Rabbi Dr. Aaron Adler is a former student of, and special assistant to, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, zt"l, In addition to being a graduate of Yeshiva University in New York (B.A./M.A), with rabbinic ordination from Y.U.'s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (R.I.E.T.S.), Rabbi Adler holds a Ph.D in Talmud from Bar Ilan University. Rabbi Adler and his family made aliyah in 1979. He served on the faculty of Bar Ilan University, and is a past president and campus rabbi at Emunah College for Arts and Technology in Jerusalem. He has been a lecturer for the Israel Defense Forces and a commentator for Kol Yisrael radio. Rabbi Adler was a member of the central committee of the National Religious Party. He is the founding Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Bnei Akiva Ner Tamid, located in Hashmona'im, and currently serves as its President. Rabbi Adler is an active community pulpit Rabbi having served in communities in New York, Zurich, Beersheva, and Jerusalem, where he currently serves as the Mora d'Atra of the Ohel Nechama Synagogue in Katamon. Rabbi Adler has directed and led 31 heritage tours to Poland. He lectures extensively in a number of prominent institutions including the OU Israel center.

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.

Rabbi Aaron received his rabbinic ordination for Yeshivat ITRI. He is the Dean & Founder of Isralight (an international organization and center for Jewish learning in Jerusalem’s Old City) and Yeshivat Orayta (which offers a 1 to 2 year program for high school graduates). He runs Jewish educational programs in Israel and abroad, including: Rabbinic Enrichment, Leadership Training, Executive Seminars, Retreats, Outreach Seminars and more. Rabbi Aaron has also developed an educational curriculum for Jewish high schools. Learn more at rabbidavidaaron.com.

Rabbi Moshe Benovitz is the Managing Director of NCSY and the longtime director of the NCSY Summer Kollel. He is a Rebbe in Yeshivat Reishit in Beit Shemesh , Israel, and resides in Ramat Beit Shemesh with his wife, Serena, and children.

Rabbi Avi Berman is the Executive Director of OU Israel. He has served in this capacity since 2006, working tirelessly to address the issues facing Jewish youth and adults in Israel. Under his leadership, OU Israel inspires and educates thousands of Israeli teens in 20 low socioeconomic communities throughout Israel. Over 60,000 Anglos come to the OU Israel Center annually for Torah learning and educational programs. Prior to this position, Rabbi Berman was the Regional Director of the Northwest Region of NCSY and in five short years succeeded in expanding the region from 30 participants to an active 1,500. Rabbi Berman and his family traveled to Canada after receiving a Bracha from his Rav, and former Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rav Mordechai Eliyahu z”l. Through NCSY, Rabbi Berman succeeded in bringing the light of Torah and Achdut of Am Yisrael to the Vancouver Jewish community. Rabbi Berman spent 12 years studying at the Hesder Yeshiva in Shiloh, where he received his Smicha. It was at this time that he began his successful journey into the world of Jewish communal work and informal Jewish Education. Rabbi Berman, his wife Pnina and their nine children reside in Givat Ze’ev.

Harav Azarya Berzon is the Rav and Rosh Kollel of the ELC. Previously Rav Berzon served as Rosh Mesivta at the Beis Medrash L'Talmud of Lander College for Men. He served as Rosh Mesivta in Yeshivat Hesder Ma’aleh Adumim, as well as senior Rosh Mesivta at Yeshivat Sha'alvim from 1981-1991, and founded Yeshiva Sha’arei Mevaseret Zion in 1991, where he served as Rosh Yeshiva until 2009. Rabbi Berzon also founded Michlelet Mevaseret Yerushalayim for women in 1996. Most recently he has served as Co-Rosh Kollel of the Yeshiva University Kollel in Toronto. A Talmid of HaRav Yoseph Dov Soloveitchik, zt”l, Rabbi Berzon also studied in Yeshiva Kerem B’Yavneh and Yeshiva Beis HaTalmud in Israel. He has over 7,600 Torah Shiurim online and has served in many communities across the world as a Scholar in Residence.

Margot Botwinick received her B.A. in Jewish Education as a Legacy Heritage Scholar at Yeshiva University, and an MA in Jewish Education from Hebrew University. Margot taught Tanach, Talmud and Jewish Thought at the Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School and has also taught at several midrashot in Israel. She learned and taught at Matan and is a Bellows Eshkolot graduate. Three years ago, Margot and her husband Josh moved to Herzliya to build the first Mizrachi OU-JLIC English speaking religious college campus community in Israel. They are also the Directors of Jewish Life at IDC. They live in Herzliya with their children Yoshi, Boaz and Rafael.

Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz is a Senior Lecturer in Yeshivas Ohr Somayach in Jerusalem. Until his family’s aliyah in April 2010,he was the Rabbi of the Woodside Synagogue in Silver Spring,Maryland and Professor of Law at the University of Maryland Law School (specializing in contracts, bankruptcy commercial law, and bioethics). He received his rabbinic ordination from the Ner Israel Rabbinical College; his BA from Johns Hopkins University and JD from Harvard Law School (magna cum laude). He has written and lectured extensively both in the United States and Israel on the interface of halacha and contemporary society with a special interest and expertise in medical, family, business, and legal ethics.His articles cover topics such as stem cell research, cloning, organ donation, land for peace, Jewish perspectives on war and gun control, and even Monica Lewinsky and halacha. (A number of his shorter pieces can be found on jlaw.com). He has also written many basic source books on Jewish values for NCSY, an organization that does Jewish outreach to teenagers. He teaches weekly classes at the OU Israel center.

