The Chabad.org Team

In honor of the 10th yahrtzeit of our founder, Rabbi YY Kazen, we asked some of our team members (there are many more!) to tell us about themselves, when they joined the Chabad.org team and what their vision is for the site. From Israel, France, Canada Germany and the US, Chabad.org team members share their ideas and their passion.

Chana Benjaminson

Job Description: Ask the Rabbi and feedback coordinator and responder, member of the editorial team.

About Me: I was born and raised in Rome, Italy, where my parents have been emissaries of the Lubavitcher Rebbe for 32 years. I spent six years in Rome directing a singles' group, teaching in Hebrew schools, organizing women's Torah classes and more. I am now co-director of Chabad of the South Coast in Massachusetts together with my husband and children.

When Did I Come to Chabad.org: I started working at Chabad.org in 1997. At that time there were only four more staff members on the team and we all shared many responsibilities. I was single at the time and working out of my basement apartment.

We slowly started building websites for Chabad emissaries as part of the Chabad Centers Online project. Later, we gradually started introducing more material to the site, focusing on the holiday sections and the weekly magazine. I remember myself running up and down four rickety flights of stairs researching and gathering material from the local library, bookstores and personal libraries—and then scanning and entering it all into our database for online publication.

The part I most enjoyed was responding to questions via the Ask the Rabbi and Feedback features. Then, as now, I was amazed at how one can literally be on the other side of the world and be able to assist a person in a practical or spiritual way, all with a few strokes of a keyboard and an internet connection. To this day the instant-help aspect continues to amaze and inspire me.

Although I never met Rabbi Kazen, I frequently heard about his spending hours and hours in his small office responding to people all over the globe. The image of him working is frequently in my mind as I try to carry on his work in my small way.

My Vision: I see Chabad.org as a virtual Chabad House with unlimited capabilities that works hand in hand with brick and mortar Chabad houses (when possible). With the help of the anonymity the web provides, we're able to reach and be reached by people with whom we would otherwise never have a chance to interact and help them on their path to Judaism.

I'd like to see Chabad.org's Ask the Rabbi develop into a global online community for assisting and supporting each other, whereby the interaction is not only rabbi/rebbetzin and questioner but one big circle of friendship and support.

Moshe Berghoff

Job Description: Chief Technology Officer

About Me: As the CTO of Chabad.org, I am responsible for network operations of our web site, office and branch offices. I work closely with our amazing development and technical teams in both brainstorming and implementation. I live in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, with my wife and four children.

How Did I Come to Chabad.org: It all started when I was drafted by my Yeshivah roommate, Shimon Laber, to help scan images and prepare HTML for the Chanukah site in 1998. What followed is a blur; I went from debugging the fist version of chabad-centers.com and publishing content for our various holiday sites to my first hands on experience in the old IDT data center in Hackensack, NJ, with Golan Ben-Oni—where we set up a server farm for the launch of TheRebbe.org in Y2K, featured on the AOL login screen. I got myself some books on servers' security and networking and the rest is history.

My Vision: To be able to support the ever-growing content infrastructure of Chabad.org and the global Chabad Centers web sites.

Sara Esther Crispe

Job Description: Editor of TheJewishWoman.org.

About me: I live with my husband, Rabbi Asher Crispe, and our four beautiful children – Nava, Nessia, Netanel and Ayden – in Merion Station, Pennsylvania. Before returning to the States almost four years ago, we lived in Jerusalem for eight years where we were the directors of Torat Chesed: The Institute for Advanced Learning for Jewish Women. I have my BA from the University of California, San Diego, in Literature and Writing and was an Adjunct Professor of Composition at Brooklyn College while I studied for my Masters. In addition to my work at Chabad.org, I travel throughout the world lecturing on interpersonal topics such as relationships and communication as well as on the power of the Jewish woman.

How Did I Come to Chabad.org: Thirteen years ago, I was a freelancer writer for what was then LNS: Lubavitch News Service. I would interview Shluchim (Chabad emissaries) throughout the world and write press releases and news stories detailing their new projects and work. After getting married and moving to Israel in 1997, I dedicated my time to teaching and stopped, for the time being, my work as a writer. I returned to working as a freelancer, this time for Chabad.org, in 2004, writing news stories again. In 2005 I became a full-time staff member of Chabad.org as the creator and editor of TheJewishWoman.org, Chabad.org's women's site. We launched the site in March of 2006 and less than three years later, have 20,000 subscribed weekly readers, over 200 authors and over 1,000 articles on a wide range of topics and issues specific to the Jewish woman.

