Bircas Staff Bios

Rabbi Shimon Yerucham Green, Rosh Yeshiva

Rabbi Shimon Yerucham Green is the Rosh Yeshiva of Bircas HaTorah in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, a Yeshiva of Talmud professionals that specializes in intensive programs for adults. The Yeshiva utilizes a logical and rhetorical method developed by Rabbi Green that makes precision-Talmudic learning accessible to anyone who follows it diligently.

The Rosh Yeshiva, made aliyah at the age of seventeen. After fourteen years of intensive study with his Rav Muvhak, Rabbi Mordechai Goldstein, Shlit”a, he was ordained, and went on to pursue post-rabbinic studies with Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, Shlit”a, at the renowned Kollel Shevet U'Mechokek, from which he also holds an ordination. In addition to his formal studies throughout those years, he traveled the length and breadth of Eretz Yisroel presenting Torah outreach programs to thousands of youths and adults, in schools, army bases, kibbutzim and moshavim. In 1989, together with several colleagues, Rabbi Green founded Bircas HaTorah.

In addition to teaching at the Yeshiva, Rabbi Green gives numerous seminars, lectures, and Shabbatonim throughout the world. His exciting presentations are famous for their depth, clarity, humor, and inspiration.

Participants in his programs remark that Rabbi Green is accessible and down-to-earth, and that within minutes after meeting him they feel as if they are speaking with an old friend.

On the Internet, Rabbi Green is well-known for his popular and much-loved weekly minute of audio inspiration, aptly titled “ The Rabbi Green Minute.”

Rabbi Green strives to help every Jew achieve the ecstatic Torah experience that he believes is their birthright.

Rebbetzen Devorah Green

The dedication of Rebbetzen Devorah Green in her service of the Creator is awe-inspiring. She is a powerhouse of creativity, nourishment, and sheer will. It is through watching women like Rebbetzen Green that we see what Jewish women are capable of accomplishing. She has raised 4 children, with the 5th on her way to adulthood. The Rebbetzen takes care of everyone from the Yeshiva as if they were one of her own children. Though she would humbly claim that she’s nothing special, the wellspring of Rebbetzen Green's love has touched and changed hundreds of lives. Rebbetzen Devorah Green, with her vivacity, love of life, and generous, open heart is a role model to those fortunate enough to know her.

The Green home flows with guests almost all the time as the Rebbetzen constantly shares her life with others. The phone, ringing many times an hour, is often a young woman needing the Rebbetzen’s advice. Seminary girls and young women from the Bircas HaTorah community spill out of the kitchen and into the living room on Thursday afternoons learning to make Shabbos and enjoying the Rebbetzen’s company. People feel so comfortable in the Green’s home because the Rebbetzen’s welcome is so sincere that they feel no less welcome then if they were the Rebbetzen’s own children. An atmosphere of joy, newness, and creativity can be felt in the Green home as soon as one walks in. The Rebbetzen makes her home a place of love.

The Rebbetzen’s caring for others extends beyond their visits to her home. Many couples have been happily married thanks to the Rebbetzen’s acumen at making shidduchim, including some of her own children! With her insightful understanding of those she loves, the Rebbetzen’s matchmaking has resulted in joyous weddings. Once the couple becomes married and starts a family of their own, Rebbetzen Green is still on hand to offer her advice and support. She is considered by many couples to be their "mom away from home." Thanks to the Rebbetzen, everyone is taken care of when they are a member of the Bircas HaTorah community.

Besides her famous Shabbos tables hosting over twenty guests almost every week, Rebbetzen Devorah Green applies her creative talents to the Bircas HaTorah community in other ways. Five years ago, Rebbetzen Green discovered her talent for writing and directing original plays. The Rebbetzen, as she’s fondly referred to, inspires friends and students with her tireless love of life. She plays the harp, takes a drawing class and hand-crafts necklaces for her popular private jewelry business, Devotions.  Rebbetzen Green also teaches private English lessons to local elementary school children, first aid courses for the Old City community, and classes on the halachos of bug checking for women.

