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Bios of Academy Faculty Members* and Administration
 Cantor
Perryne Anker, Assistant
Dean, Cantorial School and Professor of Liturgical Studies
A student at the Cleveland Institute of Music and mentored by
Cantor Saul Meisels and Maurice Goldman, Cantor Perryne Anker
received her Bachelor of Science degree (and the Catherine Tuck Award) from
the Julliard
School in New York. While in New York, she studied and performed
with the leading Jewish music composers, cantors, conductors and music scholars
of
that era. Cantor Anker has served as cantor at Stephen S. Wise
Temple in Bel Air, Beth Shalom in Santa Monica, and Temple of the Arts in
Los Angeles.
She is a leading voice teacher and coach as well as a member
of the American Conference of Cantors.
 Judy Aronson, Professor of Jewish
Education
A long-time educator, Judy Aronson has
directed Religious and Day Schools in Boston and
Los Angeles.
Ms. Aronson is a graduate
of Brandeis University and
holds a Master of Theology degree from Harvard University.
Her article on "Mentoring" is
included in the Ultimate Jewish Teachers Handbook (ARE, 2003).
 Rabbi Toba August, Professor of Rabbinics
The Associate Rabbi and Director of Education at Temple Adat Shalom in Los
Angeles, Rabbi Toba August received her ordination from the Jewish Theological
Seminary. With a rabbinic degree as well as a Masters degree in Education
and Reading, Rabbi August has significant experience in congregational work
as
well as in Jewish Education. Her background includes serving as one of four
main pulpit rabbis at Stephen S. Wise Temple in Bel Air and the Director
of Education at the Pinellas County Jewish Day School in St. Petersburg,
Florida.
At Adat Shalom, Rabbi August has created a monthly Women's Minyan, Lev
Elisha,
which emphasizes spiritual growth through prayer. She has also designed and
implemented creative curriculum and numerous teacher-training programs in
both Los Angeles and Florida.
 Cheryl Cutler Azair, Director of Communications
The former Associate Director of the Anti-Defamation League's New England
as well as Pacific Southwest Regional offices, Cheryl Cutler Azair holds
a Masters
degree in Middle Eastern Studies from The George Washington University where
she was a Teaching Fellow in the Department of Political Science. One of
the co-authors of The Powers in the Middle East: The Ultimate Strategic
Arena (Praeger
Publishers, 1987), her writing has appeared in numerous publications including
the Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor and Los
Angeles Times.
Dr. Shlomit Baruch, Professor of Hebrew
Dr. Shlomit Baruch received her PhD in Philosophy from Haifa
University where she also obtained her Bachelors and Masters
degrees. She has been a Lecturer at West Galilee College as well
as the Haifa Regional Center for Advanced Education. Dr. Baruch's
paper on "Transcendental Subjectivity in Husserl's Ideas 1" appeared
in the British Society for Phenomenology.
Dr. Yolande Bloomstein, Professor
of Chaplaincy Studies
With a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute
and a Masters Degree in Social Work from the University of Southern
California, Dr. Yolande Bloomstein is in private practice with Village
Mental Health Associates. A Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Dr.
Bloomstein was a Chaplain at the Cedars Sinai Medical Center Hospice
Program as well as a member of the Chevra Kaddisha (Jewish Burial
Society). She has conducted numerous workshops and seminars on “death
and dying” to hospice, medical, nursing, social work and spiritual
workers.
 Rabbi
Daniel Bouskila, Professor of Talmud
As the dynamic religious leader of Sephardic Temple Tifereth
Israel, a non-denominational Sephardic synagogue, Rabbi Daniel
Bouskila leads a congregation
of well over 1000 families. He received his ordination from Yeshiva University
and, in his ten years at Sephardic Temple, has continued and expanded
the programs and influence of that distinguished Sephardic
institution. Rabbi
Bouskila studied in Israel for four years and has a special expertise
in rabbinic literature.
 Anne
Brener, Professor of Ritual and Human Development
Recipient of a Masters degree in Jewish Communal Service
from Hebrew Union College as well as a Masters degree in
social work from USC, Anne
Brener
is a psychotherapist, writer, spiritual director, and lecturer. She
is an authority on the relationship between psychotherapy and spirituality
and assists institutions
in creating caring communities. She also trains psychotherapists
to
integrate spirituality and Judaica in their clinical work and Rabbinical
students to
engage the therapeutic impact of Jewish ritual and practice. Ms.
