Staff
Editors in Chief
Sarit Bendavid – Sarit is from Teaneck, NJ and attended the Frisch School, where her interest in Jewish thought was first cultivated. She spent a year in Migdal Oz and is currently in her third year at Stern, where she plans on spending four years. She is majoring in History and English Literature with a minor in Judaic Studies and is thoroughly enjoying her time exploring the world of academia, although she has no clear idea of where this will take her in her professional life. Her hobbies include playing the flute, learning about Biblical Archaeology, and making creative paninis in a sandwich-maker.
Shlomo Zuckier – Shlomo is currently a fifth-year senior, meaning it is his fifth year as a senior. Hailing from Teaneck, he is majoring in Philosophy and Jewish Studies, minoring in Math, and is in the BA/MA program with Revel. Shlomo spent somewhere between 3.5 years in Gush (apparently, he likes it there), and has started semicha in YU. He is trying to take as long as possible to finish college, which will probably happen at the end of this year.
Associate Editors
Ilana Gadish- Ilana Batya Gadish, also known just as Gadish, is a Senior at Stern College for Women, and is a proud member of the Stern Beit Midrash community. She is majoring in Jewish Studies, with a minor in Biology (she has finally admitted this to herself). Ilana, beach-child, was born and raised in Miami, Florida and is an alumna of Midreshet Lindenbaum. She loves a good steak (sometimes even for breakfast) and thoroughly enjoys exploring the universe’s many wonders and surprises.
Jonathan Ziring – Ziring, who is known by many names with the exception of Jonathan, comes from Medinat Ha-Yam, by which we mean over the Verrazano Bridge in Staten Island (yes, that is part of NY, and no, you do not need to take a boat to get there). He is now in his third year on the YU campus (whatever that means in YU), and is majoring in Philosophy and Jewish Studies and is beginning a BA-MA program with BRGS. Before that he spent two years in Yeshivat Har Etzion, aka Gush, and before that Rambam Mesitva, which is of course shocking considering his majors. His hobbies include, almost exclusively things that would make you believe he was a nerd. Perhaps this is true, but he will not give you the chance to decide, by not listing any of them.
Staff Writers
Daniela Aaron- Daniela Aaron was born in Los Angeles, raised in Seattle, and her family now lives in Israel while she spends most of her time in New York - but despite her travels far and wide she will always be a rain-loving West coaster at heart. After a year in Israel at Midreshet Lindenbaum she returned to America where she is currently a senior at Stern College majoring in English Literature and Judaic Studies, and minoring in Music. (This basically means she gets to read, study Torah and listen to music as much as she wants without being told she is wasting time.)
Yitzhak Bronstein- Yitzhak Bronstein currently finds himself back on the YU campus after a 2 year stint in Gush. With his 4 years in the notorious MTA Dorm, this is his sixth year living on the YU campus (well not officially this year, but still.) Yitzhak patiently awaits the day that he graduates as a philosophy major and makes aliya, thereby becoming a part of the Jewish people and Jewish history. Until then, he occupies his time following Israeli politics, reading (Jewish) philosophy and serving as President of the Social Justice Society.
Ariel Caplan- Ariel Caplan is a third-year student in MYP-RIETS majoring in Rav Rosensweig and minoring in Masmidim. An alumnus of RPRY, TABC, and Yeshivat Shaalvim, but with an ever-growing sphere of Gush friends, Ariel burst into the Kol Hamevaser scene in 2009 with a letter to the editor accusing the publication of heresy. However, as his pet zebrafish (species: Danio rerio, name: Job) will attest, Ariel is basically a nice guy who may or may not be a double agent from Brisk-Yerushalayim. In his spare time, Ariel plays a biology major in YC who relishes the opportunity to dash the dreams of pre-meds through the magic of competitive grading. A student of Beit Levi and Bio Lab, Ariel believes that the two worlds are both contradictory and complementary, and will likely throttle anyone who suggests otherwise.
Avital Chizhik- Avital Chizhik is a sophomore at Stern College (actual sophomore, that is: second year on campus), and finished Bruriah High School in Elizabeth, NJ. Originally from Highland Park, NJ, Avital is an English/Journalism major. Her hobbies include reading, writing, debating Israeli politics, learning Tanach, and drinking tea with her loud Russian family.
