Rabba Yaffa Epstein

Senior Scholar and Educator in Residence , Jewish Education Project

Rabba Yaffa Epstein is the Senior Scholar and Educator in Residence at the Jewish Education Project, bringing decades of experience as a teacher, scholar, and institutional leader to her work. She previously served as Director of the Wexner Heritage Program at the Wexner Foundation and as Director of Education, North America for the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, where she was also a faculty member. She has taught on the faculties of Yeshivat Maharat and the Drisha Institute. A sought-after Educator, Rabba Epstein has partnered with a wide range of organizations — including M2: The Institute for Experiential Education, the Dorot Foundation, Mem Global, the Jewish Federations of North America, UJA New York, the Covenant Foundation, the Nahum Goldmann Fellowship, Repair the World, JPro and the Jewish Parent Academy. She has lectured at Limmud events around the globe, developed curriculum for the Global Day of Jewish Learning, and created innovative educational programming for Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life and the SRE Network. Rabba Epstein holds Orthodox Rabbinic Ordination from Yeshivat Maharat and an additional private Orthodox Ordination from Rabbi Daniel Landes. She earned a Law Degree from Bar-Ilan University and studied at the Talmud Department of Hebrew University. A member of the inaugural cohort of the Sefaria Word-by-Word Writing Circle, her writing has appeared in the SAPIR Journal, the Jerusalem Post, and numerous Jewish publications. In 2024, she received the prestigious Covenant Award for outstanding contributions to Jewish education. Across her career, Rabba Epstein has taught educators, rabbis, and lay leaders from every corner of the Jewish denominational spectrum. She is passionate about making Torah study exciting, relevant, and accessible to all who wish to learn.