Rabbi Moshe Elefant is chief operating officer of OU Kosher and the maggid shiur of the Orthodox Union’s Daf Yomi webcast (whose 1,800 learners a day around the globe make his lectures the most popular Daf in the world). For listeners of the popular Talkline With Zev Brenner radio program, Rabbi Elefant’s name has additionally become strongly identified with the Passover holiday, as he joins the host on air the for the weeks leading up to the holiday to help people with their kashrut questions.

Rabbi Dave Felsenthal is the OU Chief Innovation Officer. He is an expert in creative Jewish programming that actually works. He supervises NCSY Teen Relief Missions and OU IFS Birthright. He reinvented follow-up through a gamified platform (Birthright- BringIsraelHome.com BringBackShabbat.com JFNA- jewishchangemakers.org). He created OU NextGen so all College and Young Professional programs would work in synergy. He was a founding member of Birthright (OU Israel Free Spirit). He also created Onward Israel J-Internship, NCSY Alumni, Columbus Jewish Connections, The Schottenstein Scholars and ASAP College Outreach.

Rabbi Shai Finkelstein was born in Israel, attended Yeshivat Shaalavim, served in the Artillery unit of the IDF and was ordained by the Cheif Rabbinate of Israel. He is currently the Rabbi of Kehilat Nitzanim in Baka,Jerusalem and lectures extensively in numerous prominent venues throughout Jerusalem. He is the Editor in chief of the Koren Mikraot Hadorot. From 2000-2016 he was the Rosh Kollel of Torah Mitzion and the Senior Rabbi of the Baron Hirsch Synagogue in Memphis TN, U.S.A . Rabbi Finkelstein also earned an MBA from the Fogelman School of Business and Economics at the University of Memphis.

Rachelle Sprecher Fraenkel born and raised in Israel, is a Yoetzet Halacha and teaches Talmud and Halakha at Nishmat. She is the director of Matan’s Advanced Halakha Program. Mrs. Fraenkel is a co-founder of The Jerusalem unity prize and Unity Day project. She is a mother of seven and lives with her family in Nof Ayalon

Rav Ezra Friedman was born in the United States and raised in Montréal. Upon completing high school, he made Aliyah on his own and studied for ten years at Yeshivat Ohr Etzion, where he was considered one of the outstanding students. He developed a special relationship with the Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Chaim Druckman, as well as Rav Zalman Nechemiah Goldberg, he was later ordained by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. Rav Ezra served as the director of Yeshivat Ohr Etzion’s Overseas Program and volunteered teaching French and Ethiopian Olim. During his active duty in the IDF, he served in the Tank Corps and fought in the 2009 Operation Cast Lead. Rav Ezra later joined the prestigious Eretz Hemdah Kollel continuing his studies for Rav Ir and Dayanut. As an expert in the areas of kashrut, Rav Ezra was appointed the Director of the Gustave and Carol Jacobs Center for Kashrut Education for OU Israel. Rav Ezra also serves as a Rabbinic Field Representative for OU Kashrut supervising over 50 establishments throughout Israel. Rav Ezra is trilingual, with fluency in English, French and Hebrew. Rav Ezra and his family live in Maale Adumim where he serves as Rav of the Kehilat Musar Avicha.

Rabbi Menachem Genack has been the spiritual leader of Congregation Shomrei Emunah since 1985. He has also served as the Rabbinic Administrator of the Orthodox Union’s Kashrut Division since 1980, overseeing the certification program of some 4,500 food production facilities in 68 countries around the world. In addition, he gives a Yoreh Deah shiur for ordination students at Yeshiva University. Rabbi Genack is a close disciple of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, zt”l, from whom he received semicha yoreh yoreh yadin yadin. In his semicha, the Rav, zt”l, wrote: “He dives to the depths of the halacha and emerges with pearls and jewels. Not every day does one encounter a scholar of his caliber.” Rabbi Genack aided the Rav in editing the Rav’s Shiurim l’Zecher Aba Mori. He is the author of three halachic works: Birkat Yitzchak, Gan Shoshanim, and Chazon Nachum, Rabbi Genack is the co-editor of the Mesorah Torah journal. He also edited Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, Man of Halacha, Man of Faith, has published over 180 articles on Jewish thought and law, and serves as a member of Tradition’s editorial board. Rabbi Genack is a member of the Board of Trustees and Professor of Talmud at Touro College, from which he received an Honorary Doctorate in 1998.

Rabbi Yosef Ginsberg is the Co-founding Regional Director of NCSY Israel, the premier organization in Israel, dedicated to connect, inspire, and empower teen olim to the Land of Israel by encouraging passionate Judaism through Torah and Tradition. He has taught in various Yeshivot and seminaries throughout Israel and is an IDF Reservist soldier. Rabbi Yosef lives in Neriah with his wife Ariel and their three children.

