Our Staff

Our Students

Endorsements

Faculty & Staff

	Teachers
	R. Chana Bracha Siegelbaum	Director / Tanach / Women in the Bible
	Chana Bracha Siegelbaum, a native of Denmark, is Founder and Director of Midreshet B'erot Bat Ayin. She holds a Bachelor of Education in Bible and Jewish Philosophy from Michlala Jerusalem College for Women, and a Masters of Art in Jewish History from Touro College. For more than a decade, Chana Bracha has taught Bible studies with special emphasis on women's issues in Israel and the United States. She creates curricula emphasizing women's spiritual empowerment through traditional Torah values. Chana Bracha lives with her husband and two sons on the land of the Judean hills, in Israel. Staff
	Rabbi Mechael Siegelbaum, MD	Rav of B'erot / Halacha / Jewish Meditation
	Rabbi Dr. Siegelbaum holds a BA in Philosophy and Psychology from Yale University, and an MD from Rutgers Medical School, New Jersey. Rabbi Mechael has learned Talmudic Studies and Jewish Law at several Yeshivot for ten years and received his Rabbinical Ordination from Toras Zekeinim, Jerusalem in 1987. Rabbi Mechael has lectured in various universities about Jewish Meditation. He currently serves as the Rabbi of B'erot Bat Ayin and practices medicine at TEREM emergency Clinic in Jerusalem. If you want to ask the Rabbi a question email: Ravmechael@berotbatayin.org See other Ask the Rabbi answers
	Rabbi Yosef Benarroch	Rav of Conversion Program / Parasha / Halacha / Pirkei Avot
	Born in Tangiers, Morocco, Rabbi Benarroch moved along with his family to Winnipeg, Canada at a young age. He graduated from the Jewish high school there and went on to the University of Manitoba where he received a BA in Physical Education and a degree in education. He moved to Israel where he spent nine years in Yeshiva studies attending the well known Mercaz Harav Yeshiva. He received his Semicha (Rabbinic ordination) at The Harry Fischel Institute. For nine years he served as the Rabbi of Congregation Beth Hamidrash, the Sephardic synagogue of Vancouver, Canada. He also served as the head of the Rabbinical Association of Vancouver, and was a member of the Vancouver Bet Din. Rabbi Benarroch brings a love for Judaism along with a warm and open approach to the center. He lives in Efrat with his wife Elana and their seven children.
	Rabbanit Batya Kohn	Relationship Councelor and Shadchanit (Matchmaker)
	Rabbanit Kohn is the Rebbetzin of Bat Ayin. She is certified as a family purity instructor, and has a degree in Social Work from the Orot School of Social Work. She gives private lessons in marriage preparation to our brides.
	Rabbi Daniel Kohn______	Halacha / Ein Yaacov / Rav Kook
	Distinguished as the Rav of Yishuv Bat Ayin, Rabbi Kohn holds a BA in Comparative Religion from Columbia University. He studied at Yeshivat Netzach Yisrael, Jerusalem and received his ordination from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.
	Esther Alfassi	Meditative Healing Movement
	Esther Alfassi, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a reknowned nutritionist. She has been practicing reflexology, given Swedish massage, and teaching yoga, healthy food preparation and natural methods of healing for the past 15 years. Esther lives with her husband and six children in Bat Ayin, where they have a large piece of land with lots of fruit trees, vegetables and herbs.
	Rabbi Joel Zeff	The Teachings of Rav Kook
	Rav Zeff holds a BA in Hebrew from UCLA, and an MS in Medieval Jewish History from the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies of Yeshiva University. He studied in various Yeshivot in Israel, including Yeshivat Har Etzion, and received Semicha from Yeshivat Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan of Yeshiva University. Rabbi Zeff lived in Los Angeles for nine years, where he served as Rabbi of the Westwood Kehilla and was on the faculty of Yeshiva of Los Angeles. Since moving to Israel, Rabbi Zeff has been on the faculty of Yeshivat Darche Noam/DavidShapell College of Jewish Studies and its allied school for women, Midreshet Rachel. Rabbi Zeff lives in Alon Shvut with his wife, Donna, and their eight children.
