Esther Fisher has taught in Drisha’s collegiate programs and teaches Talmud and Jewish studies at Midreshet Ein Hanatziv in Israel and is a facilitator and co-founder of ‘Nigun Nashim’ – Women’s Beit Midrash of the Elga Stulman Woman’s Institute for Jewish Studies of Hamidrasha in Oranim (an Educational Center for the Renewal of Jewish Life in Israel). She has an MA in Talmud from Hebrew University and is currently pursuing a PhD at the Gender Department of Bar Ilan University. Her academic interests include rabbinic literature, midrash and halakha, and their relation to gender and feminist theory and thought.
Click here to access podcasts recorded by Esther Fisher.
David Silber is the founder and dean of Drisha Institute for Jewish Education in New York and Israel. Rabbi Silber received ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He is a recipient of the Covenant Award, for excellence in innovative Jewish education, and is the author of A Passover Haggadah: Go Forth and Learn (Jewish Publication Society 2011), For Such a Time as This: Biblical Reflections in the Book of Esther (Koren Publishers 2017), and Malkhut Adam: Iyunim Bsefer Shmuel (Maggid 2021). He is also a nationally acclaimed lecturer on the Bible. Rabbi Silber is married to Dr. Devora Steinmetz. They have eight children and live in New York City.
Click here to access other recorded classes by David Silber.
David Silber is the founder and dean of Drisha Institute for Jewish Education in New York and Israel. Rabbi Silber received ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He is a recipient of the Covenant Award, for excellence in innovative Jewish education, and is the author of A Passover Haggadah: Go Forth and Learn (Jewish Publication Society 2011), For Such a Time as This: Biblical Reflections in the Book of Esther (Koren Publishers 2017), and Malkhut Adam: Iyunim Bsefer Shmuel (Maggid 2021). He is also a nationally acclaimed lecturer on the Bible. Rabbi Silber is married to Dr. Devora Steinmetz. They have eight children and live in New York City.
Click here to access other recorded classes by David Silber.
Rabba Wendy Amsellem teaches Talmud and Halakha at Yeshivat Maharat and directs The Beit Midrash Program, a joint project of Maharat and Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. She also teaches regularly at Drisha, Pardes, and the Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center. Rabba Wendy received semikha from Yeshivat Maharat and is an alumna of the Drisha Scholars Circle. She has a BA in History and Literature from Harvard University.
Click here to access podcasts recorded by Wendy Amsellem.
Miriam Gedwiser is the Rosh Kollel of the Drisha Summer Kollel and teaches Talmud and Tanakh at the Ramaz Upper School. She has a B.A. in the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine from the University of Chicago and a J.D. from N.Y.U. School of Law. Miriam studied at Midreshet Lindenbaum and in the Drisha Scholar’s circle. She previously practiced commercial litigation at a large law firm and clerked for the Hon. Debra Freeman, U.S.M.J., in Manhattan. Miriam serves as a guest lecturer at synagogues and programs around the Northeast, and has written on topics of Jewish and Torah interest for The Lehrhaus, The Forward, the Center for Modern Torah Leadership blog, and Project 929. Miriam lives Teaneck, New Jersey with her family.
Dr. Malka Z. Simkovich is the Crown-Ryan Chair of Jewish Studies and the director of the Catholic-Jewish Studies program at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. She is the author of The Making of Jewish Universalism: From Exile to Alexandria (2016), and Discovering Second Temple Literature: The Scriptures and Stories That Shaped Early Judaism (2018), which received the 2019 AJL Judaica Reference Honor Award. Simkovich’s articles have been published in journals such as theHarvard Theological Review and the Journal for the Study of Judaism, as well as on online forums such as The Lehrhaus, TheTorah.com, and the Times of Israel. She is involved in numerous local and international interreligious dialogue projects which help to increase understanding and friendship between Christians and Jews.