Rabbi Dr. Sholom Gold, born in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, NY, attended Yeshiva Torah Vodaath in NY, Ner Israel in Baltimore, and Yeshivot Ponevez and Hevron in Israel. He received semicha from Chief Rabbi Yitzchok Isaac Halevi Herzog and from HaRav Yaacov Yitzchok Halevi Ruderman.
Rabbi Gold has been in the vanguard of building communities both in the Diaspora and Israel. As a young man in 1959, he came to Toronto to establish the Ner Israel Yeshiva, where he also built and developed Congregation Bnei Torah in Willowdale, a northern suburb of Toronto. Becoming Rabbi of Young Israel of West Hempstead NY in 1971, he built one of the first Eruvin in North America, which quickly became a model world-wide. Under his leadership the local mikveh was built as West Hempstead was developing into one of the most vibrant religious communities in the NY area.
Since making aliya in 1982, he has built and served as the Rav of Kehilat Zichron Yoseph in Har Nof, and in 1984 founded and served as dean at the Avrom Silver Jerusalem College for Adults, which merged with the OU Israel Center in 2002. His love of and devotion to Eretz Yisrael has accompanied him throughout his entire life. For the past decades, Rabbi Gold has been at the forefront of the struggle for Eretz Yisrael.

Rabbi Shmuel Goldin served as spiritual leader of Congregation Ahavath Torah in Englewood, New Jersey, from 1984 until his aliya in September 2017 and now serves as the synagogue’s Rabbi Emeritus

Prior to assuming his role at Ahavath Torah, Rabbi Goldin served as Rabbi of Beth Sholom Congregation, Potomac, Maryland, and Assistant Rabbi, Beth Jacob Congregation, Beverly Hills, California.

Rabbi Goldin served for over twenty years as instructor of Bible and Philosophy at the Isaac Breuer College and the James Striar School of Yeshiva University and he continues to function as a popular visiting scholar and lecturer in a wide variety of settings across the globe.

Rabbi Goldin is a Past President of the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), the world’s largest association of Orthodox rabbis, and served as initial chairman of the critical committee overseeing the RCA’s policies and standards for conversion to Judaism. Since making aliya to Israel two years ago, Rabbi Goldin has joined the Faculty of the Avrom Silver Jerusalem College for Adults, OU Israel's flagship Adult education program, where he gives a popular weekly shiur.

Rabbi Goldin’s five volume set of studies on the weekly parsha, “Unlocking the Torah Text” is based on his numerous years of lecturing in school and synagogue settings and has earned wide popular and critical acclaim in the broader Jewish community. His recently published “Unlocking the Haggada” was an immediate best-seller and required republication the year it appeared (2018). Rabbi Goldin and his wife, Barbara, are the proud parents of five children and, thank God, an ever-growing brood of grandchildren.

Rabbi Aaron Goldscheider serves as the editor of OU Torah Tidbits and on the OU Israel faculty. He teaches a rabbinic training course at Yeshiva University's RIETS Gruss Kollel. He is also the author of the Haggadah , The Night That Unites , Urim Press, the Chanukah Companion, The Light That Unites , OU Press, לילה של אחדות ,ידיעות אחרונות and אור של אחדות ,דברי שיר .

Rabbi Meir Goldwicht, a prominent Israeli scholar, educator, and a Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva University’s Mazer School of Talmudic Studies, is the head of the new Stone Beit Medrash Program. Rabbi Goldwicht joined YU as a Rosh Yeshiva at Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) and the Mazer Yeshiva Program. He received semicha from the renowned rabbinic authorities Rabbi Zalman Nehemia Goldberg in 1980, and HaRav HaGaon Betzallel Zolti Zt”l chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, and Rabbi Ovidyah Yosef, HaRav Rashi of Israel. Rabbi Goldwicht has been a Ram at Yeshiva Kerem B’Yavneh, and has given shiurim extensively at Stern College, all over the metropolitan area, and in Israel.

Internationally known as an outstanding scholar of Jewish Studies as well as a gifted lecturer, she has been a full-time faculty member of Neve Yerushalayim College in Jerusalem since 1980. Her areas of expertise include textual analysis of Biblical literature and Jewish philosophy with an emphasis on the teachings of Maimonides and Maharal. She is also particularly well known for her courses devoted to the role of women in Judaism and analyses of the lives of women in the Bible.
She is distinguished by her unique teaching style. Based on classical sources, her insights on virtually any topic within Jewish studies flow in a seemingly effortless stream. While leading her listeners along creative new lines of thoughts, she resorts to a disarmingly keen sense of humor to provide practical examples that illustrate and draw personal relevance from even the most abstract concepts.
Rebbetzin Heller is also noteworthy as an example of a woman who has managed to balance her responsibilities as a mother of a large family with her role as a leading public figure throughout her career in Jewish education.
A sought-after speaker, her lecture tours throughout the United States, Canada, England and South Africa always draw enthusiastic crowds.

Mr. Charlie Harary’s recently released book, Unlocking Greatness, has gained critical acclaim. Mr. Charlie Harary, Esq. is a prolific speaker, known internationally for his charismatic, passionate and sophisticated lectures, seminars and keynote addresses on personal growth, entrepreneurship, social change and spirituality. Currently, Mr. Harary is the Senior Director of Capital Markets at RXR Realty, a multi-billion-dollar Real Estate Company based in New York. He also serves as a Clinical Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship at the Sy Syms School of Business at Yeshiva University.

