Brandon Bernstein has spent his rabbinate exploring ways to discover the intersection between what was and what is, between ancient wisdom and contemporary knowledge. Since his ordination in 2014 by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, he has worked primarily with teens, college students, and young adults, previously serving as Campus Rabbi for Northwestern Hillel and BU Hillel, as well as the Director of Jewish Learning for Moishe House. He currently works as the part-time rabbi of Congregation Beth Shalom in Dekalb, IL and as a Retained Jewish Education Consultant for BBYO.
Brandon enjoys comic books, short story collections, board games, movies, and communal singing, and he loves to find ways to connect his passions to Judaism. He has developed his nineteen years of improv experience into “Yes And Torah,” a workshop that mixes short form improv games with text study. He is also the co-host of Funny, They Don’t Look Jewish, a podcast that explores explicitly Jewish content within the pages of mainstream superhero comics. And he owns around 200 board games, so he’s pretty sure he can find one you would enjoy playing after a Shabbat meal!
Rabbi Vanessa Harper is passionate about facilitating creative, joyful, and meaningful Jewish learning and living for people of all ages. Currently the Director of Jewish Studies at the Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School, she has served as a Jewish educator for preschoolers through adults in various capacities over the last twenty years, including most recently as Rabbi and Senior Director of Adult Learning at Temple Beth Elohim in Wellesley, MA. Rabbi Harper was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York in 2021, where she also received a Masters in Hebrew Literature and numerous recognitions for leadership and academic achievement. She is the author of Loaves of Torah: Exploring the Jewish Year through Challah; a book based upon her long-time education project @lechlechallah, which uses challah as an artistic medium for interpreting and teaching Torah and the Jewish calendar. Rabbi Harper is married to Cantor Josh Rosenberg, and is proud to be a member of the Anshe Emet community.
David Schwartz has worn many kippot at Anshe Emet: Youth services leader, Religious School teacher, Bernard Zell teacher, Shireinu singer, YAD co-chair, Az Yashir committee member, Religious School parent for Shira, Torah reader in the Sanctuary, and Rose Crown member (that’s where he met and married Miriam). David also is the Education Director at Har Zion, where he teaches an online adult ed class that many Anshe Emet people come to — ask him about it!
Rav. Jonathan Posner is the rabbi of the Anna & Fred Doppelt Base Andersonville, part of Silverstein Base Chicago, and a proud Chicagoan. Ordained by JTS in New York, Rav Jonathan returned to Chicago in 2021 to grow the Base community. Jonathan’s rabbinate is built upon delicious food, a love of Torah, and a commitment to radical hospitality to serve Jews of all stripes. Prior to Base, he has worked with Congregation Rodfei Zedek in Hyde Park, Mishkan Chicago, the Park Slope Jewish Center, and BBYO. Rav Jonathan has also studied under Rabbi Benay Lappe of SVARA, a queer-oriented, “traditionally radical” yeshiva based in Chicago. Rav Jonathan and his family are enthusiastic members of the AES community.