Deep Rich Jewish Content (DRJC) Methodologies Summer Intensive

Julie Wohl loves art, Judaism and teaching. She combines these passions in her work as the Director of Congregational Learning at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation and as the founder of “The Studio” a Jewish text based community art studio. She received her Master’s Degree in Jewish Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary and has worked in a variety of synagogue, communal and camp settings.  She is the author of “Make, Create, Celebrate! Jewish Holidays Through Art”, the co-author and illustrator of “Siddur Mah Tov: a Family Shabbat Prayer Book”  and the illustrator of “Simply Seder: a Family Haggadah”, all published by Behrman House. Julie lives in Baltimore with her husband, two children, and their cat named Rainbow.    

Laynie Soloman is a teacher and Torah-lover who seeks to uplift the piously irreverent, queer, and subversive spirit of rabbinic text and theology. They serve as the Associate Rosh Yeshiva at SVARA and co-direct the Trans Halakha Project, an initiative that seeks to create new forms of halakhic (Jewish legal) expression shaped by trans and non-binary Jews. Laynie has taught Jewish text and practice for over a decade in a wide range of spaces, including Yeshivat Hadar, the Academy for Jewish Religion, Pardes North America, and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. They live in Philadelphia with their partner, Zahara, and their kid, Remez.
 

Rabbi Rebecca Rosenthal is the Director of Youth and Family Education at Central Synagogue, where she oversees programming for families and children of all ages, including a Nursery School, religious school, and teen programming. Prior to Central, Rabbi Rosenthal was the Director of Children and Family Education at IKAR in Los Angeles, and before that she held positions at Congregation B’nai Zion in El Paso, TX and at B’nai Jeshurun in New York City. Rabbi Rosenthal received a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and was ordained as a rabbi from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2009.  She also received a master’s degree in Jewish education and was a Wexner Graduate Fellow. She lives on the West Side with her husband, Dr. Adam Arenson, a professor of American History at Manhattan College, and their three children, Simon, Leo, and Maddie.  

Rabba Yaffa Epstein is the Senior Scholar and Educator in Residence at the Jewish Education Project. Formerly, she served as the Director of the Wexner Heritage Program at the Wexner Foundation. Epstein has also served as the Director of Education, North America for the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies and was a member of the faculty. She has served on the faculties of Yeshivat Maharat and the Drisha Institute. Epstein has served as an Educator and Scholar in Residence for the Dorot Fellowship, Moishe House, Jewish Federation of North America, the Covenant Foundation, the Nahum Goldmann Fellowship, Repair the World, the Meorot Fellowship, and the KADIMA Fellowship. She has lectured at numerous Limmud events around the globe, has written curriculum for the Global Day of Jewish Learning and has created innovative educational programming for Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. She received Rabbinic Ordination from Yeshivat Maharat, earned an additional private Ordination from Rabbi Daniel Landes, holds a Law Degree from Bar-Ilan University, and studied at the Talmud Department at Hebrew University.

Rabba Epstein is passionate about making Jewish learning accessible and exciting, and creating learning environments that are welcoming, diverse, and inclusive to all who wish to participate. She has taught educators, rabbis and lay leaders from across the spectrum of Jewish denominations. Rabba Epstein is the winner of the prestigious Covenant Award.