to Israel.

Mr. Brown is Chairman of the International Conference of Jewish Lawyers at the National Jewish Retreat

Dena Levin grew up in Crown Heights Brooklyn. In 1980 she and her husband Yosef moved to Palo Alto CA. to open a Chabad outreach center. Their organization now includes five Chabad Houses, a Shul, Mikvah, preschool, Camp Gan Israel, two Hebrew Schools, Friendship Circle and many ongoing programs and services. Dena and Yosef have 13 children and several grandchildren.

Devorie Kreiman, MA Ed, served as principal of Bais Rebbe Junior High School in Los Angeles for 12 years.  She is an educational consultant and leader of teacher training workshops in Los Angeles and New York and the author of The Bas Mitzva Notebook.  Her personal journey through challenge and loss has led her to develop a “user friendly” understanding of the Torah approach to human resilience and growth.  She is an inspirational lecturer on the power of faith, humor and joy.

Dr. Alexander Poltorak, a Russian-born theoretical physicist, has held a number of academic positions at US institutions, including Columbia University, Touro College, and Cornell University Medical College.

Dr. Poltorak is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of General Patent Corporation (GPC), an intellectual property (IP) management boutique and was named by IAM magazine among Word’s leading IP strategists to founding GPC, Dr. Poltorak served as the President and CEO of Rapitech Systems, Inc., a publicly-traded computer technology company.

Dr. Poltorak has co-authored two books, Essentials of Licensing Intellectual Property (John Wiley & Sons Publishers, Inc., 2004) and Essentials of Intellectual Property (John Wiley & Sons Publishers, Inc., 2002), and contributed a chapter to Making Innovation Pay - Turning IP into Shareholder Value (John Wiley & Sons Publishers, Inc., 2006). He has also published a number of scholarly articles on physics, brain research and numerous articles on patent law, licensing and economics. His book Light onto my Path – the Mezuzah Anthology is published as an eBook on Chabad.org. His articles on Torah and science have appeared in B’Ohr HaTorah.

Dr. Casey Skvorc is a psychologist who is on the front lines of U.S.’s defense against biological warfare as the Behavioral Health Screening Authority for the Biosurety and Select Agent Programs for the National Institutes of Health, and as a consultant with the NIH’s Division of Occupational Health and Safety in the fields of law and occupational health psychology, personnel reliability for high security positions, and toxicology.

Dr. Skvorc, who is also a lawyer, previously worked at the Department of Justice, where he held several positions including Assistant Regional Counsel and Director of its National Legal Training Center.

Dr. Gill Heart was born and raised in Israel where he served as an officer in an elite, Special Forces unit in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) training and commanding soldiers in his unit.

After receiving his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Imperial College, London University, he moved to the United States and became an entrepreneur. Over the past 10 years, Dr. Heart has successfully founded and led venture-backed, medical device startups. During this time, Dr. Heart followed a serious course of study of Torah and Jewish mysticism.

Dr. Heart leads seminars and workshops where he implements Kabbalistic knowledge of how to control one’s responses to triggers, e.g. stress, by utilizing Special Forces methods and training techniques. The sessions are designed to help participants improve their personal and corporate performance.

Dr. Jon Greenberg received his bachelor’s degree with honors in biology from Brown University, and his master’s and Ph.D. in agronomy from Cornell University. He studied with Rabbi Chaim Brovender at Israel’s Yeshivat Hamivtar, and has conducted research for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cornell University, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Cancer Research. Dr. Greenberg was Senior Editor of science textbooks at Prentice Hall Publishing Co., and served on the faculty of Yeshivas Ohr Yosef and the School of Education at Indiana University. Currently, Dr. Greenberg teaches at the Heschel School and the University of Phoenix, and is the webmaster of Torah Flora, an ethnobotany website dedicated to the study and preservation of Biblical plants. The study and practice of Biblical ethnobotany includes identifying plants and other natural phenomena mentioned in the Tanach (Jewish Bible), using information about these plants and phenomena to shed light on their use in prophetic metaphor, and studying the plants involved in performing various mitzvot in order to bring deeper meaning to the performance of those mitzvot.

Miriam Grossman, M.D., is a board certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist. She writes and speaks to parents, students, educators, and health professionals internationally on the dangers of political correctness in her profession. She is the author of You're Teaching My Child What?: A Physician Exposes the Lies of Sex Education and How They Harm Your Child and Unprotected:  Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student.

Rona Novick, Ph.D., is Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration. She received tenure after serving on the faculty for seven years. Dr. Novick also holds the Raine and Stanley Silverstein Chair in Professional Ethics and Values.