Rabbi Zahavie Green is one of the prominent and most sought after teachers at Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah. He was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. At twenty years old he, along with his brother, the Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Shimon Green, made aliyah and has lived in Eretz Yisroel ever since. Together they traversed the length and breadth of Eretz Yisroel where they imparted their fervor for Torah and Judaism to countless Jews — inspiring many to awaken their “Yiddishe neshamos” and return to their inherent birthright.

In addition to his formal studies in the U.S. at Johns Hopkins University, Rabbi Green studied at Yeshivas Torahs Yisroel where he received Smicha. His renowned, crystal-clear thinking, combined with his unique ability to communicate with his students, make him a dynamic and beloved teacher and mentor. Rabbi Zahavie Green is currently the Magid Shiur of the Bircas HaTorah Half Day Learning Program.

Rabbi Moshe Krieger

Rabbi Moshe Krieger was born in Brooklyn, NY and was a Talmid of R. Reuven Gershonovitz. He attended Brisker Yeshiva for 3 years for Yeshiva Gedola and was in the Telzstone Kollel for 8 years. Rabbi Krieger had the merit to get Smicha from the Telz Rabbanim and completed the Miphal H’shas program where he was fully tested in all of Shas, Gemorra and Mishnayos. Over the past 20 years he has taught at Ohr Yerushalayim, Mevaseret Zion and Keser David.

Rabbi Krieger is an invaluable asset to Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah. Each week he writes a riveting summary of the weekly Parsha that is distributed to the Bircas community. He is available to Bircas HaTorah students of all levels during learning hours to help with their studies of Mishna Berurah and Talmud. His thorough knowledge of Oral Law and Halacha is an inspiration to all of the Bircas Talmidim.

Rabbi Nissim Tagger

Rabbi Nissim Tagger was born in Brooklyn, NY and raised in Englewood, NJ. He attended Stuyvesant High School in New York City, received a B.A. in Judaic Studies from The University of Michigan, and a J.D. from Boston University. Rabbi Tagger served as a prosecuting attorney for the King's County District Attorney's Office in Brooklyn, NY until he moved to Jerusalem in 1996.

Rabbi Tagger is of Sephardic heritage and has studied both Sephardic and Ashkenazi Halachos (Jewish Law). He received rabbinic ordination from HaRav Shimon Green (Ashkenazi) and HaRav Shlomo Zafrani (Sephardic). His approach to learning (as taught by the Rosh Yeshiva) places a heavy emphasis on creating a passion within one's self for Hashem, His Torah, and His creations. He stresses the character development and the perfection of one's middos. He teaches the Chofetz Chaim's Shmiras HaLashon sefer and has given many Mussar shiurim which stress personality refinement.

Rabbi Tagger started the Mishna Berurah program, started in January 2005, designed to give the Bircas student accurate, extensive knowledge of Halachos as delineated by the Mishna Berurah, and is flavored with the Sephardic distinctions in law and custom. Sources include the Ben Ish Chai, Rav Ovadia Yosef, Rabbi BenZion AbaShaul, among others. 

While skillfully teaching the Mishna Berurah program, Rabbi Tagger wrote Bircas HaTorah's first book - Sefer Bircas HaTorah. It is a compilation of shiurim taught to the highest levels of the yeshiva. It applies the methodology of learning of the Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Shimon Green, on Mesechta Shabbos. By utilizing Bircas HaTorah's unique learning system, it reveals great depth and profound insights into the Gemorra, Rashi, and Tosafos. Rabbi Green has referred to this sefer as a new and dynamic concept in Torah study, which also reflects an older, time-honored approach.

Please click here to view sample pages

Rabbi Asher Baruch Wegbreit

Rabbi Asher Baruch Wegbreit was born in New York and raised in the New York area as well as Atlanta, Georgia and Memphis, Tennessee. He attended Pomona College for undergraduate studies and later received a PhD in Organizational Psychology from Claremont Graduate School. He worked as a management consultant in the area of organizational development with prominent companies in the United States and Europe.

Rabbi Wegbreit entered Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah as a student, and eventually received rabbinic ordination from HaRav Shimon Green and HaRav Shlomo Zafrani. He has taught Talmud to a range of students from beginner to advanced. His classes enable students to appreciate the value of Torah, and learn to implement the Yeshiva’s unique methodology towards Torah study. Rabbi Wegbreit is also known for his classes on Mussar and in the Bircas HaTorah Women’s Seminars. Using classic and beloved texts such as Proverbs and Pirkei Avos (Ethics of our Fathers), he tries to reveal the tremendous insight and usefulness of the Torah Sages’ approach to living an inspired and growth-oriented Torah life.

