Limmud B’Shabbat

Stephen Figurasmith, Alef-Bet Shabbat Songleader (ages 0-5) 
sfigurasmith@cbst.org
Stephen Figurasmith (they/them), is a preschool music educator, Jewish song leader, social change agent, and parent. They have a B.A. in Social Sciences from Hampshire College and are currently pursuing their graduate degree in early childhood education. Stephen has taught early childhood music and lead Jewish family programs at several JCCs, preschools, community centers, and summer camps throughout the New York Metropolitan area. Stephen believes that music has a unique power to shape young people’s approach to life, Judaism, and community. They are deeply honored to play a role in facilitating these formative encounters and turning them into genuinely magical experiences.

Mandy Sigale, Limmud Teacher (K-1) 
msigale@cbst.org
Stephen Morah Mandy (she/they) is so excited to be joining the teaching staff this year! She is a recent MFA graduate from the Savannah College of Art and Design and has been working in Jewish education in Savannah, GA for the last two years. Morah Mandy is looking forward to sharing her knowledge with your students and is looking forward to a great school year!

Adam Graubart, Cooperberg-Rittmaster Rabbinical Intern and Teen Track Teacher (Grades 2-3) 
agraubart@cbst.org ‪
Adam Graubart (he/his) is a fourth-year rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. From an early age, he developed a passion for how the Jewish people cultivate morality, culture, and connection through study, prayer, acts of kindness, and collective organizing. He earned a B.A. from George Washington University in Human Services and Social Justice with minors in Judaic Studies and Hebrew. In his free time, Adam enjoys cooking, running, reading, attending theater, and exploring new museums and restaurants. As a Cooperberg-Rittmaster Rabbinical Intern, he aims to bolster CBST as a place of insight, a rejuvenating sanctuary, and an incubator for transformational change. 

Debbie Broshi, Limmud Teacher (Grades 2-3)
dbroshi@cbst.org
Debbie Broshi (she/her) was raised in Ramat-Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv. A lifelong painter, Debbie studied art and makeup design in London. While working in the film industry, she specialized in special effects and faux wounds – tending to the faces of actors such as Christopher Walken, Lauren Bacall, and Peter Ustinov. In addition to working as a makeup artist, Debbie was previously a comedy writer and performer. Her teaching experience encompasses both theater and Hebrew education. She previously designed and taught theater and comedy courses for middle school students. Since moving to the US in 2012 with her family, she has worked as a Hebrew teacher at the Beacon Hebrew Alliance in Beacon, NY. 

Jennifer Kleinbaum, Lead Teacher (Grades 4- 5) 
jkleinbaum@cbst.org 
Jennifer Kleinbaum (she/her) brings over two decades of work in education, a love of children, and non-profit management to CBST. She previously worked as the Executive Director of Tenafly Nature Center, with the Audubon Society of Florida, and Long Island Aquarium. She has degrees in Marine Biology (Cornell), Educational Technology (LIU), and Fundraising (NYU). Jennifer is committed to the CBST mission. Since attending her first service as a teenager, she has been drawn to our community’s emanation of love for one another. At Bethune Street, Jennifer worked with the development team in membership, yortzeits, and coordinated the move of our memorial walls to our new home on 30th. She then became a Limmud Teacher and traveled with our families with children to Israel and our teens to study advocacy in DC. Jennifer brings her enthusiasm of teaching and experience building organizational capacity and developing education programs for emergent institutions to her role as Lead Teacher. On Shabbat mornings, Jennifer brings, from NJ, her 5th grader to Limmud, her spouse to services, and sometimes her pet snake to make Torah lessons super fun and memorable.

Rachel Chang, Limmud Tefillah Leader, Teaching Assistant (Grades 4- 5)
rchang@cbst.org 
Rachel Chang (she/her) is a Jewish musician, songleader, and educator, as well as a music therapist, living on Lenni Lenape land in Philadelphia, PA. Drawing from the many communities and identities that have shaped her, Rachel leads with expressive guitar, sensitive listening, and a deep intention to cultivate belonging. She is the director of A Queer Nigun Project, which uses nigunim as a collective healing practice for LGBTQIA+ people, for Jews of Color, and for incarcerated people in Jewish community. She also leads ritual and song at LUNAR: The Asian Jewish Collective. As a queer and multiracial Chinese-American Jew, Rachel has spent years grappling with what it means to belong, to take up space, and to be heard in Jewish community, and she has found music to be an invaluable resource.

Miya Rotstein, Coordinator of Adult and Young Adult Education (Grades 6- 8 and Teen Track)
mrotstein@cbst.org 
Miya Rotstein (she/her) was raised in Montreal, Quebec by Israeli parents. She is a graduate of McGill University with a degree in English and Cultural Studies. Prior to a life in Jewish education, Miya worked as a ceramicist, a glass blower and a cheese monger in New York City. She is a passionate educator; for over 20 years, she has developed Jewish curricula and taught conversational and Biblical Hebrew, Jewish studies, and Torah/ Haftorah trope and preparation. Miya first came to CBST in 2000 and began teaching Limmud at Bethune Street in 2013. In 2016, she became CBST’s Bnai Mitzvah Coordinator as well as the Jewish Studies and Hebrew Language educator for CBST’s Lehrhaus. Miya loves teaching and is passionate about imbuing Tikun Olam, Social Justice, Jewish community and continuity to her students through a more holistic understanding of Jewish history and tradition. She lives in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. 

Rabbi Marisa Elana James, Director of Social Justice Programing (Teen Track) rabbijames@cbst.org 
Rabbi Marisa Elana James (she/her) is a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and a long-time member of the CBST community. Before rabbinical school, Marisa was a college English teacher, competitive ballroom dancer, insurance broker, student pilot, bookstore manager, and professional Torah reader. As a teenager growing up in Connecticut, she was a co-founder of her high school’s GSA, the second to be founded in the state.
While living in Jerusalem for more than five years, Marisa worked for Encounter Programs, taught Introduction to Judaism classes in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, studied at a wide variety of schools (including Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, secular, and non-Jewish settings), and helped create and lead the rabbinical student program for T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, where she most recently worked. Marisa has also taught English at the University of Connecticut and Rutgers and has acted as cantor for communities in Israel and America. Marisa and her wife, contrabassoonist and translator Barbara Ann Schmutzler, live in New York City.