Staff

Rosh Yeshiva, Senior Lecturer and Co-Founder, Rabbi Gershenfeld has been teaching post-college Jewish youth for over twenty years both in Israel and the United States. His areas of special interest include illuminating the relevance of Jewish ethical traditions to modern society by revealing the beauty and exactitude of Biblical texts and inspiring students to become the educated, passionate and sophisticated leaders of the Jewish community today.

He is also presently the Dean of Yeshiva Machon Shlomo in Jerusalem, Dean of Sinai Retreats in the USA (which provides two week experiential learning programs for college and post college students) and President and Co-Founder for Meor Israel, which provides outreach programs on over twenty college campuses (including Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and Yale). Rabbi Gershenfeld received a BA and MA from Trinity College in Hartford, CT (1976), Phi Beta Kappa, and won a Fullbright Scholarship to study in Japan. He and his family live in the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem, Israel.

Rabbi Jacobs is Co-Founder, Director and a Senior Lecturer at Machon Yaakov. Originally from Ocala, Florida, Rabbi Jacobs was until 2003 a senior managing director at JP Morgan, where he oversaw global stock research on telecommunications and provided strategic advice on some of the largest mergers in media/telecom history. Prior to that, he was a partner and senior telecom analyst at Sanford Bernstein, and was three times elected to the Institutional Investor All-American Analyst team. He has acted as a frequent commentator on network television and in leading newspapers and magazines, and has testified several times before the U.S. Congress.

His credits in print and broadcast journalism include nominations for both the Pulitzer Prize for investigative journalism and the Emmy Award. Rabbi Jacobs holds an MS in Journalism from Columbia University (1985) and a BA in History from Northwestern University, where he graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa (1983). Rabbi Jacobs left Wall Street in the Summer of 2003 to move his family to Israel to pursue full-time his interest in studying and teaching Jewish law, philosophy and business ethics.

Rabbi Lynn is Dean of Students, Mashgiach (Spiritual Advisor), and a Senior Lecturer at Machon Yaakov. Originally from Palm Beach, Florida, Rabbi Lynn graduated as valedictorian from the University of Colorado at Boulder, College of Architecture, with Phi Beta Kappa honors. An avid athlete, Rabbi Lynn served as captain of the US National & World running-cycling team, as well as competing and finishing the International Ironman Triathlon competition.

Rabbi Lynn is currently pursuing a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and is a believer that true personal greatness results from understanding and building one’s strengths. He is also the founder and director of the Greatness Within Seminars, a successful approach to personal growth. Rabbi Lynn currently lives in Jerusalem with his wife, Regine, and four daughters.

Rabbi Taub was born and raised in London, England. He studied economics at Cambridge University where he obtained a masters degree, and subsequently worked as a chartered accountant. He pursued his Torah studies in the Mir Yeshivah and in the Kollel of Yeshivas Merkaz HaTorah. Rabbi Taub has been teaching in yeshivot in Israel for over twenty-five years, and is currently lecturing in a number of yeshivas and women’s seminaries.

Together with Rabbi Yisroel Shaw, he translated and annotated the popular Malbim Haggadah, and subsequently the Malbim Esther. Rabbi Taub has a deep appreciation for the Malbim’s style and close textual analysis, and tries to incorporate this into his teaching. Rabbi Taub is noted for his energy and excitement, aiming to reveal the “wow” in Torah. He is also an enthusiastic hiker, squash player, & enjoys writing humorous songs. He lives in Har Nof, Jerusalem with his wife and family.

Known for his exuberance and passion, Rabbi Kronengold has been connected to Machon Yaakov since 2006. Rabbi Kronengold serves as a second-year Gemara rebbe and teaches first-year students about relevant Talmudic topics.

Born and raised in Manhattan, Rabbi Kronengold attended Yeshiva University High School before matriculating to Israel Yeshivas Be’er Yaakov and the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Before joining Machon Yaakov, Rabbi Kronengold taught advanced Talmudic logic at institutions including Meor HaTorah and the Mir Yeshiva, and received his rabbinic ordination from Yeshivas Be’er Yaakov from the esteemed rosh yeshiva, Rav Moshe Shmuel Shapiro.

Rabbi Kronengold and his family live in Har Nof, where students are often guests for Shabbos. The atmosphere is always lively and filled with conversation around Torah topics discussed both inside and outside the classroom.

Rabbi Bernstein teaches the highest Talmud shiur for the second-year students at Machon Yaakov while also lecturing on Chumash (the written Torah) and Hashkafa (Jewish philosophy and outlook). Born and raised in London, Rabbi Bernstein came to Israel following high-school, where he studied for a number of years in Yeshivas Ateres Yisrael in Jerusalem, receiving Rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Chaim Walkin in 2001.