Daphna Ansel-Nizan made aliyah from Toronto after studying for a year in Midreshet Lindenbaum. Following her national service, she completed her B.A. from Bar Ilan University in Tanach, Talmud, and Jewish Art, as well as her teaching certification. She has worked for the Lookstein Center for Jewish Education and taught in MMY, TVA, and the Hartman high school for girls, as well as for many summers in Camp Moshava. She is a graduate of the Advanced Gemara Program in Migdal Oz, and is currently studying there in a new Halacha program while pursuing a master’s degree at Bar Ilan.
Dr. R. Jon Kelsen is the Chief Education Officer at Drisha, having formerly served as Dean at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. He received ordination from Rabbis Daniel Landes and Zalman Nehemiah Goldberg and holds a PhD in Education and Jewish Studies from New York University, which he pursued as a Wexner Graduate Fellow.
Click here to access podcasts recorded by Jon Kelsen.
Rabbanit Leah Sarna is the Associate Director of Education and Director of High School Programs at Drisha. She previously served as Director of Religious Engagement at Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel Congregation in Chicago, a leading urban Orthodox congregation.
She was ordained at Yeshivat Maharat in 2018, holds a BA from Yale University in Philosophy & Psychology, and also trained at the SKA Beit Midrash for Women at Migdal Oz, Drisha and the Center for Modern Torah Leadership. Rabbanit Sarna’s published works have appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Lehrhaus and MyJewishLearning.
She has lectured in Orthodox synagogues and Jewish communal settings around the world and loves spreading her warm, energetic love for Torah and Mitzvot with Jews in all stages of life.
Ms. Tzophia Stepansky is the director of Drisha’s summer middle school program. Tzophia studied in Yeshiva University where she completed a B.A. in psychology and Judaic Studies. She then continued her learning there in the advanced Gemara and Halacha program (GPATS) for three years. Over the course of her time in GPATS, she served as a community scholar in multiple shuls. Tzophia has been involved in the Drisha community in various capacities,including teaching in the high school summer program. She recently made aliyah with her husband from the tri-state area and joined the learning in the Drisha Beit Medrash in Kfar Etzion.
Rabbanit Leah Sarna is the Associate Director of Education and Director of High School Programs at Drisha. She previously served as Director of Religious Engagement at Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel Congregation in Chicago, a leading urban Orthodox congregation.
She was ordained at Yeshivat Maharat in 2018, holds a BA from Yale University in Philosophy & Psychology, and also trained at the SKA Beit Midrash for Women at Migdal Oz, Drisha and the Center for Modern Torah Leadership. Rabbanit Sarna’s published works have appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Lehrhaus and MyJewishLearning.
She has lectured in Orthodox synagogues and Jewish communal settings around the world and loves spreading her warm, energetic love for Torah and Mitzvot with Jews in all stages of life.
Sarah Gordon teaches in the Dr. Beth Samuels Summer High School Program. She is the Director of Student Activities and Experiential Education at Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School, where she also teaches Talmud and Israel Engagement and Advocacy. She spent two years studying in GPATS and holds dual MA degrees in Jewish Education and Modern Jewish History from Yeshiva University. She has spent time studying in education programs in Israel at Midreshet Lindenbaum, Pardes and Matan and is the recipient of the Grinspoon-Steinhardt Award for Excellence in Jewish Education.
David Silber is the founder and dean of Drisha Institute for Jewish Education in New York and Israel. Rabbi Silber received ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He is a recipient of the Covenant Award, for excellence in innovative Jewish education, and is the author of A Passover Haggadah: Go Forth and Learn (Jewish Publication Society 2011), For Such a Time as This: Biblical Reflections in the Book of Esther (Koren Publishers 2017), and Malkhut Adam: Iyunim Bsefer Shmuel (Maggid 2021). He is also a nationally acclaimed lecturer on the Bible. Rabbi Silber is married to Dr. Devora Steinmetz. They have eight children and live in New York City.
Click here to access other recorded classes by David Silber.
