Anatomy of a Jewish Leader Jonathan Frieden

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 th...

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 the...

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 the...