Brener is a faculty member at Elat Chayyim Retreat Center, and the
Morei Derekh
program
for training Jewish Spiritual Directors. She is the author of an
internationally acclaimed book, Mourning and Mitzvah - A Guided Journal for Walking
the Mourner's Path Through Grief to Healing (Jewish Lights,
1993 & 2001),
and has contributed to LifeCycles: Jewish Women on Personal Milestones
and Life Passages, Jewish Pastoral Care, and many other publications.
Some of
her writing has been translated into Afrikaans and Oshiwambo to assist
those in
Africa, who are facing the challenge of caring for people dying of AIDS.
In the fall of 2003, Ms. Brener will be a third year rabbinical student
at Hebrew
Union College.
 Steve
Breuer, Professor of Practical Rabbinics
For over 20 years (1980 – 2004), Steve Breuer served as the Executive Director
of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, the oldest Reform congregation in Los Angeles.
In 2005, he established Steve Breuer and Associates, Consulting
for Nonprofits,
working with congregations, schools and nonprofits in numerous states and Canada.
Mr. Breuer serves as executive director of the Progressive Association of Reform
Day Schools and is an adjunct professor on the faculty of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish
Institute of Religion. He has been published extensively on synagogue management
and informal education.
 Rabbi Mark Diamond, Professor of Practical Rabbinics
As the Executive Vice President of the Board of Rabbis of
Southern California, Rabbi Mark Diamond directs a multi-denominational
organization of 254
rabbis, and serves on the senior management team of the Jewish
Federation
of Greater
Los Angeles. He is the founder and director of KOCHAV: The
L.A. Jewish Living Network, an innovative partnership designed
to
foster synagogue
transformation and renewal. Rabbi Diamond received his ordination
and Masters degree
in Jewish Studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary and, for
18 years, served
in various
pulpits, including 9 years at Temple Beth Abraham in Oakland,
California. He is the founder and the former coordinator of "Ask a Rabbi," an acclaimed
cyberspace forum answering online questions from AOL subscribers.
Rabbi Mimi Feigelson, Professor of Hasidic Thought
A graduate of Hebrew University with an M.A. in Jewish Philosophy
as well a teaching license, Rabbi Feigelson studied with the
late Rabbi
Shlomo
Carlebach (z"tzl) for 20 years, and received a private orthodox smicha from him in 1994. A dedicated Torah teacher, she was a founding-member of Yakar Jerusalem (Center for Tradition and Creativity) in 1992, serving as Associate Director of the institution, Director of Women's Beit Midrash and full-time teacher, specializing in Chassidic literature and teachings. A founding faculty member of "Ta Shma" (an
organization promoting Jewish pluralism among college students and young
Jewish leadership), Rabbi Feigelson is also an interfaith dialogue activist,
leading
an annual Passover retreat in Dharamsala, India, headquarters of the
Tibetan People in Exile. She currently holds the position of Lecturer of
Rabbinic
Literature at the Ziegler School of the University of Judaism in Los
Angeles.
 Rabbi
Mordecai Finley, Professor of Jewish Thought
The former Provost and former President of the Academy for
Jewish Religion, California, Rabbi Mordecai Finley is the
founding rabbi of Ohr Ha-Torah Congregation, Los Angeles,
a traditional-progressive congregation. Rabbi Finley
received
his ordination from
Hebrew Union College as well a PhD in Religion-Social Ethics
from the University of Southern California. For over a decade,
he has
taught
courses
in spirituality,
Jewish thought and rabbinics, in the Department of Continuing
Education, University of Judaism. An incisive and deeply informed
instructor,
Rabbi Finley has taught at HUC-JIR, Loyola Law School, Wexner
Heritage Foundation,
and the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem.
 Cantor
Jay Frailich, Professor of Liturgical Studies
Since 1974, Cantor Jay Frailich has served as
the Cantor of University Synagogue; a Reform congregation with over 500 member
families in Brentwood, CA. Cantor Frailich received his commission as Cantor
from Hebrew Union College – School of Sacred Music from which he also holds
a D.Mus.
Dr. Tamar Frankiel, Dean of Academic Affairs
and Professor of Comparative Religion
Dr. Tamar Frankiel, received her PhD in History of
Religions from the University of Chicago. She has taught
at Claremont
School of
Theology,
the Department of
Continuing Education, University of Judaism, Stanford
and Princeton Universities, and UC Berkeley and Riverside.