Rebbetzen Ayelet Wegbreit

If Rebbetzen Green is the Yeshiva's right hand, Rebbetzen Ayelet Wegbreit is the left. Rebbetzen Wegbreit's commitment to helping serve the needs of the Yeshiva is an inspiration to all those who know her. From helping to organize the operational aspects of the Yeshiva, spearheading the Women's Learning seminars, hosting over a dozen guests for any given Shabbos meal, to welcoming the newest Bircas family to the community with her own culinary confections, Rebbetzen Wegbreit opens her heart and her home to the Bircas community. She pushes herself to the limit in her Avodas Hashem.

Born in Israel, Rebbetzen Wegbreit is trained as an acupuncturist and at one time had a home practice for women and children. Not long after her return to Israel from living briefly in America, she met her husband, Rabbi Asher Baruch Wegbreit. They lived together in the Old City for sixteen years where they raised their adorable children. While she helped with the architectural aspects of the Yeshiva building, she was in the middle of building her own family, proving that if one puts their heart and mind towards doing the right thing, they receive divine assistance. Recently the Wegbreit family has moved to Beit Vegan.

Rebbetzen Wegbreit has been working for over three years towards building a Bircas HaTorah Women's Learning program. Aside from learning on an individual basis with her students, she has taken charge in recruiting over 150 women to hear the Rosh Yeshiva and Rabbi Zahavie Green teach Aggadata and Chumash in the "Rabbis Green Teach & More" series, which also includes Rabbi Wegbreit teaching Pirkei Avos and Mishlei. The goal is continue to educate women in Torah and Mitzvos observance from the actual Torah sources.

Besides pursuing the Torah as a personal way of life, the Wegbreits have dedicated themselves to embracing Jews who visit the Yeshiva with an open home for Shabbosim and Yomim Tovim. Rabbi and Rebbetzen Wegbreit serve as a real life inspiration to all of the Bircas HaTorah Community.

Avihu Aboud

Avihu Aboud was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He is of Syrian Sephardic heritage. Avihu graduated Yeshiva of Flatbush High School and attended Brooklyn College. Upon completing his formal education, Avihu worked in sales. After several years of learning at Bircas HaTorah, he began teaching a Gemorra shiur with emphasis on analytic method. He is currently teaching in the Mishna Berurah program.

Avihu's perspective on Torah learning is based on striving to grow in clarity, sensitivity, and honesty, through the use of the Bircas HaTorah methodology. The goal is to ultimately extrapolate the premises of the Torah as presented to us in the Gemorra. Avihu views teaching Torah at Bircas as a tremendous opportunity for fostering his own and other's growth in learning. He uses it as a vehicle to help beginning and experienced B'nai Torah to go from being intimidated by the Gemorra, to dynamic learners with the ability to reveal insights unique to them. Avihu, his wife Cindy and their children live in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Pesach Allen was born in Paarl, a small town outside of Capetown, South Africa. He grew up in a traditional Jewish home and developed a strong Jewish identity in his formative years. After attending Stellenbosch University, he owned and managed a successful property development and construction business in South Africa. Although Pesach had learned Torah informally in South Africa, he came to Israel in December 1999 to begin his formal yeshiva learning at Bircas HaTorah.

Pesach Allen currently teaches a mid level Gemorra shiur for students in the Bircas HaTorah full time program, and delivers various seminars to support the Bircas HaTorah Women's Learning Program. His interests include teaching Gemorra with the utmost clarity and precision, and through interaction in the shiur, he inspires students to see the depth and beauty of the Gemorra.

Pesach happily lives in Har Nof, a neighborhood of Jerusalem, with his wife Tybee and three children.

