Meet our Wonderful Teachers at Kesher School
Jewish Families Live (JFL)
Preschool 3-4yr olds (monthly)
Judy Gerb grew up in the Baltimore Jewish community where her family belonged to Baltimore Hebrew Congregation. She was active in Jewish youth groups throughout her teen years and started the Jewish Student Union at McDaniel College (formerly known as Western Maryland College). In addition to her degree from McDaniel College, Morah Judy graduated from Towson University with a degree in Occupational Therapy and has worked as an OT with school age children. She has been a parent aide to special needs children in Baltimore County Public Schools and a teacher in local Jewish preschools. Morah Judy plans on becoming a Special Educator when she completes her studies for her MAT from Towson University.
Morah Judy’s children attended Kesher School for many years. As a long-time member of the Kesher School Committee, Morah Judy served as Fieldtrip Coordinator for several years and ended her tenure as Chair of the committee during the last school year. She is an active member of Hadassah and includes knitting, gardening, and reading as her favorite hobbies. Morah lives in Ellicott City with her husband and two teenage children.
Rabbi Ruth Smith graduated from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 1994. She spent 9 years as a congregational rabbi during which time she developed and participated in programming for families with young children. While a pulpit rabbi, she was a teacher to students of all ages. Among the adult classes she has taught are: Exploration of the Ethical Teachings of the Jewish Holidays, A Spiritual Introduction to the Jewish Prayer Service, and a discussion group for intermarried couples. Currently she is a Jewish chaplain at the University of Maryland Medical Center. As a member of Beit Tikvah, she runs the monthly children's service for elementary age children. With the Gan HaYeladim (Garden of the Children) program, she brings her experience building community with young children and their families to the Beit Tikvah Community. Rabbi Ruth and her partner, Larry, have twin 9 year old sons.
ALEPH
Students K-1 (twice monthly)
Shayna Lebovic teaches the Aleph class. She was raised in a Jewish home in Baltimore, Maryland and attended a local Jewish private school. Her nurturing home life and enriching education instilled in her a love for her heritage and a desire to share her love with others. Shayna’s first year out of high school was spent abroad volunteering at a Jewish foster home. She enjoyed interacting with the children, helping them with their homework, teaching them dance (another love of Shayna’s) and organizing daily activities.
Currently she is working as a clinical assistant at the Center for Mental Health and attending Towson University where she is pursuing a dual major in psychology and family studies. She has maintained top grades since beginning at Towson University and has been awarded the honorable distinction of Dean’s List recipient for every semester to date.
Shayna is no stranger to Synagogue youth education. She has spent her high school years volunteering at her local synagogue youth education division. Shayna is excited to be part of the Kesher community.
BEIT
Students in Grades 2-3 (weekly)
Micheline Anderson
GIMEL
Students in Grades 4-6 (weekly)
Allyson Mattanah teaches the Gimel class, grades 4 through 6. Growing up in a secular family in a small New England town, Allyson was drawn to Jewish customs and humour, but began to take Torah learning seriously in College. She became active at the U.C. Berkeley Hillel, lived in a Jewish Bayit, and worshiped at the local Modern Orthodox and Conservative Synagogues. She graduated from U.C. Berkeley with Honors in the Humanities with a minor in education. Allyson met her true love across the mechizah, got married, went to law school and received a J.D. from U.C. Hastings College of the Law. With her husband and first born babe in arms, Allyson moved back east. The growing Mattanah family finally settled on what they now consider their spiritual home in Reconstructionist Judaism in Roland Park. Allyson's passion for progressive education landed her on the Kesher Committe of Congregation Beit Tikvah. Through the CoChav process, Allyson put her theories to the test in guiding a cooperative and productive group of learners in the Ilanot class. When she is not making new materials or thinking up new lessons for Ilanot, Allyson works as an attorney for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Allyson lives in Keswick (Alonsoville) with her fabulous husband, Jonathan, and delightful children, Jeremy (12) and Nadia (9).
Mazal Tov to Allyson Mattanah!
Jewish Women's Archive (JWA) has awarded the inaugural Natalia Twersky Educator Award to Allyson Mattanah. The honor recognizes educators who use JWA's material in creative and engaging ways, as Allyson did when she designed a lesson that draws parallels between women in the Purim story and Jewish women who helped build the American Labor Movement.
SHORASHIM
Students in Grades 7-8 (weekly)
A two year capstone class designed for the pre and post B'nei Mitzvah years.
The Shorashim class is partially funded by a grant from the Jewish Education Enhancement Program of the Center for Jewish Education.
