Thirty percent of Steinsaltz Yeshiva alumni go on to become rabbis and Jewish educators. Many entering the rabbinate continue their studies at our yeshiva after army service in programs, that focus on pressing halachic issues affecting Jewish lives throughout the world.
Unlike many other hesder yeshivas in Israel, a very high percentage of graduates (approximately 70%) pursue professional careers, including business, law, medicine, publishing, media, economics, acting, engineering, music, science, history, biology, computer sciences, and politics, among others.
With their permission, we thought you might find it interesting to learn of the career paths which several recent graduates are pursuing:
Alumni of the Steinsaltz Yeshiva pursue varied careers in Jewish education and as lay leaders.
Our Graduates
Yishai Shenrav
Now 26, Yishai is a widely respected journalist and radio personality for the Galei Tzahal military broadcast station. He studied statistics and philosophy at the Hebrew University, and in 2019 was included in Forbes Israel's "30 Under 30" list of promising young people.
Yitzhak Fried
Yitzhak is a school rabbi, educator, and member of the board of Ohr Torah Derech Avot High School in Efrat. He has lived in Tekoa for the last 17 years. He serves as deputy head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council. Father of six, he is an active volunteer in several organizations. His volunteer activities include driving an ambulance for Magen David Adom.
Avichai Chasid
Avichai is a data scientist at Clalit, the largest health insurer and provider in Israel, serving over 4.5 million patients. He is part of a collaborative effort between Clalit and Stanford University to develop new tools for combining electronic medical records with artificial intelligence to improve services for patients and save lives. He holds a master’s degree in economics from Hebrew University.
Hananel Stechelberg
Hananel studied law and accounting at Bar Ilan University and currently works as a corporate lawyer. In an earlier phase of his career, he served in the management of the Shefa Institutions and the Steinsaltz Center, where he supervised the finances and logistics of publishing and translating Rabbi Steinsaltz's books and promoting his educational institutions. Hananel served as the CEO of the Steinsaltz Yeshiva in the years 2017-2018.
Chagai Schlesinger
Chagai is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Law of the Hebrew University, having served as a law clerk at the Israeli Supreme Court. He is now researching the intersection between the centralist nature of the modern state and the pluralistic nature of Halakha.
David Simchon
David is an educator and manager who has devoted the last ten years working for the Bnei Akiva youth movement, most recently as the deputy director. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science and education from the Hebrew University. He is committed to creating autonomous spaces for young people - especially in the areas of religious and spiritual development.
Yoel Shpitz
Yoel is a doctoral student of Education at the Hebrew University, and is currently the coordinator of talmudic studies at the Keshet integrative school in Jerusalem. Yoel heads the Steinsaltz Center Pedagogical Institute which is involved in applying the teachings of Rabbi Steinsaltz to integrative and state religious education in Israel and the Diaspora. He was one of the founders of the Shefa Yeshiva High School in Jerusalem.
Benymin Zuckerman
Benymin Zuckerman is a PhD candidate at the Weizmann Institute of Science, and holds an M.Sc. in biomedical sciences from Hebrew University. He has authored or co-authored 8 publications in his fields of expertise in biology and advanced chemistry, and now teaches at the Davidson Institute of Science Education. He has taught at the AMIT Hammer and Shefa high schools, as well as at the Steinsaltz Yeshiva.