Dr. Novick developed the Alliance for School Mental Health at North-Shore Long Island Jewish Medical Center and served as its director for eight years, authoring the BRAVE bully prevention program for schools. She is recognized for her expertise in behavior management and child behavior therapy and has published scholarly articles and book chapters on school applications of behavior management, special education, children and trauma and bully prevention and social emotional learning in schools. She has delivered numerous presentations at national and international conferences. She is the author of a book for parents: Helping Your Child Make Friends, and editor of the book series Kids Don’t Come With Instruction Manuals.

Dr. Shmuel Klatzkin is the Associate Rabbi of Chabad of Greater Dayton, Ohio, an adjunct Professor at Antioch University and Senior Editor of Curriculum at JLI.

Dr. Klatzkin pursued a doctorate in medieval Jewish philosophy from Brandeis University. While still a student, he began teaching Judaic studies in Jewish day schools, which he continued to do for almost twenty years.

Dr. Klatzkin was one of the initial developers of JLI’s first courses and collaborated on the establishment of the style and pattern of JLI courses that is followed until today. Over the years, he was both author and editor of many JLI courses, most recently, he guided the development of JLI’s winter course, Money Matters.

Dr. Klatzkin has translated and edited DVDs of talks of the Lubavitcher Rebbe for Jewish Educational Media, and was a contributing editor to Wellsprings, a journal of Chassidic thought.

He has been a featured speaker from coast to coast in the US and Canada and in the UK and Ireland and is also a Visiting Rabbi for OK Kosher Certification.

Dr. Brawer received his PhD in Neurobiology from Harvard University in 1975, following an NHI postdoctoral fellowship, he joined the Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Anatomy & Cell Biology, in the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University, where he established and directed a research laboratory in Reproductive Neuroendocrinology.

He has been a Medical Research Council of Canada Scholar, Director of the Division of Research in Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Director of the McGill Centre for the Study of Reproduction.

Dr. Brawer has taught Reproductive Endocrinology, Neuroendocrinology, and Functional Neuroanatomy to medical students and undergraduates in addition to supervising graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. He has also been a Director of Basis of Medicine.

Eleven years ago, Dr. Brawer became a core member of the McGill Centre for Medical Education in which his research focused on philosophical issues in Medical Education.

Dr. Brawer retired from McGill last year and is currently a Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Medicine.

Goldie Plotkin and her husband, Rabbi Avraham Plotkin, founded the thriving Chabad Center in Markham, Ontario. She is in demand as an international speaker and presents a practical no-nonsense approach to dealing with some of life’s complex issues. Goldie is the director of Torah Tots Pre-School, and runs a very successful Women and Wisdom learning program in Toronto. She takes pride in being the mother of eight wonderful children.

Herschel Lazaroff is the director of the Center for the Advancement of Creativity and Human Potential.  Over the past 23 years, Herschel has helped facilitate life changing transformation for hundreds of clients around the globe. With joy and humor, keen intuition, and energy healing expertise, Herschel is able to zero in on what needs to be shifted in an individual to allow greater insight, creativity, prosperity and harmony to flow.  Based on the Torah and Kabbalah, Herschel's unique system enables his clients to remove emotional and spiritual blocks and experience a greater sense of well-being, and the freedom to pursue their goals and actualize their potential.

Karen Levitt is the Director, Business Planning and Project Support at the City of Vancouver. She has held various positions at the City over the past twenty-six years, including Director of Olympic Games Strategic Planning, Deputy City Treasurer and Manager of Financial Planning. She is currently on the Board of Directors of the Ohel Ya’akov Community Kollel, and previously served on the Boards of the 2010 Winter Games Operating Trust, King David High School and Jewish Family Service Agency in Vancouver.

Ms. Levitt has an undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of British Columbia, and an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. Over the past ten years she has taught a number of popular courses at the Ohel Ya’akov Community Kollel in Vancouver, including the Jewish Calendar: Finding Yourself in Time, Exploring Morality: The Ten Commandments, and Overcoming Folly: The Jewish Take on Leading a Spiritual Life.

Sara Esther Crispe is the Co-Director of Interinclusion.org, a multi-layered educational non-profit celebrating the convergence between contemporary arts and sciences and timeless Jewish wisdom.
She has traveled the world as a sought out motivational speaker and educator, presenting on interpersonal relationships and the Kabbalistic approach to self-development. Sara Esther was also the creator and editor for ten years of TheJewishWoman.org—a section of Chabad.org—the largest website on Judaism. She has also worked as a local producer for shows relating to Judaism on the Oprah Winfrey Network, HARPO Productions, Refinery 29 and CNN. A segment that she helped produce for Oprah’s BELIEF series was presented at the UN.
A prolific writer, her pieces can be found on numerous online sites including The Huffington Post, GrokNation, Times of Israel, and Chabad.org. She is currently working on a book about the power of the Jewish woman as well as a book on parenting titled, I Used to be the Perfect Mother, Then I Had Kids. She lives with her husband, Rabbi Asher Crispe, and their four children in Danby, Vermont where they run Jewish educational retreats and programming.

