Joel Cohen
Joel began his professional career as an Economist for Deloitte Financial Advisory Services located in the World Financial Center in downtown Manhattan (He is currently working for boutique consulting firm in the hedge fund space). After he witnessed the tragedy of 9/11 first hand, Joel had a strong desire to connect more with others and impact those around him. He chose to return to the roots of his heritage and combine it with his love of education. This began on the Upper East Side with one student. The positive impact Joel had on this family led him to many other students and families. Word spread quickly and Door To Door Tutoring was born.
Joel has been involved with Jewish education in the tri-state area for the past sixteen years. Joel's fondness of Jewish education began when he was a student at the Solomon Schechter Academy. It continued with his participation in Kadima and USY. Joel studied Economics and Hebraic Studies at Rutgers College and earned a BA in 2001. Joel has a vast experience teaching at many organizations including The Long Beach Island JCC, Congregation B'nai Israel of Toms River, Congregation B'nai Tikvah of North Brunswick, and Congregation B'nai Israel of Rumson. Joel has also guest-lectured at various synagogues throughout New Jersey and New York.
Additionally, He taught and administered the Talmud Torah program at Congregation Da'at Elohim on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Joel currently leads the Pezukey DiZimra and Shacharit Service for the High Holy Days at his hometown shul of B'nai Israel in Toms River, New Jersey, and he is also often a Ba'al Kriyah (Torah/Haftarah Reader) throughout the area.
Joel has taught hundreds of students in the classroom setting and individually. He is now known in countless circles as the go-to source for Jewish Education, B'nai Mitzvah preparation and Jewish Resources. He prides himself on creating an environment that fosters the well-rounded development of an enjoyable and meaningful connection to Jewish religious studies and Jewish cultural tradition. Joel is an extremely enthusiastic instructor, and his passion genuinely shows with every student he encounters and every teacher he mentors and coaches. Joel currently works at a boutique consulting firm in New York City doing corporate recovery, insolvency, forensic accounting and economic investigations for hedge funds.
Our Tutors
Naamah Imir
Naamah Imir graduated with honors from
Binghamton University with a B.A in Theatre Arts. She also trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, as well as completing the Michael Howard Conservatory in NYC. She is a graduate of the Ramaz Upper School on the Upper East Side. Naamah is a New York City based actress working in films, television and theatre. She has been on All My Children, Law and Order and was in last year's Not Fade Away with James Gandolfini. She was most recently in an off Broadway production of The Anthropology of a Book Club. She is currently in rehearsals for a new play she wrote commissioned by the World Zionist Organization, called Pen Pals, which is set to premiere in New York in December. Aside from her artistic endeavors, Naamah has been tutoring Bnai Mitzvah students for over 10 years, as well as having taught at Solomon Schechter Middle School in Westchester and at the religious school at the Jewish Community Center of Harrison. She has been running youth services there for the last 7 years. Naamah has been tutoring for Door to Door for the last 4 years and is thrilled to have recently joined the administrative team. She feels so lucky that she can both pursue her creative interests while being able to work
with students in a Jewish capacity
Rebecca Keren Eisenstadt
Rebecca Keren Eisenstadt graduated with Honors from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and Leonard N. Stern School of Business. Rebecca also graduated from the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, MD. Rebecca has been working as a B'nai Mitzvah tutor for more than 15 years. As an artist, Rebecca has participated in many off-Broadway plays and films; she has produced, dramaturged, collaborated and apprenticed with five-time Tony Award nominee Elizabeth Swados (z'l). Recently, Rebecca penned the lyrics to a musical about the Biblical Matriarchs, with music by Swados. She is also a member of the National Yiddish Theater's Folksbiene Outreach Troupe. Rebecca enjoys combining her loves of Judaism, Music, and performance as a Bnai Mitzvah Tutor. She works as a Bnai mitzvah tutor with various synagogues and as a Hebrew/Bnai Mitzvah, Math tutor and Academic Coach with Door To Door Tutoring since the summer of 2008. For more information about Rebecca, visit her website at www.rebeccakeren.com
Jerome Korman
Musical Director
Mr. Korman is presently the music director of the National Dance Institute. In that capacity he has conducted at the Kennedy Center, the White House, and Lincoln Center and has helped develop dance performances that have covered wildly diverse topics ranging from the life of John Lennon to the music of New Orleans to an exploration of Poetry. He has also been providing music for the youth services of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun and for Door To Door Tutoring for over 10 years. He is the co-composer of “Romeo and Juliet the Musical” last produced by Theater Aspen and is also a proud member of Paul Shapiro’s Ribs and Brisket Review. Recently Mr. Korman music directed, orchestrated and helped conceive “The Floor Above Me,” Tony Yazbeck’s debut cabaret show and recording released on the PS Classics label and produced music for the DiMenna Children’s History Museum at the NY Historical Society. In the world of education Mr. Korman has written curriculum for the New York City Department of Education and has provided K-12 staff development for music teachers throughout the Northeast
Jeremy Schwartz
Jeremy grew up in Brooklyn, NY and went to school in Manhattan, where he currently resides. He began his bar mitzvah tutoring career at age 17 when he taught his younger brother how to read from the Torah. Other experience includes weekly reading at Congregation Prospect Park for four years and tutoring at Park Avenue Synagogue.
