The Knowledge Garden

Elissa Felder is a passionate Jewish communal leader and educator, serving as the coordinator of Core’s Communities of Practice, and the leader of the Chevra Kadisha Community of Practice. With a deep commitment to honoring Jewish end-of-life traditions, Elissa brings together Chevra Kadisha members from around the worlds to share knowledge, strengthen practices, and support one another in this sacred work. She is known for fostering compassion, connection, and continuity within this holy mitzvah.

Reva Judas is the founder and director of NechamaComfort, a global nonprofit organization that supports families coping with infant and pregnancy loss. With compassion born from personal experience, Reva has become a guiding voice for those facing grief, offering emotional, practical, and spiritual care.

She collaborates with hospitals, rabbis, and community leaders to raise awareness and ensure that no family navigates loss alone. In addition to her work with NechamaComfort,

Reva is also the leader of the Supporters of the Bereaved Community of Practice, a collaborative network for professionals and volunteers who support the bereaved. Through this role, she fosters education, peer support, and best practices across the Jewish community. Reva’s dedication to chesed, sensitivity, and respectful care has transformed how grief is addressed with dignity and compassion throughout Klal Yisrael.

Rochel Goldbaum has been teaching and mentoring Jewish women from around the world for over two decades. She currently serves as an adjunct educator for Aish of the Rockies, founder of My Gift of Mikvah, co-founder of Core, and creator of the Directed Dating Approach.

 When Rochel is not traveling and presenting at conferences and women’s gatherings, she works as a dating, marriage and relationship mentor. Rochel trains Kallah Teachers and Dating Mentors across the world, and has developed unique resource materials on Taharas Hamishpacha for women of all backgrounds.

Her desire to encourage women, strengthen marriages, and unify the Jewish people has her presenting to audiences across the world with the goal of connecting them to HaShem, each other, and themselves, as well as enhancing intimacy in the Jewish home.   

Malki Rosenberg is a certified Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner, Self Regulation Training (SRT) practitioner, and Transforming Touch® bodyworker based in Monsey, NY. She specializes in trauma-informed somatic healing, working with teens, adults, and occasionally children to help them move from survival to resilience through body-based therapies. 

Rebbetzen Liat Mayerfeld, originally from New York and raised in Netanya, Israel, served in Israeli Military Intelligence before earning degrees in Tanach and Special Education from Michlalah Jerusalem College for Women. She began her career teaching in Jerusalem seminaries and later moved to the UK, where she served as Aish UK’s Women’s Educational Director and, with her husband, held the rabbinic position at Shomrei Hadath in London.

Liora Wittlin is a seasoned Jewish educator and curriculum designer with over two decades of experience in Jewish education. She is the founder and chief educator of RAMOT Learning LLC, an educational consultancy dedicated to enriching Jewish learning through differentiated instruction, student-centered learning, and blended learning approaches. 

Sara Oppenheim is the Rebbetzin and Executive Director of the Charlotte Torah Center, a dynamic shul and outreach hub serving the broader Jewish community of Charlotte, North Carolina. Together with her husband, Rabbi Chanoch Oppenheim, she has spent the last 17 years building Jewish life in Charlotte, following a decade of outreach with Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem and DATA of Plano, Texas.

Dr. Marcy Forta is the founder and director of Atzmi, an organization dedicated to supporting the mental health of Jewish girls through programs that enhance self-esteem, promote body acceptance, and reduce focus on outward appearances. She specializes in eating disorder education, awareness, and prevention, with a particular focus on risk factors within the Orthodox Jewish adolescent female community.

Marcy is a dedicated change maker who believes that everyone has the power to transform their moods, situations, businesses, and themselves—if they are motivated to take action. She is inspired by those eager to change, even when unsure or nervous about the process.

Rivky Boyarsky is a Certified Nurse Midwife, Registered Nurse, and experienced kallah teacher dedicated to empowering Jewish women through education, healthcare, and spiritual guidance. With a deep understanding of both medical science and halacha, she specializes in women's health across the lifespan—from puberty and fertility to menopause.

Rebbetzin Yehudis Golshevsky is a distinguished Torah educator and spiritual mentor based in Yerushalaim. She is the founder and director of SHIVITI, a women's education network that offers immersive Torah study with a focus on Chassidic teachings and personal spiritual growth. 

Sara Eisemann is a licensed clinical therapist and educator based in Oak Park, Michigan. She earned her Master’s in Social Work from Wayne State University and began her career at Jewish Family Service of Detroit, where she was involved in the Windows domestic violence prevention program, and then moved on to private practice at the Birmingham-Maple Clinic. 

Debbie Greenblatt is a respected educator and mentor with over thirty years of experience as a popular lecturer, columnist, and coach. She teaches a wide range of topics including Jewish texts, Jewish thought, and relationships, and is known for her deep insights and ability to connect both intellectually and emotionally with her audience.