Noah Lederman is the author of the forthcoming memoir, A World Erased: A Grandson’s Search for His Family’s Holocaust Secrets.

He has written for The Economist, The Boston Globe, Miami Herald, The Washington Post, Slate, The New Republic, Chicago Sun-Times, BBC Travel, Salon, The Philadelphia Inquirer, San Francisco Chronicle, Tablet Magazine, The Jerusalem Post Magazine, Tikkun, Long Island Pulse, and Writer’s Digest. His work has been featured in dozens of other publications, including the top beer, adventure sports, and in-flight magazines. He contributes often to a number of travel publications, including Islands Magazine and Roads and Kingdoms.

Dr. Jonathan Sarna is the professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University and Director of its Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program. Dubbed by the Forward newspaper as one of America's fifty most influential American Jews, he is the chief historian of the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia and recognized as a leading commentator on American Jewish history, religion and life. Dr. Sarna is a prolific author, including the award-winning seminal work, American Judaism: A History.

Rabbi Epstein is Director of Community Development of Lubavitch Chabad of Illinois and the Rav of Bais Menachem- Nusach Ari.  He and his wife, Chaya balance their many community responsibilities while enjoying their three daughters and one son-in-law. Rabbi Epstein spends his day orchestrating the morning davening at Bais Menachem, teaching three days a week at Lubavitch Girls High School, conducting study sessions both privately as well as in class settings for adults and teens with Jews and some non-Jews as well. Rabbi Epstein is often sought out for marital advice – dealing with teen age children and congregational issues.

Rabbi David Aaron is a spiritual visionary and master educator who has invested over 3 decades delving into life’s BIGGEST question marks and sharing Torah’s transformational wisdom to adults and young adults. He has emerged as the ‘God expert’ simply because he has dared to ask and answer the most difficult questions that he/ALL people have and struggle with about God’s existence and their own.

Rabbi David Aaron gently urges us to take a look at the self-defeating and silly notions we carry about ourselves and God. His wit lets our inner child listen while our critical mind begins to perceive a profound new world.

Disarmed by Rabbi Aaron’s exhilarating undeniable clarity, we dare to look at our deepest assumptions, doubts, and fears and challenge our paradigms of belief. Amazingly, we discover that our changing view of God and ourselves gives us access to reserves of personal power we never experienced before, and new doorways open in our loving relationships.

Rabbi DovBer Pinson, the "Rashi of contemporary culture," is a world-renowned scholar, author, thinker, and beloved spiritual teacher. At a young age he was already considered one of the world's leading scholars of Kabbalah and Jewish philosophy, featured on the cover of the book, 3-Minute Discourses on Kabbalah by Leading Jewish Scholars. Through his books, lectures, and consul he has touched and inspired the lives of thousands.

Amongst his published works are: Reincarnation & Judaism: The Journey of the Soul. Inner Rhythms: The Kabbalah of Music Meditation & Judaism: Exploring the Jewish Meditative Paths. Toward the Infinite: The Way of Kabbalistic Meditation. Jewish Wisdom of the Afterlife :The Myths, Mysteries & Meanings. Thirty-Two Gates of Wisdom: Awakening through Kabbalah. Upsherin: A spiritual guide. 8 Lights: Eight Meditations for Chanukah.

Rabbi Pinson is an internationally acclaimed speaker and has lectured in both scholarly and lay settings throughout the globe. He currently serves as the Rosh Yeshiva of the IYYUN Yeshiva and heads the IYYUN Center in Brownstone Brooklyn.

Dean of the Talmudic Seminary Oholei Torah from 1979 to 2005, Rabbi Efraim Piekarsky has helped develop the Talmud-study skills of tens of thousands of students during their formative years. In the 1970’s Rabbi Piekarsky helped build the vibrant Jewish community of Long Beach, CA with the founding of the Hebrew Academy Jewish day school and Congregation Lubavitch. He currently serves on the Rabbinic court of Vaad Rabbonei Lubavitch and publishes English translations of the primary Talmudic commentary, Tosfos on tosfosinenglish.com.

Rabbi Mendel Kaplan is the founder and spiritual leader of Chabad @ Flamingo. Born in Norfolk Virginia, he was raised in various cities along the Atlantic Seaboard and spent his formative years immersed in Judaic studies at religious academies in close proximity to the internationally revered Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory. After graduating in 1990, he assumed a rabbinic internship in Los Angeles and subsequently held educational postings in Buenos Aires, Petersburg (Russia), Milwaukee, Detroit and Jerusalem.

Rabbi Kaplan serves as a Chaplain of the York Regional Police with the added distinction of being one of only two rabbis in the country to do so. The Rabbi is also an active member of Toronto’s Vaad HaRabbanim, York Region’s Advisory Committee of Community Links, and on The Police-Community Liaison Committee. He is a popular public speaker, featured regularly on many local television and radio shows, including a daily address on Toronto’s multi-cultural Radio CHIN FM.

