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Staff

Professor Avigdor Shinan
Chairman of the Academic Committee of the Gandel

Holds a BA in Biblical Studies and Hebrew Literature from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a PhD in Rabbinical Literature from the Hebrew University (1978). Since 1972, he has been a lecturer in the Department of Hebrew Literature at Hebrew University. He became a full professor in 2000. He has published around 150 articles in these various fields and written more than ten books. His principal research fields include the literature of the Aggadah and the Midrash, the Aramaic translations of Scriptures and the history of the Siddur. Professor Shinar has taught in various institutes around the world, such as the Jewish Theological Seminary, Yale University and Yeshiva University. At Hebrew University, he has headed the Department of Hebrew Literature and the Department of General Studies, and served as the Dean of Students. Professor Shinan is the academic advisor for the Avi Hai Foundation and for Beit Avi Hai in Jerusalem and he is a member of the Management Board of the the Gandel Insitute.

Dr. Jonathan Mirvis, International Director,
The Florence Melton Adult Mini-School

As International Director of the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School Institute since 1991, Jonathan is the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's foremost academic specialist in adult education and the new field of social entrepreneurship. He lectures to graduate students and conducts research on these subjects at the Hebrew University’s School of Education and Melton Centre for Jewish Education, The School of Social Work’s Program in Non-Profit Management and The Business School’s MBA Program. He holds a doctorate in adult education from Surrey University in England, participated in the Jerusalem Fellows program and is a graduate of Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavneh in Israel. Jonathan was awarded a Kaye Innovation Prize by The Hebrew University in 2003 for his development of the social franchise model and in 2007 received a special recognition by the Rector of the university for excellence in teaching.

Dr. Nicham Ross, Director,
The Gandel Institute for Adult Jewish Learning

Nicham Ross is a lecturer in the Department of Jewish Thought at Ben Gurion University of the Negev. Nicham received his BA degree from Bar Ilan University and his MA from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He completed his PhD in Jewish Thought at Ben Gurion University and he specializes in researching identity and tradition in Jewish literature from the beginning of the 20th century. He received a Fulbright Scholarship to carry out his post-doctoral studies at the University of Pennsylvania. In the past he has served as Assistant to the Dean of Jewish Studies at Touro College, Jerusalem and lectured in the Department of Philosophy at Bar Ilan University and the 'Kerem' Teacher Training College. He received the Dov Rafael prize for research in Jewish Thought, the Goren-Goldstein Scholarship, and is a Research Fellow at the Lamda Pozen Foundation for Secular Jewish Culture.

Tsafy Simons

A graduate of the Technion in Haifa (B.Arch. in architecture and Town Planning, 1975), with an MA (RCA) from the Department of Research Design at the Royal College of Art in London (1978). In the past Tsafy was the head of 20 learning centers in Marom Ha'Galil at the North of Israel on behalf of the Branco Weiss Institute for the Development of Thinking, as well as the inventor of an innovative high school for drop outs, which is now a chain of high schools. She also served as Head of Education, Culture and Welfare at the local council of Kfar Vradim, as well as the Head of Development and Training for the MathRiders program of the Helen Doron Company. For 2 years Tsafy was the director of the Karmiel-Misgav Gandel school, which had 5 classes of students. She is now the National Coordinator for the directors of the Gandel Institute, recruiting new directors as well as training them and supervising their development.

Sigalit Ur

Holds an MA (cum laude) from Tel Aviv University, the Talmud Department. Sigalit is a graduate of the Hartman Program for the Renewal of Jewish Education in State Schools in Israel. Staff member, facilitator and devises study programs for the Galilee Foundation for Value Education. Facilitator, writer and editor of the fourth course for the Gandel Institute - "Values and Morals in Judaism".

Eytan Gur Arye

Holds an MA in Public Policy from Tel Aviv University, is currently studying for an MA in Jewish Philosophy. He is a graduate of the program for Jewish Renewal in Public Schools in Israel at the Hartman Institute, graduate of the program for training tutors for Beit Midrash at the Hartman Institute, a high school teacher and a tutor at various Beit Midrashim. He leads various study groups at the Gandel Institute and is a member of the Management Team.

Dr. Zoya Kopelman

Kopelman, one of the busiest tutors in the Gandel Institute, teaches Russian-speaking groups whose students immigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union. Dr. Kopelman has an MSc in Electronic Engineering from Moscow, and an MA and a PhD in Hebrew Literature from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
She is a teaching coordinator for 2 courses (Hebrew Literature and The Holocaust) at the Open University, a lecturer of Hebrew Literature at the Melton Jewish Education Institute and at the Chaise Institute that links the Hebrew University and the Moscow National University. She is also a researcher and scientific editor and writes entries about Israeli and Hebrew writers for the Jewish Encyclopedia.