My Vision: To see TheJewishWoman.org continue to grow and expand. We have formed an incredible community of women throughout the world who feel connected to one another. I would like to see the site become more interactive and allow these women to be able to form personal relationships with other readers and have an opportunity to directly offer their suggestions and advice through forums and discussion groups. Another goal is to have an extensive video section for women teaching women so that our readers can learn from the top female educators around. We are also hoping to have our first book, an anthology on parenting, ready for release in time for Mother's Day, 2009. It will hopefully be the first of many books from TheJewishWoman.org.

Joshua Frank

Job Description: Editor of de.chabad.org – Chabad.org's German Language site.

About Me: I was born in Germany. In 2002 I married my wife and we became fully-observant Jews through our local Chabad House. We have two beautiful children.

How Did I Come to Chabad.org: Rabbi Mendel Gurevitz, the Chabad emissary in Offenbach, Germany, asked me to correct some translations for the German version of Chabad.org. I got involved and soon enough I became the editor of de.chabad.org, in November 2007.

My Vision: Finding in-depth Jewish content in German on the internet was hard to impossible. So I took the opportunity to change the situation. Since starting the project we have become the largest Jewish content portal in German. I would like to continue to bring more Jewish content online in German.

Tzvi Freeman

Job Description: Director of Interactivity-With-People, aka Ask-The-Rabbi.

About Me: Lives all over Cyberspace. Home: Land of Israel. Current physical location: Freeman Wildlife Park, Thornhill, Ontario. We provide the park, the kids provide the wild life.

Got onto Compuserve in 1986. Worked and lectured in multimedia/educational/gaming technology, created "A to Zap!" and was a contributing editor to Game Developer Magazine. Was commissioned to research and draft proposal for Canadian Jewish Congress, "Using Communications Technology to Service Small Communities," submitted in 1988. Published some books of meditations and Kabbalistic SciFi/Fantasy.

How Did I Come to Chabad.org: Started writing, debating and answering Jewish questions on Compuserve, AOL, KesherNet, LubaNet and eventually the Internet. Was always involved in what would become Chabad.org. Eventually took a full-time position as Chabad.org's director of Interactivity-With-People.

My Vision: That Jewish wisdom, body and soul – but mainly its inner soul – should be as luscious and tasty to all of you as it is to me, and a thousand times more so—i.e., the era of Moshiach. Can't find a better tool to do that than my Mac, the Internet, and lots of love.

Refoel Nosson Huisman

Job Description: Programmer

About Me: I'm 23 years old and was born and raised in Amsterdam, Holland. I currently live in Brooklyn, NY, with my wife Etti (whom I should thank for allowing me to spend so much time behind the screen). I love programming, wrestling with logic challenges, and creating new things.

How Did I Come to Chabad.org: I started to work for Chabad.org a bit more than a year ago. I have since then been involved in many aspects of the Chabad.org platform and infrastructure, and enjoyed all of them. I especially enjoy the warm atmosphere that prevades the office here.

My Vision: To build an online platform where everyone can find their spiritual needs; a way to bring spiritual light into today's world using modern technologies. I hope to inspire others by demonstrating how advances in information technology can be used to promote goodness.

Emmanuel Mergui

Job Description: Editor of fr.chabad.org – Chabad.org's French Language site.

About Me: I am married and a father of three young happy children living in Paris, France. I studied Talmudic and Rabbinic law in Chabad-Lubavitch yeshivas in France and Israel after graduating from high school in France. Both my wife and I serve today as teachers in Chabad schools, teaching Torah, the love of G-d and of one's fellow Jew to young boys and girls.

How Did I Come to Chabad.org: Involved for a long time in spreading Chasidic philosophy through translating Chasidic essays into French, I was honored to become the editor of Fr.Chabad.org, the French branch of Chabad.org, upon its creation in early 2007. I am also in charge of our French "Ask the Rabbi" service that provides guidance and assistance to French speaking Jews around the world, from remote provinces of Canada to New Caledonia.

My Vision: I consider it the highest privilege to take part in the mission imparted to us by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, fulfilling our nation's vision of bringing about the coming of Moshiach and an era of global peace and harmony; when all humanity will be connected by a shared knowledge of G-d and the will to serve Him.

Menachem Posner

Job Description: Ask the Rabbi responder.

About Me: I live in Brooklyn, NY, with my wife Tehilah. I divide my time between answering questions as part of the "ask the rabbi" team and studying Torah.

When Did I Come to Chabad.org: I joined Chabad.org in the summer of 2006. Most of my energies are devoted to providing high quality information and guidance to questioners from all over the globe. Researching, writing and advising people all over is my passion.

My Vision: We are at the forefront of the struggle against Jewish ignorance and apathy. Real people rely on us for advice, guidance, and Torah teachings. I hope that we live up to those expectations with each and every email sent and every page published.