Rabbi Moshe Bryski is the director and spiritual leader of Chabad of the Conejo in Agoura Hills, CA. He also helped establish Chabad centers in neighboring Westlake Village, Calabasas, Oak Park, Camarillo, and Thousand Oaks, all of which are under the Chabad of the Conejo umbrella. Rabbi Bryski is a gifted teacher and the Founder of the Conejo Jewish Academy, an adult Jewish education institution that attracts approximately 3,000 students each year to its many offerings.

Rabbi Moshe New Founded the Montreal Torah Centre in 1991. One of Montreal’s crown jewels, MTC continues to attract growing numbers of Jews of all ages and backgrounds. Rabbi New is a frequent lecturer to audiences both local and abroad. Most recently, he gave the keynote address for the grand banquet at the International Conference of Chabad Shluchim.

Rabbi Reuven Wolf is a world renowned educator and lecturer who has devoted his life to reaching out and rekindling the spirit of Judaism in his fellow Jews. Recognized as an inspiring and thought provoking lecturer, he has cultivated a unique talent to communicate deep and complex mystical ideas in a manner that is both compelling and applicable to the greater public, and his lessons are charged with an enthusiasm and vigor that impacts listeners both intellectually and emotionally. Rabbi Wolf was raised in the Ropshetz Chassidic dynasty, educated in the Belz and Bluzhev Yeshivos, and later, in the famous Lithuanian schools of Slabodka and Mir. He is profoundly influenced by Jewish Mysticism and Kabbalah, and particularly Chabad Chassidic philosophy.

Since 1995, Rabbi Wolf has been teaching students of all ages, from elementary school children to adults, and has lectured across North America. Maayon Yisroel was founded in 2006 by Rabbi Wolf and Haki Abhesera, as a center to fulfill the vision of spreading the profound mystical teachings of Chassidic Judaism.

Rabbi Shlomo Yaffe is Dean of the Institute of American and Talmudic Law in New York, NY, iatlaw.org, director of the Institute for Judaic Knowledge and a member of the editorial staff at chabad.org. Rabbi Yaffe has lectured, led seminars and visiting scholar programs throughout North America, as well as in Mexico, Europe, and Africa.

He has authored several turnkey educational programs, including serving as lead author for the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute's "Living with Integrity" course. In his capacity as Dean of the Institute, he has sat on panels with distinguished members of the bar, including Justice Scalia of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Professor Samuel J. Levine joined the Touro Law Center faculty in 2010 as Professor of Law and Director of the Jewish Law Institute. He previously served as Professor of Law at Pepperdine University School of Law, and he has served as the Beznos Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University College of Law. He has published more than fifty law review articles and book chapters, and he has lectured throughout the United States on the subjects of legal ethics, Jewish law, criminal law, law and religion, and constitutional law.

Professor Levine has been described in the pages of the Notre Dame Law Review as “one of the leading legal-ethics and professional-responsibility scholars of his generation,” and in 2016, he received the Sanford D. Levy Award from the New York State Bar Association's Committee on Professional Ethics, in recognition of his contributions to the field of legal ethics. He has also been described by Detroit Legal News Publishing as “one of the world’s foremost experts on the interplay of Jewish and American law.”

Steven Pressman was born and raised in Los Angeles and received an
undergraduate degree in political science at the University of California at Berkeley.
He worked for many years as a newspaper and magazine journalist in Los Angeles,
Washington, D.C., and San Francisco.

He is the writer, director and producer of 50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. and
Mrs. Kraus, a documentary film that premiered on HBO in April 2013 and that has
since been shown at film festivals, synagogues, Jewish Community Centers,
embassies and other venues throughout the United States and abroad. He is also the
author of 50 Children: One Ordinary American Couple’s Extraordinary Rescue
Mission into the Heart of Nazi Germany (HarperCollins, 2014).

Yehoshua November’s debut poetry collection, God’s Optimism, won the 2010 Main Street Rag Poetry Book Award, was nominated for an LA Times Book Prize, and was named a finalist for the Tampa Review Prize for Poetry and Autumn House Poetry Prize. His work has been anthologized, selected as the winner of the Bernice Slote Award, and read by Garrison Keillor on NPR's The Writer's Almanac. His poems have appeared in numerous literary magazines, including Prairie Schooner, The Sun, Margie, Provincetown Arts, and New Works Review, and featured in countless Jewish publications, such as The Forward, The Jewish Week, Midstream, Zeek, European Judaism, and Kerem. He has been interviewed in literary journals, newspapers, and on radio programs. Twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize, November teaches writing at Rutgers University and Touro College and is interested in the intersection of Torah and the Arts.