Dr. Frankiel is
the author of The Gift of
Kabbalah (2001), The Voice of Sarah: Feminine Spirituality and Traditional
Judaism (1990),
co-author of Minding the Temple of the Soul and Entering the Temple
of Dreams (1997 and 2000, with Judy Greenfeld),
as well as four books and numerous scholarly articles
on comparative
religion
in
America.
Her most recent publication is A Brief Introduction to Kabbalah for Christians
(Jewish Lights, 2006).
 Dr. Maurice Friedman, Professor of Hasidic Thought
Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies, Philosophy
and Comparative Literature at San Diego State University,
Dr. Maurice Friedman
is the Co-Director
of the Institute for Dialogical Psychotherapy in San
Diego. Dr. Friedman received
his PhD in the History of Culture from the University
of Chicago and has been
called the "world's foremost authority" on Martin Buber, having authored
the landmark Martin
Buber: The Life of Dialogue (Routledge, 4th
Edition, 2002) and the monumental three-volume biography
of
Buber, Martin
Buber's
Life and Work (Wayne State University Press,
1988) for which he received the National Jewish Book
Award.
His other
writings
include works on the thought
of Melville, Dostoyevsky, Kafka and Camus, as well
as Abraham Joshua Heschel and Elie Wiesel.
 Dr.
Joel Gereboff, Professor
of Biblical Thought
Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of
Religious Studies at Arizona State University, Dr.
Joel Gereboff
received his PhD
in Religious Studies
from Brown University. Dr. Gereboff is the author
of Rabbi Tarforn: The
Tradition, the Man and Early Rabbinic Judaism (Scholars
Press, 1979). He has written many
scholarly articles as well as chapters in numerous
books including the forthcoming Sports and the
American Jew,
(ed., Jack Kugelmass, Indiana University Press).
Dr. Gereboff is
also a
graduate of the Teachers
Institute-Seminary College
of the Jewish Theological Seminary.
 Lauren Shandling Goldner, Director of Administration
A graduate of the University of Cape Town, Lauren
Shandling Goldner has an extensive background in
administration,
both in the U.S.
and South Africa. Her experience includes facilitating
the operations of several Jewish educational institutions
and
organizations such as Yavneh
Hebrew Academy and the Development Corporation for
Israel (State of Israel Bonds), both in Los Angeles.
 Cantor Joseph Gole, Professor of Liturgical Studies
The hazzan of Sinai Temple, the oldest and largest
conservative congregation in Los Angeles, Cantor Joseph
Gole attended
the University of
Judaism and Hebrew Union College, and is a graduate
of the University of Southern
California
School
of Music, where he majored in opera and voice.
Formerly under the tutelage of cantorial artists Hazzan
Allan
Michelson and
Hazzan Samuel
Kelemer
and Jewish repertoire coach Erwin Jospe, Cantor Gole
is a past faculty member of the University
of Judaism's Baal Tefila Institute, he is mentor to numerous young
hazzanim. A past chairman of the West Coast Region of the Cantors Assembly,
he
currently serves as a national officer of the Cantors Assembly.
 Rabbi Mel Gottlieb, Dean, Rabbinical School and and
Chaplaincy Program, and Professor of Jewish Thought
As the Dean of the Academy's Rabbinical School,
Rabbi Mel Gottlieb brings a distinguished background
in
academia as well as congregational
and organizational experience to his position.
Ordained at Yeshiva University, Rabbi Gottlieb
also holds
an MSW in Social
Work and
an MA in Jewish Philosophy from that institution.
He completed
his doctoral
studies in Mythology/Depth Psychology at Pacifica
Graduate Institute. Rabbi Gottlieb is an Adjunct
Associate Professor
at USC's Graduate
School of Social Work and Pacifica Graduate Institute
and has also taught at both Columbia and Yeshiva
Universities. As the
former
Director
of Hillel at both MIT and Princeton, he has inspired
countless young people with
his enthusiasm for Jewish learning.
 Dr.
Gil Graff, Professor of Jewish History
As Professor of Jewish history
at the Academy for
Jewish Religion, CA, Gil Graff conducts
seminars in Jewish life and thought in the medieval
and modern
periods.Beyond an extensive
academic background (Ph.D in Jewish history,
J.D., and Masters degree in history,
all from UCLA, as
well as Masters degrees in both Jewish studies
from the University of Judaism and
in educational administration from California
State University at Northridge), publications and years
of experience as a university
instructor, Dr.
