About CJF

Rabbi Kenneth Brander is dean of the Yeshiva University Center for the Jewish Future. He is Rabbi Emeritus of the Boca Raton Synagogue, founding dean of the Boca Raton Community Kollel and the Weinbaum Yeshiva High School of Broward and Palm Beach Counties. During his 14 years of service to that community, he oversaw its explosive growth from 60 families to over 600 families.

He is a 1984 alumnus of Yeshiva College and received his ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary in 1986. He received special ordination from Machon Puah, a center of medical ethics in Israel, and from the Chief Rabbi, Mordechai Eliyahu, in the field of medical ethics, infertility, and gynecology. He is currently a PhD candidate in general philosophy at Florida Atlantic University (FAU). He has received numerous awards for his community service and has authored many articles in various scholarly journals.

Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter is University Professor of Jewish History and Jewish Thought and Senior Scholar at the Center for the Jewish Future at Yeshiva University. From 2000-2005 he served as Dean of the Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Institute in Boston. He was the first Rabbi of the Young Israel of Sharon, MA, from 1977-1981, creating a new, vibrant and committed community. From 1981-2000, he served as the Rabbi of The Jewish Center in New York City, moving the congregation from 180 to over 600 members over the course of his tenure, and also served as Rabbi of the Maimonides Minyan in Brookline, MA from 2000-2005.

Rabbi Schwarzberg came to Highland Park in July,1986 from the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale where he served as Associate Rabbi. He brought with him a passionate commitment to the principles of 'Ahavat Yisrael', political activism, and bridge building. Shortly after his arrival, Rabbi Schwarzberg was instrumental in relocating Congregation Ahavas Achim from New Brunswick to Highland Park. Rabbi Schwarzberg has served as co-chair of the Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County and he was elected in December 2002 as associate chair of the National Rabbinic Cabinet of the United Jewish Communities. Rabbi Schwarzberg served as Chair of the Rabbinic Cabinet of the United Jewish Communities from 2005-2007. Under his leadership the shul developed Ahavas Achim University, an innovative and far reaching educational endeavor that has enlisted top tier scholars and religious leaders to teach at the synagogue and has attracted attendees from across the state. In the summer of 2005 rabbi Schwarzberg assumed the position of Director of Jewish Career Development and Placement at The Center for the Jewish Future ay Yeshiva University. Rabbi Schwarzberg is married to "Morah Judy," a preschool teacher at the Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva. Together they have four children, Ari married to Naomi Weiss, Elana, Aviva, and Shayna.

Rabbi Marc Penner, a 1991 graduate of Yeshiva College and a 1995 graduate of RIETS, is the director of Professional Rabbinic Education and Advisement for the Yeshiva University Center for the Jewish Future. He has served as Rav of the Young Israel of Holliswood in Queens for the past 12 years. Rabbi Penner is the Founding Dean of Ateret, an on-campus Judaic studies program at Queens College and several other campuses across the tri-state area. He lives in Holliswood with his wife Adeena and five children.

Rabbi Ari Rockoff is a native of Boston, Massachusetts. After high school he studied at Yeshivat Or Yerushalayim. He received his BS from Yeshiva University’s Sy Syms School of Business in 1997, received ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary in 2000. He is also a graduate of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration and in 2007 received his MBA from the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College.

Rabbi Rockoff lives in West Hempstead, New York with his wife, Deborah, and three children, Shoshana, Eli and Sheera. He has worked at YU since 2000 and serves as Director of Community Partnership at the Center for the Jewish Future.