RABBI BERYL GERSHENFELD, Co-Founder, Dean and Senior Lecturer, has been teaching post collegiate Jewish youth for the last twenty years in Israel and the United States. His areas of special interest are developing the relevance of the Jewish ethical tradition to modern man, revealing the beauty and exactitude of Biblical texts and inspiring students to become the educated, passionate and sophisticated lay leadership of the Jewish community.

He is also presently the Dean of Yeshiva Machon Shlomo in Jerusalem, Dean of Sinai Retreats in the USA (which provides two week experiential learning programs for college and post college students) and Educational Director for Meor Israel, which provides outreach programs on twenty college campuses in the U.S. Rabbi Gershenfeld received a BA and MA from Trinity College in Hartford, CT (1976), Phi Beta Kappa, and won a Fullbright Scholarship to study in Japan. He and his family live in the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem, Israel.

RABBI AVRAHAM YITZHOK JACOBS, Co-Founder, Director and Senior Lecturer. Originally from Ocala, Florida, Rabbi Jacobs was until 2003 a senior managing director at JP Morgan, where he oversaw global stock research on telecommunications and provided strategic advice on some of the largest mergers in media/telecom history. Prior to that, he was a partner and senior telecom analyst at Sanford Bernstein, and was three times elected to the Institutional Investor All-American Analyst team. He has acted as a frequent commentator on network television and in leading newspapers and magazines, and has testified several times before the U.S. Congress.

His credits in print and broadcast journalism include nominations for both the Pulitzer Prize for investigative journalism and the Emmy Award. Rabbi Jacobs holds an MS in Journalism from Columbia University (1985) and a BA in History from Northwestern, where he graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa (1983). Rabbi Jacobs left Wall Street in the Summer of 2003 to move his family to Israel to pursue full-time his interest in studying and teaching Jewish law, philosophy and business ethics.

RABBI YOSEF LYNN, Dean of Students, Senior Lecturer, originally from Palm Beach, Florida, graduated as Valedictorian from the University of Colorado at Boulder, College of Architecture, with Phi Beta Kappa honors. Yosef served as captain of the USA's national and world running-cycling teams, and was highly ranked in the Ironman Triathalon competition.

Rabbi Lynn has been studying and teaching in Jerusalem for the past 7 years. He currently lives in Har Nof with his wife Regine and daughters Naomi and Leah Brocha.

RABBI DOVID OSTROFF serves as Machon Yaakov's primary halachic expert and teaches the halachot of Shabbat to the second-year program. Rabbi Ostroff, originally from South Africa, has for the past 25 years studied halacha in Jerusalem with some of the foremost experts in Jewish law globally, such as Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Rav Pinchas Ovadia, Rav Ezriel Auerbach, Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg and Rav Moshe Sternbuch.

In addition to teaching at Machon Yaakov, Rabbi Ostroff directs an internet-based rabbinical ordination in Hilchot Shabbat as part of the ShemaYisrael.com Shulchan Aruch Learning Program.

RABBI NOACH ORLOWEK lectures on relationships and character building and counsels students privately on a weekly basis. In addition to his work at Machon Yaakov, Rabbi Orlowek serves as mashgiach (Spiritual Dean of Students) in Yeshivas Torah Ore in Jerusalem. He lectures on five continents, mostly in the areas of parenting, teaching and relationship issues.

In more than a quarter-century of working with parents and students alike, he has developed an approach to parenting and life that has been successfully applied in the places where he teaches. He is the author of My Child, My Disciple, practical advice on discipline in the home, and My Disciple, My Child, practical advice on discipline in the classroom, and Raising Roses Among the Thorns - Bringing up Spiritually Healthy Children in Today's Society.

RABBI MATTISYAHU ROSENBLUM learns one-on-one with students as an afternoon rebbe, and teaches chumash and philosophy.

After graduating summa kum laude and Phi Beta Kappa at Yale University in History in 1985, Rabbi Rosenblum spent 2 years at Machon Shlomo in Jerusalem and decided to devote his life to learning and teaching Torah.

He spent several years studying in Yeshivas Merkaz HaTorah and Yeshivas Heichal HaTorah, earning his rabbinical ordination in 2002.

RABBI EITAN teaches Torah Textual Skills to the 1st year students. Born and raised in the United States, Rabbi Eitan attended Yeshiva University. He made aliyah in 1979, received Rabbinical ordination in Israel, and served in the Israel Defense Forces. He has taught Hebrew for 25 years at Hebrew University, the Jerusalem College of Technology (Machon Lev), Aish HaTorah, Darchei Noam/Shappel's, Mayanot, and other institutions; he founded "Ulpan Eitan," in 1990..

RABBI AHARON KRONENGOLD directs Machon Yaakov's summer program and during the regular academic year works with students one-on-one as an afternoon rebbe. Rabbi Kronengold received his rabbinic ordination from Yeshivas Be'er Yaakov from the renowned rosh yeshiva, Rav Moshe Shmuel Shapira. Over the past decade, Rabbi Kronengold has taught advanced Talmudic logic at such institutions as Meor HaTorah and the Mirrer Yeshiva.

