Rabbanit Chana Henkin is one of today’s most acclaimed Jewish educators and a leader in re-drawing the landscape of Torah leadership and scholarship for women. She has headed Nishmat’s Beit Midrash for thirty years, where her legendary, infectious love of Torah inspires generation after generation of students. Together with her husband, noted halachic authority Rav Yehuda Henkin ztz”l, Rabbanit Henkin created the unique role of Yoatzot Halacha, experts in women’s health and Jewish law, to address women’s questions in taharat hamishpacha and women’s health. Rabbanit Henkin is a graduate of Yeshiva University’s Stern College and YU’s Bernard Revel Graduate School. She received Honorary Doctorates from both Bar Ilan University and Yeshiva University, and was awarded Israel’s prestigious Agrest Prize for innovative religious education.
Rabbanit Atara assumes the role as Dean of Nishmat after over a decade directing Nishmat’s Miriam Glaubach Center, which educates and certifies Yoatzot Halacha worldwide and supports communities in hiring them. Rabbanit Atara is at the helm of global Yoatzot enterprises, Nishmat’s Alisa Flatow (English Language) Programs, and Philanthropy. Rabbanit Atara holds a B.A. in Judaic Studies from Stern College, an Associate Degree in Music, as well as an M.S. from Azrieli Graduate School for Jewish Education, and certification from Nishmat as a Yoetzet Halacha and Fertility Counselor. She resides in Efrat with her husband Rav Rafi and their six children.
Rabbanit Navit Tzadik is the director of Nishmat’s Online Beit Midrash Program and the Summer Beit Midrash. She has taught in various institutions and communities including Midrashet TVA, the Chevrutah program for medical students at Hadassah Ein Karem and The Women’s Beit Midrash of Efrat. Rabbanit Navit has studied Talmud and Halacha for over fifteen years in various programs and midrashot, including Rav Aharon Lichtenstein’s gemara shiur at Migdal Oz. She completed Rav Riskin’s Advanced Halacha Program at Midreshet Lindenbaum. Rabbanit Navit earned a BA and teacher’s certificate from the Open University. She has published several articles on women and halachic observance. She lives in Otniel with her husband and eleven children.
Ilana Hadad assumes the role as Dean of Nishmat, is a graduate of Nishmat’s Keren Ariel Yoatzot Halachic Fellowship Institute, holds a Master’s degree in Bible from Bar Ilan University, and studied Tanach at Matan. Russian-born Ilana became observant during her army service in Israel. Ilana has taught at Harel, a pre-military program for Israeli immigrants from the former Soviet Union. She brings a lively curiosity and a unique blend of backgrounds to her teaching, which enriches her students.
Rav Da’vid Sperling, Rosh Beit Midrash, was born in Sydney, Australia. He studied at Yeshivat Machon Meir for several years before studying for over a decade at Yeshivat Ateret Kohanim under the tutelage of Rabbi Shlomo Aviner. Rav Sperling received advanced rabbinic ordination from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, as well as from Rav Yehuda Henkin. Rav Sperling has taught Halacha at Nishmat for many years, as well as at Yeshivat Machon Meir. He has published a wide range of halachic articles in journals and online.
Mrs. Dina Blank is an experienced educator who serves as the Executive Director of Machon Maayan and teaches several courses there as well as at Sha’alvim for Women. In her spare time, Dina serves as the Chair of the Board of the Ahavat Yisrael Educational Network in Ramat Beit Shemesh. Dina earned a BA in Political Science from Columbia University and an MA in Modern Jewish History from the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies. Dina lives in Beit Shemesh with her husband and four children.
Nechama Goldman has been involved in Jewish education for over 30 years. She teaches Tanach at Kohelet Yeshiva High School in Lower Merion, PA and teaches adult education classes throughout the greater Philadelphia area. She currently serves as Yoetzet Halacha for the Greater Philadelphia community and the Young Israel/Aish in Las Vegas and is a Nishmat trained Fertility Counselor. She is a graduate of Barnard College and Nishmat’s Miriam Glaubach Center’s U.S.Yoatzot Halacha Program. She has published reflective essays and articles on chabad.org, and you can find her audio classes on YUTorah.org and ouwomen.org.