Barry Munic grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology. He later obtained a Masters Degree in Special Education at Northwestern University. His first career path was teaching special needs children. After spending several years at Yeshivas Ohr Somayach in Jerusalem, Barry was attracted to Bircas HaTorah. His excellent teaching abilities and patient demeanor make him an integral part of the Bircas HaTorah Faculty. Barry teaches an Advanced Gemorra shiur and is the Director of the Bircas HaTorah Extension Program. This is a unique distance learning program in which students throughout the world learn with top Bircas HaTorah educators via telephone. In addition, he serves in various administrative posts. Barry is married to Nechama, the eldest daughter of the Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Shimon Green. They live in the Old City of Jerusalem with their four young children.

Saul Berkus was born in Gainesville, Florida, grew up in San Antonio Texas and then attended a Jewish high school in Hollywood Florida. Coming to Israel immediately after High school in 1996, Saul has attended a number of yeshivas, both American and Israeli, where he has been exposed to a variety of Talmudic approaches. After marrying Shifra Green (the Rosh Yeshiva's daughter) in 2003, Saul was attracted to Bircas HaTorah due to its unique methodology for Gemorra, and the honesty and integrity of the teachers and students he met there. Saul teaches an advanced shiur for senior students, and has authored a booklet presenting the Yeshiva's methodology. His goal is to expose his students to the depth of wisdom in each piece of text - to show them that an honest grappling with the Talmud is all that's necessary to begin to experience the beauty and the grandeur of God's word.

Mendel Kanner was born in Kansas City, Kansas, and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. He earned a B.A. in Economics from the University of Arizona. After working for an investment banking firm in San Francisco, California, Mendel came to Jerusalem to study at Bircas HaTorah. He then went to New York City, where he worked and studied Torah. Mendel returned to the yeshiva in 2003 after meeting his lovely wife Chaya.

Currently, Mendel teaches an advanced Gemorra shiur to a group of the yeshiva's senior students. Mendel is known for his sense of humor and innovative teaching style. His shiur focuses on helping students develop greater clarity and insight of the Gemorra, Rashi and Tosafos, by employing Bircas HaTorah's refined systematic approach to uncovering the profundity of pshat.

Mendel and Chaya live in the Old City of Jerusalem with their children Avigial, Tova and Avraham Abba.

Gershon Burd

Gershon Burd was born in Odessa, Ukraine and immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 4. He was raised in Chicago and received a B.A. in Marketing from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business. After university he worked in sales and marketing for an employee benefits agency for several years before coming to yeshiva in Jerusalem in 1999.

After an intensive search for the right yeshiva, Gershon originally came to Bircas HaTorah because he was drawn to its methodology of learning, but soon realized that the Yeshiva had much more to offer. Being very pleasantly surprised that the yeshiva is uniquely dedicated to the development of students, creating healthy, well-balanced, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual bnei Torah, Gershon decided to stay on board and start his family in the Old City, where he currently lives with his wife Batya and 2 children.

After spending 5 years in yeshiva, Rabbi Green asked Gershon to be in charge of Admissions as a part-time job. An increase in the student body necessitated the purchase of a building as a residence for housing and dining for the bachurim and Gershon was asked to leave full-time learning to involve himself with getting the new building off the ground in addition to running admissions. After helping establish the residence, Gershon went on to become the Executive Director of the yeshiva, overseeing most business aspects of the yeshiva and he continues to learn half-day.

Adam Yardeni

Adam Yardeni was born in El Paso Texas, to an Israeli father and Brooklyn native mother. Adam studied Philosophy at the University of Texas where he began to search for meaning in his life. This led him to make aliyah in 2003. He served in the in the Israel Defense Forces as a tank repair specialist. Adam helped start Yeshiva B’nai Simcha, a special needs Yeshiva in the Jewish Quarter, After his completing his Israeli Army service, while working for the Heritage House, Adam was recruited to be the Manager of the Bircas HaTorah Guest House. Adam has continued his growth process firmly rooted in Torah as a full-time student at Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah.

Yagil Razak

Yagil Razak grew up in Great Neck, New York. He graduated from the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County and attended Baruch College in Manhattan. Upon completion of his undergraduate degree in International Business, he was employed by GSI America Inc., a Japanese Trading Company. Five years ago, he came to Israel and began his studies at Bircas HaTorah. For the past year, Yagil has been using his business acumen for the Yeshiva as Director of Student Development.