Tiny Hands, Big Values: Bringing Jewish Values to Life in the Early Childhood Classroom

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.

Amy Martin is the Senior Manager of Early Childhood Education and Family Engagement at The Jewish Education Project.  

Over the course of her career, Amy has experience as a teacher in day schools, early childhood, and congregational settings and in administration of congregational schools and synagogue family engagement. Amy is passionate about supporting educators to be reflective practitioners and has served as a teacher mentor for day school, congregational school, and nursery school educators. She has participated as a Fellow in both the Mandel Teacher Educator Institute and M²: Institute of Experiential Jewish Education. Amy received her BA from Bryn Mawr College and her Masters in Jewish Education from Hebrew College and holds a Certificate of Advanced Studies from Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies.