Rabbi Alexander Coleman is the Director of the Institute for Jewish Ethics in Philadelphia, a Jewish educational platform offering seminars and classes on contemporary ethical dilemmas. The Institute features international rabbinic and secular scholars, and its programs are CLE-accredited for attorneys fulfilling their continuing legal education requirements.

In addition, Rabbi Coleman teaches a wide range of classes for both groups and individuals on topics including spirituality, Talmud, Jewish law, Parashah, Mussar, and Tanach. A trained therapist and life coach, he integrates these skills with his teaching to help people grow in both their spiritual lives and personal development. His classes and services are available in person, via Zoom, and on demand across various platforms, including the internationally renowned TorahAnytime.

Rabbi Coleman was born and raised in Liverpool, England. After a brief period at Yeshiva Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem, he spent seven years at Yeshiva Chaim Berlin in New York, where he formed a close bond with its rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Aharon Schechter zt״l. After leaving yeshiva, he worked in Jewish outreach with the Etz Chaim Center for Jewish Studies in Philadelphia, and later went on to establish the Institute for Jewish Ethics. He resides in Philadelphia with his wife and family.

Gems:

• Engage your students in interesting discussions.
• Bring people back to their self-identity.
• Our learning is made up of a system of Jewish education, inspiration, and enlightenment.
• As educators, we can think of ourselves as spiritual custom tailors for the soul.
• Torah has the power to radiate out.
• Jewish education is not about data.
• The biggest and most impactful form of education is the influence, inspiration, and connection.
• What really changes a person is the connection between the teacher and the student.
• The academic knowledge is essential, but the connection to the teacher is essential for the transmission of Torah.
• Chinuch is launching someone on their path to be self-sufficient.
• Be mindful of the student in front of you.
• Help others understand what life is about and what our purpose is in this world.
• Work on changing ourselves.
• If it’s inside of us, it will organically flow out.
• Admit when you don’t know something.

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Rabbi Daniel Lapin is known world-wide as a noted rabbinic scholar, best-selling author and host of the Rabbi Daniel Lapin Podcast where he shares his knowledge of how the world really works. He is one of America’s most eloquent speakers and he has helped many people around the world grow in their five F’s: Faith, Family, Finances, Friendship, and Fitness through ancient Jewish wisdom. He was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, later studied in yeshivas in Gateshead, London, and in Israel. He emigrated to the United States and founded The Pacific Jewish Center. His more recent projects, along with his wife Susan, include online courses, a community called The We Happy Warriors, and has written many best-selling books, including their most recent book, The Holistic You: Integrating your Family, Faith, Finances, Friendships, and Fitness. Rabbi Lapin is an avid boater and sailed his family from Los Angeles to Honolulu in the summer on their own 44 foot sailing cutter. As the family grew, the Lapins switched to calmer waters, boating in the San Juan and Gulf Islands in Washington State and British Columbia. He and his wife Susan homeschooled their seven children on Mercer Island, Washington and now live in Baltimore, MD.

Gems:

Our primary obligation is to teach ourselves, not just our children.

We are responsible for our own growth and progress; nobody else is responsible.

Parents must be on the same page.

Create an authentic connection with G-d rather than a formalistic one.

Teach children to build a relationship where they can talk to G-d.

Judaism is more than just a ritualistic way of life.

Try to get out of your comfort zone.

We pass down principles that are relevant at all times.

Think through what you’re going to tell your children.

Be open to freshness.

How we teach needs to be linked to each child as an individual.

Raise children that we would really like.

We can’t expect things to be easy.

Homeschooling is more viable than people think.

Our job is to acculturate the next generation.

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Michael Feldstein has been a direct marketing professional for more than 40 years. He graduated with an MBA in marketing from New York University and has lived in Stamford since 1982. Feldstein is a member of both the Young Israel of Stamford and Congregation Agudath Sholom and has served on the adult education committees at both synagogues. He chaired the Center for Community Education at the Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy in Stamford, an education initiative that brought various Jewish educators to speak to members of the Stamford Jewish community. He also chairs the annual Challenges in Jewish Education panel program, which has brought various Jewish educators to participate in a panel to discuss critical issues in the world of Jewish education. It has run consecutively for more than 20 years. He is the author of MEET ME IN THE MIDDLE, a collection of essays on contemporary Jewish topics. For the last three years, he has been publishing a weekly column in The Jewish Link. His works have also appeared in The Jewish Week and The Forward. In 2023, he won the Simon Rockower Award for Excellence in Journalism, which is given each year by the American Jewish Press Association.

Gems:

Be a life-long learner.

Though technology is very useful, we must still value the actual Torah texts.

Being Jewish is not something we can hide.

Be flexible.

Learning in Hebrew gives our students the ability to read and connect with our texts.

We learn through experiences.

Teach critical thinking skills along with moral character.

There’s value in teaching our students a trade.

Focus on each individual child.

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