Rosh Hashanah at Isabella Freedman

Leaders and Teachers

More bios are coming soon.

Rabbi Yehuda Witt is an inclusive, committed, Israeli orthodox rabbi and passionate educator dedicated to supporting and inspiring Jews of all ages and backgrounds through learner-centered and community-focused programming. Yehuda is a Montessori trained Educator and received rabbinic ordination (semicha) from Rabbi Riskin at The Straus Rabbinical Seminary in Israel, in addition to receiving an additional certificate in Diaspora Leadership. Yehuda is currently a Head Teacher and Rebbi at the Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy and a Rabbi in residence at Congregation Beth Israel in Schenectady, NY. Yehuda served as the Orthodox Rabbi at Boston University Hillel, the Co-director of the JLIC program at Boston University, and was on the faculty of the Yeshivat Simchat Shlomo semicha program. Yehuda has taught extensively throughout Israel and the US. Yehuda is passionate about sharing Judaism, both the traditional canon as well the richness of its cultural traditions.

Simcha Halpert-Hanson (they/them) is a teacher, song facilitator, farmer, drummer, ritual leader and fourth-year rabbinical student at Hebrew College in Newton, MA. Simcha has led tefillah (prayer) workshops, klaf (animal-based holy parchment) production workshops, text study sessions and facilitated rhythmic and songful prayer experiences in many communities across the Northeast. They founded Avodas Lev Western Mass and co-founded the projects Nishmat Shoom and TransHallel. They currently facilitate Queer Jewish Farmers and Avodas Lev, both monthly online gathering spaces supported by the Jewish Farmer Network and they are also the rabbinic intern at the University of Rhode Island Hillel. Additionally, they have been working both large and small-scale organic vegetable farming for the last five growing seasons.

Rabbi Levi D. Lauer is the Founding Executive Director of Israel NGO ATZUM (Avodot TZdaka U’Mishpat) – Justice Works. His professional background includes Hillel Director at the University of Missouri; Executive Director of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies; Dean of the Brandeis-Bardin Camp Institute; and Director of Rabbinic Enrichment at the Shalom
Hartman Institute. Rabbi Lauer is a pioneer educator and social activist. He founded ATZUM-Justice Works in 2002 to address social injustice and bring assistance to Israelis, asylum seekers and victims of sex-trafficking disadvantaged by inadequate access to public and private protection. Under his leadership, ATZUM developed The Roberta Project for Survivors of Terror; the Righteous among the Nations Project to assist rescuers of Jewish lives during Shoah who live in Israel; Project Abrah documenting testimonies of Ethiopian “Prisoners of Zion”; Beit Midrash TAKUM marrying Jewish learning with activist engagement; the Project for Refugees and Asylum Seekers supporting single-mother, asylum seeker families in Israel; and The Task Force on Human Trafficking and Prostitution (TFHT) which secured Knesset passage of Nordic Law legislation. Rabbi Lauer is a native of Cleveland, Ohio living in Israel since 1976. He served 11 years in a reserve, combat, artillery unit of the IDF.

Rabbi Aviva Richman is a Rosh Yeshiva at Hadar Institute in Manhattan, and has been on the faculty there since 2010. A graduate of Oberlin College, she studied at Pardes and Drisha, and received rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Danny Landes in Jerusalem. She also received a doctorate in Talmud at New York University. Interests include Talmud, Hasidut, Midrash and gender, and also a healthy dose of niggunim. She has enjoyed participating in the spirited services at Isabella Freedman, on Sukkot and Rosh HaShanah, for over a decade.

Rabbi Josh Alpert a.k.a. “Mr. Shabbos” is a NY based Rabbi, educator, and perfomer. Using a blend of world music styles, humor, and his love of Torah, R’ Josh has been inspiring audiences worldwide. Being passionate about both Judaism and music from a young age, R’ Josh sought to blend the two as a way to bring himself and others closer to Hashem. He received Semicha in 2009 from Yeshiva Zichron Akiva and teaches Torah and Jewish music in many of  the Long Island/ NYC Yeshiva Day Schools. You can check out his music and Torah thoughts on all digital music services by searching  “Mr. Shabbos”. R’ Josh lives in Bayswater, NY with his wife Pircha and their new baby boy Kaiyam. They all wish you a Kativ V’Chatima Tova and “Health, Happiness, and a Rockin’ good time!”

Shira Botzum is entering her third year of rabbinical school in Hadar’s Semikha Program. She holds a BA from Columbia University in Political Science and a BA/MA from JTS in Talmud. Shira lives in Manhattan with her spouse, Jonathan, and their dog, Noodles. Her interests include learning and teaching Torah, cooking, and hiking. She is excited to be returning to Isabella Freedman for Rosh Hashanah this year. 

Pinny Huberman led lively and musical minyanim in Toronto for several years before moving to Connecticut in 2020. With a passion for nusach and nigunim, he seeks to bring a traditional Hasidic tone into diverse davening spaces. Pinny is currently a doctoral student at Yale Law School, writing his dissertation in constitutional theory.