Midrasha in Berkeley

Erica Crowell Altobelli begins her twenty-first year at Midrasha. She is a clinical social worker and has her M.S.W. From U.C. Ber-keley and her M.A. in sociology with a specialization in religion from U.C. Davis where she also received her B.A. She teaches behavioral science at Santa Rosa Junior College.

David Henkin begins his twenty-third year of teaching at Midrasha. He is a professor of history at U.C. Berkeley. He received his Ph.D. in American History from U.C. Berkeley and B.A. from Yale University. He is a co-founder of the Mission Minyan.

Noemi Hollander, a Midrasha alumna, begins her third year teaching at Midrasha. She holds a degree in comparative literature from Barnard College and has spent her time since then in religious edu-cation and publishing. She is the 2009 staff recipient of the U.C. Berkeley Chancellor’s Award in Public Service and was selected to attend the 2010 Institute for Educators at the Jewish Women’s Archive in Boston.

Rabbi Yoel Kahn, rabbi at Congregation Beth El, is a graduate of U.C. Berkeley. He was ordained at Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion and has a Ph.D. from the Center for Jewish Studies at the Graduate Theological Union.

Sacha J. Kopin begins her thirteenth year teaching at Midrasha in Berkeley and her nineteenth in the Midrasha system. She has served as Director of Midrasha in Contra Costa and of Beth Chaim Religious School in Danville. She is a graduate of U.C.L.A. with a B.A. in Psychology, has done graduate work in Judaic Studies at Graduate Theological Union, is a former Ti-ke-a Fellow, was awarded the 2005 Grinspoon-Steinhardt Award for Excellence in Jewish Education, is a 2007 winner of the Helen Diller Family Award for Excellence in Jewish Education, was an MTEI fellow, and was staff on the 2008 Shalhevet trip to Poland and Israel.

Oren Kroll-Zeldin begins his second year teaching the Abraham’s Vision Unity Program at Midrasha. He received his B.A. in Religious Studies and Philosophy from Skidmore College and is currently a PhD student in Social and Cultural Anthropology at the California Institute of Integral Studeis where he recently received his M.A.

Aaron Levi is newly arrived to the Bay Area. He has a B.A. from N.Y.U. where he concentrated on journalism, Judaic studies and Hebrew. He has been the director of Camp Moshava in Maryland and a summer guide in Israel.

Anna Martin, a Midrasha alumna, begins her third year at Midrasha in Berkeley and her fourth teaching in the Midrasha system. She holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature from Barnard College and a teaching credential from San Jose State University. She is an instructional coach at a middle school in San Jose, has staffed the community Let’s Go Israel! trip and last summer studied on a Fullbright Fellowship to Morroco. Anna is chair of the Midrasha Alumni Network.

Beth Midanik-Blum, a Midrasha alumna, recently graduated from the University of Washington with a B.A. in both in International Studies and in American Ethnic Studies. She also studied at the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea and the Child & Family Health International Women’s Reproductive Health Program in Mexico. Her day job is working at Planned Parenthood.

Bunny Pearlman begins her sixth year teaching at Midrasha. She has a B.F.A. from the University of Florida, an M.F.A. from the U.S.C. and has done postgraduate studies at Sonoma State University. She is the recipient of an Arad Arts Fellowship in Israel with the World Union of Jewish Studies (WUJS) and has been an exhibiting artist, gallery owner and teacher of art and Jewish studies for more than forty years.

Muni Schweig begins his tenth year at Midrasha. He has a B.A. from U.C. Berkeley in Comparative Literature, an M.A. from the Hebrew University in Jewish Civilization and has been a student in the Joint Doctoral Program in Jewish Studies of U.C. Berkeley and the Graduate Theological Union.

Day Schildkret begins his third year teaching at Midrasha in Ber-keley. He has a B.A. in Judaic Studies and Political Science from Binghamton University and has studied at Hebrew University in Je-rusalem and the Art Student League in New York. He is the Director of Tri – Valley / Tri – Cities Midrasha.

Josh Weisman is a Midrasha alumnus and Berkeley native. He has worked as an organizer for nine years, training youth, parents, congregational leaders, rabbis and pastors to create social change. Josh graduated from Macalester College with a degree in Sociology and spent last summer at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Maia Wolins, a Midrasha alumna, begins her second year teaching at Midrasha. She is earning her B.A. in Middle Eastern Studies at UC Berkeley, where she is also a dancer and co-chief editor of CAL’s multilingual literary journal. She participated in the Kohn Internship and the Shalhevet programs, and spent the past summer studying in Tunis.

Desmid Lyon, Midrasha’s Assistant Director, has a B.A. in Near Eastern Studies and an M.S.W., both from U.C. Berkeley. She begins her thirteenth year at Midrasha and is the parent of four Midrasha graduates.

Diane Bernbaum begins her thirtieth year as director of Midrasha. She graduated from Brandeis University majoring in Near East and Judaic Studies and in History and has a Master of Arts in Teaching from the Harvard University School of Education.