Rachel Furst is a post-doctoral fellow at the Freie Universitaet Berlin, having completed her PhD in Medieval Jewish History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.  She received a BA in Medieval Studies from Barnard College and an MA in Jewish History from Hebrew University and is a graduate of the Advanced Talmud Institute at Matan. Rachel teaches Jewish history, Jewish law, and rabbinic literature at institutions in Israel and abroad.

Click here to access podcasts recorded by Rachel Furst.

Rachel Furst is a post-doctoral fellow at the Freie Universitaet Berlin, having completed her PhD in Medieval Jewish History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.  She received a BA in Medieval Studies from Barnard College and an MA in Jewish History from Hebrew University and is a graduate of the Advanced Talmud Institute at Matan. Rachel teaches Jewish history, Jewish law, and rabbinic literature at institutions in Israel and abroad.

Click here to access podcasts recorded by Rachel Furst.

Dr. Tzvi Novick is the Abrams Jewish Thought and Culture Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame.  His research focuses on early rabbinic literature and on early Jewish liturgical poetry.

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.

Aaron Koller is associate professor of Near Eastern and Jewish Studies at Yeshiva University, where he is chair of the Robert M. Beren Department of Jewish Studies, and also Core Faculty and Coordinator of Adult Educational Programming at Drisha. His most recent book was Esther in Ancient Jewish Thought (Cambridge University Press, 2014), and his next book, Unbinding Isaac, on the ‘aḳedah in religious philosophy, is forthcoming, but he usually works on Semitic languages and linguistics. Aaron has served as a visiting professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and held research fellowships at the Albright Institute for Archaeological Research and the Hartman Institute. He lives in Queens with his wife, Shira Hecht-Koller, and their children.

Shira Hecht-Koller is the Director of the Dr. Beth Samuels Summer High School Program at Drisha and Director of Education for 929 English.  She teaches Talmud and Jewish identity to a wide variety of audiences, and writes and speaks on topics of education, creative living and family life. She was a Fellow at the Paideia Institute of Jewish Studies in Stockholm, where she continues to serve as a consultant. She holds a certificate in Experiential Jewish Education from M²: The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education, where she is adjunct faculty. She is a graduate of the Beruria Scholars program at Midreshet Lindenbaum and holds a JD from Cardozo School of Law. Prior to embarking on a career in Jewish Education, she was an associate in the Intellectual Property department at Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP.  She is an avid tennis fan, amateur photographer and loves to hike and explore the world with her partner Aaron and children Dalya, Shachar, Amitai and Aiden.

Click here to access podcasts recorded by Shira Hecht-Koller.

Sarah Zager received her PhD from Yale University in 2022, where her research focused on the influence of Judaism and Christianity on moral philosophy. Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Sarah earned an MA in Religion from the University of Chicago Divinity School and a BA from Williams College. She was awarded the Leo Baeck Fellowship for the study of German Jewry, and was a David Hartman Center Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America. She has also learned at Yeshivat Hadar. She has written for The Lehrhaus, JewSchool, The Journal of Jewish Ethics, and Nashim.

Raphael Magarik is a shoel u’meishiv and teaches aggadah at Mechon Hadar and is a graduate student in English literature and Jewish Studies at the University to California, Berkeley. He has studied at Yeshivat Maale GIlboa, Drisha, and Yeshivat Hadar, as well as at Berkeley, Yale (where he received his BA), and Hebrew University. He teaches for Kevah and is a co-founder of Minyan Dafna, a traditional egalitarian minyan in Berkeley.

Click here to access podcasts recorded by Raphael Magarik.

Rabbi Jeffrey L. Rubenstein, Ph.D., Skirball Professor of Jewish Thought & Literature at New York University, and author of a number of books and articles.

Book Publications

Dr. Rivka Press Schwartz has spent more than fifteen years in the field of Jewish secondary education. She currently serves as the Associate Principal, General Studies at SAR High School, and has served as Director of General Studies at the Frisch School. Dr. Schwartz earned her BA in Physics and History of Science at Case Western Reserve University.  She earned her MA and PhD from Princeton University, writing her dissertation about the cultural history of the Manhattan Project.  In addition to teaching high school, she has served as an adjunct professor of history at Yeshiva and Stern Colleges.  She lectures widely both on the history of science and on Jewish topics, frequently addressing issues of contemporary importance in the American Jewish community.

Dr. Bernard Steinberg, Director Emeritus of Harvard Hillel, also served as President of the Harvard Chaplains, and lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government. He has conducted workshops on moral leadership for The Center for Curatorial Leadership in New York, a year-long fellowship for distinguished museum curators from the US and around the world, and teaches at the Center for Jewish Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. Steinberg was a founding Fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute and among the founders of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies. He taught Jewish thought at the Hebrew University and served on the faculty of The Wexner Heritage Foundation, a national fellowship program for Jewish leaders. He has a PhD in Jewish Philosophy from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, an MA in modern Jewish thought from Brandeis University, and a BA in literature from Wesleyan University. Dr. Steinberg is a recipient of the Benjamin J. Shevach Award for Distinguished Leadership in Jewish Education conferred by the Boston Hebrew College and the Covenant Award for Excellence in Jewish Education.

Rabbanit Sara Tillinger Wolkenfeld is the Chief Learning Officer at Sefaria, an online database and interface for Jewish texts. She is passionate about expanding Jewish textual knowledge for all. Sara is also a fellow at the David Hartman Center at the Hartman Institute of North America. Her previous experience includes serving as Director of Education at the Center for Jewish Life – Hillel at Princeton University as part of the OU’s Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus. She studied Talmud and Jewish Law at various institutions of Jewish learning in Israel and America including Midreshet Lindenbaum, Drisha, Nishmat, and Beit Morasha and speaks on various Jewish topics at synagogues, schools, and university communities. Sara and her family live in the Lakeview neighborhood in Chicago.

Click here to access podcasts recorded by Sara Wolkenfeld.

Rachel Furst is a post-doctoral fellow at the Freie Universitaet Berlin, having completed her PhD in Medieval Jewish History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.  She received a BA in Medieval Studies from Barnard College and an MA in Jewish History from Hebrew University and is a graduate of the Advanced Talmud Institute at Matan. Rachel teaches Jewish history, Jewish law, and rabbinic literature at institutions in Israel and abroad.

Click here to access podcasts recorded by Rachel Furst.