Through sharing the Torah with everyone – from the backpacker in Nepal, to the secretary in Brooklyn – I hope to do my part of bringing about the time when "A man will no longer teach his fellow, telling him to know G-d, for all will know Me"—Jeremiah 31:33.

Moshe Rosenberg

Job Description: Manager, Affiliate Website Department

About Me: I live in Brooklyn, NY, with my dear wife Faige and two energetic sons, Shai, 6, and Avi, 3. I am originally from Montréal, Canada, where I spent most of my adolescent years with the rest of my 12 siblings. In 2000 I graduated from Central Yeshivah Tomchei Temimim with rabbinical ordination, and then continued to pursue studies in computer networking and information systems. My interests include computers, desserts, hockey and playing with my kids.

When Did I Come to Chabad.org: Toward the end of my yeshivah studies, I realized that I had a passion for computer systems and began tinkering with my own pc and reading up on computers. In 1999, during a year at the Yeshiva in New Haven, CT, I met Moshe Berghoff who at the time was getting involved with Chabad.org. The following year, Moshe invited me to moonlight at the new Chabad.org office doing data entry, and the rest is history.

My Vision: Focusing on my area of responsibility, my vision is to see Chabad.org expand to as many languages as possible and for each language to grow to become just as powerful and enriching as our flagship English site. I would also like to see as many Chabad Centers worldwide participate actively on the Chabad.org website platform and to provide them with web-based tools to be able to better promote their individual centers.

Using a bird's eye view, I would very much like to see Chabad.org reach out to every single Jew via the web, email or any other electronic medium to provide valuable Jewish resources, education, encouragement and tools to realize their full potential in their growth as Jews and productive human beings.

Joshua Runyan

Job Description: Editor of Chabad.org's News Division – Chabad.org/News.

About Me: My wife Tamar and I make our home in Bet Shemesh, Israel, with our four beautiful children: Esti, Sefi, Mendel and Hershey. I got into the news business at the age of 16 as an assistant news producer for an international radio network. After completing my rabbinical studies in Kfar Chabad, I now work fulltime for Chabad.org.

How Did I Come to Chabad.org: My wife and I have been with Chabad.org since 2006, when I left The Jewish Exponent in Philadelphia to serve the Chabad on Campus International Foundation as its news director. As the news editor for Chabad.org, I supervise our news Web site, www.chabad.org/news. We cover the breadth and depth of Chabad-Lubavitch programming and activities around the world, as well as the current events which have a bearing on the Jewish community at large, and each community served by our more than 4,000 Chabad Houses in particular.

My Vision: Chabad.org serves so many people from so many backgrounds. The news division, therefore, dovetails with our overall vision of providing a "one-stop shop" for Jewish information. Someone who comes to our site looking for the latest Jewish news out of Thailand, or what's new in the realm of public Chanukah lightings, can glance at either side of the page and see a wealth of links for more information. Please G-d, may our news site tell of the coming of Moshiach and the redemption, speedily in our days.

David Taub

Job Description: Producer of the Itche Kadoozy Show and other animation projects.

About Me: I'm 27 years old, and live in Chicago, IL, with my wonderful wife and two beautiful daughters. I enjoy learning, drawing, and making funny faces in the mirror.

When Did I Come to Chabad.org: I started working for Chabad.org in 2004, officially to help with the Kids' site and do some illustration. I also managed to get permission to spend some time on a little side project called "The Itche Kadoozy Show" which pretty quickly started taking up most of my time as it became a huge success, gaining a kind of popularity I haven't seen elsewhere in Jewish online video. Recently I've had a chance to do a new weekly animated series – "Stick Figure Vignettes" – as well as collaborate with our other in-house animators on some exciting projects.

My Vision: According to the guy at LensCrafters—pretty lousy. But creatively speaking, I see Chabad.org as a place that offers the most unique, fascinating, heartfelt, entertaining, informative, amusing new forms of Jewish media and expression. Ultimately, I would love for Chabad.org to offer young Jewish artists an opportunity to use their Judaism as a source of inspiration for their expression, and to share that with the world.

Yanki Tauber

Job Description: Senior Content Editor

About Myself: I was born in Brooklyn, NY, and received rabbinical ordination in 1987. I wrote/edited the Week In Review, a weekly journal of chassidic thought based on the works of the Rebbe, in the years 1989-1999, and since then I serve as Chabad.org's senior content editor. My wife Riki was born in Kfar Chabad, Israel, and we have three daughters: Leah, Chany and Racheli.

How Did I Come to Chabad.org: I started in the summer of 1999. Currently I'm focusing on development of the Parshah section and the Chabad.org chumash project.

My Vision: To empower every Jew, and by extension, all of humanity, with the wisdom, knowledge and understanding of Torah and the 4,000-year heritage of the Jewish people.

Our full team can be viewed here.