Lani Hart
Originally from the suburbs of Chicago, Lani Hart has over 12 years of experience working one-on-one with students in Hebrew, Jewish learning and b'nai mtizvah preparation. She has a BA in Sociology, Jewish Studies and Hebrew from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and spent a semester studying and volunteering in the Jewish community in Prague, Czech Republic. Lani worked for three years as the Assistant Director of Young Leadership at The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, where she gained experience in informal Jewish education when she took more than 150 young adults on Taglit-Birthright Israel trips. Lani recently finished her MPA in Nonprofit Management and MA in Jewish Studies at NYU and currently works at The Jewish Federations of North America in the Mandel Center for Leadership Excellence
Rabbi Mira Rivera
Ordained by The Jewish Theological Seminary in 2015, Rabbi Mira Rivera earned a Master of Arts degree in Jewish Studies and a Certificate in Clinical Pastoral Education. She also earned a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts degree in Film at New York University Tisch School of the Arts. While
in Rabbinical School, she served at Brotherhood Synagogue in New York City with Rabbi Daniel Alder, Kehillat Eshel Avraham in Beersheva with Rabbi Mauricio Balter, and the JCC Manhattan with Rabbi Ayelet Cohen. Before attending the Seminary, Mira worked at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in New York City as a musician for year round family services, a choreographer for the annual Purimspiel, and a Bar/Bat Mitzvah tutor. She has also been a Teaching Artist for National Dance Institute at P.S. 130 in Chinatown, P.S. 199, and NDI’s Advanced Student program at LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts. She started with Door to Door in 2007 with her husband, Music Director Jerome Korman, along with their children Arielle
(violin, voice) and Benjamin (bass, trumpet, sound). Rabbi Mira Rivera is currently the Board-eligible Chaplain Fellow at DOROT after completing a year long chaplain residency at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Saraleah Cogan
Saraleah Cogan grew up attending Jewish day school. While in High School she volunteered at Koreh L.A as well as Limmud L.A, teaching children how to read and helping mentor kids who needed help and guidancee. After High School, Saraleah studied at Midreshet Harova, a Jewish women's seminary in Israel. There she took a yearlong teacher training course and received an Israel teaching certificate upon completion. While at UPenn Saraleah was involved in many extracurricular activities that involved teaching and helping children. She was a head teacher in a student run organization named City Step, a group that taught dance and choreography to inner city youth. Saraleah also served as a Chair in UPenn's Model Congress Conference for high schoolers. Saraleah graduated magna cum laude with a double major in cinema studies and communication with a minor in Judaic studies. Saraleah studied Yiddish as her language at UPenn and her senior year she received the Workmen’s Circle/Arbiter RingAward for her outstanding achievements in Yiddish studies.
Yaakov Lasson
Yaakov Lasson, 25, hails from Baltimore, MD where he attended Jewish Day School K-12 and followed the Orioles and the Ravens. He then attended Yeshiva University where he received a B.A. in Psychology. He is currently continuing in Y.U. pursuing both a Master's degree at the Azrieli Graduate School (for Jewish Education) and Rabbinic Ordination.
Yaakov has been involved in teaching and promoting Jewish values/studies for both children and adults, formally and informally. Organizations and institutions that he has been involved in include: Yeshiva University's Center for the Jewish Future, Congregation Ahavath Torah (Englewood), The Hampton Synagogue, NCSY, and Camp Lavi. He currently teaches the Weekly Torah Portion to 6th graders at the Jewish Youth Connection, the Hebrew School of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun
Gabi Weinberg
,Gabi Weinberg grew up in Queens, New York and has a B.A. from Yeshiva University’s Jay and Jeannie Schottenstein Honors Program with a Major in English with a Minor in Economics. He is about to start his fourth years he Teen Program Director at the Young Israel of Scarsdale, and is starting his second year at RIETS and study for a M.A. in Jewish History at the Bernard Revel Graduate School. Gabi enjoys teaching and preparing students for their Bar and Bat Mitzvot as they enter Jewish adulthood. Gabi tries to mix his excitement with his students' to create a space to perpetuate their shared Jewish heritage
Andrew Keltz
Andrew Keltz is a New York based actor who hails from New Rochelle, New York. After graduating from New Rochelle High School, Andrew moved to Chicagoland to pursue his undergraduate education at Northwestern University. He graduated cum laude with a BA in theatre, a certificate in music theatre, and concentrations in religion, Spanish and Latino studies. He remained in Chicago for a number of years performing in plays and musicals, and in 2011 he moved back to New York where he has worked Off-Broadway most recently with the National Yiddish Theatre. Andrew has been working with Door to Door since 2013 with students ranging in age from 10 to 16 and teaches a variety of subjects including history, English, and Jewish studies.
Ben Rosenbach
Ben Rosenbach started working for Door to Door in 2014 shortly after graduating from NYU Tisch School of the Arts where he graduated with honors. Ben is from Springfield, NJ and attended the Solomon Schechter Day School (now the Golda Och Acadamey) from nursery through high school. It was there where he learned a strong base in Jewish studies, Hebrew grammar, and synagogue liturgical skills. Ben is a member of Actors' Equity and has performed in several regional theaters around the country, many of which include a Jewish theme.
Michael Dorfman
Michael Dorfman currently serves as the Department Chair of Jewish Studies and the Israel Trip Coordinator at the Rodeph Sholom School in New York City. Michael has worked with teenagers in many capacities. He has been a teacher and educator for the past twelve years. As such, he has taught a variety of subjects to both high school and middle school aged students. These include: English/Language Arts, Jewish Studies, Digital Arts, and Hebrew.Michael received a B.A. in English and Education from Rutgers University and an M.A. in Education from the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University. Most recently, he completed an M.S in Educational Leadership from Brooklyn College and received both his principal's and superintendent's license.
Merav Fine
Merav Fine is originally from Queens, New York and received her B.A.in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland, College Park. She has always been actively involved in Jewish communal life: she is a BBYO alumna and served on Hillel board while at university. She worked at University of Maryland Hillel for several years before earning her MPA from the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at NYU along with her MA in Hebrew and Judaic Studies from the Skirball School at New York University. She spent last summer at the Pardes Institute in Jerusalem continuing her Jewish education. Currently Merav develops education programming for a Jewish nonprofit (Jewish Funders Network) and teaches yoga in addition to tutoring with Door to Door.
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Jon Leener
Jon Leener is entering his third year at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School. He received his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin in Communication Arts, specializing in film, with a certificate in Jewish Studies. Before entering rabbinical school, Jon studied at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. As a Jewish educator and spiritual leader, Jon aims to make Judaism more lively, relevant, and accessible to Jews of all backgrounds. He believes in the power of informal and experiential Jewish education and enjoys leading Birthright trips, tutoring students one-on one, and working in Jewish camping. Jon’s writings have appeared in Haaretz, Huffington Post, Sh’ma Journal, and also blogs for Times of Israel. He has worked with Joel at D2D for the last years.
Tani Weissman
Growing up in a Modern Orthodox home in Baltimore, Maryland, Tani attended Jewish day school from kindergarten through 12th grade. Tani began tutoring when he was in high school, helping prepare kids for their Bar Mitzvah. While in high school, Tani additionally ran the weekly youth minyan at his synagogue, frequently leading the group in prayer and torah reading. For the summers he went to camp Moshava in Pennsylvania. After high school, he went to Israel to study in Yeshiva for 18 months before returning to the US. He is currently a junior at Yeshiva University where he is pursuing a degree in Psychology. This is his second year with Door to Door.
Faith Brigham Leener
Faith Brigham Leener grew up in Charlotte, NC and received her B.A. Phi Beta Kappa from Brandeis University. After college Faith spent a
year at Pardes Institute in Jerusalem and then when on to work as a New York City Urban Fellow at the NYPD's Counterterrorism Bureau.
Faith earned her MPA from NYU Wagner and is currently finishing her Masters in Judaic Studies. She is the Coordinator of CLIP: Onward Israel, a collaborative program between The Edgar M. Bronfman Center
for Jewish Student Life at NYU, UJA-Federation of New York, and the Jewish Agency for Israel’s Onward Israel initiative. Faith loves
running in Central Park and hosting Shabbat dinners.
Arieh Levi
Arieh started working for Door to Door in 2013. Growing up in an Orthodox home in New Jersey, Arieh attended Jewish day schools and summer camps, singing in the school choir and serving as a counselor for children aged 11 through 15. After high school, Arieh studied at a religious seminary in Jerusalem for two years, where he could be found either discussing theology or playing football, and then proceeded to graduate with a degree in Data Science from Yeshiva University.
Arieh believes that Judaism should be experienced through song and prayer, and that spirituality is as much cerebral as it is emotional. There is nothing that Arieh enjoys more than learning from his gifted students, and helping his students realize their potential in all that they do.
Oliver Sax
Oliver grew up in Cleveland, Ohio where he attended a Modern Orthodox Jewish day school and cultivated his love of Jewish learning. After high school, he spent a year in Israel studying at a Yeshiva in Beit Shemesh, Israel. Oliver spent his summers as a counselor and division head at Camp Stone in Pennsylvania where he taught campers Tanach. He completed his B.A. in Biology from Yeshiva University in 2014. Oliver is currently a medical student at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Cantor Nancy Bach
Nancy Bach came to us over 3 years ago both as a tutor and service leader. She has studied at the School of Sacred Music and Cantorial Studies at Hebrew Union College. Nancy loves the work of creating meaningful teaching and worship experiences and is thrilled to be part of the team at Brooklyn Heights Synagogue. Both on the bimah and through her love of teaching children and adults inside and outside the classroom, Nancy brings her voice and a sense of creativity, joy and rigor. She hopes this will always instill a welcoming and strong connection with the teachings of Judaism, and help us reach both within as individuals and out to each other as a wider community. Prior to her tenure at Brooklyn Heights Synagogue, Nancy worked at The Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, Hebrew Tabernacle Congregation and Central Synagogue in Manhattan, and has served as Student Cantor at Congregation Children of Israel in Augusta, Georgia. She loves to run, do yoga, cook, ski and see as much theater as she can. Before beginning her Cantorial studies, Nancy worked in the fields of Musical Theater and Arts Marketing. Nancy grew up in Manhattan and received her B.A. from Brown University.
Anna Allen
Anna, originally from St. Paul, Minnesota, has been working as a Jewish Communal Professional in Minneapolis, New York, and Israel in various capacities for over five years. She is currently a Program Manager for Planned Giving and Endowments at the Jewish Federations of North America and prior to her work with Federation, she served as Field Staff Manager at Big Tent Judaism. Anna has been teaching Hebrew and Judaic studies to students of various ages and Hebrew proficiency levels for over 8 years. She has a B.A. from Smith College in Women and Gender Studies and Jewish Studies.
Lior Shtivi
I was born and raised in Ramat-Gan, Israel. After completing my military service, I moved to the U.S. and am currently studying electrical engineering at The City College of New York. I’ve been teaching Hebrew and Judaic Studies for the past four years, both in Minneapolis and New York City. I work at Kane Street Synagogue, Kolot Chayeinu and the Society for the Advancement of Judaism. Previously I served as the Outdoor Adventure Specialist at the Jewish Community Center of Saint Paul's summer camp where I worked with campers on team-building exercises and outdoor exploration. I’m also the Operations Director as part of the leadership staff at Young Judaea Sprout Brooklyn Day camp. My wife Anna and I live in Brooklyn.
Abby Friedman
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Abby grew up in Paramus, NJ and attended Solomon Schechter Day School and High School, graduating in 2002. As the daughter of a Rabbi she has always had a special connection with Israel and her Jewish heritage that she enjoys sharing with others. She graduated with a degree in Television Production from Boston University and currently works at MSNBC where she teaches the interns she works with social media and television production skills. As well as bond with them over her love of sports.
Joanna Ross-Tash
Joanna Ross-Tash grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. After spending a year at Bar Ilan University in Israel, she came to New York to study Art History at Yeshiva University. Joanna currently resides in Fort Greene, Brooklyn and is an active participant in central Brooklyn Jewish life. She works as a museum educator at the Tenement Museum and a yoga teacher at Sky Ting Yoga in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Kimberly Fuld
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Kimberly Fuld is currently completing her Master's degree in Jewish Education at the Davidson School of Jewish Education at JTS, where she also received an MA in Bible last year. She has been working in Jewish education for almost 10 years, and has a wealth of knowledge in all different Jewish subjects, from Torah reading to text study, to Jewish history.
Samantha Brandspiel
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Sami grew up in East Windsor, NJ and commuted to the Abraham Joshua Heschel School in NYC for high school. She attended summer camp at Young Judaea and was an active participant in United Synagogue Youth (USY). After high school, Sami pursued a degree in Public Health at Rutgers University. At Rutgers, Sami was an active participant of Hillel and served as President her senior year. Currently, Sami works at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, in addition to being a youth advisor, hebrew school teacher, and tutor. When she's not working, you can find her spending time in NYC or rooting on her favorite Philadelphia sports teams.
Sam Feldman Greene
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Sam Feldman Greene is in the second year of a two-year Master’s of Jewish Education program at The Davidson School at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Growing up in Los Angeles, Sam was fortunate enough to have a very vibrant Jewish community around him. After graduating from Milken Community High School, Sam attended Pitzer College in Claremont, CA where he majored in Sociology. After graduating from Pitzer in May of 2014, Sam moved to Seattle, WA and served for a year as an AmeriCorps member for an education-based non-profit program called City Year. With City Year, Sam worked as a teacher’s assistant and small-group tutor for reading and math. At Davidson, Sam is on the Day School Teaching track and currently has a student-teaching placement at Schechter Manhattan. Sam has also worked for many summers at Camp Ramah in California and most recently spent his summer at Ramah Nyack as a part of the shiur (education) staff.
Jonathan Goldstein
Jonathan Goldstein holds a BA from Columbia University in history, an MA from Bar Ilan University in Land of Israel Studies and Archeology, and Tour Guiding certifications in Israel and New York. When not tutoring with DoortoDoor, he runs Cicerone Travel, a company which specializes in Jewish Heritage Tours throughout Israel, New York City, and much of Central and Eastern Europe as part of a lifelong effort to explore the significance and meaning of being a part of the Jewish world.
Yoni Hochbaum
Yoni was born and raised in a warm, Modern Orthodox home in Brooklyn, and fostered his love for learning and the Hebrew language at the Yeshivah of Flatbush. After high school, Yoni focused on Judaic studies exclusively for a year and a half, and followed that up by completing his B.A. in Psychology at Yeshiva University. Yoni is an experienced Ba'al Koreh (Torah reader) and is well-versed in the cantillation of Torah, Hafotrah, and the relevant biblical scrolls read on holidays. Currently, Yoni works in Sales and Business Development for a financial services company, and spends his down time passionately following the Knicks, Giants, and Yankees