Originally from Manhattan, Rabbi Kronengold studied at Yeshiva University High School, Be'er Yaakov, the Mirrer Yeshiva and various other Jerusalem-based institutions for advanced Torah scholars.

RABBI EPHRAIM BECKER, PH.D. teaches a course to Machon Yaakov’s first year students on spiritual, emotional, and character development. Rabbi Becker has developed a highly successful therapy practice in Jerusalem over the past 15 years, based upon the rich and sophisticated Torah / Mussar approach – focusing on free will, giving, and personal responsibility.

Rabbi Becker holds a B.A. in Jewish Studies and an M.S. in Jewish History from Yeshiva University, and a Ph.D. in Urban Education from the University of Wisconsin. His Torah education includes study at Ner Israel in Baltimore, Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim in New York City, Rochester, and Jerusalem, and Yeshiva University. He received rabbinical ordination in Toronto from Rav Gedalia Felder. He lectures internationally on Cooperative Learning, Parenting, Relationships and Mussar Approaches to Therapy.

RABBI IMMANUEL BERNSTEIN teaches the highest Talmud shiur for the second year students, in addition to weekly shiurim in Chumash and Hashkafa (Jewish Philosophy). Born and raised in London, Rabbi Bernstein came to Israel following high-school, where he studied for a number of years in Yeshivas Ateres Yisrael in Jerusalem, receiving Rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Chaim Walkin in 2001.

Rabbi Bernstein has taught Talmud in Yeshivat Ateres Yisrael, and lectured for a number of years at Michlala Jerusalem College for Women. He has published works on Chumash, Talmud, and Siddur (prayer). Rabbi Bernstein also delivers weekly lectures which are open to the public on the weekly Torah portion, and Talmudic topics.

RABBI MEIR TRIEBITZ, PH.D. teaches an eclectic syllabus to Machon Yaakov's first year students that tackles cutting edge philosophical topics as the Torah's perspective on science, evolution and free will. Rabbi Triebitz attended the Julliard School of Music before receiving his Ph.D. in mathematical physics from Princeton University at 22 years of age. He did a post-doctoral fellowship at Stanford University and then taught mathematical physics at Queens College and Stonybrook. He received rabbinical ordination before moving to Jerusalem with his family, where he teaches Judaism's thought and principles.

RABBI JONATHAN TAUB was born and raised in London, England. He studied economics in Cambridge University, where he obtained a masters degree, and then qualified and worked as a chartered accountant. He pursued his Torah studies in the Mir Yeshivah and in the Kollel of Yeshivas Merkaz HaTorah. Rabbi Taub has been teaching in yeshivot in Israel for almost twenty years, and is currently lecturing in a number of yeshivot and women's seminaries.

Together with Rabbi Yisroel Shaw, he translated and annotated the popular Malbim Haggadah, and subsequently the Malbim Esther. Rabbi Taub has a deep appreciation of the Malbim's style and close textual analysis, and tries to incorporate this into his teaching.

Rabbi Taub is an enthusiastic squash player, enjoys writing humorous songs.

He lives in Har Nof, Jerusalem with his wife and family.

RABBI YISRAEL SHAW learns one-on-one with Machon Yaakov students in the afternoons. Since 1997, Rabbi Shaw has learned and taught Torah with Kollel Iyun Hadaf, where he has served as the editor-in-chief of its Dafyomi publications. He has translated, edited, and published dozens of Jewish books and publications.

Rabbi Shaw, originally from Atlanta, Georgia, studied under eminent Torah scholars at Ner Israel (Baltimore), Merkaz HaTorah (Jerusalem), Midrash Shmuel (Jerusalem), and Yeshivat Ofakim. He attended university in Georgia and Maryland, and graduated with a B.A. summa cum laude from S.U.N.Y. His wife is a senior lecturer at Darchei Binah Woman's College. Their children love to host Machon Yaakov students for Shabbos at their home in Har Nof.

RABBI NATANEL LAUER teaches second year Talmud as well as philosophy and halacha. He earned a business management degree from Touro College, where he graduated summa cum laude. His further Torah studies took him to Sha’alvim, the Hebron Yeshiva and Yeshivat Mir. He received his ordination from the Israeli Chief Rabbinate.

RABBI HADAR MARGOLIN, a well-known author of nearly a dozen books on a variety of Torah topics, studied under the well-known Torah scholars Rabbi Abba Berman and Rabbi Aharon Feldman. Originally from New York City, he has for the past taught Jewish law, philosophy and Talmud in Jerusalem for the past 15 years.

RABBI YEHOSHUA QUINN learns with individual students during evening classes and is involved in advancing the learning skills of first year students. He also gives a popular shiur on common halachic practices. Born in Great Neck, NY, Rabbi Quinn, studied 8 years at Yeshivas Ateres Israel in Jerusalem and continued his studies at Yeshivas Mir. He has received Rabbinic ordination from Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg. He lives in Har Nof with his wife and four children.