Rabbi Benjamin Goldschmidt & Avital Goldschmidt

Born in Jerusalem and raised in Moscow, Rabbi Benjamin Goldschmidt is the Rabbi of the Altneu Synagogue in New York, Manhattan’s fastest-growing shul. He studied in Bnei Brak’s Ponevezh Yeshiva, Jerusalem’s Chevron Yeshiva, and continued his post-graduate studies at Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, New Jersey, and at Yeshivas Ohr Reuven in Suffern, New York. He received rabbinic ordination from Rav Dovid Cohen and Rav Yosef Chevroni of the Chevron Yeshiva (Givat Mordechai) and Rav Betzalel Rudinsky of Yeshivas Ohr Reuven. Rabbi Goldschmidt and his work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Haaretz, Mishpacha, Kikar Shabbat, Kan TV, the Headlines podcast, and the Forward, among others. Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt is a writer living in New York City. Her work has appeared in the Atlantic, New York Times, Foreign Policy, The New Republic, Vox, Vogue, Salon, Glamour, Business Insider, Los Angeles Review of Books, Jewish Review of Books, and Religion & Politics, among others. She has taught journalism at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and at Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women. Previously, she was the Life editor at the Forward, and a reporter for Haaretz. Avital does pastoral work alongside her husband Rabbi Benjamin Goldschmidt in their synagogue, the Altneu, on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

Steven Burg

Rabbi Steven Burg currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Aish HaTorah. Rabbi Burg has been served as a scholar-in-residence for some of the premier Passover holiday destinations, both in the US and around the world. Rabbi Burg combines deep knowledge of the Jewish community, erudite Torah lectures, and a dynamic personality. He has been a contributor to Fox News, Al Jazeera, PBS, and many radio stations. Before coming to Aish HaTorah, Rabbi Burg served as the Eastern Director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center where he contributed to the fight against anti-Semitism and oversaw the Museum of Tolerance in New York City. Previously, Rabbi Burg served as the Managing Director of the Orthodox Union (OU), a $100 million dollar social welfare organization, and was the International Director of NCSY, the largest international Jewish youth movement. Rabbi Burg founded the Jewish Student Union (JSU), a network of hundreds of public high school clubs that teach unaffiliated Jewish teens about their heritage. He started the Anne Samson Jerusalem Journey (TJJ), an Israel experience for unaffiliated Jewish teens which continues to send thousands of teens to Israel. Rabbi Burg is an orator of note and has spoken in varied venues across the globe. He has a Masters in Medieval Jewish History as well as Rabbinic Ordination from Yeshiva University. He has completed management courses at Harvard Business School and the Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University.

Elon Gold

Elon Gold is a comedian and actor who has starred in FOX’s ‘Stacked’ and NBC’s ‘In-Laws’. His one hour stand up special on Netflix, “Elon Gold: Chosen & Taken” received wide acclaim from audiences and peers alike. It is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. He has made ten appearances on ‘The Tonight Show’ and had a recurring role on the FOX hit show, ‘Bones’.

Elon was a writer/performer on ABC’s ‘The Dana Carvey Show’ and has guest starred on ‘Frasier’, ‘The Mentalist’, ‘Chappelle’s Show’ among others. He recently made stellar appearances on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” and Comedy Central’s “This Week at The Comedy Cellar”. His routines have gone viral and are shared by millions around the globe.

He is also currently featured in the HULU movie “The Binge” and in season 3 of HBO’s “Crashing” playing his most challenging role yet…himself. Elon can next be seen opposite Larry David in a recurring role on the upcoming 11th season of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’.

 

Lizzy Savetsky

Lizzy Savetsky is a digital influencer who uses her platform to advocate for causes that are close to her heart. She shares her journey of fashionable motherhood on her social media channels, often featuring her two young daughters and baby boy.  Lizzy is an outspoken activist for Israel and the Jewish people and works with numerous non-profit, philanthropic movements to support her people and homeland.  For her advocacy for The State of Israel, she was asked to serve as an Honorary Grand Marshal for the Celebrate Israel Parade.  Lizzy founded the “Real Love, Real Loss” movement on social media to destigmatize pregnancy loss for Jewish women on a global level and single-handedly built a social media campaign to raise $57,000 for a Torah for the Israeli army in memory of the souls who never made it past the womb. Most recently, Lizzy developed her IGTV series, BASHERT, to help Jewish singles find love.  Her mission is to empower people to stand up for what they believe in and live a life of kindness and fulfillment.

 

8th Day

8^th Day, is one of the most sought after music acts. With their latest album “Lucky”, the group has now released nine studio albums. Their music has been featured on rock radio stations all over the United States and they have been top sellers on the Alternative Rock, World Music, Reggae and Jewish Music charts for the last decade. The band has played hundreds of sold-out concerts across the globe including in Australia, Europe, Israel, South Africa, Canada, the Caribbean Islands and all over the United States.