	Chaya Ruchi Ariel-Waldman	Chumash / Parshat Hashavua
	The Granddaughter of Rabbi Avraham Twersky, Chaya Ruchi was Chabad-educated in Pittsburgh, attended Yavneh high school in Cleveland, and studied at Darchei Binah for two years, where she served as a madricha. She is currently pursuing a degree in Marketing at Touro College. A lover of hiking, Chaya Ruchi is married to Avraham Ariel, who works and teaches in the Bat Ayin Talmud Torah.
	Tsipi Egert	Chumash
	Tsipi Egert grew up in Israel where she attended high-school. She majored in Jewish History and Education at Hebrew University. Tsipi attended The Machon Gevoha in Nishmat for three years. She has been teaching in Michlelet Nevei Daniel Seminary for three years. Tsipi continues to give classes to women in Efrat, where she lives with her family.
	Miriam Rhodes	Tanya / Chabad Chassidism
	Miriam Rhodes holds a BA in Botany from Cornell University, and a MA in Ecology from University of California, Berkley. She has learned and taught Chabad Chassidism for over 22 years.
	Avraham Shira	Spiritual Writing Workshop
	Avraham Shira holds a BA from University of Central Florida. He has led writers' workshops in the Grand Teton Mountains, Orange County Public Schools, and at various spiritual retreats. Avraham Shira published his first novel in Jerusalem in 1995 and has been published in Jewish magazines and newspapers in both Israel and the USA. He learns in Yeshivat HaMekubalim Nahar Shalom in Jerusalem.
	Devora Gila Berkowitz	Inner Song Workshop
	Devora Gila Berkowitz is a teacher, singer-songwriter and performer. Also a certified yoga instructor, she has a BA in Linguistics from Harvard College and an MA in Spanish from Middlebury College. She combines her gifts as musician, linguist and meditation facilitator in her course "Inner Song Workshop". Devora Gila lives in Bat Ayin with her husband, Eliyahu, a former French chef and aspiring writer, who dedicates himself to learning in the Bat Ayin Yeshiva.
	Staff
	Rabbanit Elana Benarroch_	Director of Staff and Student Affairs/ Kallah Teacher
	Rabbanit Elana Benarroch is our Administrator. She has a BA in Psychology from the State University of New York and served as a teacher of Judaic Studies in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She is also a certified kallah teacher, and helps many of our kallot prepare for their physical and spiritual entry into marriage. Elana lives with her husband, Rabbi Yosef Benarroch, and their seven children in Efrat.
	Rachelle Silver	House Mother "Em Bayit"
	Rachelle Silver was born in Brighton & Hove, UK and is the “Em Bayit” (house mother) of Midreshet B’erot Bat Ayin. She is a qualified counselor, teacher and manager. Before making aliyah in 2006, Rachelle lived and worked in Manchester UK, at the Manchester New Seminary where she taught health, social and child care. She also worked for many years at the Manchester Beit Din. When she’s not taking care of students, Rachelle likes to listen to music, cook, write creatively (with articles published in the Beit Din Magazine), spend time with her son, discovering Israel and laughing! Her primary role at Midreshet B’erot Bat Ayin is to provide for the general well being of the students. She can be contacted at 02-9933886, 054-6405487 or email: dorm@berotbatayin.org. If you are interested in spending Shabbat at Bat Ayin or would like to volunteer at Midreshet B’erot Bat Ayin.
	Guest Speakers
	Shoshanna Harrari	Healthy Living
	Shoshanna Harrari is a nutritional and health counselor who specializes in natural health education. She teaches classes with practical hands-on methods of natural healing rejuvenation, vitality, health and beauty. Shoshanna has been working in the field of natural health for more than 30 years, learning first hand from Dr. Ann Wigmore at the Hippocrates Health Institute; Dr. John Christopher, the renown herbalist; Dr. Daniel Penuel, one of the top aromatherapists in the world. Shoshanna is well known, loved and respected around the world, with an excellent reputation in the field of healing, she has helped many, many people to restore their health and energy.
