Faculty
Course Developers
Dr. Chana Silberstein
Chana Silberstein, PhD is a developmental psychologist specializing in human cognition who is the Director of Curriculum at the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute. She is also the Education Director of Chabad at Cornell University which she co-founded in 1984.
Dr. Anthony Polemeni
Anthony J. Polemeni, PhD is Vice President and Dean of the Touro Graduate School of Education Psychology and Social Work. Dr. Polemeni who has more than 40 years of combined experience in education and industry was Director of Research and Evaluation for the New York City Central Board of Education and Director of Mercy College's Bronx Graduate School of Education.
Rabbi Efraim Mintz
Rabbi Efraim Mintz, a lifelong innovator in adult Jewish education, is the Executive Director of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute since 1998.
Leah-Perl Shollar
Leah-Perl Shollar, MS Ed is an instructional designer and curriculum specialist with a concentration in Judaic studies and neurobiology. Mrs. Shollar has over two decades of teaching experience and is an award-winning author of children’s books and adult publications.
Rabbi J. Joseph Zuker
Rabbi Zuker, a vital member of Touro College’s administrative staff for many years, is currently Chair of the Department of Special Educational Projects.
Medical Contributors and Consultants
Dr. Edward (Eddie) Reichman
Edward Reichman, MD is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Associate Professor of Philosophy and History of Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM) of Yeshiva University, where he teaches Jewish medical ethics. He is also an ordained rabbi. Dr. Reichman writes and lectures widely in the field of Jewish medical ethics and is a member of both the board of the Halachic Organ Donor Society and the advisory board of the Institute for Genetics and Public Policy. His research is devoted to the interface of medical history and Jewish law.
Dr. Michael Akerman
Michael J. Akerman, MD, FACP, FCCP is a pulmonologist and critical care specialist associated with State University of New York, Downstate where he is the Director of the Pulmonary Exercise Department and the Department of Asthma and COPD Care at Kings County Medical Center. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine at SUNY-Downstate Medical Center and a member of the board of its Office of Continuing Education. Dr. Akerman has been developing CME courses and events for more than 20 years.
Dr. David Pelcowitz
David Pelcovitz, PhD holds the Gwendolyn and Joseph Straus Chair in Psychology and Jewish Education at Yeshiva University’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration where he is also the Special Assistant to the President. Serving for over two decades as Director of Psychology at North Shore University Hospital-NYU School of Medicine, and Clinical Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry, at NYU School of Medicine, he has consulted extensively with the Jewish community in the United States, Europe and Israel on a wide range of issues facing children and adolescents.
Rabbinic Contributors and Consultants
Rabbi Yehuda Pink
Rabbi Yehuda Pink is the rabbi of Sulihull Synagogue and a lecturer on Jewish Medical Ethics at Birmingham University in the United Kingdom. Rabbi Pink is the Founder and Chairman of the Birmingham Rabbinical Board, the Hospital Chaplain of the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust and an Executive Board Member of the Solihull Faiths Forum.
Rabbi Dr. Immanuel J. Schochet
Rabbi Immanuel J. Schochet, PhD is a pulpit rabbi with more than forty years experience and a member of the Executive Committee of the Rabbinic Alliance of America. He is professor-emeritus of Philosophy, and Comparative Religion, at Humber College in Toronto, Canada and served as adjunct-professor on Jewish Bioethics at University of Toronto Medical School and professor of Jewish Law and Philosophy, and dean of degree studies at Maimonides College, in Toronto, Canada
Rabbi Feitel Levin
Rabbi Faitel Levin is the author of Halacha, Medical Science and Technology and founding editor of The Australian Journal of Torah Thought. Rabbi Levin is Australia's most sought after lecturer on issues pertaining to Jewish Law and Ethics. Rabbi Levin is rabbi of the Brighton Hebrew Congregation in Melbourne, Australia.
Rabbi Shlomo Yaffe
Rabbi Shlomo Yaffe is the Dean of the Institute of American and Talmudic Law in New York and a renowned expert and lecturer on the application of concepts found in classic Judaic scholarship to contemporary legal, social and scientific issues. Rabbi Yaffe is Scholar-in-Residence at Chabad at Harvard University.
Rabbi Yosef Feigelstock
Rabbi Yosef Feigelstock is the Chief Rabbi of Beunos Aires, Argentina, and an acclaimed expert in the rulings and nuances in Jewish Law pertaining to IVF and medically assisted pregnancy.