Columbus Community Kollel

DEAN
Rabbi Henoch Morris is the Rosh Kollel (Dean) of the Columbus Community Kollel.
     Rabbi Morris moved to Columbus in 1995 to help found the Columbus Community Kollel with lay and Rabbinic communal leaders. As Rosh Kollel, he was instrumental in developing the Kollel curriculum and launching "Kollel Evenings", a nightly program designed for interactive study groups and one on one learning. The open study times are Sunday through Thursday, from 8-10 p.m., and cover a wide array of topics and subjects.
     During his nearly 12 years in Columbus, Rabbi Morris has presented lectures and interactive classes in a number of venues, such as local synagogues and the Jewish National Fund, and has been a featured presenter at a continuing legal education seminar for attorneys.
     A native of Rochester, New York, Rabbi Morris earned a Masters of Talmudic Law at Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore, Maryland, and a C.P.A. from the State of Maryland. He currently lives in Bexley with his wife Chaya and their children.

PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Rabbi Tzvi Tuchman currently holds the position of Program Director for the Columbus Community Kollel. He has been a faculty member of the Kollel since 1995, the year of its founding in Columbus.
Aside from teaching a wide array of Kollel classes, home groups and lunch-n-learns, Rabbi Tuchman has been a guest speaker at various universities including The Ohio State University and Kenyon College. He has also served as scholar-in-residence for a weekend retreat and co-authored a Judaic curriculum for the Columbus Jewish Federation's Board Excellence Training Program. He has been a past recipient of the Columbus Jewish Educator of The Year award.
Rabbi Tuchman received his Rabbinic Ordination and bachelor's degree in Talmudic law from Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore, MD. In addition, he also earned a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Maryland and a M.S. in Education from The John Hopkins University. He lives in Eastmoor with his wife Ilana and their five children.

EDUCATORS
Rabbi Josh Finegold added a distinctly Southern flavor to the Kollel as its first transplanted Memphian, when he moved to Columbus in 2003. During his teen years, he was inspired by a local Rabbi, a giant of Torah scholarship, to pursue serious Torah study in Israel under scholars widely acclaimed for their Talmudic knowledge and piety. He has modeled his approach to in-depth study of Jewish law and philosophy after that of these mentors.
After returning to the United States, Rabbi Finegold earned a Bachelors of Talmudic Law. at the Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore, MD. Since assuming his position as a Kollel educator, Rabbi Finegold has taught many topics, ranging from the essential elements on Jewish belief to an introductory text based Talmud class. He also leads one of the longest running Kollel classes: a Sunday night discussion group of Maimonides classical legal work, Mishneh Torah.
Rabbi Finegold lives in Eastmoor with his wife Aliza, their son Avrohom Yosef and their newest addition, Shalva Devorah.

Rabbi Avrohom Nochum Drandoff was born and raised in Brooklyn New York. After graduating high school, he studied Talmud and Jewish Philosophy in Israel for three years before returning to the U.S. to continue his studies in Baltimore, Maryland. In Baltimore, he earned a Bachelor’s and Master's in Talmudic Law at Ner Israel Rabbinical College as well as a Master’s in School Counseling at The Johns Hopkins University. During the past eight summers he has worked in NCSY Camp Sports, initially as an educational adviser and most recently as the assistant director. In his various camp positions, he has interacted, educated and befriended high school students with various degrees of Jewish knowledge from across the country.
Rabbi Drandoff currently teaches the Kollel’s Sunday morning Bagels N’ More, an interactive class focusing on Jewish Fundamentals over bagels, cream cheese and coffee. He is also heading an outreach program for New Americans that provides them with periodic lectures about Judaism in an informal setting.
Rabbi Drandoff currently resides in Eastmoor with his wife Hope and daughter Tema.

Rabbi Yosef Katzman recently arrived to bring a midwestern taste to the Kollel. As a child and teen in Omaha, Nebraska, Rabbi Katzman became highly active in Jewish youth groups and learning programs, which motivated him to seek a level of Jewish education unavailable in Nebraska. After graduating high school, he enrolled at Ohr Somayach Tanenbaum College in Jerusalem and earned a Bachelors of Judaic studies in three and a half years.  Next stop was Baltimore, Maryland. There he concurrently earned a Bachelors of Talmudic Law from Ner Israel Rabbinical College and a BA from University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where he majored in math with an actuarial science specialty and minored in economics. Summers were spent as an actuarial intern.
     Rabbi Katzman enjoys his role as a multi-faceted kollel member with the the opportunity to teach a wide range of Jewish topics to adults, young adults, and children. He brings a wide variety of experiences from Omaha to Israel, and is enthusiastic about sharing the wisdom he has acquired in the communities where he has lived.
     Rabbi Katzman lives in Eastmoor with his wife Shanny and their daughters Rena Bracha and Kochava Meira.

Rabbi Yitzchok Binyomin Bernstein's interest in studying and teaching Torah has brought him to a number of cities in the U.S. and Israel -- most recently Columbus. During his four years in Israel, Rabbi Bernstein taught classes in various yeshivot including Ohr Yerushalayim, Ohr Samayach and a school for Ethiopian Jews. After returning to the U.S., he continued his Rabbinic studies in Yeshivat Ohr Hachaim in Queens, New York, and at Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore, Maryland. He also earned a B.S. in Mathematics at Touro College, and taught various adult education classes at the Eitz Chaim Center for Torah Studies and the Baltimore Community Kollel. Over the past few summers, he and his family have participated in outreach programs in Irvine, CA, Allentown, PA and Sharon, MA.
Rabbi Bernstein currently teaches Ethics of our Fathers on Sunday evenings at 8 p.m. and the weekly Torah portion on Thursday evenings at 9 p.m. Both classes are held at the Kollel.
The Bernsteins reside in Columbus.

Rabbi Zecharia Weitz is one of the new additions to the Kollel. He originally hails from Twin Rivers, NJ. From there he moved to spend the remainder of his childhood in Edison, NJ.
     Prior to his arrival in Columbus, Rabbi Weitz spent eight years at Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore. There he earned his bachelor's and master's in Talmudic Law. Additionally, he earned his M.S. in school counseling at Johns Hopkins University. While in Baltimore, Rabbi Weitz was privileged to be involved with the Community Kollel of Baltimore as well, where he gave interactive classes to college age and young adult students. Over the summers, he had a number of opportunities to teach high school age boys in several summer camps.
     Rabbi Weitz is currently involved with the T.L.C. high school program, and gives a number of interactive classes at the Kollel.
     He currently resides in Berwick with his wife, Leah, and their three children, Yaakov, Penina, and Yosef.