Conversion Rabbi Spotlight!
Just a few of the Darshan Yeshiva mentors all over the USA
Location should never limit your ability to learn. We have rabbis across the country ready to work with you. Here are a few we're really excited to tell you about:
Our Newest Rabbi, Ilana Grinblat
We are thrilled that Rabbi Ilana (she/her/hers) has joined the Darshan Yeshiva staff! Originally from Washington, DC and currently in Los Angeles, CA, she was ordained by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies as a Conservative rabbi in 2001, where she taught and mentored rabbinical students 2002-2019.
Rabbi Ilana has served as a congregational rabbi in several synagogues in the LA area, where she has mentored people in their Jewish learning. She has written three books on Torah: Blessings and Baby Steps, The Spiritual Path of Parenthood; Castles and Catch: Spiritual Lessons Children Teach Us; and The Viral Spread of Hope: Finding Inspiration in Tough Times.
A Post-Denominational Jewish Perspective in the Southeast
Prior to moving to Florida, Rabbi David Paskin (he/him/his) served as the rabbi and spiritual leader of Temple Beth Abraham in Canton, Mass. for seventeen years.
Currently, he serves as the Director of Youth Education at Temple Sinai of North Dade, the Educational Director of the Institute of Jewish Knowledge and Learning in Broward County, and the founder of OHEL, a new kind of Jewish community.
An avid technologist, Rabbi David has produced hundreds of videos on Facebook and YouTube with well over half a million views; his weekly Torah Tech Tips videos combine his love for technology and Torah.
Jewish Renewal in Orlando, Florida
Rabbi Dr. Shafir Lobb (she/her/hers) offers a unique approach to Judaism as the rabbi of Congregation Eitz Chayim—an unaffiliated Reform congregation with a Renewal flair—in Port Saint Lucie, Fla. Her teaching experience includes World Religions, Religion in the US, and Ethics at Indian River State College in Fort Pierce, Fla., as well as conversion and b’nai mitzvah online with students in Italy, Germany, and Peru.
Before moving to Florida, she was the rabbi of Congregation Kol Simchah in Tucson, Ariz. Prior to studying for the rabbinate, she was a mechanical engineer at Goodyear in Ohio, and before that a certified flight instructor!
Chicagoland Rabbi with a Passion for Tabletop Games and Spiritual Direction
A supporter of our work since the early PunkTorah days, Rabbi Menachem Cohen (he/him/his) served as the founder and rabbi of the Mitziut Jewish Community, an alternative, independent Jewish community that gathers for Shabbat, holidays, learning and schmoozing—all with a spiritual and mystical flavor. He also co-founded the now defunct Black Rock Jewish Community Center (JCC).
After working full time for 11 years on the streets of Chicago, Ill. with LGBTQ+ and/or homeless youth, he started a game company and a spiritual direction practice, mostly making tabletop games with social impact. He is also a partner at AlleyCat Comics in Chicago.