Mr. Harary hosts The Charlie Harary Show on Theblaze Radio Network as well as Unlocking Greatness on the NSN radio network. He is the founder of Living Tree Media, a non-profit organization created to empower people to realize their full potential through innovative education, trainings, seminars and online courses. He is the official Scholar in Residence for OHEL Children’s Home and Family Services, one of the country’s leading social servicing agencies. He is a professional member of the National Speakers Association.

Prior to his current position at RXR Realty, Mr. Harary was the CEO of H3 & Co., an advisory and investment firm based in New York. Mr. Harary was also the First Vice President of Residential Operations and Legal Counsel of RXR Realty. Prior to RXR, Mr. Harary was an associate in Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Davis Polk & Wardwell.
He received his J.D. from Columbia Law School where he was awarded the James Kent Scholar and the Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.

Rabbi Moshe Hauer joined the Orthodox Union (OU) as its Executive Vice President on May 1, 2020. In this role he serves as the organization’s rabbinic leader, heading its communal-oriented efforts and serving as its professional religious/policy leader and primary spokesman. Prior to joining the OU, Rabbi Hauer served as the senior Rabbi of the Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion Congregation in Baltimore, MD for 26 years, where he was a active in local communal leadership in many areas, with an emphasis on education, children-at-risk, and social service organizations serving the Jewish community. Rabbi Hauer is an active teacher of Torah who led a leadership training program for rabbis and communal leaders, and was a founding editor of the online journal Klal Perspectives. Rabbi Hauer received his rabbinic ordination and doctor of Talmudic law from Ner Israel. He received his master’s of science from John Hopkins University.

Rabbanit Chana Henkin, founder and Dean of NISHMAT, the Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women in Jerusalem, is one of today's most acclaimed Jewish educators and a leader in redrawing the landscape of Jewish leadership and scholarship for women. Together with her husband, noted halachic authority Rabbi Yehuda Henkin, Rabbanit Henkin created the unique role of Yoatzot Halacha, experts in women's health and Jewish law, who have since addressed more than 300,000 halachic questions from across the world. She established what has become an acclaimed advancement program for Ethiopian-Israelis, coupling Jewish studies with an intensive program moving talented young Ethiopian women from the social margins to the mainstream of Israeli society.

Rabbanit Henkin is a graduate of Yeshiva University’s Stern College and YU’s Bernard Revel Graduate School. She received Honorary Doctorates from both Bar Ilan and Yeshiva University, and was awarded the Ministry of Education’s Agrest Prize for innovative religious education. In 2017, she was recognized by the State of Israel, when she was selected as one of 12 trailblazing Israeli leaders to light a ceremonial torch in the National Yom Ha’Atzmaut Celebration. In the same month, she was named one of Jerusalem’s distinguished citizens when she received the Yakir Yerushalayim Prize from Mayor Nir Barkat. The Henkins made Aliyah in 1972 and live in Jerusalem, where their lives are dedicated to advancing Torah and serving the Jewish people.

One of America’s premier Jewish thinkers and leaders, Rabbi YY (Yosef Yitzchak) Jacobson is one of the most sought-after speakers in the Jewish world today. He serves as a mentor to hundreds of thousands across the globe and is considered one of the most passionate and mesmerizing communicators of Torah and Hashkafa in today’s generation.
During the coronavirus pandemic, he presented hundreds of classes and lectures, to every demographic of the Jewish community worldwide, offering inspiration and perspective. His video clips of chizuk went viral, reaching millions.
Rabbi YY Jacobson was the first Rabbi ever to be invited by the Pentagon to deliver the religious keynote to the US Military Chief of Chaplains and to the National Security Agency.
Over the last twenty years, Rabbi Jacobson traveled to hundreds of communities, shuls, schools, yeshivos, and universities across the globe, educating and inspiring people of all backgrounds with the majestic depth of Torah and Yiddishkeit.
Rabbi Jacobson founded and serves as Dean of TheYeshiva.net, teaching, via the web, one of the largest Torah classes in the world today, with thousands of students globally.
[Born in 1972 in Brooklyn, NY, Rabbi Jacobson grew up at the feet of the Lubavitcher Rebbe zt”l, absorbing his teachings and writings. In 1988, at the age of 15, a young Jacobson began serving on a small team of “oral scribes” and human tape recorders. They were charged with memorizing and transcribing three to seven hours of talks by the Lubavitcher Rebbe of blessed memory, which were presented on the Shabbat and Jewish holidays, when recording devices were not used.]

Rabbi Ari Kahn is an author and educator. He lives in Givat Ze'ev, where he serves as Rabbi of the Mishkan Etrog community. He is Director of the Overseas Students Program at Bar-Ilan University, where he is a senior lecturer in Jewish Studies. His most recent book – his 12th - is called “The Crowns on the Letters”.

