Faculty 2009-10
Rabbi Leah R. Berkowitz is the Assistant Rabbi at Judea Reform Congregation in Durham. She grew up in Broomall, PA, and earned her B.A. in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and Journalism from Brandeis University. She was ordained in 2008 at Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, where she also earned masters' degrees in Hebrew Literature and Religious Education. During her studies at HUC-JIR, Rabbi Berkowitz served as a rabbinic intern at hospitals and Hillels, camps and congregations throughout the Northeast. She has had stories and essays published in God: Jewish Choices in Struggling with the Ultimate , Jewish Women’s Literary Annual , and Spirituality 101: The Indispensible Guide to Keeping- or Finding- Your Spiritual Life on Campus, and also contributed to the creation of The Torah: A Women’s Commentary. Rabbi Berkowitz is excited to be a part of the Midrasha team and the Jewish community in the Triangle. It is her goal as a Jewish professional to empower the members of this community to lead their best Jewish lives.
David Bernay recently moved to Durham after spending two years in Israel, where he completed an MA in Jewish History at Hebrew University. Originally from Upstate NY, David received an undergraduate degree in German from Middlebury College in Vermont. David is looking forward to connecting with the Jewish community in NC, and as an avid musician and concert-goer, he hopes to explore new musical offerings in the triangle area!
Rabbi Zalman and Yehudis Bluming - Rabbi Zalman is the Rabbi and Director of the Chabad of Durham/Chapel Hill. He grew up in Atlanta and enjoyed a diverse educational background studying in Manchester Eng.& Melbourne, Australia, Jerusalem, Israel & The Far East .His classes have been among the most popular classes in his 5 years thus far teaching at the Midrasha.
Yehudis is the co-director of the Chabad of Durham/Chapel Hill and has traveled around the country running various Chabad youth and teen programs. She's been a counselor, head counselor and the director for Jewish camps for teenagers and has been the teen program coordinator for a high school of 600 teens. She then ran a young adult-teen program for a year in Melbourne Australia.
They spend their summers leading Birthright Israel trips for college students.
Matt Diamond is the Director of the Community Midrasha. He recently helped found the North American Association of Community Hebrew High Schools - a network of 70 schools serving over 11,000 Jewish teens, and served on the Mazkirut and Programming Vaad for the CAJE 31 Jewish education conference.
Matt lived in Israel for 8 years where he worked for USY and NFTY, went to Hebrew U for grad school in political science, and served in the IDF. He has taught "Israeli Politics" at Duke and has published several academic articles about Israel, the Middle East, and Jewish law.
Rachel Galper is a certified teacher and art educator, and is soon to receive s'micha as a maggida (Jewish inspirational speaker and storyteller) through renowned Jewish storyteller Yitzhak Buxbaum. Rachel currently teaches mixed media collage and assemblage, mural painting, story-based art, and basic storytelling thorugh the Carrboro Arts Center, the Durham Arts Council, Carolina Friends School, the Durham/Chapel Hill Jewish Federation , Durham Parks and Recreation and Housing Authority, and several local libraries and K-12 schools throughout the Triangle. Rachel is the founder of the ongoing Storytellers for Healing Adult Story Circle in Durham, a volunteer doula and Reiki Master, and an occasional facilitator for a Jewish Meditation Group. She also serves as the art teacher for Temple Beth Or in Raleigh.
Rabbi Michael Goldman is the Rabbi for the Freeman Center for Jewish Life. Michael graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Russian from Reed College and his Master’s Degree in Russian from Columbia University. Recently, he received his Rabbinical Ordination and his Master’s in Jewish Philosophy from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. While pursuing ordination, Michael served as the Jewish Chaplain at Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center in New York City, and as a congregational rabbi in Beacon, New York.
Rabbi Steven Kirschner was ordained by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) in June, 2004. He then served for two years as the Executive Director of the Hillel Foundation at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma, as well as two years as the rabbi of Congregation Bayt Shalom in Greenville, NC.
Prior to rabbinical school, Steve lived in Madison, Wisconsin, where he practiced law for 18 years. Rabbi Steve is an avid reader of science fiction and fantasy, and an enthusiastic fan of rock music, especially contemporary punk rock and emo, as well as contemporary jazz. He also loves movies, especially “The Lord of the Rings” series and the Harry Potter movies.
Ariel and David Krusch have both taught at Midrasha for several years. Ariel is studying for her MA in Education at UNC after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.A. in International Studies and a double minor in Hebrew and Jewish Studies. During her time at UNC, Ariel founded Sigma Rho Lambda, Carolina 's first Jewish sorority. Ariel is the USY and Kadima advisor for Beth Meyer in Raleigh and has taught at the Lerner School and staffed the JCC Camp.
David is in his second year at UNC law school , having graduated with a BA in Religious Studies and Music. Before entering law school he worked for the American/Israel Cooperative Enterprise in Washington DC, and for our Jewish Federation . He is also the drummer for the Chapel Hill band, The Tell.
Judith Roth has been teaching at Midrasha for several years now. Judith has an MS in Library Science, an MSW, and is working towards a Masters in Judaic Studies from the Siegel College of Jewish Studies. She currently teaches at the Lerner School and she taught high schoolers for over 8 years at several Reform synagogues outside Cleveland and in Reston, VA. She is married with a 21-year old daughter. She has two dogs, a golden retriever and a scrappy chihuahua. She is enjoying teaching at Midrasha and making new friends!
Dr. Margarita Suarez is Assistant Professor in the Department of Religion and Philosophy at Meredith College in Raleigh. Her area of concentration is Theology and Culture, specializing in Global Liberation Theologies. The Rev. Dr. Suarez teaches courses in global liberation theologies, women in Christianity, and courses in religion and culture. This is her fifth year working on the course for the 10th grade students at Midrasha.
Dr. Jonathan Weiler is a professor of International Studies at UNC. He is the author of two books - Human Rights in Russia, and Authoritarianism and Polarization in American Politics, just released by Cambridge University Press. Jonathan also offers lectures on a variety of Jewish and Israel related topics as part of the Speakers Bureau of the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies.