Y.E.S. Faculty
Rabbi Yaakov Lynn
Rabbi Yaakov Lynn is the director of the Y.E.S program. He completed a BA in English Literature and Rhetoric before becoming a journalist for a New Jersey newspaper and later a Hillel director for four years in Baltimore. Rabbi Lynn, a former high school Varsity athlete, came to study at Shapell’s for two years, after which he began learning at Midrash Shmuel, where he continues to learn and teach Gemara. Rabbi Lynn’s warm and energetic personality has made him a favorite on Darche Noam’s Pathways Israel experience for college students. He also teaches topics in halacha and hashkafa in several women’s seminaries throughout Jerusalem. He teaches Gemara and Major Topics in Jewish Thought on Y.E.S, and teaches Chumash with commentaries at Shapell’s. Rabbi Lynn is known for encouraging students to challenge themselves and grow, and for teaching an approach to learning which teaches students to think in new ways. He lives in Har Nof with his wife, Jackie, and four children.
Rabbi Yitzchak Hirshfeld
Rabbi Hirshfeld, co-founder of the Darche Noam Institutions, is Rosh HaYeshiva of Yeshivat Darche Noam/David Shapell College. Originally from Chicago, he is a graduate of the Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois. In 1969, after completing a BA in Mathematics at Roosevelt University, he came to Israel and was privileged to learn under the Roshei Yeshiva at the Mir Yeshiva, Rabbi Chaim Shmulevitz zt”l and Rabbi Nachum Pertzovich zt”l. Before the establishment of the Darche Noam Institutions, he taught at the original Shapell College and at Aish HaTorah. Regarded as father figure of the yeshiva, Rabbi Hirshfeld makes each student feel cherished, while closely following his individual progress and growth. He teaches Introduction to Talmudic Logic on Y.E.S! along with Rabbi Karlinsky.
Rabbi Shaya Karlinsky
Rabbi Karlinsky is co-founder and Dean of the Darche Noam Institutions, Yeshivat Darche Noam/David Shapell College and the Midreshet Rachel v’Chaya College of Jewish Studies for Women. His reputation as an expert educator is a reflection of both his academic training and his motivational personality. Through his direct approach of questioning students and forcing them to question themselves, he has succeeded in awakening inquiring minds for Torah study throughout the years. A Los Angeles native, Rabbi Karlinsky studied at UCLA before going to Israel in 1968, to study at Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavneh and the Mir Yeshiva. After receiving smicha from ITRI, he completed a Master’s degree in educational psychology at Philadelphia’s Temple University and returned to Israel in 1975. His “eye” for connecting with students on their individual levels and his ability to see straight to the core of issues can be partially attributed to skills gained from his work as a widely published photojournalist. Rabbi Karlinsky teaches Introduction to Talmudic Logic along with Rabbi Hirshfeld on Y.E.S.
Rabbi Mendel Farber
Before making aliya in 1970, Rabbi Farber lived in New York, and learned at Yeshivat Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin, and studied Political Science at Brooklyn College. Rabbi Farber was a close Talmid of Rav Yitzchak Hutner, zt”l, and is well versed in Rav Hutner’s monumental work Pachad Yitzchak. Since joining Darche Noam in 1990, he has gained a reputation as one of the pillars of the institution. The first to arrive and the last to leave each day, continually radiating words of Torah, he serves as a worthy role model for his students. His love for his talmidim can be seen through his well-known and enthusiastic participation in the joyous events of the Darche Noam community. Rabbi Farber teaches Derech Hashem (The Ways of God) on Y.E.S.
Rabbi Teniel Gordon
Rabbi Teniel Gordon has a Masters in Mathematics from Trinity College, Cambridge. Originally from North Wales, he made Aliyah in 2000 and now learns in Yeshivas Midrash Shmuel. He works part-time at a financial company where he is the head of Research & Development. Teniel is known for his clear thinking and teaching style, as well as his expertise in Hebrew grammar. Teniel lives in Kiryat Moshe with his wife Naomi and 3 children, and their home is always open to all. Rabbi Gordon teaches Hebrew on Y.E.S.
Rabbi Yisroel Reich
Rabbi Reich was born and reared in the suburbs of Washington D.C. He worked in the film industry in the Washington area for a few years before deciding to come to Israel to learn about his Jewish heritage. He’s been here ever since. The life and learning skills that he acquired during his time at Shapell’s enabled him to move to the high caliber of Kollel learning, where over the course of the next four years he studied various areas of Jewish law in depth, cultivated a strong connection to his mentor and Rabbi and ultimately received smicha both from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and Rav Z.N. Goldberg, shlita. Over the last couple of years Rabbi Reich has taught a number of classes at Shapell’s including Chumash and Bein Adam lchaveiro. He is currently working in a post high school Yeshiva where he focuses on developing warm relationships with his students. His warm and friendly personality make him very approachable, and his ability to make people feel comfortable and understood has made him a sought out ear to listen. Rabbi Reich teaches the Journey Inside Workshop on Y.E.S.
Rabbi Fyvel Shuster
Rabbi Shuster serves as Menahel Ruchani – a combination of rebbe, guidance counselor, friend, and mentor – of Yeshivat Darche Noam / Shapell’s. His varied educational and vocational background – learning at Yeshivat Hakotel, Yeshivas Chaim Berlin, and with the Talner Rebbe, shlita. Working in high-tech, teaching at the Skokie Yeshiva and, for the last 11 years, in Machon Lev’s program for adult beginners – makes him uniquely suited to help guide Shapell’s students in their spiritual growth. His Monday afternoon shmuze – a masterful weave of divrei Torah, good advice, mussar, anecdotes, and humor – has already become a special treat in our Beit Midrash. Through one-on-one discussions, his mussar talks and hashkafa shiurim, he is helping our students connect to Torah and the world of Torah. On Y.E.S., he teaches a class on the weekly parsha. Rav Shuster, his wife Leya, and their 5 children live in Har Nof, Jerusalem.