Graff brings his unique perspective as Executive
Director of the Bureau of Jewish
Education of Greater Los Angeles to Academy students.
 Cantor Don Gurney, Professor of Liturgical Studies
Wilshire Boulevard Temple's Hazzan Don Gurney
is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, where he was
introduced
to the art
of Hazzanut
by Cantor Saul
Meisels. Don is a graduate of the Hebrew Union
College - Jewish Institute of Religion,
School of Sacred Music in New York City. Upon receiving his degree, he
served the Emmanuel Synagogue of West Hartford, Connecticut, from 1986
to 1994.
He joined the faculty of Hebrew Union College as an instructor of Hazzanut
and
19th Century
Synagogue Music and served as Director of the School of Sacred Music
Chorus from 1985 until 1999. In 1995, he made his Lincoln Center conducting
debut
at the
International Choral Festival. Cantor Gurney served Congregation Rodeph
Sholom in New York from 1994 until 1999, before coming to Wilshire Boulevard
Temple.
His exquisite tenor voice can be heard on the CDs, "One Voice" and "Meditations
of the Heart". Don is married to Los Angeles native Nancy Binder
and they are the proud parents of daughter Gillian.
Rabbi Carla Howard, Professor
of Chaplaincy/Hospice
Rabbi Carla Howard is the co-founder and Executive Director of
the Jewish Hospice Project – Los Angeles as well as the Director of
Temple Beth Am’s Bikkur Cholim program. In addition, she serves as
Chaplain for TrinityCare Hospice and has also worked in that capacity at
Cedars-Sinai Hospital. She was the Associate Rabbi and Director for the Los
Angeles Jewish Healing Center at Metivta and was a rabbinic intern at Gateways
Beit T’shuvah as well as Temple Beth Am. Rabbi Howard received her
rabbinic ordination from the University of Judaism’s Ziegler School
of Rabbinic Studies.
 Vered Hopenstand, Professor of Hebrew
A graduate of Bar Ilan University in Israel, Vered
Hopenstand is a veteran master teacher of Hebrew
language and literature.
She
has taught
at Yeshiva
University High School in Los Angeles, in the
Rabbinical School at the University of Judaism,
and is presently
coordinator of the
Hebrew language department
at L.A.'s modern orthodox Shalhevet High School.
 Dr. Snira Klein, Professor of Hebrew
An instructor and formerly Adjunct Assistant Professor of
Hebrew at the University of Judaism, Dr. Klein received a
Masters of Hebrew Letters from the University of Judaism
as well as a Masters degree and PhD in Modern Hebrew Literature
from UCLA.
 Cantor Nathan Lam, Dean, Cantorial School and Professor of
Liturgical Studies
One of the outstanding leaders of the American cantorate, Cantor
Nathan Lam is the Dean of the Academy's Cantorial School, the only
institution of its kind outside of the New York area. Cantor Lam received
his commission
as Hazzan from the Cantors Assembly and cantorial certification
from Hebrew
Union College. For the past 28 years, he has been the cantor
at Stephen S. Wise Temple, the largest congregation in the
world. Cantor Lam is a past
international
president of the Cantors Assembly and a fellow of the Jewish
Theological Seminary, the latter of which awarded him an Honorary
Doctor of Music.
Dr. Robert Levy, Professor of Jewish History
The recipient of a PhD in History from UCLA, Dr. Robert
Levy teaches European and Jewish history at UCLA, USC and
Hebrew
Union College in Los Angeles. He is the author of Ana
Pauker: The Rise and Fall of a Jewish Communist (University
of California Press, 2001, and six scholarly articles in academic
journals on Jewish and East European history. Dr. Levy also
has a BFA in film/video production from the California Institute
of the
Arts and worked for several years in Jewish media.
 Rabbi
Stan Levy, Chairman of AJR, CA
Board and Professor of
Spiritual Development
The spiritual leader of Congregation B'nai Horin-Children of Freedom-in Los Angeles, and partner in the nationally known law firm of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips,
Rabbi Stan Levy is also the co-founder of Bet Tzedek, which provides
free legal services to over 10,000 poor and elderly people each
year. The Chairman
of the Academy's Board of Governors and co-founder of AJR, CA,
Rabbi Levy received his ordination through the Aleph Rabbinical
Program and has compiled and edited a High Holy days mahzor,
a Shabbat morning siddur, a Passover haggadah, a Hannukah
haggadah, a Purim haggadah, and special prayer books
for Succot, Simhat
Torah,
and Shavuot,
all of which have been published by his congregation.
