Leadership
Rabbi Misha Shulman, Founder & Director
Born and raised in Jerusalem to American parents, Rabbi Misha Shulman has been working as a Jewish educator since 1994. He has taught many hundreds of children of all ages, preparing many of them for their B’nai Mitzvah. In 2009 he founded SCJ, where his educational work won him the Mintz Award for Creative Jewish Education. Rabbi Misha received his rabbinic ordination in 2019, and since 2020 he’s been serving as Rabbi of The New Shul, an independent, progressive Jewish community in Greenwich Village.
Rabbi Misha has taught at a number of Reform synagogues including The Village Temple, the Shul of New York and Rodef Shalom Religious School, and worked as an Arts Educator for the Board of Jewish Education of Greater New York. He has created programming for the Brooklyn JCC, the 14th Street Y and the Manny Cantor Center.
Rabbi Misha is an accomplished playwright, theater director and actor, with an MFA from Brooklyn College and an extensive theatrical resume, including performances in places ranging from Off-Off-Broadway theaters to Lincoln Center, as well as around the globe. He plays a variety of musical instruments.
Before coming to New York, Rabbi Misha worked as a Commander in Charge of Education in the IDF, and at Noam, the youth group of the Conservative Movement in Israel.
Arnan Raz, Assistant Director
Arnan Raz was born in Kibbutz Merhavia, a small village in the north of Israel, to a musical family; his grandfather was a music teacher and a painter, his uncle a famous conductor, and his mom and brother are both professional guitar players. Until the age of 13 Arnan’s passion was soccer. Suddenly, out of nowhere and without much reason, Arnan decided that he wanted to play the saxophone.
You can listen to some of Arnan’s music at www.arnanrazmusic.com
Itamar Dotan Katz, Director of Operations
Itamar Dotan Katz was born in 1990 in Jerusalem, and is a photographer focusing on communities and landscapes affected by conflict. He began his journey with the visual arts, studying filmmaking and directing short films in High School. He continued his education in filmmaking and philosophy at the Tel-Aviv University while developing his career as a bartender and hospitality expert which allowed him to travel all over the world. He graduated from the International Center of Photography's Creative Practices Program in New York City, class of 2019 with the director's scholarship and the Photojournalism and Documentary Program, class of 2020. He was a part of the Flag Project by Aperture Foundation at the Rockefeller Plaza. His work 'The New Shul' was published along with an interview on Spot Magazine by the HCP, Fall issue 2020. His work in Egypt, 'Vacated' won a Grand Prize Award in the PDN EDU contest of 2020. He was featured on the Life Framer Collection and F-STOP Magazine. Today Itamar is a working photographer in NYC, the Art Handler at Staley Wise Gallery in Soho and The New Shul’s and School For Creative Judaism’s house photographer and Director of Operations.
Bill Magaliff, Director of Finance
Bill has been involved in professional Jewish life in New York and Israel for over 40 years as a non-profit program director and administrator, day school music teacher, song leader, B Mitzvah tutor and officiant, and service leader. His volunteering endeavors have ranged from spearheading a synagogue IT revamp to facilitating an annual Jewish Men’s Retreat (info at menschwork.org). Always looking to grow and learn, his diverse set of skills and talents have led Bill through work in corporate IT, medical sales and residential property management.
Yet perhaps his greatest love lies in the performing arts. Throughout his life he has worked in music and theater as a musical and stage director, producer, writer, conductor/arranger, accompanist, teacher and performer. His most recent show, Two Guys & A Doll Do Broadway, has been performed in New York and Florida (with more to come). He is also the creator of A Purim Panoply, a series of parodies that interpret the Hebrew Bible in a human and humorous way. Performances are scheduled for Spring 2023.