Head of School
Rabbi Harry Sinoff brings twenty-seven years of experience in Jewish education to our program. His previous experience includes both classroom teaching of Judaic studies and many years of administrative experience. Rabbi Sinoff recently served as Head of School at the Robert M. Beren Academy in Houston, Texas, where the implementation of experiential learning was a significant strategic initiative of his. He previously held leadership positions at Denver Jewish Day School and the Gann Academy in Waltham, Massachusetts. Rabbi Sinoff holds a J.D. from Boston University School of Law and a B.A. in classical Greek from Columbia University. He received semicha yoreh/yoreh from Rabbi Pinchas Hirschprung, zt’l, the former chief rabbi of Montreal.
Teachers and Staff
The students of Nefesh Yehudi Academy learn from a team of fun, enthusiastic, and experienced teachers.
Robyn Perlman (Kindergarten) is a highly motivated, seasoned early childhood educator. She has been teaching at Nefesh Yehudi Academy since its creation in 2009. Prior to teaching at NYA she spent six years at Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva in Edison. Every day students see and feel Robyn’s deep love for Judaism, Torah and Israel. She views every child “as her own” and gives them the attention that they need to feel comfortable.
Deborah Gerber (First Grade) brings to NYA the experience of a lifelong educator who has taught students of all ages, 3 to 93. She received her BA in elementary education from Trenton State (now the College of New Jersey). She has taught in 5 States (NJ, CA, CT, UT and NY), as well as in Stockholm, Sweden. Deborah served as the coordinator of afternoon Hebrew Schools in Stockholm, Sweden, and Bound Brook, NJ. She has presented workshops at CAJE & LIMMUD, Jewish pedagogical conferences for educators. In Morah Devorah's classroom students are actively engaged in learning games, dramatic role play, and especially singing. Deborah is a member of Makhelat HaMercaz Jewish Choir of Central New Jersey.
Hildy Zonis (Second Grade) is thrilled to return to NYA 2nd Grade. She is famous among the students for her very extensive and, at times, bizarre collection of themed earrings, which she changes daily to correlate with the Jewish topic being taught. The students can’t wait to see what the new day will bring. Her engaging teaching style was honed during her 10+ year tenure at the Solomon Schechter Day School of Raritan Valley in East Brunswick, where she served as an assistant Jewish studies teacher and site manager of their computer lab. As a child of a Holocaust survivor, she is passionate about imbuing a love of all things Jewish into the hearts of the next generation. Hildy is a Yeshiva of Flatbush High School graduate, and holds a BS in Economics (major in Accounting, with Honors) from Brooklyn College.
Tanya Farber (Third/Fourth Grade) studied Torah at teachers' seminaries (Bnos Chava, Jerusalem; Yavne, Cleveland) and batei midrash (Drisha, Yeshivat Hadar, NYC). After nearly 10 years of teaching Judaic studies in Jewish high schools (the former: Moshe Aaron Yeshiva, NJ; Rabbi S.R. Hirsch Bais Yaakov, NYC; Pre-Collegiate Learning Center, East Brunswick), Tanya is excited to work with elementary school students at Nefesh Yehudi Academy. She finds their native curiosity, enthusiasm and sincerity to be inspiring and contagious! In addition to her time dedicated to teaching and Torah study, she works with Jewish women and girls with developmental disabilities. NYA's experiential learning curriculum is a natural fit, as Tanya loves the arts and creative expression in all forms.
Rav Nachliel Selavan (Middle School) was born in Jerusalem and raised in the Old City. He is a native Hebrew and English speaker, as well as fluent in Portuguese. He studied fine arts in "Dvir" Yeshiva High School, a Yeshiva founded by the Temple Institute which specialized in art and music. He has taught art in Israel and in the US. He graduated from Lifshitz Teachers College in Jerusalem with a B.Ed. in Tanach and Mass-Media instruction, and taught Media and Judaic Studies in Jerusalem for several years before coming to the US in 2013. He was a head teacher in Barkai Yeshiva in Brooklyn and Yeshivat Netivot Montessori in East Brunswick. Nachliel is an innovative, hands-on educator, who loves to bring lessons to life through activities, archaeology, media and art.
Robyn Perlman (Kindergarten) is a highly motivated, seasoned early childhood educator. She has been teaching at Nefesh Yehudi Academy since its creation in 2009. Prior to teaching at NYA she spent six years at Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva in Edison. Every day students see and feel Robyn’s deep love for Judaism, Torah and Israel. She views every child “as her own” and gives them the attention that they need to feel comfortable.
Deborah Gerber (First Grade) brings to NYA the experience of a lifelong educator who has taught students of all ages, 3 to 93. She received her BA in elementary education from Trenton State (now the College of New Jersey). She has taught in 5 States (NJ, CA, CT, UT and NY), as well as in Stockholm, Sweden. Deborah served as the coordinator of afternoon Hebrew Schools in Stockholm, Sweden, and Bound Brook, NJ. She has presented workshops at CAJE & LIMMUD, Jewish pedagogical conferences for educators. In Morah Devorah's classroom students are actively engaged in learning games, dramatic role play, and especially singing. Deborah is a member of Makhelat HaMercaz Jewish Choir of Central New Jersey.
Hildy Zonis (Second Grade) is thrilled to return to NYA 2nd Grade. She is famous among the students for her very extensive and, at times, bizarre collection of themed earrings, which she changes daily to correlate with the Jewish topic being taught. The students can’t wait to see what the new day will bring. Her engaging teaching style was honed during her 10+ year tenure at the Solomon Schechter Day School of Raritan Valley in East Brunswick, where she served as an assistant Jewish studies teacher and site manager of their computer lab. As a child of a Holocaust survivor, she is passionate about imbuing a love of all things Jewish into the hearts of the next generation. Hildy is a Yeshiva of Flatbush High School graduate, and holds a BS in Economics (major in Accounting, with Honors) from Brooklyn College.
Tanya Farber (Third/Fourth Grade) studied Torah at teachers' seminaries (Bnos Chava, Jerusalem; Yavne, Cleveland) and batei midrash (Drisha, Yeshivat Hadar, NYC). After nearly 10 years of teaching Judaic studies in Jewish high schools (the former: Moshe Aaron Yeshiva, NJ; Rabbi S.R. Hirsch Bais Yaakov, NYC; Pre-Collegiate Learning Center, East Brunswick), Tanya is excited to work with elementary school students at Nefesh Yehudi Academy. She finds their native curiosity, enthusiasm and sincerity to be inspiring and contagious! In addition to her time dedicated to teaching and Torah study, she works with Jewish women and girls with developmental disabilities. NYA's experiential learning curriculum is a natural fit, as Tanya loves the arts and creative expression in all forms.
Rav Nachliel Selavan (Middle School) was born in Jerusalem and raised in the Old City. He is a native Hebrew and English speaker, as well as fluent in Portuguese. He studied fine arts in "Dvir" Yeshiva High School, a Yeshiva founded by the Temple Institute which specialized in art and music. He has taught art in Israel and in the US. He graduated from Lifshitz Teachers College in Jerusalem with a B.Ed. in Tanach and Mass-Media instruction, and taught Media and Judaic Studies in Jerusalem for several years before coming to the US in 2013. He was a head teacher in Barkai Yeshiva in Brooklyn and Yeshivat Netivot Montessori in East Brunswick. Nachliel is an innovative, hands-on educator, who loves to bring lessons to life through activities, archaeology, media and art.