	Tziona Achishena Zilbershtein	Creativity and Self-Discovery
	Tziona Acishena has been exploring the connection between music, prayer and Judaism for the last few years. Blessed with an unusual voice and a searching heart, she went from experimental concerts with aging Jazz masters to an unconventional process of "Tshuva", or return to Jewish roots and practice. A year long apprenticeship in Chaplaincy at Mount Zion hospital connected her to the blessings of visiting the sick, and led to the creation of "Shema Yisrael" (1999), music for transition between life and death, and "The Hebrew Book of Ascending" (1999), based on Talmudic descriptions of the Seven Heavens. Tziona an alumni B'erot student made Aliyah to Israel, and lives in Yishuv Ohr Haganuz with her husband and daughter. She currently performs, leads prayer and chanting groups, and continues to create music and lead Torah and music workshops.
	Rabbi Yehoshua Rubin________	Jewish Thought
	Yehoshua Rubin earned a master's degree in Educational Counseling from Northeastern University, received rabbinical ordination from Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, and was a student of Reb Shlomo Carlebach. He teaches in both high school and college, is a guidance counselor, a storyteller, tour guide, writer and the lead vocalist of his band, "The Age of Friends." Yehoshua lives in Israel with his wife Annette and their four children.
	Rabbi Avraham Arieh Trugman________	Tefilah
	Rabbi Avraham Arieh has thirty years of experience in the field of Jewish education. As a founding family of Moshav Meor Modiim Rabbi Trugman served as the Director at the Moshav of the Center for Jewish Education, which successfully ran programs for over 5,000 participants per year from over 25 countries. In 1988, the Trugmans took the position of Regional Directors of NCSY in Denver, Colorado. Rabbi Trugman lectures and leads events at scores of institutions around Israel and throughout North America. He has published articles and poems in a wide variety of publications, as well as authored two major books; Seeds and Sparks: Inspiration and Self- Expression through the Cycles of Jewish Life, and The Mystical Power of Music, both published by Targum Press. His new book, The Mystical Meaning of Dreams, will be published early 2006.
	Sara Yehudit Schneider__________________	Tanya
	Sara Yehudit Schneider is the Founder and Director of A Still Small Voice. She writes and teaches in close cooperation with leading rabbis and outreach professionals in Jerusalem. Sara Idit has pursued the study and practice of religion, meditation, and comparative mysticism since the early seventies. She studied at Neve Yerushalayim where she completed the advanced learning program. In addition, she has written and studied with Rabbi Yiztchak Ginsburgh. Susan has a BS in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from the University of Colorado in Boulder.
	Miriam Wolfson	Personal Counselor
	Miriam Wolfson is a teacher of "Emotional Maturity trough the Torah" (EMETT) and is certified by Miriam Adahan, with whom she studied for ten years. In addition, she was a student of marriage counselling for two years. An advocate for Kever Rachel, Miriam organizes regular visits for women. She is married and lives in Bat Ayin with her family.
	Chana Canterman	Chabad Chassidism
	Native to England, Chana received a B.Ed in Jewish Studies and Education from Michlala Jerusalem College for Women, and holds a teaching diploma from Beit Rivkah Seminary, where she took courses in Advanced Jewish Studies in the Division of Higher Learning. She is also a member of the faculty at Torat Chesed and Machon Shoshanna. A parental guidance counselor, Chana lives with her husband and two children in Beitar.
	Rabbi Danny Hoffman	Chassidic Insights on Parshat Hashavua
	Rav Hoffman earned a Doctorate from Hebrew University School of Dentistry. His extensive travels in India led him to return to Israel and Judaism. He has seven years of Yeshiva training at Ohr Sameach, Shuva Yisrael (Chabad), and Yeshivat Mercaz Harav. He has been lecturing in Torah and Chassidism for the last 15 years.
	Shulie Mishkin	Rabbinic Profiles
	Shulie Mishkin has a BA in History from Barnard College, and an MA in Jewish History from Columbia University. A licensed tour guide for schools such as Shearim and Midreshet Rachel, Shulie lives in Alon Shevut with her husband, Jonathan (also an educator), and their three children.
	Adam Perlman	The Way of G-d / Breslev Chassidism
	Adam Perlman holds a BA in Philosophy and Political Science from Trinity College of Hartford, Connecticut. Before rediscovering his Jewish roots, he traveled in Europe and the Far East. Adam has learned in various Yeshivot including Darchei Noam (Shapells), the Kosov Yeshiva in Tzfat, and the Kollel of Rav Pupko in Har Nof. He has a degree in Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture from the College of Chinese Medicine in Tel Aviv.
	Rabbi Natan Siegel	Rambam / Rabbi Nachman of Breslav / The Pieseztner Rebbe
	Rav Siegel holds a BA and an MS in Jewish Education and Smicha from Yeshiva University. In addition he is an accredited sofer (scribe). Rabbi Siegel learned at Chafetz Chaim Yeshiva in Jerusalem. He served as Director of the English department of Machon Ora. Rabbi Siegel teaches Chumash, Mishna, Rambam Halacha, Chassidut and other courses for Isralight and the Bat Ayin Yeshiva.
	Rabbi Avraham Sutton	Tefila / Inner Dimensions of the Holidays
	Rabbi Avraham Sutton is a Torah mentor, teacher and author. A teacher of the inner path of Torah, his approach is highly integrative and sensitive to the needs and issues of our time. For over 25 years, he has been learning and teaching prophetic Torah, kabbalah, talmud, midrash, chassidut, prayer and meditation, and sacred song. He has also translated, edited and/or authored over 15 major works in English on the deeper significance of Torah for our age. Both in his teaching and his original translations and commentaries, he harmonizes the most advanced theories of science and psychology with the deep inner wisdom of the ancient prophets and sages.
	Rabbi Eliyahu Berkowitz_____	Textual Studies
	Eliyahu Berkowitz began his career as a chef in classical French restaurants in Manhattan for ten years before developing a serious appreciation for motorcycles and meditation. He moved to Israel in 1991, becoming a dairy farmer on Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu for five years and serving in Tzahal (the Israeli Defense Forces) as a combat medic. Rav Berkowitz learned at Yeshivat Bat Ayin for eight years, after which he received rabbinic ordination from Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg. He currently lives in Bat Ayin with his wife, Devorah Gila Berkowitz, and their three children.
	Rivka Horovitz	Agriculture Workshop
	One of the original founders of Midreshet B'erot Bat Ayin, Rivka Horowitz is a talented gardener who is experienced in both horticulture and agriculture. Rivka also works as a registered nurse in Beitar and in Bat Ayin, where she lives with her husband and family.
	Aviva Karpel	Music and Choir Teacher (Songs of the Soul)
	Aviva Karpel holds a B.Ed in Music from Rubin Academy, Jerusalem. She is a recording artist who produced her first CD in 1996. Aviva is the co-author of the popular musical "Hachnasat Kallah" about our matriarch Rachel which she performs with her troupe to various groups of women.
	Devorah Nov	Chassidut and Jewish Psychology / Torah Dance
	Accomplished dance therapist and teacher Devora Nov is the Founder and Director of Sihara, a series of creative arts centers in Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv, Haifa, and the north of Israel. She holds a BA in Jewish Philosophy and a teaching degree from Hebrew University. She has a MA in Expressive Art Therapy from Leslie College, and chairs the educational department of MILA Institute.
	Rabbi Eliezer Shore	Parashat HaShavua
	Rabbi Eliezer Shore is a teacher and writer on topics of chassidus and Jewish spirituality, as well as an original storyteller. He taught for several years at Yeshivat Bat Ayin, and recently received a doctorate from Bar-Ilan University on the subject of Language and Mystical Experience in the Thought of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov.
	Yedida Goldstein	Textual Studies
	Hannah Sara Zeller	Meditative Movement / The Wisdom of the Hebrew Alphabet
	Hannah Sara Zeller holds a BS in Health and Ecology from University of California, Berkley. She is certified as an Advanced Yoga Teacher by Integral Yoga Institute. Hannah Sara teaches Meditative Movement in various places in Gush Etzion and Jerusalem.