Rabbi David Aaron is the Founder and Dean of Isralight and Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshivat Orayta. He studied Torah and Jewish mysticism under the tutelage of the great masters. He received his smicha in 1979 from the Israel Torah Research Institute (ITRI). A popular lecturer inNorth America and a frequent guest on radio and TV, Rabbi Aaron has authored numerous books on Jewish mysticism which have reached an audience of more than 200,000 readers. Rabbi Aaron lives inJerusalem with his wife, Chana, and their seven children.
Rabbi Chaim Brovender has stood at the forefront of pioneering Jewish Studies programs for highly educated young men and women inIsrael for almost 40 years. Born inBrooklyn, New York, Rabbi Brovender attendedYeshivaUniversitybefore making aliya toIsraelin 1965. He received his Doctorate in Semitic Languages from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1974. Soon after, Rabbi Brovender established Yeshivat Hamivtar for men, teaching Torah to beginners in an open, intellectual environment. At the same time, with the founding of Michlelet Bruria (today, Midreshet Lindenbaum), he revolutionized women’s Torah study by introducing in-depth textual study and Talmud to women’s learning, paving the way for other women’s yeshiva-style institutions. Today he serves as the Rosh Yeshiva of the Web Yeshiva and president of the ATID Foundation.
Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo, is dean of The David Cardozo Academy. He is a prominent lecturer and author who is world renowned for his highly original insights into Judaism and his ability to communicate the relevance of Jewish values and practice in today’s complicated world. A native of the Spanish-Portuguese Jewish community ofHolland who holds a doctorate in philosophy, Rabbi Lopes Cardozo received rabbinic ordination from the Gateshead Talmudic College and studied inIsrael at the Institute for Higher Rabbinical Studies of Chief Rabbi Unterman and at the Mir Yeshiva. In addition to teaching Jewish audiences, Rabbi Lopes Cardozo often lectures to non-Jewish groups, including Christian leaders, about comparative religion and the fundamentals of Judaism. A number of his many books and articles have been translated into several languages .
Rabbi Yosef Blau is the senior Mashgiach Ruchani at Yeshiva University and the president of the Religious Zionists of America.
Rabbi Binny Freedman is Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshivat Orayta. He received his Rabbinic Ordination from the Chief Rabbinate of the State of Israel while studying at Yeshivat Har Etzion under the tutelage of Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, and pursued his BA and MA studies in Education at the Herzog Teacher’s College inIsrael. Rabbi Freedman is a highly engaging and inspirational educator who has a gift for synthesizing difficult, sophisticated material in a way that inspires both the novice and the scholar. His proficiency in applying classic Jewish concepts to contemporary life in a personal and meaningful way has made him a sought after speaker throughoutNorth America and around the world.
Prof. Tamar Ross is professor of Jewish Philosophy at Bar Ilan University. She has scholarly expertise in the thought of Abraham Isaac Kook, the modern Musar movement and the ideology of Mitnaggedism, and Judaism and gender. She is the author of books and articles on Jewish ethics and theology, contemporary issues in traditional Jewish thought, philosophy of halakha, and Orthodox Jewish feminism.
