Our Educators
Michael
Berl, Director
Michael Berl holds a BA in Political Science from Yeshiva University and an MA in Theater Arts from Brooklyn College. For 13 years he was Director of Student Activities and Music Director at the Ramaz School before making Aliyah in 1985. For many years, he served as Music and Program Director at Camp Massad, a resident staff member of Yeshiva University Leadership Seminars, and Director of Fine Arts at Camp Morasha for over a decade. Upon Aliyah he was appointed Associate Director of the Israel Council of Young Israel, and Music/Drama Instructor at the American International School in Kfar Shmaryahu. In 1986 he became Director of the Beit Hillel Theater Workshop at Hebrew University, a position he holds until today. From 1987-1990, he was the programmer for the March of the Living in their main offices in Tel Aviv. He has served as the Director of Heritage Seminars since its inception in 1991.
Dr. David Bernstein, Educational Consultant, Historian
Dr. David Bernstein has been the Educational Consultant for Heritage Seminars from the birth of the program. He holds a BA and MA in History and a PhD in Religious Education from New York University; he also attended Yeshivat HaMivtar. Dr. Bernstein has been the Dean of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies since 1998. Dr. Bernstein was a Jerusalem Fellow at the Mandel School for Jewish Education from 1996-1998. Prior to his Aliyah in 1984, Dr. Bernstein was the Educational Director of Informal Education at the Ramaz Upper School in New York City, where he created and taught an integrated course in world and Jewish history. He has been teaching Jewish History and Pedagogy in these and other settings since 1973.
Rabbi Michael Yamer, Rav, Heritage Seminars
Rav Michael Yammer has been associated with Heritage Seminars for 16
years. He is a Sha'alvim Hesder alumnus who was appointed as Rabbi/ Magid Shiur
for overseas students in 1988. In addition, Rav Yamer has served as a Rav at
Shaalvim for Women since the opening of the seminary, teaching courses in Jewish
Philosophy and Contemporary Halachic Issues. He has lectured throughout Israel
and has served as Scholar in Residence in several communities in the USA. Rav
Yammer is the authority for Heritage Seminars in all areas of Halachic decision
making, and is an integral part of the Heritage Senior Staff.
Vicky Berglas, Historian
Vicky Berglas has been a vital part of the Heritage Senior Staff since
the second year of the seminar. She is often lovingly referred to as the "Queen
of Heritage". When Vicky leads students on the annual Heritage Seminar to
Poland, they are treated to her unique perspective, which combines encyclopedic
historical knowledge with a deep connection to the great personalities of our
past, and the conviction that the Holocaust can inspire us toward meaning and
accomplishment in our personal own lives. In addition to her role as Director of
Midreshet Moriah, Vicky also serves as a guide at Yad Vashem. She earned a BA in
Psychology and Judaic Studies at Yeshiva University, and is completing work on
her MA in Holocaust at Haifa University. She holds a position of reverence in
the Heritage hierarchy.
Rabbi
Avraham Krieger, Historian
Rabbi Avraham Krieger is a graduate of Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh, and is completing his PhD from Haifa University. Rabbi Krieger is a Senior Historian at Heritage, and Director of the Shem Olam Institute of Holocaust Studies. The institute services Yeshivot, Ulpanot, Midrashot and academic programs, with courses in Hebrew and English that focus on the struggle of the Jews of Eastern Europe in the Holocaust with their Judaism, morality, spirituality, religious life, and humanity. He is considered one of the most important Heritage and Holocaust scholars in the world today, and is a member of numerous standing committees on the study of the Holocaust. Among Heritage historians and educators, he is considered our "Rebbe" for his extensive knowledge and insight.
Rabbi Levi Cooper, Historian
Rabbi Levi Cooper has been part of the Heritage team since 1996. He serves as
Rabbi of the Kehillat HaTzur VeHaTzohar in Tzur Hadassah, teaches at the Pardes
Institute for Jewish Education, is an active member of the Tzohar Rabbis, and
serves as an educational advisor to the Jewish community of Istanbul, Turkey.
Rabbi Cooper holds an LLB and LLM from Bar Ilan University, and is a member of
the Israel Bar Association. He has studied at Chabad, Shaalvim Hesder Yeshiva,
the Bar-Ilan University Kollel and Beit Morasha, Jerusalem. He served in the
IDF's Golani Brigade, and does his Miluim as a commander in an infantry unit. He
has authored articles in Judaic studies and various educational materials for
use in high schools. He authors World of the Sages, a weekly column in the
Jerusalem Post, and is a contributing editor for Jewish Educational Leadership,
the journal of the Lookstein Center for Jewish Education.
Rabbi Yizchak Rubenstein, Historian
Rabbi Yizchak Rubenstein is the newest Heritage Historian. He made Aliya in
2002 after a career in both formal and informal education in South Africa.
There, he was Director of the South African Board of Jewish Education directing
eight Jewish Day Schools in Johannesburg. He is an Instructor at the Shem Olam
Institute for Holocaust Studies, teaching in the English Division. He is a
senior educator in the Nativ program which facilitates the conversion of non
Jewish soldiers within the IDF. Rabbi Rubenstein is completing an MA degree at
the Hebrew University focusing on Polish-Jewish relations and how they are
taught throughout the world. He joined Heritage in 2007 and has guided a range
of different groups in Poland for Heritage and a number of other organizations.
