Staff & Clergy The People Behind the Mission
Rabbi Jason Rubenstein
Executive Director
Rabbi Jason Rubenstein joined Harvard Hillel as Executive Director on June 1, 2024 after six years as the Howard M. Holtzman Jewish Chaplain at Yale. Jason’s background is as diverse as Harvard’s Jewish community: a childhood at Temple Micah in Washington DC, formative years studying at Yeshivat Ma’ale Gilboa in northern Israel, and rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary. From 2010-2018, Jason taught on the faculty of the Hadar Institute, where he created classrooms, conversations, and communities that bring Torah into an open-ended dialogue with the fullness of students’ lives.
From his own formative undergraduate years at Harvard Hillel, where he met his wife, Arielle Rubenstein ‘07, Jason knows how Hillel can and should transform students’ lives – and through them, American Jewish life. For a fuller view of Jason’s plan for Harvard Hillel’s future, you can listen to his interview with Yehuda Kurtzer (PhD ‘08); and to glimpse how he lead Yale’s Jewish community through impossibly difficult months following October 7, you can read his October 26, 2023 letter to the Yale Jewish community.
In addition to rabbinic ordination, Jason holds an AB in Social Studies from Harvard College magna cum laude and a Masters in Talmud from JTS. He is also the recipient of numerous awards including the Wexner Graduate Fellowship and the Covenant Foundation’s 2015 Pomegranate Prize for Emerging Educators.
Jason and Arielle, are grateful to be raising their daughter and two sons in Brookline, and cannot wait to help to write the next chapter of this community which has given them so much.
Pamela Brenner
Mashgicha Ruchanit
Pamela Brenner is the Mashgicha Ruchanit at Harvard Hillel. She previously served as the Orthodox Educator. When not hanging out with students, she is a PhD student at Harvard, specializing in Jewish Studies in general and Yiddish literature in particular. She holds a BA from Barnard College and an MSt from the University of Oxford, both in Yiddish Studies.
In addition to her academic work, Pamela is a member of the International Halakha Scholars Program, a division of the Women’s Institute of Halakhic Leadership through Ohr Torah Stone. She is an alumna of the Migdal Oz Beit Midrash for Women of Yeshivat Har Etzion, where she studied for two years. Pamela is passionate about women’s learning and leadership within the Orthodox community, and is always happy to chat about everything from strange aggedetas to the rules of borer, and from preparing for finals to finding your religious path in college.
When she’s not reading a Yiddish novel, you might find her cooking a themed Shabbos meal, pickling her newest find from the farmers’ market, or attending a klezmer concert. Pamela lives with her husband and daughter in Cambridge, and is looking forward to inviting you over for coffee and banana bread.
Rachel Eilbaum
Senior Director of Jewish Student Life
617-998-2443
Rachel Eilbaum is the Senior Director of Jewish Student Life at Harvard Hillel. She loves helping students build community, explore their Jewish identities, and finding ways that Hillel can enhance students’ four years at Harvard.
Before joining Harvard Hillel, Rachel was the Assistant Director of Camp Young Judaea Sprout Lake where she spent nearly 20 summers. There she hired and trained staff and supported campers in creating meaningful, lasting experiences. She also worked as the IACT Coordinator for Israel Engagement at Tufts Hillel, supporting student leaders and creating opportunities for connection and learning.
Rachel holds dual master’s degrees in Jewish Professional Leadership and Jewish Experiential Education from Brandeis University’s Hornstein Program in Jewish Leadership and Non-Profit Management, and a B.A. in International Relations from George Washington University. She lives in Somerville with her mini Bernedoodle, Lucy, and can often be found at the dog park, digging through record shops, or planning her next adventure.
Elazar Fine
Communications Manager
617-495-3075
A Boston native returning to his roots after nearly a decade in Los Angeles, Elazar brings extensive media and communications experience to Harvard Hillel. With a background in video production, creative development, and strategic communications, he is excited to help tell the stories of Jewish life on campus and strengthen connections across the Harvard Hillel community. Elazar holds a B.A. in Media Arts Production from Emerson College.
Rabbi Yoni Ganger
Interim Orthodox Rabbi
After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in Philosophy- Neuroscience- Psychology and Spanish he deferred medical school to explore Judaism for two years in Israel. The second year led to a profound personal realization that he preferred to help others rediscover their heritage, as opposed to healing their bodies. Rabbi Ganger spent nine years learning from some of the best scholars in Israel. He delved into various areas of Judaism that range from personal development and Jewish leadership to topics in Kabbalah. Rabbi Ganger studied Talmud at the Mir yeshiva and received his Rabbinical ordination from the prestigious Jerusalem Kollel . He now wants to pay it forward to the Harvard Community.
Aside from interests in Judaism, Rabbi Ganger is a Mental Health Counselor and former tennis instructor. Please don’t hesitate to schedule him for some time either on or off the court.
Rabbi Elisha Gechter
Senior Director of Rabbinic Engagement
617-495-8098
Rabbi Elisha Gechter serves as Senior Director of Rabbinic Engagement at Harvard Hillel, where she helps students build lives of meaning, purpose, and Jewish connection. Through teaching, mentoring, worship, pastoral care, and community-building, she oversees Hillel’s rabbinic team, supports student religious leadership, and creates meaningful opportunities for engagement with Jewish tradition, Shabbat, and holidays to make Jewish wisdom and practice accessible, compelling, and relevant to the Harvard experience. She also cultivates Jewish faculty community alongside student life and builds trusted relationships across the university to strengthen Jewish belonging and continuity on campus, and works with university leaders and community partners to address antisemitism and advance a campus climate in which Jewish life can thrive.