He received his JD from UCLA School of Law and is the
former General
Counsel of Guess?, Inc.
Rabbi
Levy has also served as an Adjunct Professor of Law
at Loyola University School of Law, as well as the John
F. Kennedy
School
of Law.
 Hazzan Jeremy Lipton, Professor of Liturgical Studies
The Senior Cantor at Temple Beth Am in Los Angeles,
Hazzan Jeremy Lipton has held numerous national and
regional
leadership positions in the Cantors
Assembly including serving as the Chair of the
Cantors Assembly Western Region. He is the Director
and founding
faculty member
of the Baal Tefillah
Institute,
a comprehensive training program in liturgy for
lay people at Los Angeles' University of Judaism
and he
also serves
as an adjunct lecturer in Nusach
and Liturgy at the UJ's Ziegler School of Rabbinic
Studies. Hazzan Lipton received both his Bachelor
of Music and Master
of Music degrees in Vocal
Performance from California State University Northridge
and his Hazzan-Minister Commission
from the Cantors Assembly.
 Rabbi Marc Mandel, Director
of Beit Midrash
Rabbi Mark Mandel is the Associate Rabbi of Beth Jacob Congregation; a Modern
Orthodox synagogue with over 750 member families in Beverly Hills, CA. Rabbi
Mandel received his Rabbinical Ordination and B.A. from Yeshiva University and
an M.S.W. from Yeshiva University's Wurzweiler School of Social Work. He
received a D.Min. from Bangor Theological Seminary in Bangor, Maine and was formerly
the rabbi of Congregation Shaarey T'philoh in Portland, Maine.
Dr. Michael Menitoff, Professor
of Jewish Thought and Jewish Law
Dr. Michael Menitoff holds a PhD in Early Childhood Development
from UCLA as well as an MA in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University.
He received his rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary
of America and did his undergraduate work at Harvard University as well as
Boston’s Hebrew College. A psychotherapist with a private practice
in Beverly Hills, Dr. Menitoff is also a lecturer in the Department of Psychology
at the University of Judaism. He has served as a rabbi for congregations
in both New England and California and has lectured widely throughout the
United States. His interfaith work has included being selected as one of
seven rabbis and seven Catholic bishops who participated in meetings with
Pope John Paul II at the Vatican on the day of publication of We
Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah.
 Rabbi Haim Ovadia, Professor of Rabbinics
The spiritual leader of Congregation Kahal Joseph, an Iraqi nondenominational synagogue in Los Angeles, Rabbi Haim Ovadia was born in Israel and received his ordination from the then Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Mordekhai Eliyahu. Rabbi Ovadia holds an MA in Hebrew Literature from UCLA and is currently a doctoral student in Jewish Studies at Spertus College (Chicago). In addition to his congregational work in the United States and Israel, he spent five years serving as the Assistant Rabbi and Cantor at Communidad Hebrea Sefaradi de Bogota in Bogota,Columbia. Rabbi Ovadia has taught at the American Jewish University (formerly the University of Judaism) and is now spearheading a series of concerts throughout the Los Angeles area that seek to revive the cultural heritage of Sephardic Jews as a means of strengthening Jewish identity, tolerance, and multiethnic awareness.
Cantor Samuel B. Radwine, Professor
of Cantorial Studies
Cantor Sam Radwine received his Bachelors degree in Music Education
from the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign. After teaching
instrumental music in Illinois, Cantor Radwine entered New York's
Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, School of Sacred
Music, where he was invested as a Cantor in 1981. He has served
Congregation Ner Tamid of South Bay since 1986, previously serving
congregations in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, and Danbury, Connecticut.
He is also Visiting Lecturer in Liturgical Music at Hebrew Union
College - Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles, as
well as mentor to cantorial soloists in the Los Angeles area.
Cantor Radwine is a member of the Cantors Assembly and the American
Conference of Cantors, currently serving as its National Membership
Chair and Executive Board Member. He has chaired national conferences
of the American Conference of Cantors and the National Association
of Temple Educators. Cantor Radwine has been a vocal student of
Ray Evans Harrell, Ronald Hedlund, and is currently a student of
Cantor Perryne Anker.
Rabbi Rochelle Robins, Professor of Clinical Pastoral Education
Rabbi Rochelle Robins was ordained at the New York campus of the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in 1998. She served as the Rabbinic Staff Chaplain at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, the Supervisor of Pastoral Education and Co-coordinator of the Jewish Hospice Program at Samaritan Hospice of So. New Jersey, and is a certified Associate Supervisor in Clinical Pastoral Education. Rabbi Robins is a Co-founder and the Executive Director of Bat Kol, an organization that began as Jerusalem's first feminist yeshiva. Bat Kol has expanded its mission to include interfaith coalition building and health care education in the United States. Rabbi Robins is currently the Associate Director for the Clinical Pastoral Education program at the Center for Urban Chaplaincy in San Diego, CA. She is also serving as a per diem chaplain and rabbinic consultant at The Elizabeth Hospice in Escondido, CA., providing rabbinic support and pastoral care for its Jewish Hospice Program. Rabbi Robins is also a published writer of articles which focus on Jewish text and pastoral theology. Whether Rabbi Robins is teaching text, assisting patients and family members, training chaplains, or administrating Bat Kol projects, healing and wholeness is at the heart of her rabbinate.
 Eva Robbins, Director of Admissions and Recruitment
Hazzan Eva Robbins graduated Phi Beta Kappa and
magna cum laude with a degree in psychology from
the University
of
Cincinnati.
She conducted
Masters course work in Interpersonal and Group Communications,
and, along with her
husband, Rabbi Stephen Robbins, is the co-founder
of Congregation N'vay Shalom, a traditional-progressive
synagogue in Los
Angeles. She has been
the "spiritual voice" for
N'vay Shalom since 1993 and has mentored with some of Los Angeles' finest
cantors, including Cantor Nate Lam, Cantor Joe Gole, Cantor Jeremy Lipton
and Cantor Sam Radwyne. Hazzan Robbins became a member of the Cantors Assembly in 2002 and was a featured soloist in the Festival for Sacred Music
initiated by the Dalai Lama in 1999. She has produced a tape of healing
music and meditations, "R'fa-aynu" and a CD of Jewish music,
"Caressing the Soul". Synagogue 2000 has published her music for R'fa-aynu, the
healing prayer in the weekday liturgy, in R'fuah Sh'leimah,
its book of healing music.
 Rabbi
Stephen Robbins, Professor of Mystical Thought
The co-founder and former president of the Academy
for Jewish Religion, CA, Rabbi Stephen Robbins is also
the founding rabbi of Congregation N'vay Shalom in
Los Angeles and the former spiritual leader of Temple
Emanuel in Beverly Hills. In addition to being a teacher
of Kabbalah, meditation and healing, he is a clinical
psychologist in private practice integrating spiritual,
psychological and natural medicine techniques. Rabbi
Robbins holds a Psy.D. from Ryokan College and received
his rabbinic ordination and Master of Hebrew Letters
in History from Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute
of Religion, from which he was also awarded an honorary
Doctor of Divinity degree.
Rabbi Moshe J. Rothblum, Professor of Liturgy
Rabbi Moshe J. Rothblum is the Rabbi Emeritus of Adat Ari El (www.adatariel.org), the first Conservative synagogue in the San Fernando Valley. He was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he also received his Master's Degree in Hebrew Letters and was awarded prizes for Pastoral Psychiatry and youth work. He also served on the Entrance Committee for rabbinical students at the Jewish Theological Seminary (U/J branch). Rabbi Rothblum is a composer of Jewish liturgical works and an album of his music, Windows of the Soul, was issued during the 50th anniversary of Adat Ari El. He was honored in June, 1995 with a banquet celebrating his 25 years at Adat Ari El, and at that time, a second album of his music, Az Yashir, was released. Rabbi Rothblum is a past president of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California, and during that term met with the Pope.
Rabbi
Elijah Schochet, Professor of Talmud
The Rabbi of Shomrei Torah Synagogue in West Hills,
California, from 1960 until retirement in 1999,
Rabbi Elijah Schochet
did his graduate studies
in
Psychology at Columbia University and received
his rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological
Seminary.
Studying
under Professor Saul Lieberman,
Rabbi Schochet was also awarded a Doctorate in
Rabbinic Literature, from JTS.
He is an Adjunct Professor of Rabbinic Literature
at the University of Judaism as well as a Licensed
Marriage
and
Family Counselor and was the
founder of
Kadima Hebrew Academy in the San Fernando Valley.
