This period of introspection is the time to evaluate our values and life choices.
Where does Israel fit into your equation?
Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau
Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau
Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau is Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv. He had previously served in this position from 1985 until 1993. At that time, he was appointed Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, a position which he held until 2003.
Rabbi Lau was born in Pyotrekov, Poland in 1937, the scion of a well-known rabbinical family. He survived the Buchenwald concentration camp and immigrated to Israel with his brother Naphtali in July 1945. Ordained as a rabbi in 1961, he became the 38th generation to hold a rabbinical position. He served as chief rabbi in Netanya (1978-1988), and earned a reputation as a popular orator. In 2000, he wrote a best-selling memoir about his experiences in the Holocaust entitled Do Not Raise Your Hand Against the Boy, which won the Israel Prize for life-work. The book has since been translated into English and published as Out of the Depths: The Story of a Child of Buchenwald Who Returned Home at Last.
Rabbi Lau currently serves as chairman of the Yad Vashem Council.
Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Riskin
Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Riskin
Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Riskin, internationally-renowned educator and visionary pioneer, attained rabbinical ordination at Yeshiva University from his mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, and his Ph.D. from New York University. His outstanding contributions to Israel and to world Jewry over the course of his career have made him one of the leading voices of today’s Modern Orthodox world.
Rabbi Riskin founded and serves as Chancellor of Ohr Torah Stone, a network of groundbreaking educational institutions, women’s empowerment programs, innovative leadership training, bridge-building outreach initiatives, and proactive social action projects.
A popular speaker, Rabbi Riskin has also published 13 books, and scores of articles and monographs on Judaism and contemporary issues, as well as a weekly column which is syndicated in newspapers worldwide. The Brooklyn-born rabbi also serves as the founding Chief Rabbi of Efrat, where he resides with his wife and his extended family.
Shani Taragin
Mrs. Shani Taragin
Shani Taragin is a lecturer at Matan. She has a B.A. and M.A. in Tanakh and Talmud from Bar Ilan University and she is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Tanakh. Shani teaches Tanakh and Jewish Law at Matan and serves as a Ram Tanakh in Midreshet Lindenbaum. She also teaches at Migdal Oz, Shalavim for Women, Lander’s College and the Women’s Beit Midrash in Efrat and Ramat Shilo.
Shani is a Yoetzet Halakha (Halakhic Advisor) and she serves on the local religious council dealing with issues of Jewish law and education.
Rabbi Ari Berman
Rabbi Ari Berman
Rabbi Ari Berman is a lecturer of Talmudic Literature in Herzog College. He is a noted educator, author and speaker throughout Israel and the Diaspora. He is the former Rabbi of The Jewish Center in Manhattan and Instructor of Talmud (Ra”m) at Yeshiva University, and is currently completing his doctoral dissertation in the Philosophy of Halakhah at Hebrew University.
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Rachelle Sprecher Fraenkel
Mrs. Rachelle Sprecher Fraenkel
Rachelle Sprecher Fraenkel was born and raised in Israel. She studied at Nishmat, Matan, Midreshet Lindenbaum & Bar Ilan University. Rachelli teaches Talmud & Halakha at Nishmat & Matan, is Dean of Students at Nishmat, and Director of Matan’s Advanced Halakha Program. She is also a Yoetzet Halacha. Rachelli is the mother of seven and resides with her family in Nof Ayalon.
Rabbi Shalom Rosner
Rabbi Shalom Rosner
Rabbi Shalom Rosner is a graduate of Yeshivat Sha’alvim and Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan. He earned a BA in Economics from Yeshiva College and a Masters in Jewish Education and Administration from Azrieli. A Musmach of RIETS, Rabbi Rosner was a member of the Beren Kollel Elyon and a Kupietsky Kodshim Fellow.
Currently, Rabbi Rosner serves as Rav of the Nofei Shemesh kehilla in the Beit Shemesh area and is a Maggid Shiur at Yeshivat Reishit Yerushalayim. Renown for his ability to clarify the most complex sugyot, and beloved as a warm and caring Rebbi, Rav Rosner s a Maggid Shiur for both Shana Bet and in its Shana Aleph Masmidim track/advanced program. Rav Rosner also delivers a weekly shiur at Yeshivat Sha’alvim.
Until his Aliyah in August 2008, Rabbi Rosner was a popular Maggid Shiur at Yeshiva University’s Stone Beis Medrash Program and the founding Rabbi of Congregation Bais Ephraim Yitzchok in Woodmere for six years. Rav Rosner’s Daf Yomi, Parsha, Mitzva, and Navi shiurim are broadcast online, and are available for download or podcast at ou.org.
Rabbi Rosner is also the Head of Chinuch and Mashgiach Ruchani at Camp Kaylie in Wurtsboro, NY. Rabbi Rosner is married to Dr. Tamar Rosner, a Pediatrician, and they have 7 children.