Rabbi Ancselovits received advanced rabbinic ordination (Yadin Yadin) from Yeshiva University, holds a MA in Modern Jewish Studies from Touro College, and studied Medieval Jewish History at Yeshiva University's Bernard Revel Graduate School. He teaches Halakhah as Practical Philosophy to Yeshivat Maale Gilboa’s Semikha Kollel and to younger students there and at Midreshet Ein HaNatziv. Rabbi Ancselovits also teaches secular and religious students at the Israeli Academy for Leadership and was a co-facilitator of Batei Midrash in HaMidrasha of the secular kibbutz movements’ Oranim College. He has also published a number of articles in Hebrew on his method of Halakhah as rigorous common sense.

Rahel Berkovits is the new principle at Beit Rabban, a non- denominational grade school in New York City. For the past ten years she lectured in Talmud, halakhah and the status of women in Judaism at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. She has spent many years studying Talmud and Jewish texts in both traditional and academic frameworks at such institutions as Midreshet Lindenbaum, The Shalom Hartman Institute, and Hebrew University in both the Talmud and Jewish education departments. She lectures widely in both Israel and abroad on topics concerning women and Jewish law, and has published entries in the CD Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. Rahel is the editor in chief and halakhic editor of Ta Shma JOFA's Halakhic Source Guide Series. She is a founding member of Congregation Shirah Hadasha, a progressive halakhic minyan, which is enriched by both male and female participation in synagogue ritual. Rahel has lived in Jerusalem for the past eighteen years and she is the mother of nine-year-old boy/girl twins and a five year old daughter.

Rabbi Miriam (Carey Knight) Berkowitz is originally from Montreal. She earned a BA magna cum laude in International Relations from Harvard University in 1993 and an MA and Rabbinic Ordination from the Schechter Institute in Jerusalem in 1998. She served as Assistant Rabbi at Park Avenue Synagogue in Manhattan for three years and spent seven years in Florida teaching adult education. She is the author of Taking the Plunge: A Practical and Spiritual Guide to the Mikveh and various other articles and publications including pieces in the Women's Torah Commentary, Jewish Lights Spirituality Handbook, Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine and Journal of Pastoral Care. Her teshuvot on contraception and on interpreting the laws of Family Purity were accepted by the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards and she currently serves on the Committee. Rabbi Berkowitz is Co-Founder and Director of Kashouvot: Advancing Pastoral Care in Israel. She lives in Jerusalem, with her family, where she provides pastoral counseling at the French Hospital/ Hospice, adult education at the Fuchsberg Center, and lifecycle events for Israelis and visitors.

Dr. Bernstein 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 Pardes since 1998. Previously, he was the director of Midreshet Lindenbaum, popularly known as Brovender's, for 12 years. Dr. Bernstein was a Jerusalem Fellow at the Mandel School for Jewish Education in Jerusalem from 1996-1998. Before making Aliyah in 1984, Dr. Bernstein was the 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.

"At the end of the year, we asked students to take the same placement exam that they had taken at the beginning of the year. For each student, there was a dramatic improvement in his or her ability to deal with classic texts."

Ms. Campbell Hochstein has a BA from the Hebrew University in Talmud, and participated in the Humanities Honors program. She is currently doing graduate work in Talmudic literature. Ms. Campbell Hochstein's special interest is the nature of the Talmudic argument, and the culture of the rabbinic sages. She is a Young research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute, and has been in adult Jewish education for close to 15 years, focusing mainly on teaching Talmud. In addition to Pardes, Ms. Campbell Hochstein has also taught at the Shalom Hartman Institute and Kolot: The Center for Women's and Gender Studies.

Rabbi Levi Cooper, originally from Australia, holds an LLB and LLM from Bar Ilan University, and is a member of the Israel Bar Association. He studied at Chabad, Shaalvim Hesder Yeshiva, the Bar-Ilan University Kollel and Beit Morasha. Rabbi Cooper served in the IDF’s Golani Brigade and continues to do Reserve Duty as a commander in an infantry unit. He is a member of the Tzohar rabbis organization, an educational advisor to the Jewish community of Istanbul, Turkey and an educator with Heritage Seminars. Rabbi Cooper has authored articles in Judaic studies and prepared educational materials for use in high schools. He publishes a weekly column in the Jerusalem Post entitled World of the Sages and is a contributing editor for Jewish Educational Leadership, the journal of Bar-Ilan University’s Lookstein Center. Rabbi Cooper is the rabbi of Kehillat HaTzur VeHaTzohar in Tzur Hadassah, a mixed religious and secular neighbourhood outside Jerusalem.

