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.
Bill Magaliff, Director of Finance & Administration
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.
Chanan Ben Simon, Assistant Director, Teacher
Chanan Ben Simon is a musician, multimedia artist and an educator, born in Jerusalem and currently Brooklyn-based. Chanan’s work combines voice, sound, visuals, installation art and new media.
Alongside his artistic work and SCJ, Chanan is an Educator at Flatbush Jewish Center, a guest cantor at The New Shul, and he curates the artistic program of FEDtables where he also serves as an artist in residence.
He holds a BA in music composition from the Music Academy in Jerusalem and an MFA in performance and interactive media from Brooklyn College.