Sam is adjunct faculty at Pardes and currently a research fellow in the philosophy department at the University of Haifa*. He holds a PhD in philosophy from the University of London, and an Orthodox Rabbinical Ordination from Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg. He works in the philosophy of language, metaphysics, the philosophy of fiction, and the philosophy of religion. His first book is about Bertrand Russell and the nature of meaning. His second book is forthcoming with Oxford University Press, and will be called The Principles of Judaism. It brings together contemporary analytic philosophy, and streams of Jewish thought, from the Midrash to the Hassidim. He is chairperson of the Association for the Philosophy of Judaism. Outside of his academic pursuits, he is a free-lance journalist, and a Jewish community educator. He loves to teach Torah at Pardes, and does so whenever he gets the chance. He lives in Haifa with his wife and three children.

Jessica Steinberg is a reporter for the Times of Israel. She covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center.

Levi currently teaches Hasidut, Maimonides, and Midrash at Pardes. He has also taught Bible, Talmud, and Philosophy of Halakha. He previously served as the director of the Fellows programme and the director of the Kollel, as well as heading the Pardes Educational Seminar to Turkey.

Originally from Australia, Levi holds an LL.B., LL.M. and Ph.D. from the Law of Faculty, Bar-Ilan University, and is a member of the Israel Bar Association. He has been awarded post-doctoral research grants from Bar-Ilan University, Tel Aviv University, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and University of Haifa. In 2016, Levi was an Academic Visitor at University of Oxford’s Faculty of Law and St. Hugh’s College. 

In addition to his work as Pardes, Levi is a Teaching Fellow at the The Buchmann Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University. 

Levi volunteers as the spiritual leader of Kehillat HaTzur VeHaTzohar in Zur Hadassa, a mixed religious and secular neighbourhood outside Jerusalem. He served in the IDF’s Golani Brigade and continues to do Reserve Duty as a commander in an infantry unit. Levi’s communal work also includes being a member of the Tzohar rabbis organisation, an educational advisor to the Jewish community of Istanbul, Turkey, and an educator with Heritage Seminars. He serves on the Readers’ Association of the National Library of Israel and is one of the founders of the Lavi Primary School in Zur Hadassa. 

Levi has authored articles in Judaic studies and prepared educational materials for use in high schools. He publishes a column in the Jerusalem Post and has served as contributing editor for Jewish Educational Leadership, the journal of Bar-Ilan University’s Lookstein Center. 

Levi’s doctoral dissertation explores the interaction between Hasidism and Halakha, and his current research focuses on the evolution and normalisation of Hasidic lore. Levi is married to Sarah and they have 6 children.

Shmuel Rosner  is an Israeli columnist, editor, and researcher.


He is a contributing opinion writer for the International New York Times.


He is the political editor of the Jewish Journal for which he writes the daily blog Rosner's Domain. In 2008–2011, he wrote for The Jerusalem Post. In 2005–2008, he was chief United States correspondent for the daily newspaper Haaretz. Rosner writes in Hebrew for Maariv Daily.


Rosner is also the non-fiction chief editor for Israel's largest publishing house, Kinneret-Zmora-Dvir.


He is also a Senior Fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute