"Our Hebrew School had grown, and we had both one-day and two-day per week options. We wanted to maintain our commitment to mastery of weekday and Shabbat prayers in a Conservative setting, and also to enhance meaning, experiential learning, and joy in our school. Rabbi Erin Hirsh immediately understood and responded to those dynamics with a rare combination of supreme expertise and down-to-earth accessibility. She envisions the big-picture and pays close attention to the details."
"Working with Rabbi Erin is an entire learning experience. She brings professionalism, a broad knowledge base and an extensive knowledge of Jewish curricular materials and effective pedagogical practices to the table. Her sincere and caring approach makes her easy to work with and her out-of-the box thought processes ensure successful team-based problem solving."
Sue Penn Education Director University Synagogue, Irvine, CA
"Rabbi Erin's excellent listening skills, wide knowledge of Jewish educational issues and practices, and her ability to combine the two to assist educators in "reaching and teaching" have made a significant difference for many of us - and the children and families we work with."
Mary F. Meyerson Morah Mary Consulting, LLC www.morahmaryconsulting.com
"Rabbi Erin Hirsh is one of the most innovative and experienced educators in the Jewish community. She is a pleasure to work with and brings so many wonderful ideas to the table. Rabbi Erin is my go-to person when I need anything in my school!"
Rabbi James Greene Director of the Center for Jewish Life and Learning Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center Los Gatos, CA & Chair, Reconstructionist Educators of North America
"Rabbi Erin Hirsh’s curriculum writing is a wonderful marriage of content and process. Adult learners become attached to the texts they study, but also gain skills to become more independent learners. The way she uses questions to unpack a passage, add historical context, and bring the issue into the 21st century is exactly what today’s adults need to re-engage with Judaism on a sophisticated level."
Avi West Director of the Shulamith Reich Elster Resource Center The Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning Rockville, MD
"Rabbi Erin’s extraordinary ability to ask the right questions and hone in on the right details enabled us to improve not only the program she was asked to evaluate, but our entire approach to integrated congregational learning. She is a master educator with a wealth of experiences and resources to bring to every conversation."
Rabbi Elyse Wechterman Congregation Agudas Achim Attleboro, MA
"Rabbi Erin Hirsh is both a visionary and a problem solver. With her collaborative leadership style, she can really help an institution take great strides and make the improvements they desire."
Dr. Shoshana Silberman Jewish Educator & Author Siddur Shema Yisrael, A Family Haggadah I & II and Active Jewish Learning (with Dr Mel Silberman) Montclair, NJ
"Some teachers oversimplify to achieve clarity in their teaching. Other teachers never achieve clarity. But you [Erin] teach clearly the most complex concepts, never sacrificing nuance and subtlety, always teaching with an energy and enthusiasm that make the rest of us want to learn what you know."
Rabbi Jacob Staub Former Dean of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Rabbi Jeffrey Eisenstat
"As the Education Chair for Ramat Shalom, it was a very exciting experience to witness Rabbi Jeff create the Family B'nai Mitzvah Program. It was an innovative program to give the entire family an educational experience in a fun, memory creating way. This wonderful program allowed the family to engage in thought provoking, educational activities that led to a more meaningful simcha."
Judy Spatz Chair of Camp JRF Davie, FL
"Jeff is one of the outstanding educators working in the Jewish community today. I have been the beneficiary of his skill sets having worked with him in the development of a monthly, camp-based religious school program and a yearly summer camp. Jeff’s style of programming is inventive, interactive and entertaining. He has helped me develop new approaches to Jewish education and I continue to be inspired by the knowledge Jeff has imparted to me."
Rabbi Jon Hanish Temple Kol Tikvah Woodland Hills, CA 91364
"Rabbis Jeff Eisenstat and Sarah Messenger bring to the educational table years of experience, dynamic and creative new paradigms for transformative Jewish education and life-long learning! Their formal and informal educational approaches, wisdom and programmatic innovations will benefit any learning environment as I have seen first-hand as a colleague, who has benefited greatly in my own institutional and congregational work for years. They are masters of Jewish values-based and spiritually transformative educational consultants and teachers for children, teens, college age and adults across the learning spectrum."
Rabbi Shawn Zevit Congregational Consultant Co-Director of the Davennen Leaders Training Institute
"Jeffrey Eisenstat is an extraordinary Rabbi and educator! We can easily sing dayenu about his attributes. It would have been enough if he were committed to creating wonderful educational experiences for Jewish learners of all ages. It would have been enough if his energy and ruach were present at every turn of an educational program. It would have been enough if he were the mentsch and fine collegue to other Jewish educators . It would have been enough if he were one of the most accessible role model for Jewish teens and children. Dayenu!"
Dr. Jeffrey Schein Director of the Department of Jewish Education Laura and Alvin Siegal College of Judaic Studies Cleveland, OH
Rabbi Sarah Messinger
"Sarah’s passion for experiential Jewish education shines through in all she does. Her programs are innovative, creative, rooted deeply in Jewish content, based on sound pedagogy, and – in ever new and exciting ways – fun. Sarah's energy, enthusiasm, and sense of humor are always apparent as she creates some of the most innovative programs I’ve ever seen."
Rabbi Isaac Sposnick Director, Camp JRF South Sterling, PA
"Rabbis Jeff Eisenstat and Sarah Messenger bring to the educational table years of experience, dynamic and creative new paradigms for transformative Jewish education and life-long learning! Their formal and informal educational approaches, wisdom and programmatic innovations will benefit any learning environment as I have seen first-hand as a colleague, who has benefited greatly in my own institutional and congregational work for years. They are masters of Jewish values-based and spiritually transformative educational consultants and teachers for children, teens, college age and adults across the learning spectrum."
Rabbi Shawn Zevit Congregational Consultant Co-Director of the Davennen Leaders Training Institute
"An always energetic Rabbi Sarah thinks outside the box when creating unique educational programs. These learning adventures were always exciting, enriching and memorable."
Myrna Lawrence, Director of Education, Congregation Beth Emeth Wilmington, DE
"Rabbi Messinger has a unique way of assessing the community and enhancing the program with an interactive, multi-generational perspective."
Rabbi Jack Paskoff Congregation Shaarai Shomayim Lancaster, PA
"Sarah has added a spark of original creativity to our programs which feels both familiar and rich for our congregation."
Lisa Messinger President, Westchester Reform Temple Scarsdale, NY
