THE NEXT STEP FOR JEWISH STUDENTS AND YOUNG PROFESSIONALS
Regina Akhenblit
Regina was born in Moldova, and grew up in Brooklyn NY. She has studied Psychology at Brooklyn College, where she was a President of the Russian Jewish Club, and the Hillel. Through RAJE (the Russian American Jewish Experience) program Regina came to understand the unparalleled (and often times unexpected) wisdom and inspiration that comes with being Jewish. Choosing to study in Neve Yerushalayim, a college for Women in Jerusalem, she further understood the relationship between connecting to Judaism and setting yourself up for a meaningful life.
She is forever grateful to have connected with MAKOR that guided her to make her Israel adventure a successful one. While learning in Israel, Regina became interested in the correlation between Torah and Psychology and through the guidance and help of MAKOR staff she returned to Israel to gain more knowledge about this subject.Regina has been accepted to Columbia University school of Social Work for the Fall of 2014.
Meet the Family!
Quote: I am very excited to now be able to be applying what I learnt in Israel to building my family, helping in Jewish community, and in helping my patients. I am very grateful for having the opportunity to learn so much about Jewish wisdom and values.
Aleksey Chernobelskiy
Aleksey first got involved with a Jewish student organization on campus at the University of Arizona where he was pursuing a quadruple major in finance, mathematics, business economics, and accounting. Going into his graduation, Aleksey was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's two most selective honorariums. Aleksey was the first student from the University of Arizona to be accepted into Harvard Business School's Summer Venture in Management Program and is a recent alumnus of Yale School of Management's Pre-MBA Program. After graduating summa cum laude with double honors, Aleksey moved to Israel and spent a month at the Dr. Robinson Institute of Jewish Heritage in Jerusalem (Machon Yaakov), where he got the opportunity to explore his Jewish heritage. Upon completion, he worked for a global asset manager focused on systematic trading. While continuing to work for the firm,
Aleksey is now concurrently studying Talmud and Jewish business ethics after receiving a competitive $20,000 fellowship to Dr. Robinson Institute in August 2013.
Quote: “MAKOR has provided me with invaluable inspiration and guidance about all the learning options during my journey in exploring the amazing Jewish Heritage. The organization also advised me step-bystep how to balance my professional life with actualizing my inner potential to become a Jewish leader.”
Mark Taran
Mark is currently a Law Student at Hofstra law school. After completing a Jewish program at RAJE (Russian-American Jewish Experience) in Brooklyn, he came to Israel to pursue a highly competitive combined Professional Internship and Jewish Personal Development Program (JInternship) during the summer of 2013. His internship in Jerusalem was in the field of International Law. Inspired by his growth in Israel, Mark is now involved in Jewish learning in the US while completing his last year in law school.
He intends to pursue a career of being an attorney in Oil and Gas Industry while being active in his local Jewish community.
Quote: “The sophistication of Talmudic learning method and its wisdom has deeply impressed on me the powerful impact that Jewish though can have on our daily lives. I am looking forward to continue building my analytic skills and personal development as a Jew by plowing into the wisdom of Talmud in MAKOR Partners-in-Learning program in the US.”
Briana Begelfer
Briana was born in LA. Her parents are originally from Ukraine. Briana became interested in exploring Jewish learning while attending Maimonidies program with Jewish Awareness Movement (JAM) at UCLA. She decided to come to Israel to explore Jewish spiritualty in depth during her summer break at UCLA where she is studying to become an Occupational Therapist. MAKOR is helping her to learn in-depth into the topics of her interest and provides guidance and resources to help her continue her growth once she returns to Los Angeles.
Quote: “MAKOR has provided me with the insights into advanced topics in Judaism that I always wanted to know about. They are also a home away from home creating Jewish connections for me both in Israel and in the US. I am very excited to be part of this amazing organization!”
Quote: “Since collage I've attend Jewish lectures and seminars in the U.S. However, there is no substitute for getting hands on learning in Jerusalem. I always wanted to develop my skills in learning but was never able to. MAKOR came along and has been helping me reach this goal, for which I am very grateful.”
Mark Gold
Mark is the CEO of the Mark Gold Group, a marketing firm located in Manhattan. He first got involved in Jewish leadership in New York with RAJE, where he attended programs for several years. This year, under the guidance of MAKOR, he decided to take his inspiration to a whole new level. Mark decided to take off five weeks from his busy schedule to do the Learning, Leadership, and Personal Growth Program in Israel.
The main goal of this program for Mark was to begin developing skills to become an independent learner to enable him to continue growing in Judaism while maintaining a schedule of a busy executive. In addition, the program gave Mark tools to further improve his analytical, interpersonal, and leadership skills. Mark spent his time learning while maintaining his work responsibilities around his learning schedule. Coincidentally, Mark obtained several business contracts while in Israel. Now, back in the U.S Mark is part of MAKOR U.S Partners-in-Learning program and the community activism.
Chaya Chertok
Chaya was born in Minsk, Belarus and have been living in Chicago, IL since I was two years old. In 2012, she graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a BBA in Finance and International Business. Chaya decided to take some time off to build the foundation for her Jewish life by studying about Jewish Heritage at Neve Yerushalayim in Israel. She is loving her learning in Israel and taking advantage of world class educators. When Chaya comes back to Chicago, she is planning to work in the business field for a Jewish organization.
Quote: “MAKOR has been instrumental in providing help and support whenever I needed it. It has also been “home away from home” for myself and many other Russian-America Jews learning in Israel.”
Brian Popovsky
Brian came to Israel to take the Jewish inspiration he gained while on campus to the next level through indepth study of Jewish texts, principles and concepts. With the guidance of MAKOR he extended his RAJE Israel trip to do a three week program in Jewish text, personal development, and travel around Israel. Brian is now back in New York heading a new real estate firm while continuing to learn about Judaism and being involved in local community functions.