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The Hebrew Bible and Jewish Excellence November 30, 2014 - December 4, 2014

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The Hebrew Bible and Jewish Excellence November 30, 2014 - December 4, 2014 THE TIKVAH FUND 165 E. 56th Street New York, New York 10022 The Hebrew Bible and Jewish Excellence November 30, 2014 - December 4, 2014 Participant Biographies Ruth Ben-Meir Israel Ruth Ben-Meir is presently on a sabbatical from Bar-Ilan University where she served as the head of The Midrasha for Women since 2010, and deputy Head of The Midrasha from 2007-2010. She has been the Director of Bible Teachers Training Program, school of education at B.I.U. since 1998. She has taught Jewish Philosophy and Biblical exegesis at B.I.U., Efrata College for Teachers, Touro College and Gold College. She holds a B.ED. in Education and Bible from Jerusalem College for Women (1968), an M.A. in Jewish Philosophy from B.R.G.S. – Yeshiva University (1978) and a Ph.D. in Jewish Philosophy from Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1994). She was co-editor of Pirkei Nehama a memorial book in honor of Prof. Nechama Leibowitz. (2001). Dr. Ben-Meir served for several years as a member of the selection committee for the annual grant of the Minister of Education for creativity and excellence in Jewish culture, as well as for the Agrest prize. Gilit Chomski Israel Gilit Chomski is an Israeli writer and poet. She received her M.A. in political science at Bar Ilan University. She has also published several poetry books as well as novels. Her latest novel Fireflies was nominated for the Sapir Award. She is a member of Beit Hillel - Attentive Spiritual Leadership, and has also been involved in the editing and translation project for religious women poets translating Arab religious women poets. Leonid Feldman United States of America The spiritual leader of Temple Beth El in West Palm Beach, Florida and CLAL Associate, Leonid Feldman is the first and only Soviet-born Conservative Rabbi in America. He is also the President of the Ami-Da Institute for training Russian Jewish leaders and Senior Rabbinic Fellow of The Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. Rabbi Feldman’s return to his hometown of Kishinev was featured on the NBC TODAY Show, and the Israeli National television. He also hosted a TV show on a Christian Cable channel in Florida for 2 years. Rabbi Feldman has lectured in thirty-seven states and nineteen countries. He has testified before the United States Congress and Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, and addressed the California Senate and Florida House of Representatives. He has been the subject of featured articles in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Jerusalem Post, Miami Herald, Los Angeles Times, Insight Magazine, Moment and a myriad of other general and Jewish publications. Rabbi Feldman has served as a scholar for the Wexner Heritage Foundation and as Director of Education for Soviet Émigrés in Italy. He holds graduate degrees in Rabbinics from the University of Judaism in Los Angeles, in Education from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and in Physics and Theater Arts from Kishinev State Pedagogical Institute in the U.S.S.R. He is also a Ph.D. candidate in International Relations at University of Miami. Rabbi Feldman’s varied and unusual life and background in a Marxist society enables him to teach and lecture on Judaism with a passion and perspective that is unique and exhilarating. Rachel Friedman United States of America Rachel Zabarkes Friedman is a Ph.D. candidate in Government at Harvard University, currently writing her dissertation on the philosophical origins of the welfare state. She holds a B.A. from Harvard College and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. She has worked on the editorial staff of Commentary, National Review, and Mosaic, and taught in courses on moral philosophy and ancient political thought at Harvard. She lives in Tel Aviv with her husband and two small children. Tehila Gimpel Israel Tehila Gimpel holds Bachelor’s degrees in both Law and Jewish Philosophy, and is a practicing attorney specializing in the field of family law. Ms. Gimpel is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Jewish Law at the Hebrew University, and was recently awarded the Herzog Prize for excellence in the study of Jewish Law. Ms. Gimpel’s experience as a family law attorney, and particularly her work in the religious court systems, have led to her current focus on the fascinating interplay in Israel between civil and Jewish law. Ofer Glanz Israel Mr. Glanz is currently serving as a Chief Program Officer of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (Joint) – the largest Jewish Humanitarian organization in the world. Mr. Glanz served as the General Director of JDC FSU (Former Soviet Union) Department dealing mainly with welfare support, community-building, and Jewish leadership training. Previously, he served as the Executive Director