Our dedicated faculty and administration work with each student to help them develop their unique vision and voice.
Administration and Staff
CEO and Academic Dean
Dr. Ora Horn Prouser serves as CEO and Academic Dean at AJR. Ora served as adjunct faculty in Bible at The Jewish Theological Seminary for twenty years and has consulted on the development of Bible curricula through the Matok Torah Curriculum Development Project and the Day School Hebrew Bible Curriculum Project creating Standards and Benchmarks for the Teaching of TaNaKH in Jewish Day Schools. Her recent research has been in the cross-section of Biblical Studies and Disability Studies, and in approaching the Bible through the arts, specifically through circus arts. She has been the recipient of fellowships and awards and has taught and spoken widely in formal and informal educational settings, synagogues, adult education programs, and camps. She has been at AJR for over 20 years and loves being part of a pluralistic community.
Professor, Full-Time, Hebrew Bible
PhD, BA, Bible, The Jewish Theological Seminary of America; BA, Columbia University. Undergraduate and graduate studies at Hebrew University, Jerusalem.Ora is the author of Esau’s Blessing: How The Bible Embraces Those With Special Needs (2011) and many articles about making the Bible speak to central existential concerns, specifically regarding ethical dilemmas and individual growth. She is also co-author of Under One Tent: Circus, Judaism, and Bible (2023).
Dean of Cantorial Studies and Student Life
Cantor Michael Kasper serves as Dean of Cantorial Studies and Student Life at AJR. Michael was born in Newark and raised in West Orange, NJ. The great grandson of a Hassidic Rebbe from Odessa, he grew up playing the trumpet and drums and found dance in a phys-ed class in college after working all through high school as an accompanist at the New Jersey Ballet. His career has taken him from New York City’s modern dance world, where he moved after having won a National Society of Arts and Letters Choreographer’s Competition, to private practice as a psychoanalyst, and finally to the cantorate. Along the way he worked with several major choreographers and directed his own dance company for ten years, having toured the United States and Israel as a performing dancer. He spent a year as Artist in Residence at George Mason University and taught in Hunter College’s Post Masters Program in Clinical Social Work. Michael was ordained by AJR, led Congregation Sons of Israel-Nyack as its hazzan, and retired from the pulpit in 2019. He joined the Academy in 2014 and feels honored and humbled to have the opportunity of being the Dean of both the Cantorial School and of Student Life.
Senior Lecturer, Full-Time, Professional Skills
Hazzan, Academy for Jewish Religion; M.A. in Jewish Studies, Gratz College; B.S. in Dance Education, George Washington University; M.S.W. in Clinical Social Work, NYU; Psychoanalytic Certification from the New York Center for Psychoanalytic TrainingMichael is the author of “The Language of Love” in Controversies On Countertransference; “Light and Peace in our Daily Liturgical Declarations” in Ra’u Or: Essays in Honor of Dr. Ora Horn Prouser; co-author, with Ora Horn Prouser and Ayal Prouser, Circus Texts/Sacred Arts: Bodily Arts as a means of Studying Sacred Texts.
Assistant Academic Dean
Rabbi Dr. Matthew Goldstone serves as Assistant Academic Dean at AJR. Matthew has taught at The Jewish Theological Seminary, The University of Pennsylvania, and Hunter College. He has been the recipient of a number of fellowships and has received several awards for his scholarship and teaching. At AJR he teaches courses in Talmud and Jewish law, focusing on making ancient texts relevant for contemporary contexts. In his free time he enjoys hiking and Israeli dancing.
Full-time Assistant Professor, Talmud and Rabbinics
PhD, New York University; MA, The Jewish Theological Seminary; BA, Brandeis University. Talmudic studies at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies and Yeshivat Shvilei Hatorah. Private rabbinic ordination from several well-known rabbis in Israel.Matthew is the author of The Dangerous Duty of Rebuke: Leviticus 19:17 in Early Jewish and Christian Interpretation, co-author of Binding Fragments of Tractate Temurah and the Problem of Lishana Aḥarina, and author of articles on rabbinic literature as well as articles on the Gospels in light of early Jewish literature.