Rav Mann is a graduate and musmach of Yeshiva University and a musmach (Yadin Yadin) of Eretz Hemdah. At Eretz Hemdah, he serves as a dayan, a senior respondent on the Ask the Rabbi internet responsa program, the editor of Hemdat Yamim and author of seven volumes of Living the Halachic Process. His halacha column appears in Torah Tidbits, The Jewish Link, and other publications. He also serves as a Ram at Yeshiva University’s Israel Kollel (Gruss). He was a Rosh Kollel and a dayan in the US and has taught in several yeshivot in Israel for post high school overseas students.
Rabbanit Neima Novetsky, who teaches Tanach at Nishmat, has been involved in Jewish education for close to 20 years. She has taught in a number of seminaries and educational institutes in both the U.S. and Jerusalem, and is the co-founder of alhatorah.org, a Tanach and Parshanut website which provides Tanach study resources for use in the home, classroom and synagogue. Neima holds a BA in Religion and a Certification in Language and Culture from Princeton University and an MA in Bible from Bernard Revel Graduate School of Yeshiva University.
Rabbanit Gilla Rosen teaches Talmud and Midrash and works as a Yoetzet Halacha (Halachic advisor) for Nishmat. Rabbanit Rosen is dean of the Yakar Center for Tradtition and Creativity. Gilla studied at the Michlala College for Women, Barnard, the University of Manchester, Matan and Nishmat. She received her MA in Comparative Literature. She has lectured at Pardes, Matan, Midreshet Lindenbaum and the Melton Program at Hebrew University. She lives in Jerusalem with her children and grandchildren.
Rabbi Chaim Tabasky has taught Torah in Eretz Yisroel for the past fifty years. Besides a long association with Nishmat, he was an instructor of Talmud at the Machon HaGavoa L’Torah (Institute of Advanced Torah Studies) at Bar Ilan University for 28 years, and is and an expert in the field of STaM (Sifrei Torah, Tefillin and Mezuzot). He has taught extensively in Jerusalem Yeshivot both for men and women, including Yeshivat HaMivtar, Michlelet Bruria, Yeshivat Darchei Noam. Rabbi Tabasky lectures and teaches on a wide variety of topics of Jewish interest, including Israeli current events, Jewish education, StaM, Jewish values and Chumash. Rabbi Tabasky is also a narrative therapist. Rabbi Tabasky and his wife live in Beit El, where they proudly raised their nine children (and now enjoy grandchildren and great grandchildren).
Geula Twersky has been teaching torah for over three decades. She has two Masters Degrees from Bernard Revel and from Bar Ilan, both in Tanach. She is the author of Song of Riddles: Deciphering The Song of Songs, and Torah Song: The Theological Role of Torah Poetry. Geula has published numerous articles in Torah Academic journals such as Hakirah, Torah Umaddah, Tradition, and Jewish Bible Quarterly. A new series of Geula’s articles on topics in Torah and archaeology are forthcoming in Bar Ilan’s BDD- Derakhekha Daehu. Geula is also a professional artist. Geula’s art website is Geulaart.com
Rabbi Jonathan Ziring is a Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshivat Migdal HaTorah in Modiin. He received semichah from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary at Yeshiva University. He also received an MA in Jewish Philosophy from Bernard Revel Graduate School and a BA from the Honors Program at the Yeshiva College of Yeshiva University and studied for years at Yeshivat Har Etzion. Rabbi Ziring previously served as Sgan Rosh Kollel of the Yeshiva University Torah miTzion Beit Midrash Zichron Dov and worked at the Beit Avraham Yosef of Toronto (BAYT). He is the author of the recently released Torah in a Connected World: A Halakhic Perspective on Communication Technology and Social Media from Maggid Press.