Prior to her role at Harvard Hillel, she spent over a decade at Harvard Kennedy School where she designed leadership learning experiences for over 100 fellows and oversaw the Wexner Israel Fellowship Program. Elisha has been working in the Boston Jewish Community for 19 years – previously connecting those searching for community and for Jewish wisdom as the Associate Director of Adult Learning and Community Engagement at Hebrew College and fundraising with local young leaders at CJP. She has rabbinic ordination from Yeshivat Maharat (Modern Orthodox) in New York, an MA/MBA from Brandeis’ Heller Hornstein Program in Jewish Leadership and Non-Profit Management, and a BA in psychology from Yeshiva University’s Stern College. She lives in Somerville, MA with her husband and two kids where they attend services at Minyan Tehillah and the Tremont Street Shul and Elisha is a dedicated board member at Mayyim Hayyim Mikvah and Education Center. She’s also a huge foodie and a fan of bluegrass music.
Celine Ginsburg
Director of Development
617-495-4020
Celine is thrilled to be joining the Harvard Hillel team to lead the annual fundraising program. Born in Italy to Israeli parents and raised in Paris, France, Celine holds a BA in Government from Reichman University in Herzliya, Israel and an MA in Nonprofit Management from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Celine previously served as the Associate Director of Development at Brandeis Hillel where she was responsible for annual fundraising, alumni engagement, communications, and stewardship. She also worked at the American Zionist Movement in NYC and the Israel Fund for UNICEF in Tel Aviv. Celine lives in Brookline with her husband and two children.
Michael Maffeo
Operations Manager
617-496-6447
Michael received his bachelor’s degree at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in Managerial Economics and an Associate’s degree in Business Administration.
He is excited to collaborate and grow with the team as he is a new addition to Harvard Hillel. Born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, Michael loves to explore the city, run, play sports and indulge in new foods. He looks forward to helping empower students on their journey to success, and to personally growing in his position.
David Mahfouda
Reform Rabbinic Advisor
David Mahfouda (he/him) is a Rabbinical Student and Teaching Fellow at Hebrew College. Over the past few years, David has enjoyed serving as a rabbinic intern at Congregation Or Hatzafon, in Fairbanks Alaska, The Boston Synagogue, and Congregation Beth El, in Augusta Maine. He’s also been really excited about the Shul Lunch Cooperative — a delicious mutual aid project based out of Hebrew College, which he co-founded in 2023.
Prior to attending rabbinical school, David was a curator at the Proteus Gowanus Gallery in Brooklyn, where he co-founded the Fixers Collective — a non-hierarchical repair community that gathered weekly to fix broken things. He was also the founder and CEO of an early digital ride sharing platform, Bandwagon — which operated for 10 years, facilitating shared taxi rides at New York City Airports and other transportation hubs.
David really loves gathering (people), and practice (all kinds, spiritual, Jewish, athletic, artistic, etc.), and believes that his artistic and technical inclinations stem from deep-rooted Jewish values around redemption and interdependence. In addition to rabbinical school, David loves dancing, cooking, hiking, and singing — and he’s really excited about joining the Harvard Hillel community this year.
Rabbi Jim Morgan
Worship & Study Rabbinic Advisor
Rabbi Jim Morgan joined the Worship and Study Minyan as rabbinic advisor in January 2012. He received his Rabbinic ordination from Hebrew College in Newton, where he focused on developing a vision for pluralistic Jewish communities and spirit-filled davvening (praying). He also holds a PhD in Slavic Languages and Literatures from Yale University, where he wrote his dissertation on early 19th-Century Russian poetry.
Rabbi Jim also serves as Community Rabbi and Chaplain for Center Communities of Brookline, a part of Hebrew SeniorLife (HSL). He is also the Russian-speaking Chaplain at HSL’s Long-term Chronic Care Hospital in Roslindale. In all of his roles, Rabbi Jim teaches Torah and secular spirituality; leads prayer; performs pastoral duties; and creates Shabbat, holiday, and other programs. Previously, he served as Spiritual Counselor for the Elder Service Plan, a PACE program at Harbor Health Services in Mattapan and as Director of International Partnerships for the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, where he facilitated collaborative programs in Israel and Ukraine as well as Boston-based Israel engagement.
Phyllis Pawa
Development Coordinator
617-495-3026
Phyllis is excited to join the Harvard Hillel team as the development coordinator. She received her Masters in Theological Studies with a concentration in Jewish studies at Harvard Divinity School and her Masters in Library and Information Sciences at Simmons University. She has her B.A. in religion from Whitman College. She has previously worked in a variety of government archives. She has also researched and written on Jewish American women’s history and Southern Jewish history. She is passionate about blending her expertise in data organization and research with her love of building and engaging in vibrant Jewish communities.
Phyllis lives in Belmont with her husband Josh and their two cats, Finch and Art. In her free time she loves playing board games, making art, taking walks, and hosting dinner parties. She loves books and will always have a recommendation for anyone looking for their next read!
Monica Steiner
Reform Rabbinic Advisor
Monica Steiner advises the Reform Minyan, is a Jewish educator, and serves as a chaplain to students of all backgrounds and levels of Jewish knowledge (including secular, questioning, multi-heritage, LGBTQIA+ Jews and more). She loves co-creating an culture of inclusion, warmth and kindness at Hillel, hanging out and chatting with students in Rabb, and her many weekly one-on-one coffee/ice cream chats. Contact Monica to find a time to meet. No questions are too big or small to explore!