Yaffa Epstein teaches Talmud and Halacha, and serves as the Director of Recruitment at Pardes. She holds a Law Degree from Bar Ilan University and is a member of the Israeli Bar. Yaffa was a former student of the Kollel at Pardes, and was a member of Matan's Advanced Talmud Institute. Yaffa has taught at SIACH, the Lookstein Center, Ta Shma and Young Judea Year Course. She is also a member of the "Reshut Harabim" Beit Midrash, a think tank on Modern Orthodoxy in Israel, at the Machon Herzog Center.

Dr. Feldstern holds a BA in Philosophy and Psychology, an EdM in Philosophy of Education from Temple University, and an MHL, PhD in Midrash and rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. Rabbi Feldstern published Hem’at HaHemda to Sefer Bereshit, a critical edition and analysis of the earliest (thirteenth-century) biblical commentary to emerge from the illustrious Jewish community of Aleppo, Syria. The work straddles the fields of Midrash and medieval Biblical exegesis, which are among the subjects that he teaches at Pardes.

Hindy Ginsberg is a graduate of the Advanced Talmud Institute at Matan. She holds a B.A. from Bar Ilan University in Education and Talmud, as well as a teacher’s certificate in Oral Law. Hindy is currently pursuing her Masters degree in Talmud at Bar Ilan University, in which she is exploring the differences in halachic positions on the usage of birth control in Israel and the United States. She has taught in many adult education programs, including Matan and Pardes.

Rabbi Grodner was ordained by Yeshiva University's Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, where he studied under Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. He served for over 18 years as a pulpit rabbi. Rabbi Grodner is the author of several books including Shabbat: A Day of Delight, and The Spirit of Mishnaic Law: Tractate Berachot. In addition to teaching at Pardes, he is the director of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Beit Midrash program.

Publications

Rabbi Grumet holds a BA in Computer Science from Brooklyn College, a MA in Jewish Education and a Specialist's Certificate in Educational Administration from Yeshiva University's Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, and rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva University's Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. Prior to his Aliyah, Rabbi Grumet taught and was an administrator in American yeshiva high schools for 18 years. He has published numerous articles on education and Tanakh, and lectures in a wide variety of adult-education programs. Rabbi Grumet is also the Tanakh coordinator at Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi, and a member of the educational team at the Lookstein Center of the School of Education at Bar Ilan University.

Dr. Hammer-Kossoy has an AB in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University, and a MA and PhD from New York University. Her dissertation explored the courageous manner in which the rabbis of the Talmud created a new criminal punishment system. Dr. Hammer-Kossoy is also a graduate of NATIV, Pardes, Midreshet Lindenbaum, MaTaN, Drisha, and ATID. She has received many fellowships including Lady Davis, National Foundation for Jewish Culture, Memorial Foundation, ATID. Dr. Hammer-Kossoy has also taught at NYU, Drisha, and Midreshet Lindenbaum, and currently teaches Talmud at Pardes.

Michael has a professional degree in architecture from the University of Toronto and did his semicha studies at Yeshivat Har Etzion. He has been teaching Tanakh for twenty years and serves as the Director of the Beit Midrash for the Pardes Educators Program. His book on Parasha, a refreshing integration of modern scholarship and traditional texts, will be available in early 2012 from Urim Publications. In addition, his book on Sefer Yehoshua is forthcoming from Koren Publishers. Michael also serves as a scholar-in-residence at various North American synagogues. He lives in Alon Shevut with his wife Rivka and their five children.

Rabbi Hirschfield holds a MA from Harvard University in Medieval and Modern Jewish Thought, and has studied at Yeshivat Har Etzion in Israel. He was the director of Judaica at the JCC of Cleveland, and an instructor at the Cleveland College of Jewish Studies for many years. He also serves as the director of education for the Nesiya Institute.

