Faculty

Rabbi Anthony Manning - Director of the Pathways Program

Rabbi Manning is the Director and coordinator of the Pathways program and a Rabbi and teacher at the Midreshet Rachel v'Chaya College of Jewish Studies for women. He moved to Israel from England in 2002, giving up a successful career as a partner in a London law firm to become a Rabbi and teacher. He gained his Masters in Law from Oxford University and learned at Yeshivat Etz Chaim in London, Yeshivat Ateret Yisrael in Bayit Vegan, and at the Jerusalem Kollel of Rav Yitzchok Berkovits. He writes a column on contemporary Torah-related issues for a national Jewish newspaper in England, and teaches widely in Jerusalem on all aspects of Torah thought and practice. Rabbi Manning's learning, business, legal and teaching background, in addition to his experience as a professional musician and orchestral conductor enables him to bring out the multifaceted nature of the Pathways program. He lives with his wife Sarah and their children in Har Nof.

Rabbi Shaya Karlinsky - Dean of Darche Noam Institutions

Since their inception in 1978, Rabbi Karlinsky has served as dean of the Darche Noam Institutions. His reputation as an expert educator is a reflection of both his academic training and his motivational personality. Through his direct approach of questioning students and forcing them to question themselves, he has succeeded in awakening inquiring minds for Torah study throughout the years. A Los Angeles native, Rabbi Karlinsky studied at UCLA before going to Israel in 1968, to study at several elite Torah institutions. He later completed a Master's degree in educational psychology at Philadelphia's Temple University and returned to Israel in 1975, where he continued his Torah study while working as a widely published photojournalist. Today, Rabbi Karlinsky is a leading visionary in Jewish education and travels the globe speaking to Jewish audiences of all backgrounds.

Rabbi Yitzchak Shurin

Rabbi Shurin has been teaching at the Darche Noam Institutions for nearly 30 years and currently heads its full-time women's division. His sensitivity to the fears and concerns of Jewish beginners has made him a sought after teacher and counselor for men and women from around the world. Rabbi Shurin spent many years learning from his late grandfather, Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky, one of the leading educators and spiritual personalities of the 20th century Jewish world. Rabbi Shurin's own experiences as well as the rich tradition which he bears inform his insightful classes and enrich his compassionate personality.

Rabbi Binyomin Adilman

A native of Chicago and graduate of University California-Berkeley, Rabbi Adilman now travels in the joyous inner circles of Jerusalem's Hasidic community. His intense love for the land of Israel is evident in the many agricultural projects to which he dedicates himself - harvesting wheat for his own matzah production, picking olives and pressing oil for Chanukah and the entire year, and managing his own private winery. When indoors, most of his time is split between his practice in marriage and family counseling and his many weekly classes in Hasidic thought and Jewish philosophy.

Mrs. Dina Coopersmith

Mrs. Coopersmith grew up in Jerusalem. She received her B.Ed. In Tanach from Michlala Jerusalem College for Women, and a MA in Jewish History from Touro College, Jerusalem. She taught Jewish Studies in numerous schools in Israel, as well as in Toronto, Canada, where she and her husband, Rabbi Nechemia Coopersmith, worked in education and outreach. Dina and her husband and their children live in Maalot Daphna, Jerusalem.

Professor William Kolbrener

Born and raised in Roslyn, New York, with a BA from Columbia College, an MA from Oxford University and a PhD from Columbia University, Professor Kolbrener teaches in the English Department at Bar Ilan University in Israel. An internationally acclaimed authority on Renaissance philosophy and literature, Kolbrener has also written extensively on Jewish philosophy and the interpretive methodologies of the Talmud. Kolbrener's lectures, informed by his considerable secular learning, have striven to show the enduring power and relevance of Torah to the contemporary world--from the campuses of UCLA and Columbia, to yeshivot and seminaries in Jerusalem, to institutes and synagogues in America and Europe. His book in progress, From Athens to Jerusalem, provides an account of a personal and unconventional synthesis of secular study and Jewish learning and commitment. Kolbrener is a Darche Noam Alumni, having gone on to learn at Yeshivat Midrash Shmuel, and Kollel Wittenburg. A former Mellon Fellow in the Humanities, a Lady Davis Fellow at Hebrew University, and an Israel Science Foundation Fellow, Kolbrener lives in the Bayit Vegan neighborhood of Jerusalem with his wife and children

Rabbi Eliezer Kwass

Originally from Milwaukee, Rabbi Kwass is a gifted and soft-spoken teacher, whose wisdom and method have benefited students at many Israeli institutions. He has taught basic Judaism to Russian immigrants and has taught for many years at Darche Noam's men's and women's divisions. His creative spirit has also inspired thousands as he records and distributes Torah teachings in audio format worldwide via the Internet. A good word and a smile are his eternal features as anyone who comes his way can attest.

Rabbi Yitzchak Lerner

Rabbi Lerner's friendly manner is contagious. Before moving to Israel and teaching at several men's and women's institutions, he was the successful regional director of NCSY of Montreal for three years. In addition to the many friends and students who've enjoyed the Lerners' hospitality at home in Betar Illit, travelers from around the world have found his easy-going manner a warm welcome to Israel. For nine years, Rabbi Lerner was a host and lecturer to Jews from around the world at the famous Heritage House - a free hostel for Jewish travelers in Jerusalem's Old City.

Mrs. Shprintzee Rapaport

Mrs. Rapaport (nee Herskovits) hails from the Upper West Side of Manhattan where she completed three degrees at the Breuer Teachers' Seminary and Hunter College. After five years as a successful stock analyst on Wall Street, Shprintzee came to Israel to teach at Darche Noam and several other women's institutions. In addition to teaching, Shprintzee has inspired many as Program Coordinator of Isralight, a unique program in Jerusalem's Old City that empowers Jews with the wisdom and joy of Jewish living.

Rabbi Gidon Shoshan

Rabbbi Shoshan is a frequent visitor to US college campuses and has met students and lectured on over 30 American campuses as well as at Oxford and the London School of Economics. His childhood in Chicago, background in Jewish studies in Jerusalem, and Master's in secondary education were enhanced by the two years he spent studying and teaching Jewish beginners in West Los Angeles. Rabbi Shoshan currently lives with his family in Ramat Bet Shemesh, Israel and works as a teacher, counselor, and professional trainer for English speaking Jews of all backgrounds.

Rabbi Fyvel Shuster

Rabbi Shuster is a popular speaker at many Jerusalem institutions, including all programs of the Darche Noam Institutions. His warmth, good humor, and wisdom shine through each of his entertaining presentations often leaving students wondering how they can learn so much - with such joy - from one class. Rabbi Shuster is a native of Boston where he attended Tufts University and worked for several years in hi-tech in New York City. Returning to his love of the classroom, he taught for many years at the beginner's programs of the Jerusalem College of Technology, and now counsels and lectures to Jews from all backgrounds in his current hometown, Jerusalem.