Rabbi Schochet is the author of six books on
rabbinic studies,
and is considered a world-renowned
expert
on the origins of the Hasidic Movement, having
authored the definitive book on the subject, The Hasidic Movement and the Gaon of Vilna (Jason
Aronson, 1994). His other publications include Animal Life in Jewish Tradition:
Attitudes
and Relationships (K'Tav Publishing House, 1984, reissued
1991) and Amalek:
The Enemy Within (Tara Publications, 1991).
Rabbi Shlomo Schwartz, Professor of Hasidic Thought
Rabbi Shlomo Schwartz received his rabbinic ordination
from the Seminary of United Lubavitcher Yeshivot
in New York and
served
as the Chabad
campus rabbi at UCLA for 19 years. He is the
founder of The Chai Center, which specializes
in outreach to non-affiliated Jews. The Chai
Center's High
Holy Day services attract several thousand people every
year.
 Ronnie Serr, Professor of Mystical Thought
A CPhil (Candidate of Philosophy), Ronnie Serr
is completing PhD in Critical Studies, from
the School
of Theater, Film & Television
at UCLA . He also has a Masters Degree in Communications
from Hebrew University in Jerusalem and has
translated Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way and
Aryeh Kaplan's Jewish Meditation into
Hebrew.
 Rabbi Barbara Sachs Speyer, Professor of Jewish Chaplaincy
A graduate of Boston
University (BA), Hebrew College (B.I. ed.,
M.H.lit) and the University of Texas (MBA), Rabbi
Barbara
Sachs Speyer
received her ordination
from the University of Judaism's Ziegler School
of Rabbinic Studies. A CPE resident at UCLA,
Rabbi Speyer is a board
certified chaplain with
the National
Association of Jewish Chaplains (NAJC). She
is Treasurer
of NAJC and has been appointed by the Southern
California Board of Rabbis to serve as
a Jewish
chaplain
in West Los Angeles. Her responsibilities include
servicing VA and other hospitals, as well as
nursing homes.
 Dr. Marvin Sweeney, Professor of Bible
Professor of Hebrew Bible at Claremont School of Theology
and Professor of Religion at Claremont Graduate University,
Dr.
Marvin Sweeney
received his PhD in Bible from Claremont Graduate School.
Dr. Sweeney has taught
at Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion,
as well as the Albright Institute for Archeological Research
and
the Hebrew University
in Jerusalem.
A prolific writer, he has authored numerous works including Zephaniah:
A Commentary (Hermeneia) (Augsburg Fortress Publications, 2003), King
Josiah of Judah:
The Lost Messiah of Israel (Oxford University Press, 2001) and Isaiah
1-39: With an Introduction to Prophetic Literature (Wm B. Eerdmans Publ.
Co., 1996).
Dr. Sweeney is also editor of the Review of Biblical Literature.
 Nira Weiss, Professor of Hebrew
A graduate of Gordon's Teachers College in Haifa, Israel,
Nira Weiss has over two decades of experience teaching Hebrew
to
students of
all ages
and
levels of aptitude. Reflecting her bilingual skills, Ms.
Weiss has also taught English
as a second language.
 Jacob Zighelboim, M.D., Professor of Philosophical Thought
Former Professor of Medicine (Hematology-Oncology)
and Microbiology and Immunology at UCLA's Medical School,
Dr. Jacob Zighelboim has authored some 90 peer-reviewed
scientific research papers and co-authored 10 chapters
in medical science books, most of which had to
do with the immunology of cancer
and the application of immunology principles to
the treatment of human cancer. Dr. Zighelboim is a
recognized expertise on the subject of healing and
is the author of From Fear to Awe: A New Understanding
of the Book of Job (Toren Publishers, 1998) and To
Health: The New Humanistic Oncology (J.
Zighelboim,
2003).
Clara
Zilberstein, PhD, Professor of
Women’s
Biblical Studies
Dr. Claire Zilberstein received her BA from UCLA, and an MA and PhD from California
School of Professional Psychology. Formerly on the Clinical Faculty of UCLA's
School of Medicine, she also served as a talk show host on Radio West Jerusalem
in Israel. Dr. Zillberstein has contributed chapters to such books as A
Modern Jew: In Search of a Soul by J. Marvin Spiegelman and Abraham Jacobson and Lifecycles:
Jewish Women on Life Passages and Personal Milestones by Rabbi Debra Orenstein.
She is a therapist in private practice as well as a lecturer in Jewish Studies.
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