Rabbi Israel has a BSc from the London School of Economics a PGCE from London's Institute of Education, and is working on a MA in Talmud at Bar Ilan University. He studied and taught at Yeshivat Har Etzion Advanced Talmudic College and received rabbinic ordination from the Israeli Rabbinate. Rabbi Israel has taught at Midreshet Harova and Midreshet Lindenbaum. He currently teaches at Pardes and Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi. He is a Rabbi of Tzohar, an organization promoting dialogue and improved relations between religious and secular Israelis. He blogs and sends weekly Parsha emails to many hundreds of readers around the globe

Rabbi James Jacobson-Maisels holds a BA in Philosophy and Judaic Studies from Brown University and an M.St. in Modern Jewish Studies from Balliol College the University of Oxford. He studied at the Conservative Yeshiva, the Hartman Institute of Jewish Studies, and in the Advanced Learning Seminar at Pardes and received rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Daniel Landes.

He is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Chicago in Jewish Studies specializing in Jewish mysticism. He has taught in a variety of settings in America and Israel on Judaism and Jewish Mysticism.

Rabbi Jacobson-Maisels is currently teaching a course on to the Kollel on the concept and practice of Torah in Jewish thought and will teach a course on Jewish spiritual texts and practices.

Judy Klitsner has been teaching Bible and biblical exegesis at Pardes for more than two decades. A disciple of the renowned Torah teacher Nehama Leibowitz, Judy has trained a generation of students in her distinctive method, which weaves together traditional exegesis, modern scholarship, and original interpretations that are informed by close readings of the biblical text. Many of her students, now teachers and heads of Jewish studies programs in the US, Israel, and the UK, replicate her methods in their own classrooms. Judy is a frequent international lecturer, and addresses diverse and varied audiences that span the denominational spectrum. She is the author of Subversive Sequels in the Bible: How Biblical Stories Mine and Undermine Each Other, originally published by the Jewish Publication Society; paperback recently released by Koren Publishers. The book was awarded the 2009 Jewish Book Award. More at www.JudyKlitsner.com.

Rabbi Laimon has a BA in English Literature from the University of Saskatchewan, rabbinic ordination from the Bostoner Rebbe, and is a Certified Sofer (scribe). Rabbi Laimon was born and bred in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in Canada. He teaches a course in Scribal Arts that combines mystical insight, legal requirements, and traditional calligraphy.

Rabbi Landes has been described as a "remarkable teacher who weaves the insights of his students together through a group process, in order to discover fascinating new meanings in age-old texts." As Director and Rosh HaYeshiva of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, he heads a team of outstanding scholars who are well-known for their use of unique educational methodology that combine independent thinking and deep understanding with sensitivity to contemporary relevance.

Rabbi Landes was a founding faculty member and Director of Educational Projects at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and a professor of Ethics and Values at Yeshiva University of Los Angeles. He taught Jewish Law at Loyola Law School, and was a faculty member at prominent think tanks such as The RAND Corporation, and major Jewish educational institutions such as the Brandeis-Bardin Institute and CLAL. Rabbi Landes remains a long-term faculty member of the Wexner Foundation and serves on the educational advisory committee of Taglit-birthright Israel.

Rabbi Landes has lectured at the rabbinic seminaries of all major denominations. He is well-known for his struggle to create Jewish unity. In America his synagogue in Los Angeles, Bane-David Judaea, was known for Jewish inclusiveness, feminism, social action, and Halakhic observance. Rabbi Landes has written widely in the area of social ethics, theology and mysticism, and is the Jewish law commentator for the recent series, My People's Prayerbook, a multi-denominational effort.

"By setting a standard of religious sensitivity and textual study, the impact of Pardes will be felt way beyond its walls."

Publications

Rabbi Levin-Kruss holds a BA and Teachers' Certification in English Literature and Jewish Thought from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, attended Pardes, and has rabbinic ordination from the Joseph Strauss Rabbinical Seminary. Previously, he served as the director of the overseas department at the Melitz Centers for Jewish Zionist Education, and as the community director of Stanmore Synagogue, in northwest London. Rabbi Levin-Kruss teaches Mishna and Jewish Thought at Pardes, and sees himself as a bridge between Jewish heritage and those seeking to connect or reconnect to that tradition.

Howard Markose received his BA in Hebrew and Psychology from the University of Minnesota. He received smicha and a Masters degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1984. He served three different congregations as rabbi from 1984 to 2001, first in Toronto and then in Jerusalem. He made aliyah with his family in 1994. He was the director of education for Young Judaea's Year Course from 2001 to 2008. In addition to his teaching at Pardes (Biblical Hebrew Grammar, Summer Session), Howard is currently in a doctoral program in Bible at Bar Ilan University. Howard's wife Judy is the director of the Pardes Educators' Program. They have four children, ranging in age from 23 to 12.

Dr. Markose served as the Director of the Ramah Israel Seminar and as the Director of High School Division of Ramah Programs in Israel, coordinating experiential and academic programs and interfacing with Jewish day schools in North America. Before making Aliyah, Dr. Markose was the principal of a congregational school, and Director of Camp Ramah in Canada.

Ms. Mishkin is a renowned tour guide and educator with a MA in Jewish History. She gives tours and classes in Jerusalem and all over Israel for families and institutions.

Ms. Nachmani holds a BA in Near Eastern Language and Literature and Religious Studies from Indiana University and a Teaching Certification in Tanach and Jewish Thought from the Israeli "Michlelet Herzog" Seminary in Gush Etzion. At Pardes, Ms. Nachmani teaches Chumash, Tanach, Prayer and Interpersonal Relationships. She has written and guided experiential learning programs for mothers and their daughters of Bat Mitzva age at the Women's Beit Midrash in Efrat, where she previously taught Prayer and Jewish Thought. Ms. Nachmani was a Jewish educator and program director for many years, together with her husband Gabi, for "Livnot U'Lehibanot" ("To Build and Be Built") in Tzfat and Jerusalem. They co-authored the widely-used song book "Zemirot from Livnot". Currently she is Assistant Educational Director for "Ayeka" – an international organization training Jewish lay and professional leaders to facilitate "Ayeka" spiritual education seminars for Jews of all backgrounds and affiliations. She believes in learning which connects the mind to the heart.

Ms. Novetsky 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. Prior to making Aliyah from New York, Ms. Novetsky founded and directed the Advanced Tanakh Beit Midrash Program at Lincoln Square Synagogue. She has taught at Midreshet Lindenbaum, the Ma'ayan Institute for Women, and the Princeton University Hillel, and has lectured on Biblical topics in various synagogues in both Israel and the States.

Leah Rosenthal holds a BA in Talmud and Jewish Philosophy, and an MA in Jewish Education, both from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She has been teaching Talmud at Pardes for over twenty years and still enjoys doing so. She combines her teaching at Pardes with teaching at the nearby Pelech High School for Girls and raising, with her husband, their five children.

"For me, entering the world of serious Jewish learning is to discover how the demands of tradition and existential need have been reconciled in the past, and how we can begin to apply this understanding productively to our own world. The challenge and stimulation of making entryways into the world of Talmudic thought is invigorating and frustrating at once. The skills gained - and the process one undergoes while gaining them - cannot leave one unchanged and unaffected."

Rabbi Daniel Roth teaches Talmud and directs the Pardes Center for Judaism and Conflict Resolution. Daniel is a PhD candidate at Bar Ilan University's Program for Conflict Resolution and Negotiation writing on Jewish models of conflict resolution, peacemaking, and reconciliation. Daniel is also an Israeli certified court mediator. Daniel has been teaching Talmud, Chumash and other subjects at Pardes for over ten years. He holds a MA in Talmud from Hebrew University, a B.Ed in Jewish Philosophy and Talmud from Herzog Teachers' College, and studied for eight years in Yeshivat Har-Etzion, during which time he received rabbinic ordination.

Rabbi Schweiger has a BA in Mathematics and Physics from City College in New York. He did his advanced Jewish studies at Yeshiva University, Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh, and Yeshivat Har Etzion, receiving ordination from Rabbi Zalman Nehemiah Goldberg of Jerusalem. Rabbi Schweiger has taught at a number of men's and women's post-college institutions in Jerusalem. He has been a full-time faculty member at Pardes since 1977, and has taught more hours and classes than any one else on the staff. Rabbi Schweiger is a dynamic and inspiring speaker, known for his keen and profound insights into the text. He has taught Bible, Mishna, Talmud, and Halacha on every level, in addition to Parshat HaShavua in both English and Hebrew. In his role as Mashgiach Ruchani (Spiritual Guide) of Pardes, he is responsible for all extra-curricular programs and activities in the one-year program. Rabbi Schweiger has been the driving force of prayer services at Pardes, has planned and participated in almost every hike and Shabbaton, and is a constant presence in the Beit Midrash. For many alumni, he is the "heart and soul" of Pardes.

"Torah learning, first and foremost, should address the human personality and cultivate values and beliefs that will ultimately find expression in one's daily life."