Who We Are

Ben Wacks has made Washington, DC his community where he teaches in the Gan HaYeled program at Adas Israel Congregation. In addition to mentoring for Hebrew Helpers, he also teaches a weekly Hebrew High school program for 7th-9th graders where he leads discussions on Jewish values in pop culture and American Jewish history. He cares deeply about connecting with young professionals in DC through his leadership with the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and serves on the Steering Committee of Washington Hebrew Congregation’s young professional network called 2239. Ben grew up in South Florida where he graduated with his BA in Political Science and Jewish Studies at Florida Atlantic University.

A Philly born native, Diana Epstein grew up attending Perelman Jewish Day School, Barrack Hebrew Academy and Camp Ramah. She also studied abroad in Israel on Tichon Ramah Yerushalayim (TRY) when she was in high school. She graduated from Brandeis University and currently lives in Center City Philadelphia. Diana’s favorite parasha is Balak, her favorite service is the Torah service, and she is on a quest to find the best bagel shop in Philadelphia!

George Shotz brings over 25 years of community leadership and involvement to his work as a mentor. Originally from Elkins Park, PA, he grew up surrounded by Jewish learning, teaching in the Adath Jeshurun Torah Club and leading children’s High Holiday services for more than 15 years. Professionally, he helped grow early-stage startups, including joining Instacart as its 30th employee and helping it expand nationwide. A longtime leader in Jewish community life, George has served on boards including Jewish Heritage Programs and the Jewish Business Network, earning a Leadership Honoree Award in 2008, and spent eight years helping run LimmudPhilly. Now living in Los Angeles, George brings his love of learning, community, and a good show tune to everything he does, especially when helping students feel confident, supported, and proud of their B’nai Mitzvah journey.

Hannah Srulevich is a recent transplant to LA looking to get more involved in the Jewish community! She loves creative writing and hanging out with friends, and is always willing to share pictures of her dog Rudy. She’s passionate about learning new things and helping others. Hannah’s also been involved in Camp Ramah since she was eleven years old and tries to go back most summers, and she was able to go to Israel through her Jewish education at her synagogue when she was in high school.

Marc Rosenberg has been an educator for more than 25 years, teaching students of all ages in both formal and informal settings. Over the years, he has taught everything from 7th grade English and Hebrew school to Jewish history, Israel, and a wide range of Jewish studies topics for adolescents and adults. He especially enjoys finding creative ways to make Jewish learning engaging, relevant, and meaningful for each student. Marc is also the Vice President of Diaspora Partnerships at Nefesh B’Nefesh, where he works to strengthen connections between Jewish communities around the world and Israel. He continues to teach and collaborate with educational institutions in Jerusalem and around the world, both in person and online. Originally from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Marc now lives in Jerusalem with his awesome wife and five children. He joined Hebrew Helpers in 2021 and loves helping students build their skills, confidence, and connection to Judaism.

Samson Rabinowitz is a drummer, singer/songwriter, music director, arranger, and concert producer who is passionate about Jewish education. Since moving to LA in 2022 to attend USC, Sammy has taught religious school at Temple Beth Am, (currently) Temple Isaiah, become the regular Torah reader at Adat Shalom, staffed multiple Jewish summer camps and weekend retreats, and more. He grew up in Washington DC, where he was a well established participant and service coordinator at Adas Israel Congregation in the Traditional Egalitarian Minyan.

Taylor Gottbetter is a Los Angeles-based Jewish educator with a background in teaching Jewish history, Talmud, Torah stories, and Torah trope to middle school students across the Los Angeles area. Utilizing an academic background in storytelling, Taylor works to connect Jewish values and traditions directly to students’ lives as they begin to develop their own spiritual identities. He previously taught middle school Jewish History in a Jewish day school setting and is enrolled in Hebrew Union College’s DeLeT program, pursuing a teaching credential and certificate in Jewish Day School Education. Reigniting a family cantorial legacy of chanting Torah, Taylor is passionate about connecting the next generation to its Jewish past while helping them imagine and build its future. For him, B’nei Mitzvah preparation is an opportunity not only to prepare for a meaningful day, but to give students tools for a lifelong relationship with Jewish learning and community.

Zach Golden is a native of Long Beach, CA, and is a co-founder of Der Nister Downtown Jewish Center in Los Angeles. He is a long-time teacher of Hebrew and Yiddish and was previously the Deputy Yiddish Editor of the Forward. Zach was ordained as a rabbi at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles in 2020. To Zach, Judaism is more than a religion, it’s a whole worldview that lives inside people, waiting to emerge in a form unique to them. He loves seeing students’ eyes light up when they find a part of themselves in Jewish thought that they had never been able to fully express before. Zach also loves giving tours of Downtown LA to anybody he can convince to go along with him.