Rabbi Shlomo Katz was born into a family of musicians. This rich musical heritage goes back many generations including his father, master musician and chazzan, Avshalom Katz. He is a prolific composer of beautiful music, both solo and in collaboration with his brother, Eitan, Yehuda Solomon of Moshav and Chaim David. Shlomo’s professional musical career began when his father, Avshalom and brother Eitan, recorded their first CD: “EILECHA.” Since the release of the CD, Shlomo has conducted numerous concert tours throughout the United States, Israel, Argentina, Costa Rica, Australia, Hong Kong, Belgium, Canada, England and Germany. In the summer of 2006, Shlomo received his rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Chaim Brovender and Rabbi Shlomo Riskin at Yeshivat Hamivtar. Rabbi Katz has been an integral part of building the “Shlomo Carlebach Legacy Trust” which has been working to preserve, to publish, and to distribute the legacy of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach ZT’L as a Jewish national treasure (www.carlebachlegacy.com).

Rabbi Dr. Alan Kimche studied in Israel for 10 years, attending Kol Torah and the Mir Yeshiva in Yerushalayim, and learning with Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l, Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz zt”l and Rav Yehoshua Neuwirth zt’’l. He later gained a Ph.D in Philosophy & Jewish Law from London University, with his thesis on “Kavod Habriyot: Human Dignity in Talmudic Law”. Rabbi Kimche served for 35 years as the Founding Rabbi of the Ner Yisrael Community in Hendon, N.W. London, building it into one of the most successful Modern Orthodox communities in Europe. He ran many innovative adult education programs, launched the first Lunch & Learn program in London offices, and was responsible for establishing the N.W. London Eruv. Rabbi Kimche and his wife Via made Aliyah in April 2019 and are now living in Yerushalayim.

Rabbi Anthony Manning teaches in many educational institutions in Jerusalem as well as lecturing widely in Israel, England and the US. Since 2017 he has been Co-Director of Midreshet Tehillah, having moved from MMY where he was the senior rabbinic educator for many years. Rabbi Manning is also a senior lecturer at Shapell’s/Midreshet Rachel and gives a regular weekly shiur at the OU Israel Center in Jerusalem.

Rav Judah is Executive Director of Camp HASC, and Mashpiah of NCSY. The founder of Tzama Nafshi, Rav Judah & his wife Ora live in Ramat Beit Shemesh with their family.

Rabbi Shimshon HaKohen Nadel lives and teaches in Jerusalem, where he serves as Mara D’atra of Har Nof’s Kehilat Zichron Yosef. He lectures at the OU Israel Center and yeshivot and midrashot around the country. Rabbi Nadel studied Medical Halacha with renowned posek Rav Moshe David Tendler, and lectures on topics in Medicine and Halacha at Machon Tal’s Nursing School. His articles on Jewish Law, Jewish History, and Religious Zionism have appeared in print in both scholarly and popular publications.

Laurie Novick, Director and Head Writer of Deracheha: womenandmitzvot.org a halachic education initiative under the auspices of Yeshivat Har Etzion. She has worked as a Yoetzet Halacha for seventeen years, and has taught for many years at Nishmat. She holds degrees in Bible, Jewish Education, and Talmud and has also done graduate work in Counseling.

Zemira Ozarowski has been in the field of Jewish education for almost two decades. She currently serves as Director of Community Programming at the OU Israel Center where she runs the L’Ayla Women’s Learning Initiative. In that capacity, aside from teaching, she runs many women’s learning programs including the monthly Rosh Chodesh seminar, mother-daughter programs, mini-midrasha programs, and more. Zemira holds a master’s degree from the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education. She is also a certified Yoetzet Halacha and the author of the Torat Imecha parsha series. Zemira lives with her husband and children in Mitzpe Yericho.

Aliza Pilichowski was born in San Diego, California and grew up in Dayton, Ohio, Bridgeport, Connecticut and Monsey, New York. Aliza studied in Jerusalem for five years and managed the office for a gap year program in israel. Aliza married Rabbi Uri Pilichowski in 1998. Aliza is a mother to six lovely children. Aliza and Uri then moved to Beverly Hills, CA to become the
Assistant Rabbi and youth director of the famed Beth Jacob Congregation. While at Beth Jacob, they partnered with Rabbi Steven Weil to increase Synagogue membership to over 700 families and created a national model for teen and youth departments.

The Pilichowskis were then blessed to spend three years in Boca Raton, Florida where Aliza was the youth director at The Boca Raton Synagogue and trained, was ordained and worked as an interfaith hospice chaplain.

In July 2014, in the midst of Operation Protective Edge, the Pilichowskis moved to Mitzpe Yericho, a small quaint town twenty minutes northeast of Jerusalem. The Pilichowskis host thousands of guests a year in their home where they explain the human side to the settlement movement. Aliza and Uri are able to present a candid and rational look at both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Aliza Pilichowski is a practicing interfaith chaplain in Jerusalem hospitals and old age
homes. She specializes in end of life spiritual care. After only three years in Mitzpe
Yericho, Aliza ran for city council, winning a seat with 87% of the vote. In 2018 she was
named Mayor of Mitzpe Yericho. While in elected office, Aliza has overseen the growth
of residential homes and municipal services, including a pool and public parks.

Mrs. Sivan Rahav Meir, the World Mizrachi Shlicha to North America, was born in Israel and is married to Yedidya Meir (who is also a journalist) and together, they have 5 children. Sivan has been working in the Israeli media since the age of six and became Orthodox as a teenager. Today, she works for Channel 2 News, Yedioth Acharonot, and the IDF radio (Galei Tzahal).
Mrs. Rahav Meir has interviewed Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, Sara Netanyahu, Rav Ovadia Yosef, and many others. She has also authored four books about Israel’s youth, media, and Torah. Additionally, she gives weekly lectures about the Parsha with hundreds of people in attendance, including, recently, the President of Israel.

Shira Reifman is the Chief Executive Officer of Keren Or Inc., a multi-service agency in Jerusalem that serves children with visual impairments and multiple disabilities, and their families. Shira oversees all of the organization's programs, as well as development and engagement efforts worldwide.

Shira joined Keren Or in September 2019, after ten years at Kishorit, a kibbutz in the Galilee for adults with special needs, where she was a Development Associate from 2008-2012, and the Director of Development from 2012-2019. During her tenure at Kishorit, Shira managed all of the organization's fundraising and public relations initiatives in the US, Canada, the UK, Holland, Australia and Israel. She worked closely with volunteers on 4 continents to create successful fundraising events, and developed partnerships with foundations, federations, and private donors.

Prior to making aliyah in 2007, Shira worked for the Orthodox Union for ten years in both their youth and special needs divisions. She served as the Coordinator of National Projects for the OU’s National Jewish Council for Disabilities and the Coordinator of Junior Yachad, a youth group that brings adolescents with special needs together with their same-age peers, for weekend retreats, summer camps, and a range of social and educational programs.

Most significantly at the OU, Shira served as a Regional Director for the Upstate New York region of the National Conference of Synagogue Youth (NCSY) for eight years, and as the National Director of Operations for NCSY. As Director of Operations, Shira developed an ombudsman system, introduced extensive staff training for hundreds of employees and volunteers across North America, and created sexual harassment policies for the organization. She oversaw the creation of myriad new summer programs that brought hundreds of teenagers to Israel and Jewish summer camps, as well as the organization’s year-round programming.


Shira holds a Bachelor's Degree, a Masters in Social Work (MSW), and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA), all from Columbia University in New York City and was selected by the Wexner Foundation as a Wexner Graduate Fellow. Shira is married to Rabbi Daniel Reifman, a teacher at the Pardes Institute and the Bar Ilan Kollel, and they are the proud parents of five daughters.

Rav Yosef Zvi Rimon is an internationally acclaimed posek - decisor of Jewish law – as well as an author, educator, and lecturer. Individuals and communities from around the globe turn to him regarding complex questions in Halacha, the responses of which have been pivotal in helping shape the contemporary Jewish world. Through his book series, Halacha MiMekora, Rav Rimon has become known worldwide for developing an innovative methodology for teaching Halacha, taking the reader from the sources to the practical application of Halacha in our modern reality within the framework of a user-friendly, pedagogical methodology.

Rabbi Shalom Rosner is the rav of Kehillat Nofei HaShemesh in Bet Shemesh, which has been built around his Rabbinic leadership. He is a maggid shiur at Yeshivat Reishit Yerushalayim, and Camp Rabbi and Educational Director at Camp Kaylie.
Prior to his Aliyah in August 2008, Rabbi Rosner was a popular maggid shiur at Yeshiva University’s Stone Beis Medrash Program and the Rabbi of Congregation Bais Ephraim Yitzchok – the “Island Shul” – for six years. A graduate of Yeshivat Shaalvim and YU, he earned a BA in Economics 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 Kupietzky Kodshim Fellow.

Kalman was raised in a nonobservant Jewish home in Vancouver, Canada where he attended Sir Winston Churchill High School. Upon his graduation in 1969 he was given academic and basketball scholarships to the University of British Columbia. After his first year studying philosophy he travelled Europe with plans to undergo coursework in France. However his mother requested that he stop in Israel to visit relatives. Enamored with Jewish culture and heritage, he cancelled the trip to France and enrolled in several Yeshivot, and in 1977 he received his rabbinical ordination.

In 1973 Samuels married Malki Klein and the couple took up residence in Jerusalem. In 1977, their second son, Yossi Samuels, at the time 11 months old, was injured by a faulty DPT vaccination and was rendered blind, deaf and acutely hyperactive. After 7 years with no communication, Yossi’s special education teacher, Shoshana Weinstock achieved a break through by relaying sign language into the palm of his hand, teaching Yossi his first word, ‘Shulchan’ (Hebrew, שֻׁולְחָן), meaning table.

Rabbi Hershel Schachter, a noted Talmudic scholar, has had a distinguished career with the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, of Yeshiva University, for more than 40 years. He joined the faculty in 1967 at the age of 26, the youngest rosh yeshiva at RIETS. Since 1971, Rabbi Schachter has been rosh kollel in the Marcos and Adina Katz Kollel (Institute for Advanced Research in Rabbinics) and also holds the Nathan and Vivian Fink Distinguished Professorial Chair in Talmud.

