The Israel Learning Ladder: Westchester

Sivan Zakai, PhD, is the Sara S. Lee Associate Professor of Jewish Education at HUC-JIR/Los Angeles. Her books include My Second Favorite Country: How American Jewish Children Think About Israel (winner of a 2022 National Jewish Book Award) and Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field. 
 

Mikhael Kesher is a curator of educational experiences and resources, whose professional passion is supporting Jewish educators and learners in building informed, constructive, and committed relationships with am yisrael (the Jewish people) and medinat yisrael (the Jewish state). As a British-born Israeli-by-choice and new American, he cares deeply about strengthening each Jew’s connection to global Jewry. Before joining The Jewish Education Project as Director, Israel Education, Mikhael worked at Harvard Hillel, MIT Hillel, and Hebrew College. He holds Master’s degrees in Philosophy (University of Cambridge), Near Eastern & Judaic Studies (Brandeis University), and Jewish professional leadership (Brandeis University). At home, Mikhael is an avid reader, ḥevruta enthusiast, and devoted abba to two young children.

Rabbi David E. Levy is the Director, Field Consultation at The Jewish Education Project. His primary work focuses on supporting congregational educators across the country to explore the big questions in Jewish Education, and how they are particularly positioned to respond to them. Prior to The Jewish Education Project, David worked at Westchester Reform Temple for a decade, where he served as the Associate Rabbi and the Director of the Jewish Learning Lab. He also has extensive experience working with Jewish camps, and as a consultant. David received Rabbinic ordination and a Masters in Religious Education from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Information Systems from Drexel University.