Deborah Buffalin teaches Shorashim. She grew up in a culturally Jewish home in New York City, and attended Carnegie Mellon University for degrees in architecture and urban affairs. After moving to Baltimore to work in community development and non-profit housing administration, Deborah stayed home to raise her three children, and is currently the office manager for a multi-media creativity lab at Johns Hopkins University. Deborah's return to Judaism in adulthood was triggered by her own children's attendance at Beit Tikvah's then-nascent Kesher school. Although Deborah began teaching at Kesher school with little technical training and vast gaps in her Jewish knowledge, she has pursued a wide range of training and utilized a wealth or resources to inform her classroom instruction.
Morah (Teacher) Deborah is known by Kesher students as “the project lady” because of her love for turning any and all lessons into a hands-on experience. In the classroom, she brings her experience working with many age groups and diverse populations, from volunteering as a reading and math tutor in Baltimore County schools, to coaching several academic chess teams, to serving as informal advisor and spare “mom” to dozens of college students each year.
PRINCIPAL
Debbie Rosenberg has previously served as a teacher and consultant at the Kesher School. She is a Maryland State certified teacher with a decade of experience in Maryland middle and high schools. She is currently the Department Chair of Social Studies in a Maryland non-public school, and is an adjunct instructor at the Center for Adult and Family Literacy at the Community College of Baltimore County. She holds a B.A. from Beloit College, an M.A. in American History from Portland State University, and her educational certification courses were taken at the Johns Hopkins University.
Principal and Morah (Teacher) Debbie grew up in New York City, and attended Reform synagogues and Workman's Circle Sunday schools (which is where she got her love of Yiddish and Jewish history). Through her adult life, she has pursued increased knowledge of Judaism, culminating in her choice to pursue a Jewish topic for her Master's Thesis (entitled Agricultural Aliyah: The Am-Olam Movement in the United States), and her shift into Reconstructionist Judaism. She continues her studies into Jewish Civilization by auditing courses at the Baltimore Hebrew University in Biblical Jewish History and Biblical Scholarship.
Morah Debbie delights in being able to visit classrooms and work with the students in Kesher School one-on-one and in groups. Her favorite time in school is the Morning Assembly, when she gets to “travel to Jewish time” with the entire school. She loves to plan exciting field trips, music & dance festivals, and she especially loves messy art projects. Her favorite educational programming takes students out of their classroom and puts parents in it! Family programming is an important part of Morah Debbie’s interests, and she loves to see it reflected in Kesher programs. She invites you to visit Kesher any Sunday of the year to see our program in action, and/or to contact her directly with any questions about our school at kesherprincipal@beittikvah.org.
Preschool 3-4yr olds (monthly)
Judy Gerb grew up in the Baltimore Jewish community where her family belonged to Baltimore Hebrew Congregation. She was active in Jewish youth groups throughout her teen years and started the Jewish Student Union at McDaniel College (formerly known as Western Maryland College). In addition to her degree from McDaniel College, Morah Judy graduated from Towson University with a degree in Occupational Therapy and has worked as an OT with school age children. She has been a parent aide to special needs children in Baltimore County Public Schools and a teacher in local Jewish preschools. Morah Judy plans on becoming a Special Educator when she completes her studies for her MAT from Towson University.
Morah Judy’s children attended Kesher School for many years. As a long-time member of the Kesher School Committee, Morah Judy served as Fieldtrip Coordinator for several years and ended her tenure as Chair of the committee during the last school year. She is an active member of Hadassah and includes knitting, gardening, and reading as her favorite hobbies. Morah lives in Ellicott City with her husband and two teenage children.
Rabbi Ruth Smith graduated from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 1994. She spent 9 years as a congregational rabbi during which time she developed and participated in programming for families with young children. While a pulpit rabbi, she was a teacher to students of all ages. Among the adult classes she has taught are: Exploration of the Ethical Teachings of the Jewish Holidays, A Spiritual Introduction to the Jewish Prayer Service, and a discussion group for intermarried couples. Currently she is a Jewish chaplain at the University of Maryland Medical Center. As a member of Beit Tikvah, she runs the monthly children's service for elementary age children. With the Gan HaYeladim (Garden of the Children) program, she brings her experience building community with young children and their families to the Beit Tikvah Community. Rabbi Ruth and her partner, Larry, have twin 9 year old sons.
ALEPH
Students K-1 (twice monthly)
Shayna Lebovic teaches the Aleph class. She was raised in a Jewish home in Baltimore, Maryland and attended a local Jewish private school. Her nurturing home life and enriching education instilled in her a love for her heritage and a desire to share her love with others. Shayna’s first year out of high school was spent abroad volunteering at a Jewish foster home. She enjoyed interacting with the children, helping them with their homework, teaching them dance (another love of Shayna’s) and organizing daily activities.
Currently she is working as a clinical assistant at the Center for Mental Health and attending Towson University where she is pursuing a dual major in psychology and family studies. She has maintained top grades since beginning at Towson University and has been awarded the honorable distinction of Dean’s List recipient for every semester to date.