Dean of Admissions and Director of Placement
Rabbi Beth Kramer-Mazer serves as Dean of Admissions and Director of Placement at AJR. Beth has served in the Reform congregational setting for over twenty-five years, bringing dynamic leadership to many areas of Jewish life. Her work has encompassed stewardship of a wide array of lifelong learning experiences, school administration, as well as traditional clergy responsibilities, including life cycle, worship, pastoral care and interfaith inclusion. Beth has earned a variety of certifications, has participated in several fellowships, and has received awards and recognitions for her excellence in leadership and innovations in Jewish education. As a proud alumna of AJR, she is thrilled to be a part of the professional team, working with students, alumni and the broader Jewish community. At AJR she often teaches Fieldwork Support Seminar as part of the Professional Skills curriculum. Beth is married to her bashert, Ross Mazer, and they have two young adult daughters. When not working, Beth enjoys walking her dog, Vashti, petting her cat, Shmuley and cycling as many miles as possible before the sun rises each morning.
Lecturer, Full-Time, Professional Skills
Rabbi, Academy for Jewish Religion; M.A. in Judaic Studies, Jewish Theological Seminary of America; B.A. University of Rochester.
Director of Spiritual Education
Rabbi Dr. Jill Hammer serves as Director of Spiritual Education at AJR. Jill has been writing poems, stories, and essays since she was in high school, and published her first work of midrash, Sisters at Sinai: New Tales of Biblical Women, the year she graduated rabbinical school. Since then, she has written books on a variety of topics in contemporary spirituality, mysticism, and feminist studies. After focusing on collecting and documenting ritual and folklore while at Ma’yan: The Jewish Women’s Project of the JCC in Manhattan, Jill became the Director of Spiritual Education at the AJR in 2006 where she facilitates and supports spiritual experience for the community and teaches Introduction to Midrash, Contemporary Midrash, Architecture of Ritual, Sefer Yetzirah (an ancient mystical work), Judaism and the Earth, Life after Death in Jewish Tradition, and Jewish Dreamwork. She is passionate about connecting in nature in all kinds of settings, from Central Park to the Berkshires to Scotland and Iceland. She is also the co-founder of the Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute, and the translator of several siddurim.
Professor, Full-Time, Spirituality and Midrash
PhD, Social Psychology, University of Connecticut; Rabbi, Jewish Theological Seminary; BA, Brandeis UniversityJill is the author of Sisters at Sinai: New Tales of Biblical Women (2001), The Jewish Book of Days: A Companion for All Season (2006), the Omer Calendar of Biblical Women (2012), The Hebrew Priestess: Ancient and New Visions of Jewish Women’s Spiritual Leadership (2015), Return to the Place: The Magic, Meditation, and Mystery of Sefer Yetzirah (2020), and Undertorah: An Earth-Based Kabbalah of Dreams (2022).
Director of Student Care
Cantor Lisa Klinger-Kantor serves as AJR’s Director of Student Care. Lisa served as cantor at Temple Shaarei Shalom in Bellmore, New York, for fourteen years. She teaches nusah at AJR and has an extensive voice practice, teaching the art of singing and davening to cantors and rabbis. In 2001, Lisa received the P’nei Torah award from AJR in recognition of her devotion in her teaching. Lisa has sung as a soloist at Alice Tully Hall and Merkin Hall and in numerous synagogues in the tri-state area. Prior to becoming a cantor, Lisa performed opera, lieder, and oratorio in prominent concert halls throughout the United States and as a soloist at the Tanglewood Music Festival. She has been a cantor at Temple Emanu-El of Long Beach for eight years.
Senior Lecturer, Full-Time, Cantorial Studies
Hazzan, Academy for Jewish Religion; MA, Performance of Voice, New York University, Phi Beta Kappa; Voice, BA, Mannes College of Music.
Rabbi-in-Residence
Rabbi Dr. Rob Scheinberg serves as Rabbi-in-Residence at AJR, and as the rabbi at the United Synagogue of Hoboken, New Jersey, a vibrant urban synagogue right outside of Manhattan. He combines his passion for Jewish communal leadership with a love for the study of Jewish liturgy, teaching courses in liturgy for many years at AJR and at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he was ordained and received his Ph.D. He has served on the editorial committees for the Lev Shalem series of prayerbooks published by the Rabbinical Assembly, as well as the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, among other leadership roles in the Jewish community and beyond. Rob loves playing guitar and piano, and throughout his adult life he has rarely gone a week without leading at least one choir rehearsal.