of the Israeli NGO Metzilah; Vice President at Comverse, a global telecommunications firm; and was a Strategic Consultant to leading Hi-Tech and IT companies in Israel and the US. Mr. Glanz was a member of the Modi’in City Council (2003- 2009), where he was responsible for the education, and where he initiated and led a strategic planning process of the education system. He also served as Chairman of the Board of Mei Modi’in – Modi’in Water Supply Company. Mr. Glanz received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Social Science, and a Master of Law from Bar- Ilan University. He is also a graduate of Technion’s Global Leadership Program. Matthew Holbreich United States of America Matthew Holbreich is the Resident Scholar at the Straus Center for the Study of Torah and Western Thought, Yeshiva University. He received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Notre Dame in 2011, and has taught at American University as the inaugural postdoctoral fellow. He is also a Jacobson Scholar at NYU School of Law. Matthew retains research and writing interests on 19th century American and European political thought. His writing has appeared in The History of Political Thought and the Jewish Review of Books. He is currently working on an anthology demonstrating the influence of the Hebrew Bible in America. Yaniv Mezuman Israel Executive Director of Mechinat “Meitarim Lachish,” a pre-military academy for both secular and religious students currently in its eighth year Yaniv Mezuman is currently writing his doctorate in Jewish Thought through the University of Ben-Gurion’s Department of Philosophy and Thought. He works primarily as an educator and writer, having written for Haaretz and Makor Rishon newspapers, weekly articles in both Ma’ariv and Ynet and poems for various magazines. Additionally, Mr. Mezuman has filmed the documentary “My Way to Shay” in partnership with Channel 10. Mr. Mezuman has been a high school educator in the Religious Study Center and Himmelfarb High School in Jerusalem, as well as other various settings. He served in the Israeli Defense Forces as a paratrooper, and later in the Army Radio (Galei Tzahal). Upon finishing his studies in Yeshiat Otniel, Mr. Mezuman received his Bachelor’s Degree in Middle-Eastern and International Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and his Master’s Degree in Philosophy at Bar-Ilan University. Mr. Mezuman has passionately dedicated himself and his work towards the challenge of creating dialogue between both the religious and secular sects of Israel. This concept, among other things, brought him to establish the Mechina (pre-military academy) for religious and secular students and also partake in the founding of Eliav, a residential community made up of religious and secular residents located in the geographic periphery. Jay Shultz United States of America Jay M. Shultz is the President of the Am Yisrael Foundation, founding multiple non-profit organizations in both the US & Israel that champion “Observant Zionism.” Mr. Shultz graduated from Rutgers University in with a B.A. in art history, focusing on archaeology, which was supplemented at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Jay then entered Fordham University School of Law, obtaining his J.D. and New York State Bar admittance. Mr. Shultz has also represented the World Jewish Congress in Jewish-Christian relations as well as the Muslim-Jewish Conference. He is a diplomat for the Jewish Diplomatic Corps, a Nahum Goldmann Fellow, and a member of the ROI Community. Mr. Shultz moved up to Israel in 2006 from New York City and currently resides in Tel Aviv. He is founder of the largest Olim community organization in Israel - TLV Internationals, White City Shabbat that set the Guinness World Record for Largest Shabbat Dinner on Earth, Adopt-A-Safta that takes care of Israel's lonely Holocaust Survivors, Tel Aviv Arts Council, Tel Aviv International Salon, & Join The IDF. He plays piano and is an avid collector of art, Judaica, and antiquities Aliza Sperling United States of America Ms. Sperling is the Director of Curriculum Development and Adult Education at ShalomLearning. She has served as the academic director of the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School of Greater Washington, at the Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning, and taught Talmud and Tanakh to high school students at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School. Ms. Sperling founded and directed the Women’s Beit Midrash and Makom: Finding a Place for our Growing Girls at Ohev Sholom Congregation in Washington, DC. Prior to entering the world of Jewish education, she worked as an attorney at a private law firm and a public interest organization. She received her B.A. from Barnard College and J.D. from New York University School of Law. Ben-Tzion Spitz Uruguay Ben-Tzion Spitz has been the Chief Rabbi of Uruguay since May 2013. He is responsible for many of the religious services in the country.
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