Anatomy of a Jewish Leader

Ofer Gutman is the CEO of Masa Israel Journey, the leader of long-term Israel experiences, which has served over 160,000 young adults from more than 60 countries since its founding. Prior to this he was the CEO of Israel Venture Partners, a non-profit organization that provides educational resources to underprivileged youth in Israel, and the Central Sheliach of the World Zionist Organization in North America, where he focused on forging connections between students on college campuses and Is...

Dr. Rivka Press Schwartz is an Associate Principal at SAR High School, a fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute, and the Co-Director of Machon Siach. She holds her PhD from Princeton and lectures on issues of contemporary importance in the Orthodox community. Dr. Rivka Press Schwartz sits down to discuss her transition from being raised in a more “right-wing” community to Modern Orthodoxy and highlights a fascinating story of perseverance which landed her at Princeton. She then speaks about s...

Rabbi Yehuda Sarna is the Chief Rabbi of the Jewish community of the United Arab Emirates and the Executive Director of the Bronfman Center and a University Chaplain at NYU. Rabbi Sarna sits down to discuss the vision that he had for himself growing up, how his experiences on 9/11 shaped his approach to leadership, and what he feels he can give most to his university students. He speaks about teaching open mindedness, interacting with and overcoming his own preconceived stereotypes, and his e...

Before this podcast ever launched, the person I most wanted to interview was Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, who unfortunately passed in November 2020. As a member of the House of Lords and Chief Rabbi of the UK, he stood as a pillar of Judaism, politics, philosophy, and morality. While Rabbi Sacks is no longer with us, I felt it critical to still have an episode to assist in better relating to and learning from him. This special episode has three parts: Mrs. Joanna Benarroch was the Director of...

Rabbi Haskel Lookstein is the former principal of Ramaz, Rabbi Emeritus of KJ, and one of the most influential American Jewish activists of the last century, to the point where Newsweek called him the most influential orthodox rabbi in America. As there was so much to discuss, this episode was split into two parts. Part 1: Rabbi Lookstein sits down to discuss his close relationships with massive Jewish figures, such as Rav Soloveichik and Rabbi Lamm, how he came to be in the rabbinate, and ...

Rabbi Haskel Lookstein is the former principal of Ramaz, Rabbi Emeritus of KJ, and one of the most influential American Jewish activists of the last century, to the point where Newsweek called him the most influential orthodox rabbi in America. As there was so much to discuss, this episode was split into two parts. Part 1: Rabbi Lookstein sits down to discuss his close relationships with massive Jewish figures, such as Rav Soloveichik and Rabbi Lamm, how he came to be in the rabbinate, and ...

Jonathan Schwab is my personal mentor and the person that I look up to as a leader in my life. He was the Director of Housing at Yeshiva University, where he trained over 100 RAs to be future leaders in the Jewish world, is an advocate about infertility in the orthodox Jewish world, and is currently doing his doctoral research on the religious experience of Jewish students in faith-based universities. Mr. Schwab sits down to discuss his transition from an award-winning scientist and MIT recru...

Rabbi Dov Lipman was the first American-born member of Knesset in 30 years, is an activist and political commentator for the state of Israel, is the author of multiple books, and currently stands as the Secretary General of the Confederation for United Zionists. Rabbi Lipman sits down to discuss how he got involved in politics (hint: he didn’t grow up envisioning it for himself), the personal challenges that come with being in the public sphere, and the bipartisan humanity that he experienced...

Mark (Moishe) Bane is the president of the Orthodox Union and a senior partner at the international law firm Ropes & Gray. Mr. Bane sits down to discuss his philosophy on leadership, how he approaches faith, and the difference between being close-minded and judgmental. He provides insight into his psychology and how that impacted his life path, why he chose lay leadership over other Jewish careers, and how he manages to balance all of his responsibilities (sneak peak: family comes first)....

Arna Poupko Fisher is a widely renowned leader and educator who has lectured in over 120 different communities throughout North America. She was the first individual to be a full time scholar in residence of a federation, she was the president of the JCRC of Cincinnati, is a core faculty member for Wexner, which is the premier organization for Jewish leaders, is a faculty member in the Dept. of Jewish Studies at the University of Cincinnati, was an executive for the federation of Cincinnati, ...

Rabbi Steven Burg is the CEO of Aish HaTorah and the former International Director of NCSY and Eastern Director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Rabbi Burg sits down to discuss how he became a leader, how one can connect to others, and the challenges of leading when one is not always "on the ground." He discusses the necessity to stand up for all Jews and emphasizes that Jewish education should focus on wisdom, as opposed to guilt. Rabbi Burg provides insights that he learned from Rabbi Noach ...

Keshet Starr is the CEO of ORA (Organization for the Resolution of Agunot), which seeks to eliminate abuse from the Jewish divorce process. Mrs. Starr sits down to discuss how she came to be in such a leadership role, the balance between empathy and justice, and what it's like to be a female leader in a potentially confrontational role in the very community that she lives in. She goes on to explain how she tries to make sure that her staff is emotionally intelligent and she offers advic...

Richard Joel is the president emeritus of Yeshiva University and Hillel. Dr. Joel sits down to discuss how he came to be in leadership positions, overcoming adversity (such as the death of his father at a young age and being the first non-Rabbi president of YU), what it takes to change the culture of an organization, and the emotional makeup required to be an effective leader. He shares some of his favorite stories and discusses his meaningful relationship with Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks.

As someone who is looking to ultimately be in a leadership role in the Jewish community, I have spent much time trying to not only pick up "tips and tricks" from mentors and people that I look up to, but to also learn from them as a person. What are their values? How do they interact with different emotions, such as doubt, grit, and empathy? How do their values and ways that they approach emotions relate to the ways that they interact with others? As I connected with mentors and learned from ...