Assistant Professor, Adjunct, Liturgy
PhD in Liturgy, MA in Jewish Studies, and Rabbi, Jewish Theological Seminary“Money and Transaction in Jewish Liturgy and Ritual.” in Zamore, Rabbi Mary (ed.), The Sacred Exchange: Creating a Jewish Money Ethic, CCAR Press, 2019: 331-344.
Director of Fieldwork
Rabbi Jef Segelman serves as Director of Fieldwork at AJR. Jef received a BA from Boston University, a BHL from the Boston Hebrew College and his MA and Rabbinic Ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary. After serving The Wayne Conservation Congregation in Wayne, NJ, he was the Senior Rabbi for 33 years at the Westchester Jewish Center in Mamaroneck, NY. He is now the Rabbi Emeritus. In addition to his work with field placement, he teaches courses in Life Cycle, Parshat Hashavuah, and Psalms for the Clergy.
Lecturer, Part-Time, Professional Skills
Rabbi, M.A., The Jewish Theological Seminary of America; B.H.L, Boston Hebrew College; B.A., Boston University, Rabbi Emeritus of the Westchester Jewish Center, Mamaroneck, NY.
Senior Director of Administration
Suli Fassler serves as Senior Director of Administration at AJR. Suli’s professional experience is in Jewish communal service with a focus in administration and operations management. Most recently, Suli worked as the executive director of a synagogue in Westchester, New York. Having previously been part of the AJR administration, Suli returned as our Senior Director of Administration and oversees office administration and operations. Suli is delighted to be part of our team, and has an integral role in the Academy’s administration, continued growth, and service to our students and AJR community.
Director of Financial Aid and Operations
Rabbi David Cavill serves as Director of Financial Aid and Operations at AJR. David has expertise in nonprofit management including finance, fundraising, human resources, and IT. He is a graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary’s undergraduate joint program with Columbia University and studied at Yale Divinity School where he earned the degree of Master of Divinity. Rabbi Cavill was ordained at AJR in 2017. AJR honored him at its Ordination Ceremony and Graduation in 2024 for his work making it possible for AJR students to obtain Federal Student Loans. Rabbi Cavill teaches in the religious school at the Reform Temple of Forest Hills.
Controller
Rabbi Daniel Price serves as Controller at AJR. Danny learned his accounting skills serving in a similar capacity for Price Financial Group for over thirty years. After nearly two decades as a Rabbi, Educator, and Song Leader in Southwest Fairfield County, CT, Danny retired from Congregational life in 2018. He spends most of his time at his new found home, Tucson Arizona, where he is involved at Congregation Or Chadash-Kol Ami. For the past six years he has led high Holy Day Services as Rabbi and Cantor on Block Island. He continues to play music while leading worship services, and over the years he has truly found his voice in synagogue work. His Tifilla Group R-DAF plays and leads services in congregations from Pennsylvania to Rhode Island. Before being ordained as a rabbi, Danny enjoyed a 21 year career as a television producer/director in New York.
Registrar and Bursar
Linda Ripps serves as Registrar and Bursar at AJR. Linda comes to us with many years of experience in both non-profit administration and Jewish education. Prior to joining AJR, Linda designed and implemented programmatic initiatives and systems at several communal institutions, including The American Friends of the Ghetto Fighters Museum, United Synagogue Youth (USY), Behrman House Publishing, and PJ Library.
Media and Communications Director
Marisa Smith serves as Media and Communications Director at AJR. Marisa comes to AJR with a BA in Communications from Rutgers College and 20 + years of marketing experience. Her areas of expertise include social media, brand management, strategic planning, agency management, media planning, public relations and promotions. Marisa volunteers as the social media manager for her synagogue in New Jersey and for her local Hadassah Chapter, where she serves as President. She is excited to be a part of our AJR community, joining the staff to expand our social media presence and to provide zoom support for our students, faculty and staff.