In addition to his teaching duties, Rabbi Schachter lectures, writes and serves as a world renowned decisor of Jewish law. A prolific author, he has written more than 100 articles, in Hebrew and English for such scholarly publications as HaPardes, Hadarom, Beth Yitzchak and Or Hamizrach. His books include Eretz HaTzvi, B’ikvei HaTzon, Nefesh HaRav, MiPninei HaRav and Ginat Egoz.

At age 22, Rabbi Schachter was appointed assistant to the renowned Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Rabbi Schachter earned his BA from Yeshiva College, an MA in Hebrew literature from the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies in 1967, and was ordained at RIETS that same year.

Mrs. Dina Schoonmaker holds a B.Ed in Tanach and English from Michlalah College, a master’s degree in Jewish history from Touro College, and a pending doctorate in sociology from UKF in Slovakia. She has been a member of the Michlalah faculty for over 25 years, and has an alumnae counseling hotline for Machal graduates. Mrs. Schoonmaker is also the founder of the highly acclaimed WomensVaad.com, an interactive teleconference personal-development program for women of all ages. She resides in Yerushalayim with her husband, Rosh Yeshiva of Shapell’s/Yeshiva Darché Noam, and their children.

Rebbetzin Dr. Adina Shmidman is the founding director of the Orthodox Union Women’s Initiative department. She and her husband, Rabbi Avraham Shmidman, are Rabbi and Rebbetzin at the Lower Merion Synagogue in Bala Cynwyd, PA. Prior to her position at the OU, she taught advanced placement psychology as well as Judaic studies and directed the professional development program at Kosloff Torah Academy Girls High School in Bala Cynwyd, PA. She also taught at the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County, Hebrew Academy of Long Beach and Manhattan High School for Girls. While living in Birmingham, AL, she was the director of the Knesseth Israel Synagogue Sunday School. Rebbetzin Dr. Shmidman earned a teacher’s certificate from Beth Jacob Seminary (BJJ) in Jerusalem. She graduated from Queens College in NY with a bachelor of arts, majoring in psychology and later received a master of science in school psychology from the same institution. She also has a master of arts in Jewish education as well as a certificate in educational technology from Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration at Yeshiva University. She received a doctorate in educational psychology from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She and her husband are the proud parents of four sons.

Rabbi Sam Shor is the Program Director of the Seymour J. Abrams Orthodox Union Jerusalem World Center, where he oversees a vast network of educational initiatives, including Torah classes, tours and social programming for the Anglo community.

For the past two decades, Rabbi Shor has gained acclaim for his inspirational teaching, his work in adult education and as a mentor for young rabbis across the globe. His weekly column of inspirational Jewish wisdom-Simchat Shmuel appears as a regular feature of OU Israel's popular Torah Tidbits publication with a readership of more than 30,000 people each week. Additionally, Rabbi Shor's weekly short inspirational video dvar torah, Shaarei Shmuel is distributed widely via whatsapp to viewers on four continents.

Rabbi Shor lives with his family in Yerushalayim where he is a popular Torah teacher for the English speaking community.

Rebbetzin Shira Smiles is a sought after international lecturer, popular seminary teacher, and experienced curriculum developer. Rebbetzin Smiles is well known for her special teaching style, which seeks to bring understanding of Torah texts through analysis of tens of relevant sources, while making the lessons learned from every verse relevant to her students’ lives in her shiurim.
Rebbetzin Smiles teaches at Darchei Bina Seminary. In addition, Rebbetzin Smiles leads a number of women’s study group classes in Beit Shemesh, Yerushalayim, and Modiin. Rebbetzin Smiles also trains Torah teachers in special workshops all over the world.

Mrs. Raphaella Tabak is a senior lecturer and tour guide at Machon Hamikdash.
Her knowledge-filled talks are imbued with deeply-felt enthusiasm and highlights of insights into the profound meanings behind the services. Based on our traditional sources and especially inspired by the writings of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch.
She firmly believes it necessary to delve into the deeper meaning behind the mitzvot of the Mikdash to inspire our generation and to bring its reality closer.

Rabbi Baruch Taub was the founding Rav and Rabbi Emeritus of Beth Avraham Congregation of Toronto / Thornhill (BAYT), one of the largest and most vibrant congregation in the Orthodox world. Rabbi Taub served on the Bais Din and was the President of the Va'ad Harabonim of Toronto. In 1990 Rabbi Taub conducted the Siyum Hashas in Lublin, Poland, the site of the founder of the Daf Yomi, Rabbi Meir Shapiro ZT"L. He was awarded the National Rabbinic Leadership Award of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America in 1993. A much sought-after speaker, Rabbi Taub has lectured in most major cities in the USA and Canada. In addition Rabbi Taub has contributed articles to leading Torah Journals. Before returning to his native Toronto, Rabbi Taub served as International Director of NCSY (National Conference of Synagogue Youth) of the UOJCA. In that capacity he inaugurated "NCSY Goes to Yeshiva" and the "NCSY Torah Experience." He also served as the adjunct professor of Judaic Studies at Stern College, Yeshiva University. Rabbi Taub is a Yadin Yadin Musmach of the Ner Israel Rabbinical College, Baltimore, Maryland and holds an M.A. degree from Loyola College Baltimore Maryland and a Doctorate in Judaic Studies from Maimonides College. In November 2010, the BAYT families dedicated a Sefer Torah in his honour and hosted a dinner for the community to honour his retirement as Rav and his becoming Rabbi Emeritus. RabbiTaub has made Aliya and lives in Netanya with his Rebbetzin Malkah (nee Mandelberg) of Johannesburg, South Africa. He currently teaches weekly at the OU Israel Center.