Chana Cooper- Chana Cooper is a senior at Stern College though she doesn’t plan on graduating any time in the foreseeable future. She is majoring in physics and, in case that wasn’t nerdy enough, is minoring in math as well. When not calculating things, she spends her time on Torah learning, hiking and reading.
Jake Friedman – Jake, now in his second year at YC, is a product of Skokie Yeshiva and two years at KBY. With dreams of medical school dancing in his head, Jake frets over GPA and summer internships. His major is currently undeclared, though, at one time or another, he has declared for Biology, Chemistry, English, Philosophy, and an Art minor. Jake lives on Muss 5 with a fish of dubious life expectancy, a flourishing houseplant, and his roommate.
Noam Friedman - Noam, a Yeshiva College senior majoring in Psychology, grew up in Teaneck, NJ. He attended high school at TABC and studied in Israel at Torat Shraga and Gush. Noam is one who appreciates the respective merits of both the fourth and fifth floors of the Mendel Gottesman Library, and has been known to seldom go a day without eating ice cream. He and his wife live in upper Manhattan, in close proximity to lovely Tenzer Gardens.
Chesky Kopel- Chesky Kopel is from Lawrence, NY and is a graduate of DRS. He spent two years learning in Gush, and is now very excited for all the good things ahead in YU, whatever exactly they may be. He was once a political prisoner in the hands of an Arab government, sort of. He enjoys writing, music, biking, and all sorts of people.
Dani Lent- Dani Lent hails from Cedarhust, NY. She studied for a year at Migdal Oz and is now a senior at Stern College. Dani is a biochemistry major and, to add a bit of diversity to her schedule and camouflage with the rest of the Kol Hamevaser staff, an English and Philosophy minor. When not pipetting or postulating, Dani enjoys crossword puzzles, skiing and finding (or being found by) the most random events and people in New York City. Kaitlyn Respler- Kaitlyn Respler is currently a Junior at Stern College pursuing a major in Biochemistry with the hopes of going to medical school. She attended Bruriah High School and then decided to switch it up a bit by studying at Migdal Oz for a year. Outside of school and Kol Hamevaser she enjoys volunteering for Yachad, hiking, rock climbing and kayaking.
Alex Luxenberg- Alex Luxenberg is a third year junior at Yeshiva University, majoring in English Literature. Aside from his fondness for Literature and fine art, Alex has a deep passion for the future of modern orthodoxy. Alex is a staff writer for khm, and a contributing writer for commentator. Alex is also the co-founding president of the Amit future leadership board.
Toviah Moldwin- Toviah Moldwin is a second-year student at Yeshiva College majoring in computer science.
Eli Putterman- Eli Putterman is a senior at YC majoring in Mathematics and Physics. The positivist tendencies resulting from his early attraction to those fields have lately been moderated by interests in Jewish studies and philosophy cultivated during years at MTA and Gush, but are liable to surface in conversation with postmodernists and others who find it ideologically convenient to dispute science’s epistemic primacy; as such, Putterman’s reading of Yeshayahu Leibowitz was an experience akin to love at first sight. Surprisingly, he lives in Bergenfield.
Copy Editor
Shaul Seidler-Feller - Shaul is a senior at YC majoring in Jewish Studies. He grew up in sunny Southern California, attended YULA for high school, spent a year in Israel learning at Gush, and is finishing his college studies this year. He has a keen interest in Jewish History, particularly Modern Jewish History, as well as in foreign languages, like Yiddish, German, and Arabic, and hopes to continue on to study for semikhah at RIETS and for an MA at BRGS. Having served the noble institution that is Kol Hamevaser for two years as an Editor-in-Chief, Shaul is now retired and plans on moving to Florida after graduation.
Website Manager & Staff Writer
Ariel Krakowski - Ariel studied for about two years in KBY before coming to YU last year. He is majoring in computer science and is interested in web development, tiddlywinks and eventual world conquest. His other websites include nytextbooks.com and torahjournal.com.
