Glen Bezalel
Glenn Bezalel is head of Religion, Philosophy & Ethics at St Helen’s School for Girls. A graduate of both Yeshivot Kerem B’Yavneh and Har Etzion (Gush), he holds Master’s degrees in International Relations from LSE and in Religious Education from UCL, and is currently studying for a Ph.D in Education at Cambridge University. Prior to teaching, Glenn was an Equity Research Analyst at JP Morgan. He is married with five children.
James Mindell
James Mindell grew up in Finchley and attended City of London School for Boys before learning at Yeshivat Har Etzion for two years. Now in his final year at university, James is studying Economics and Business at UCL and will be starting his Finance job in the Civil Service Fast Stream next year. James, his wife Judith and baby Netanel currently live in Pinner where they are Youth Directors.
Oren Yefet
Oren’s upbringing was in Stamford Hill’s Adeni Jewish Community. He studied at Hasmonean High School and commenced his serious Jewish learning within its Beis Programme, run in Ner Yisroel, Hendon. Now an engineering graduate from Cambridge University, he works on construction sites in London where he manages works for super high-end projects.
Harris Bor
Harris Bor is a barrister practising in the areas of international arbitration, and commercial and company litigation, with a particular emphasis on corporate, joint venture, civil fraud and banking disputes. He is a yeshiva graduate, and has an LLM from London University in international comparative dispute resolution, a PhD from Cambridge University in religion and intellectual history, and has been a teaching assistant at Harvard University. Harris has taught many courses covering Jewish history and thought at the London School of Jewish Studies and elsewhere. He is married with 4 children.
Yosef Gabai
Yosef Gabai was born in Israel and attended yeshva there before studying accountancy. He lives in London and has owned as wholesale bakery business for the past 18 years,
Yosef is married with four children, all at school. He was largely responsible for establishing a Sephardi community in Stamford Hill, where he founded and runs the Ohel Shalom Synagogue on Clapton Common.
Michael Gabai
Michael Gabai, our youngest student, was 20 years old in 2021. After leaving the Menorah Grammar School he attended the Yeshiva Gedolah in Gateshead and is now at University College London studying for a BSc in Infection and Immunity. He hopes to proceed to a Ph.D. in Immunology with the ambition of studying medicine with special interest in the immune system.
Michael teaches on Sundays at the Talmud Torah attached to Lauderdale Road Synagogue and makes conscious efforts, in his own words, ‘to give back to the community’. He also has a strong interest in the fields of business and finance in which he works part-time.
Sam Amor
Sam Amor has lived in Edgware for most of his life and is an active member of the Edgware United Synagogue. After graduating from Hasmonean, he spent two years learning at Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavne. He is currently studying for a BA in Jewish Education at the London School of Jewish Studies and is also teaching Jewish Studies part time in Primary schools.
Jeremy Richards
Jeremy grew up in Hove and is married with five children. He then studied in Israel in Yeshivat Hamivtar (Brovenders) and Ohr Someach. Jeremy later graduated from Jews’ College, London with a BA (Hons.) in Jewish Studies and subsequently gained a PGCE in Education and an MA in Information and Communications Technologies from London University’s Institute of Education.
A graduate and Fellow of the Lookstein Centre for Jewish Education in the Diaspora ( Bar Ilan University), Jeremy has worked as Head of Kodesh, Deputy Head Teacher and in Teacher Training. He currently teaches at the Menorah Foundation School.
Udi Ibgui
Udi Ibgui studied at Yeshiva Shaarei in Manchester and at the Yeshiva Gedolah of Passaic, NJ. His secular education has included a B.Eng. degree in Mechanical Engineering and he is currently completing an M.Sc. degree in Machine Learning at University College London. Udi is married with one daughter.
Yisroel Sandman
Dr Israel Sandman studied at University of New Haven (CT, USA) for his BA in Political Science. He secured his PhD in Medieval Jewish Studies from the University of Chicago (IL, USA). As a Senior Research Associate at University College London’s Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies, Dr Sandman’s research embraces medieval Hebrew manuscripts and medieval Jewish thought. In the wider community he lectures on these topics as well as on Hasidic thought
In attendance
(The following are not members of the Semicha Course but attend the learning on an informal basis)
Elon Nassim
Elon Nassim was born to parents from the Adani community of Stamford Hill. When still a child, hIs family re-located to Israel where he was educated in the Yeshiva system. After marriage, he studied for the Chief Rabbinate Semicha in Israel and completed exams in Niddah, Eruvin and Mitzvot HaTeluyot Ba’aretz. He also studied Safrut and is a Sofer Stam.
Elon now lives in London and works as a Sofer. Alongside the Semicha studies which he follows informally, he is engaged in supplementing the secular education missed during his religious studies in Israel. Passionate about his learning, Elon hopes eventually to complete the Montefiore Semicha course and then use his knowledge and skills for the benefit of Anglo Jewry.
Bernard Waiman
Bernard Waiman is the oldest person to be learning informally with the Semichah students. Born and bred in London he went to Gateshead Yeshivah and then on to Manchester University to study economics. Later he completed a part time MA in Hebrew and Jewish Studies at Jews College.
He spent 45 years in business mainly manufacturing in various electrical, lighting and engineering businesses and is now retired.
Bernard has four children three of whom live in Israel and has a number of grandchildren there. He has been involved in many communal activities on a voluntary basis notably Jews College and the Independent Jewish Day school where he was one of the founding governors.
The next cycle of the the Course is due to start in November 2022. However the following students, who now attend the learning informally, expect to be joining in November 2021.
Asher Dworkin
A man of varied interests, active in communal work of all kinds, Asher gained a scholarship to Immanuel College, Bushey. After leaving school he studied at Yeshivat Shaalvim in Israel before joining the Meng Programme in Biomedical Engineering at University College London, where he expects to graduate in 2021 and then proceed to study for a Ph.D.
Avi Son
Avi, formerly Youth Director at Edgware United Synagogue, is currently serving as its Community Development Manager. Educated at Yavneh College and then at Yeshivat Hakotel, he gained his BA Hons degree in History from University College, London.