Shayna is no stranger to Synagogue youth education. She has spent her high school years volunteering at her local synagogue youth education division. Shayna is excited to be part of the Kesher community.
BEIT
Students in Grades 2-3 (weekly)
Micheline Anderson
GIMEL
Students in Grades 4-6 (weekly)
Allyson Mattanah teaches the Gimel class, grades 4 through 6. Growing up in a secular family in a small New England town, Allyson was drawn to Jewish customs and humour, but began to take Torah learning seriously in College. She became active at the U.C. Berkeley Hillel, lived in a Jewish Bayit, and worshiped at the local Modern Orthodox and Conservative Synagogues. She graduated from U.C. Berkeley with Honors in the Humanities with a minor in education. Allyson met her true love across the mechizah, got married, went to law school and received a J.D. from U.C. Hastings College of the Law. With her husband and first born babe in arms, Allyson moved back east. The growing Mattanah family finally settled on what they now consider their spiritual home in Reconstructionist Judaism in Roland Park. Allyson's passion for progressive education landed her on the Kesher Committe of Congregation Beit Tikvah. Through the CoChav process, Allyson put her theories to the test in guiding a cooperative and productive group of learners in the Ilanot class. When she is not making new materials or thinking up new lessons for Ilanot, Allyson works as an attorney for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Allyson lives in Keswick (Alonsoville) with her fabulous husband, Jonathan, and delightful children, Jeremy (12) and Nadia (9).
Mazal Tov to Allyson Mattanah!
Jewish Women's Archive (JWA) has awarded the inaugural Natalia Twersky Educator Award to Allyson Mattanah. The honor recognizes educators who use JWA's material in creative and engaging ways, as Allyson did when she designed a lesson that draws parallels between women in the Purim story and Jewish women who helped build the American Labor Movement.
SHORASHIM
Students in Grades 7-8 (weekly)
A two year capstone class designed for the pre and post B'nei Mitzvah years.
The Shorashim class is partially funded by a grant from the Jewish Education Enhancement Program of the Center for Jewish Education.
Deborah Buffalin teaches Shorashim. She grew up in a culturally Jewish home in New York City, and attended Carnegie Mellon University for degrees in architecture and urban affairs. After moving to Baltimore to work in community development and non-profit housing administration, Deborah stayed home to raise her three children, and is currently the office manager for a multi-media creativity lab at Johns Hopkins University. Deborah's return to Judaism in adulthood was triggered by her own children's attendance at Beit Tikvah's then-nascent Kesher school. Although Deborah began teaching at Kesher school with little technical training and vast gaps in her Jewish knowledge, she has pursued a wide range of training and utilized a wealth or resources to inform her classroom instruction.
Morah (Teacher) Deborah is known by Kesher students as “the project lady” because of her love for turning any and all lessons into a hands-on experience. In the classroom, she brings her experience working with many age groups and diverse populations, from volunteering as a reading and math tutor in Baltimore County schools, to coaching several academic chess teams, to serving as informal advisor and spare “mom” to dozens of college students each year.
PRINCIPAL
Debbie Rosenberg has previously served as a teacher and consultant at the Kesher School. She is a Maryland State certified teacher with a decade of experience in Maryland middle and high schools. She is currently the Department Chair of Social Studies in a Maryland non-public school, and is an adjunct instructor at the Center for Adult and Family Literacy at the Community College of Baltimore County. She holds a B.A. from Beloit College, an M.A. in American History from Portland State University, and her educational certification courses were taken at the Johns Hopkins University.
Principal and Morah (Teacher) Debbie grew up in New York City, and attended Reform synagogues and Workman's Circle Sunday schools (which is where she got her love of Yiddish and Jewish history). Through her adult life, she has pursued increased knowledge of Judaism, culminating in her choice to pursue a Jewish topic for her Master's Thesis (entitled Agricultural Aliyah: The Am-Olam Movement in the United States), and her shift into Reconstructionist Judaism. She continues her studies into Jewish Civilization by auditing courses at the Baltimore Hebrew University in Biblical Jewish History and Biblical Scholarship.
Morah Debbie delights in being able to visit classrooms and work with the students in Kesher School one-on-one and in groups. Her favorite time in school is the Morning Assembly, when she gets to “travel to Jewish time” with the entire school. She loves to plan exciting field trips, music & dance festivals, and she especially loves messy art projects. Her favorite educational programming takes students out of their classroom and puts parents in it! Family programming is an important part of Morah Debbie’s interests, and she loves to see it reflected in Kesher programs. She invites you to visit Kesher any Sunday of the year to see our program in action, and/or to contact her directly with any questions about our school at kesherprincipal@beittikvah.org.