Rabbi
David Katz, Mechanech
Rabbi David Katz has been associated with Heritage for 12 years. Among the inner circle of Heritage Senior Staff he is exalted for his meticulous attention to detail and passion for excellence in programming. Rabbi Katz has been the Director of the prestigious women's Michlelet Mevaseret Yerushalayim (MMY) since its inception. He attended Yeshiva University, and is a former director of the NCSY Summer Programs, and the Nitzotz Student Volunteer Program. He also previously served as a faculty member at Bnot Chayil College for Women, Machon Gold, and as Administrator of Yeshivat Ohr Yerushalaim.
Michal Porat Zibman, Mechanechet, Technical Coordinator
Michal Porat-Zibman has been associated with Heritage for over a decade
as Mechanechet and Technical Coordinator for the Women's Division. Michal serves
as Achra'it Beit Midrash and teaches Jewish Thought at Midreshet Moriah. She is
a teacher of great charisma and passion, inspiring her students with her
exciting shiurim in Mussar and Machshavah. In addition, Michal guides at Yad
Vashem. She has served as Educational Director at Camp Moshava and has worked at
Moshava's Mach Hach Ba-Aretz and Camp HASC. Michal holds a BA in Jewish History
from Bar Ilan University.
Dr. Jonathan
Maresky, Mechanech, Coordinator, Medical Services
Dr. Jonathan "Jonty" Maresky is Senior Partner at the prestigious
Jerusalem Medical Center also known by Jerusalemites as "Wolfson" for its noted
location. He is the team physician for the Hapoel Migdal Yerushalaim basketball
team, and is the official physician to the US Consulate in Jerusalem, the UNO,
EC, TIPH, and the British Embassy. He has been associated with Heritage as
Coordinator of Medical Services and Mechanech for over a decade. His
professionalism as our chief medical officer and charismatic educator has made
him an integral part of the Heritage Family.
Debbie Shohat,
Administrative Assistant
Debbie Shohat is originally from Teaneck New Jersey, and holds a degree in Education and Music from Bar Ilan University. Debbie made Aliyah in 1999. She served as a Madricaha at Orot College for Women in 2003, and worked at The Lookstein Center at Bar Ilan University as an Educational Associate in 2004. She served as the dormitory supervisor (Em Bayit) and a faculty member at Machon Gold for three years. She has organized and coordinated Jewish educational programming in Ukraine and Australia, and has been involved in numerous educational programs for Russian, Ethiopian, and Anglo immigrants in Israel.
Dr. Nancy Block,
Coordinator Yeshiva High School Seminar - USA
Dr. Nancy Block is the Dean of Student Life at Westchester Hebrew High School in NY. A Psychologist by profession, Dr. Block has overseen the registration, recruitment, and educational programming of the Heritage Yeshiva High School Seminar for a decade. The high school seminar includes: Westchester Hebrew High School, Yeshiva of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School, Magen David Yeshiva High School, Hillel Yeshiva, and the Kedmah Jewish High School in Memphis Tennessee.
Alice Miller, USA
Representative
Alice Miller resides in Oceanside, New York. She lived in Israel for six
years during the early 1970's and has returned for visits countless times with
her family. A former legal assistant, she organized the highly successful Adult
Heritage Seminar for the Young Israel of Oceanside, which became the standard
and model for other adult programs. Today, she, along with Carrie Teitcher, is
the Heritage Representative responsible for the recruitment of adult groups in
the USA.
Carrie Teitcher,
USA Representative
Carrie Teitcher attended the Young Israel of Oceanside Adult Seminar to
Poland, after which she joined the Heritage staff along with Alice Miller, to
help coordinate Heritage's adult programs. In 2007, she attended the Jewish
Educator's Seminar at the International School for Holocaust Studies at Yad
Vashem. As a child of survivors, Carrie is an avid student of holocaust studies
and is committed to Heritage's mission. In her "real" life, Carrie is a
Professor at Brooklyn Law School in New York where she has taught legal writing
and appellate advocacy since 1984.
Associated Heritage Seminars Staff:
HISTORIANS:
Devora Geller
Dr. David Silberklang
Jonathan Deutch
MECHANCHIM:
Rabbanit Shulamith Cohn, Midreshet Amit.
Aviezer Gellman, Kedmah Jewish High School.
Rabbi Jay Goldmintz, Ramaz Upper School.
Rabbi Kenneth Hirshorn, Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh
Rabbi Ari Katz, Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh.
Rabbi Jason Knapel, Yeshivat Shvelei Torah/
Shaalvim for Women.
Rabbi Yizchak Korn, Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh.
Rabbi Benjamin Kramer, Flatbush Yeshiva High School.
Rabbi Eli Marcus, Yeshivat Reishit Yerushalaim
Rabbi Judah Mischel, Yeshivat Reishit Yerushalaim.
Elyse Nadjar,Magen David Yeshiva High School.
Rabbi Zelig Prag, Flatbush Yeshiva High School
Rabbi Natan Siegel, Yeshivat Bat Eiyen.
Rabbi Zvi Shiloni, Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh.
Rabbi Yossi Weiser,Ramaz Upper School.
Rabbi Aaron Wexler, Midreshet Moriah.
Rachel Winkler, Flatbush Yeshiva High School
Rabbi Yaakov Vidomlanski,Yeshivat Lev Hatorah.
Rabbanit Esther Wagner, Holocaust Witness.
Howard Klienberg, Holocaust
Witness.
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