Rabbi Moshe Taragin has been a Ram at Yeshivat Har Etzion in Gush Etzion for the past 26 years. He has Semicha from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, a BA in Computer Science from Yeshiva College, and an MA in English Literature from City University. Rabbi Taragin previously taught Talmud at Columbia University, lectured in Talmud and Bible at the IBC and JSS divisions of Yeshiva University, and served as Assistant Rabbi at the Fifth Avenue Synagogue.

In addition, Rabbi Taragin currently teaches at the Stella K. Abraham Beit Midrash for Women of Yeshivat Har Etzion in Migdal Oz in Gush Etzion. He is the author of an Internet shiur entitled "Talmudic Methodology" with over 5,000 subscribers a weekly shiur on Pirkei Avot with over 1400 subscribers and has delivered hundreds of audio shiurim featured on the Yeshivat Har Etzion “Audio Beit Midrash” ( KMTT) as well as on YU Torah online. Rabbi Taragin has authored a Yom Ha’atzmaut Machzor for Koren publishing house. Rabbi Taragin, his wife and have 8 children and reside in Gush Etzion.

Rabbanit Shani Taragin began her B.A. studies at Stern College and completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Tanach and Talmud at Bar-Ilan University. She is also a graduate of the Matan Scholar’s Program and of Nishmat’s Keren Ariel Program for certification as a halachic advisor (yoetzet halacha) in issues of family purity law. Shani is the educational director of Matan Eshkolot – Tanach Teachers’ Education Program, Mizrachi Lapidot Teachers in Torah Shebeal-Peh, and of the Morot l’Halacha program in Matan Renana. Shani has taught and continues to teach, lead tours, and coordinate programs in numerous seminaries and adult education programs in Israel (e.g. Matan, Midreshet Lindenbaum, MTVA, Sha’alvim for Women, Migdal Oz, Amit Fellows, Women’s Beit Medrash in Efrat and Ramat Bet-Shemesh). Shani serves on the advisory committee for the Mizrachi Olami Shalhevet program for shlichim and lectures worldwide on topics of Tanach, Jewish Education, and Jewish Law. Together with her husband, Rabbi Reuven Taragin, she serves as educational director for Mizrachi Olami and as Rosh Beit Medrash for the Beit Medrash Program in Machaneh Moshava Pennsylvania during the summer. Shani lives with her family in Alon Shvut, Gush Etzion-Israel.

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, following more than seven years as Executive Vice President. In that role, he combined the skills of pulpit rabbi, scholar, and clinical psychologist to provide extraordinary leadership to the organization and to Orthodox Judaism worldwide.
Rabbi Weinreb received his rabbinic ordination in 1962 from the Rabbi Jacob Joseph Yeshiva in New York and served as spiritual leader of Congregation Shomrei Emunah in Baltimore for 13 years, building the congregation from 160 to more than 400 families before coming to the OU. In addition, he has a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Maryland and served as a psychotherapist for mental health organizations for many years while also maintaining a private practice. His positions included roles as school psychologist for Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland and as Chief Psychologist of the Potomac Foundation for Mental Health.
As Executive Vice President, Rabbi Weinreb built the Orthodox Union to an unparalleled degree of esteem. He traveled widely, visiting communities and congregations across North America, in addition to his frequent trips to Europe and Israel. In these travels, he frequently served as scholar-in-residence, including some of his most enjoyable assignments, guiding NCSY summer touring groups.
Now, with more time to write, Rabbi Weinreb has authored The Person in the Parasha: Discovering the Human Element in the Weekly Torah Portion, based on his popular weekly Person in the Parsha Torah commentary, in which he combines his background as a trained psychologist and a rabbinical scholar to provide insights into the parsha that would be available from no other source. For more than two decades, he has presented his annual Tisha B’Av shiur, webcast around the world on www.ou.org and reaching an audience of thousands. Many people use the new Koren Mesorat HaRav Kinot, the complete Tisha B’Av service, with an exquisite new English translation of the Kinot, the elegies of the fast day, by Rabbi Weinreb. Rabbi Weinreb is also the editor-in-chief of the new Koren Talmud Bavli, and he has authored a commentary to Sefer Tehilim, called The Rohr Family Edition of Tehilim; also published by Koren. Rabbi Weinreb continues to travel extensively, and to write essays and commentaries for a wide variety of resources.

Jay Weinstein recently made Aliyah to Maaleh Adumim together with his wife Sharon and four children. He currently serves on the staff of Yerushalayim Torah Academy and as the director of the Jewish Agency’s G2: Global Intergenerational Initiative. Prior to making Aliyah, Jay served as the Rabbi of the Young Israel of East Brunswick for six years. He received Semikhah (Rabbinic Ordination) from Yeshiva University’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. Additionally, he holds a B.A. in Accounting from Sy Syms School of Business and a Masters Degree in Special Education from Columbia University.