Librarian
Rabbi Ellie Shemtov serves as Librarian at AJR. Ellie holds a BA in Music and an AMLS in Library Science from the University of Michigan, and she received rabbinic ordination from AJR in 2014. In 1996, Ellie created and designed the first-of-its-kind website Ellie’s Torah Trope Tutor, a teaching tool for chanting Torah, Haftorah, and the Megillot. She has worked for many years as a film librarian/archivist at a variety of institutions in the Washington, DC area, including the University of Maryland at College Park, the National Archives and Records Administration, and as Head of Film Cataloging at the Library of Congress. Ellie is the founder of Beit Yosef, a faith-based recovery community helping those who are battling the disease of addiction and she is currently the rabbi at Rutland Jewish Center in Rutland, Vermont. Ellie plays piano and flute in her congregation’s interfaith klezmer band and enjoys spending time hiking around Vermont and talking shop with her handsome rescue pooch, Ba’al “Bali” Shemtov.
Executive Assistant
Rosemarie Bodur serves as Executive Assisetant at AJR. Rosemarie comes to AJR with many years of administrative experience in non-profit, as well as private sector event and trade show management, and real estate and property management. For the past three and a half years, Rosemarie worked as the executive assistant at a synagogue in Westchester, New York. Rosemarie helped to support the clergy and executive director and assisted in maintaining the administration of the synagogue office, including the congregation’s membership, programs and activity, and the religious school and early childhood programs. Rosemarie is a dedicated volunteer with Paws Crossed Animal Rescue in Elmsford, New York. She is delighted to be on the AJR staff & looks forward to being part of the school’s continued growth and success.
Our vision of learning and living in a pluralistic Mekom Torah is reflected in our faculty who represent the full spectrum of the modern Jewish world. The diversity among our faculty and our students leads to an enriching environment in which all questions are embraced, all struggles are valued, and all ideas are respected.
Part-Time Faculty
Rabbi David Almog (Liturgy, Codes)
Lecturer
PhD Candidate, The Jewish Theological Seminary of America; Rabbi, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah; B.A., Columbia University/The Jewish Theological Seminary of America; Melton Lead Educators’ Program, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Campus Rabbi, Columbia/Barnard Hillel; Teaching Assistant, The Jewish Theological Seminary of America.
Ilana Davidov (Hebrew Language)
Associate Professor
Honorary Doctorate in Pedagogy, The Jewish Theological Seminary of America; MA, Applied Linguistics, Columbia University; BA, Hebrew Language and Literature, Tel Aviv University; Teaching Certificate and Teaching License, Tel Aviv University.
Rabbi Jeffrey Hoffman, DHL (Liturgy, Rabbinics)
Professor
DHL in Liturgy, Rabbi, MA, The Jewish Theological Seminary of America; BA, The State University of New York at Albany; Author of Karov L’Chol Korav, For All Who Call: A Manual For Enhancing the Teaching of Prayer (2000) and Weaving Prayer: An Analytical and Spiritual Commentary on the Jewish Prayerbook (2024).
Dr. Job Jindo (Bible)
Associate Professor
PhD, The Jewish Theological Seminary of America; M.A., Harvard University; B.A., The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Berkowitz Fellow at NYU Law School. He is the editor of Yehezkel Kaufmann and the Reinvention of Jewish Biblical Scholarship (2017), as well as the author of Biblical Metaphor Reconsidered: A Cognitive Approach to Poetic Prophecy in Jeremiah 1–24 (2010) and numerous articles.
Rabbi Dr. Leonard Levin (Philosophy, Personal Theology)
Professor
Rabbi, PhD, Jewish Theological Seminary; PhD, Brandeis University; BA, University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of Seeing With Both Eyes: Ephraim Luntshitz and the Polish-Jewish Renaissance (2008) and Why God Is Subject To Murphy’s Law (1992); translator of Eliezer Schweid: The Classic Jewish Philosophers and Philosophy of the Bible (2009) and Isaac Heinemann: The Reasons for the Commandments (2008); collaborated with Gordon Tucker on A.J. Heschel’s Heavenly Torah (2006).
Cantor Sol Zim (Nusah)
Professor
Cantorial study at The Jewish Theological Seminary; M.A., New York University; B.A., Brooklyn College; Cantor, Hollis Hills Jewish Center (since 1964, life tenure); master-cantor, master coach, educator, concert performer, international recording artist of twenty cassettes and cd’s featuring all original music; Zimray Ent., Publisher, eleven books of original music used by rabbis, cantors and educators, The Cantors Assembly has endorsed Cantor Zim’s Musical Siddur: Shabbat as the standard synagogue music of Conservative congregations throughout America.
Adjunct Faculty
The faculty below have taught at AJR in the last 2 years.
