Mrs. Leora Bednarsh is our Shana Bet Director. Mrs. Bednarsh loves to teach Gemara and Halakhah, and the enthusiasm and warmth she brings to Torah are infectious. In her shiurim, Mrs. Bednarsh not only teaches our students Torah and love of Torah, she also gives them the research skills to learn more and the presentation skills to give their own shiurim. She earned a BA in Psychology & Linguistics at Princeton University, completed the Scholars' Circle program at Drisha Institute, and is certified as a Yo'etzet Halakhah of the Keren Ariel Program at Nishmat. Mrs. Bednarsh taught at Yeshiva of Flatbush High School and serves as a Yo'etzet Halakhah on Nishmat's Halakhah Hotline. She lives in Alon Shvut with her husband and six children.

lbednarsh@midreshetmoriah.org

Rabbi Uri Cohen teaches Halakhah and Jewish Thought at Midreshet. Rav Uri's vast knowledge, infectious curiosity and love of learning, broad grasp of contemporary Jewish and popular culture, and warm smile and sense of humor all endear him to our students and make his shiurim not-to-be-missed. Rav Uri learned at Yeshivat Shaalvim and Yeshivat Hamivtar and received Semikhah from RIETS and the Joseph Straus Seminary at Yeshivat Hamivtar. He earned a BA in Jewish Studies, an MA in Medieval Jewish History, and an MS in Jewish Education from Yeshiva University. Rav Uri has served as a teacher and Rabbi at Princeton University. He lives in Ramat Beit Shemesh with his wife, Dr. Yocheved Cohen.

ucohen@midreshetmoriah.org

Mrs. Malka Hubscher teaches Tanakh. Malka, as our students call her, is known for her great sense of humor, her ability to make any and all learning exciting, her down-to-earth wisdom and good advice, and the intensity and focus of her shiurim. Malka learned at Michlalah and earned a BA in Jewish Studies and an MA in Bible at Yeshiva University. She lives in Efrat with her husband and their five children.

mhubscher@midreshetmoriah.org

Rav Jason Knapel, as our students know him, is beloved as a mechanech for both his fascinating and inspiring shiurim as well as his easy approachability and warmth as a mentor to our students.  He taught and served as Director of Informal Education, Director of Judaic Studies and Assistant Principal at Hillel Yeshiva High School in Deal, New Jersey for many years. Subsequent to his aliyah, he was Mashgiach Ruchani at Yeshivat Shvilei HaTorah and teaches at Shaalvim for Women.  Rav Jason was ordained at RIETS and received his BA from Yeshiva College and an MS from the Bernard Revel Graduate School.

rabbiknapel@yahoo.com

Rabbi Yitzchak Lerner teaches Halakhah and Jewish Thought at Midreshet. Rav Lerner is known for his high-energy teaching style, his fiery passion for Torah and mitzvot, his personal warmth as a mentor, and his outstanding shiurim in Hilkhot Shabbat and Mussar. Whether in shiur or in personal conversations, Rav Lerner's transformative impact on his students remains with them for years to come. Rav Lerner learned at Yeshivat Midrash Shmuel and received Semikhah from Rav Zalman Nechemyah Goldberg. He earned a BA in Political Science at Concordia University. Rav Lerner lives in Betar with his wife and four children.

ylerner@midreshetmoriah.org

Neima Novetsky teaches Tanakh at Midreshet Moriah. Neima creates a unique environment in her shiurim – setting a high standard of learning, she also embraces her students with personal caring, shares her own enthusiasm for learning, and in every shiur,gives over some of her own love for Torah. Neima’s unique approach not only excites and inspires with insights into the topic being learned, but also leaves her students with a sense of method, “learning how to learn,” so that they can go on to learn further on their own. Neima holds a BA in Religion and a Certificate in Language and Culture from Princeton University and an MA in Bible from the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Yeshiva University. Before making aliyah,she founded and directed the Advanced Tanakh Beit Midrash Program at Manhattan’s Lincoln Square Synagogue. She lives in Yerushalayim with her husband and five children.

nnovetsky@midreshetmoriah.org

Ze'ev Orenstein  is Educator/Program Manager at The David Project, developing curricula currently being taught in over 70 institutions throughout North America.  In Israel, Ze’ev lectures on the Middle East conflict, highlighting the justice behind the aims of Zionism and the inalienable rights of the Jewish people to a sovereign Jewish state in the Land of Israel. Ze’ev has also written extensively about the Middle East conflict and the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel.  Before The David Project, Ze’ev served as Director of Yavneh Olami, an organization committed to inspiring, educating and empowering Jewish students from all around the world to strengthen their connection to Israel and the Jewish People.  Ze’ev lives with his family just outside Jerusalem, Israel, and has an MA in Government with a specialization in Counter-Terrorism and Homeland Security Studies from the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya.

Mrs. Fagie Reves is our Nach Yomi Coordinator and teaches Tanach at Midreshet Moriah. Fagie’s perspective as a Midreshet teacher is uniquely enriched by her having been a student at Midreshet herself (Shana Alef and Bet) as well as a Madricha and Em Bayit. Fagie’s welcoming smile, down-to-earth personality, and quick sense of humor endear her to students.  Her creative shiurim in Tanach, especially “SWIT” (Sketchy Women in Tanach), are top Midreshet favorites.  Shabbat at Fagie’s, highlighted by her gourmet cooking and lively conversation, is not to be missed!  Fagie earned a BA and MA in Tanach at Yeshiva University.  She lives in Neve Daniel with her husband and daughter.

Rabbi Dr. Zvi Ron teaches Jewish Thought and Halakhah at Midreshet. While the first thing our students usually notice about Rav Ron is how amazingly laid-back and fun his shiurim are, the next thing they notice is the astounding breadth of his knowledge and his rare gift to make everything he says sound fascinating! His shiur on the thought of Ramchal, "Derekh Hashem," is among the most beloved shiurim at Midreshet. Rav Ron has published a number of articles and recently published a book, Katan ve-Gadol. Rav Ron learned in Yeshivat Shaalvim's Hesder Program and Kollel, received Semikhah from the Israeli Rabbanut, and earned a BA in Psychology at SUNY and a PhD in Jewish Theology at Spertus University. He served as Rabbi in Richmond, Virginia, from 1994 to 2004. He lives in Neve Daniel with his wife and four children.

zron@midreshetmoriah.org

Rav Ari Shvat teaches Jewish Thought at Midreshet Moriah. He is the founding Rosh HaMidrasha and senior lecturer at the Orot Israel College in Elkana. Raised in Riverdale, NY, he did the Hesder Program at the Ohr Etzion and Kiryat Arba yeshivot, and currently resides in Kochav HaShachar. Rav Ari is a popular international lecturer and has published many ideological and halachic articles. He holds a B.A. in Tanach from Michlelet Ya'akov Herzog (Yeshivat Har Etzion) and an M.A. in Jewish History and Talmud from Touro College. He enjoys utilizing his music as an educational medium and has produced three albums of original compositions, including a tune for the bracha of Al HaMichya taught in all the dati schools in Israel (visit his website: www.alhamichya.com). Rav Ari has run many programs internationally for Bnei Akiva, as well as teaching at Midreshet HaRova, Midreshet Lindenbaum, Midreshet Ayelet HaShachar and the Yeshivat Hesder in Petach Tikva. In addition, he runs the English website for Rosh Yehudi.

ashvat@midreshetmoriah.org

Mrs. Yehudis Smith is a Rakezet at Midreshet Moriah.  Yehudis attended Michlalah Jerusalem College for Women and served there as a Madricha.  Well known for her genuine, engaging personality, Yehudis has lectured at Aish HaTorah's JEWEL, Me'or HaTorah, and Baer Miriam, and served as a mentor at Bnot Torah Institute.  She holds a Bachelors degree in Humanities and is pursuing her Masters degree in Education and Curriculum Instruction.  Yehudis lives in Ramat Eshkol, Jerusalem, with her family, where their home is known for warm hospitality throughout the year.

Rav Hanoch Teller is a world-renowned storyteller and teacher, known to many through his inspirational speaking in communities around the world and his many books on a wide range of Jewish values. Rav Teller is able to bring gedolim to life for his students by recounting not only their Torah, but also their personal greatness in their midot and private everyday behavior. In addition to helping his students emulate the examples set by gedolim, Rav Teller's stories about particular mitzvot and values sensitize his listeners to their importance and enable his audience to begin acquiring those traits for themselves. Rav Teller learned at Yeshiva University and at Mirrer Yeshiva, and earned BA and BHL degrees.

hteller@midreshetmoriah.org

Aharon Wexler made aliyah from New York after high school and studied in Yeshivat HaKotel. After Yeshiva and his service in the IDF, Aharon earned a BA in Archeology and then went back to Yeshivat HaKotel for his Rabbinic Ordination. Aharon went on to recieve an MA in Jewish History and is now a Doctoral Candidate studying Jewish Philosophy. Aharon is also a licensed tour guide and when not teaching or touring makes his home in Efrat with his wife and three children.

awexler@midreshetmoriah.org

Mrs. Rina Zinkin is a Rakezet and teaches Tefilah at Midreshet Moriah. Rina, as our students call her, is gifted with the kind of gentle personality and warmth which make it easy for students to talk to her and seek her advice. Her deep spirituality, empathy, patience, humility, and rare midot tovot make her an ideal teacher for the personal, emotional topic of Tefilah and make her a personality our students strive to emulate. Rina learned at Midreshet Lindenbaum and Michlalah, earned a BA in Judaic Studies and Speech Communication Disorders at Yeshiva University, and an MA at Brooklyn College in Speech Language Pathology. Rina lives in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Eshkol with her husband and their three children.

rzinkin@midreshetmoriah.org