Rabbi Bernstein is a distinguished author of both Hebrew and English books, publishing many works on Chumash, Talmud, and Tefillah (prayer). Additionally, Rabbi Bernstein offers weekly lectures that are open to the public on the weekly Torah portion, and other Talmudic topics. Rabbi Bernstein has taught Talmud in Yeshivat Ateres Yisrael, as well as lectured for a number of years at Michlala Jerusalem College for Women. He currently resides in Jerusalem with his family.

Rabbi Orlowek is a world-renowned Jewish educator, lecturing on five continents, predominantly in the areas of parenting, teaching and interpersonal relationships. At Machon Yaakov, he lectures on relationships and character building, as well as advising students privately on a weekly basis. In addition to his work at Machon Yaakov, Rabbi Orlowek serves as mashgiach (Spiritual Advisor of Students) in Yeshivas Torah Ore in Jerusalem.

In more than 30 years of working with parents and students alike, Rabbi Orlowek has developed an approach to parenting and life that has been successfully applied with the students that he teaches. He is the author of My Child, My Disciple, practical advice on discipline in the home; My Disciple, My Child, practical advice on discipline in the classroom; and Raising Roses Among the Thorns: Bringing up Spiritually Healthy Children in Today’s Society.

As an afternoon and night rebbe at Machon Yaakov, Rabbi Rosenblum is a tremendous resource for the students who wish to deepen their connection to Torah outside of the classroom. In addition to learning one-on-one with students, Rabbi Rosenblum offers shiurs on Chumash and philosophy.

After graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa at Yale University in 1985, Rabbi Rosenblum spent 2 years at Machon Shlomo in Jerusalem before he decided to devote his life to learning, teaching, and connecting students to Torah.

Rabbi Rosenblum spent several years studying in Yeshivas Merkaz HaTorah and Yeshivas Heichal HaTorah. He currently resides in the community of Telzstone with his family.

Rabbi Yisrael Shaw teaches a skill-building Talmud class for students with a stronger background in Hebrew or Judaic learning. He also teaches a 15-minute “speed class” (either on business ethics and monetary law, or Mishnah, depending on the demand), and serves as a learning facilitator, working one-on-one with students in the afternoons.

Since 1997, Rabbi Shaw has learned and taught Torah with Kollel Iyun Hadaf (www.dafyomi.co.il), where he has served as the editor-in-chief of its Dafyomi publications, and has translated, edited, and published dozens of Jewish books and publications. Rabbi Shaw, originally from Atlanta, Georgia, studied under eminent Torah scholars at Ner Israel (Baltimore), Merkaz HaTorah (Jerusalem), Midrash Shmuel (Jerusalem), and Yeshivat Ofakim. He attended university in Georgia and Maryland, and graduated with honors from S.U.N.Y. His wife is a senior lecturer at Darchei Binah Women’s College. Their children love to host Machon Yaakov students for Shabbos at their home in Har Nof.

Rabbi Becker holds a unique position at Machon Yaakov, offering highly specialized, one-on-one learning with students during the evenings. Rabbi Becker moved to Israel with his family in 1992 from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He attended the Chevron Yeshiva, and later the Mir Yeshiva where he studied under Rav Eliyahu Baruch Finkel, zt’’l.

Professionally trained as a teacher in the Ner L’elef institution of Jerusalem, Rabbi Becker has been working with students at Machon Yaakov for over 4 years, vastly improving their skills in reading and comprehension while establishing confidence for learning beyond yeshiva.

Rabbi Becker currently studies in The Jerusalem Kollel under Rav Yitzchak Berkowitz shlita, and resides in Har Nof with his family.

Steeped in Torah outreach, he is the former Dean of Students of the Kesher Institute and has taught discovery seminars at Aish HaTorah, as well as lecture for Nefesh Yehudi. Additionally, Rabbi Silverstein was a co-founder of The Zone, a teen drop center in downtown Jerusalem. He now lives in Har Nof with his wife and family.

Serving as the yeshiva administrator, Rabbi Kahn makes sure everything runs smoothly. Originally from Denver, Colorado, Rabbi Kahn came to Israel in 1998 after studying at the Lakewood Yeshiva in New Jersey. He then continued learning for an additional 8 years at the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem under the direction of Rabbi Nossen Tzvi Finkel, zt”l. Rabbi Kahn became a Gemara rebbe at Yeshivas Chedvas HaTorah and continues to teach Gemara privately.

Rabbi Kahn has always enjoyed studying medicine and is currently a volunteer EMT for Magen David Adom and Hachovesh Har Nof – the neighborhood Hatzala. Having previously managed two family medical practices, Rabbi Kahn continues to share his knowledge by instructing courses in CPR, emergency response, and lifeguarding.

Rabbi Kahn lives in Har Nof with his wife and three children. Their home is always open to guests – they can’t wait to have you for shabbos.