Mrs. Yael Kaisman is a veteran educator, life coach, and outreach professional with over 45 years of experience teaching in girls' high schools. She is a senior lecturer at both Sinai and Heritage Retreats, known for her ability to explain Jewish philosophical ideas with humor, warmth, and wit, captivating audiences of all backgrounds and levels of Jewish knowledge and education. 

Aliza Bulow is the Founding Director of Core. With over four decades of experience, she has worked with hundreds of women in more than 50 cities across five continents, strengthening the social fabric of Klal Yisroel through networking, education, and mentorship.

Rav Brudny is a Rosh Yeshivah in Mir-Brooklyn and a member of the Moetzes Gedolei Torah of Agudath Israel of America.

Rav Aaron Lopiansky is the Rosh HaYeshiva of the Yeshiva of Greater Washington – Tiferes Gedaliah, a position he has held since 1994. Born and raised on New York’s Lower East Side, he studied at the Mir Yeshiva in Yerushalaim under the guidance of Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz zt”l and Rav Nachum Partzovitz zt”l. He is also the son-in-law of Rav Beinish Finkel zt”l, the late Rosh Yeshiva of Mir Yerushalayim.

Rabbi Yaakov Robinson is the Rav of Beis Medrash Mikor Hachaim in Chicago and Menahel of the Midwest Agudas Yisroel Council of Synagogue Rabbonim. A Chicago native, he received semicha from Yeshivas Ner Yisroel and spent several years in kollel before entering community rabbanus. He is known for his engaging shiurim on halacha, shalom bayis, and chinuch, and founded the Zichron Avraham Gershon Kollel Boker.

Rabbi Robinson also serves on several communal boards and advisory councils, supporting Torah education and family well-being. He is the author of the Safah Berurah series on practical halacha and awaiting Mashiach. 

Rabbi Yitzchok Breitowitz is a senior lecturer at Yeshivas Ohr Somayach in Yerushalayim and a renowned posek, educator, and speaker. Originally from the U.S., he earned semicha from Ner Yisroel and holds a Harvard Law degree. He served for many years as Rav of the Woodside Shul in Silver Spring, Maryland, before making aliyah.

Rabbi Breitowitz is widely respected for his clarity in halacha, depth in hashkafa, and ability to address contemporary issues through a Torah lens. His lectures reach thousands worldwide, offering insight into complex topics with sensitivity and depth. He continues to guide talmidim and communities with wisdom, warmth, and unwavering commitment to Torah values.

Rabbi Avraham Edelstein is the Director of the Ner LeElef Institute and a leading thinker in the world of Jewish outreach and education. Originally from South Africa, he has spent decades shaping global kiruv strategy and training leaders for effective Torah-based engagement.

Rabbi Edelstein is known for his clarity of vision, deep understanding of societal trends, and ability to apply timeless Torah principles to modern challenges. He has authored numerous articles and books on Jewish thought, leadership, and community development. Through his guidance, thousands of men and women around the world have been inspired to live fuller, more connected Jewish lives.

HaRav Shmuel Kamenetsky shlit”a is the Rosh HaYeshiva of the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia and one of the most respected senior gedolei Torah in America. A son of Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky zt”l, he has devoted his life to Torah learning, chinuch, and guiding Klal Yisrael with humility and wisdom.

The Rosh Yeshiva is a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah and is known for his exceptional warmth, accessibility, and balanced daas Torah. For decades, he has played a leading role in addressing the spiritual and communal needs of the generation, influencing countless talmidim and rabbanim across the globe through his counsel, psak, and personal example of gadlus baTorah and middos tovos.

Aliza lives in Dallas, Texas, with her husband and children, where she helps run the Yeshiva high school dorm, serving as a “mother away from home” for the boys. 

Linda has served as a nurse for over 40 years, with a focus on oncology and, later, on community-based palliative care. She has worked in both the UK and Israel, bringing compassionate presence and skilled care to patients and families navigating serious illness.

Linda believes that every person deserves to die with dignity—feeling safe, loved, and in a place they choose. For her, accompanying someone through their final journey is a sacred privilege and a profound responsibility. She is married, a proud mother of six, and a devoted grandmother.

Beth is a professor on the faculty of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, where she has specialized in Hospice and Palliative Medicine for over three decades. As a clinician, educator, and leader in her field, she has served on hospital ethics committees and contributed to national and state policy through her work with professional societies.

Rachel Yaghobian M.Ed, MMC, is a veteran doula for over two decades. Based in Houston Texas, Rachel has been certified through CAPPA, has interned at the famous Sharei Tzedek Hospital as well as local birthing centers.