Hebrew Educators
Jess Green
Jess is beginning her third year at Temple Beth Shalom, and will be a 2-3 grade Jewish Learner Guide, and educator in the 8th-12th grade Etzim programs, and the Cooking Specialist in the Mayim and Etzim programs. She is also a Whole School Teacher in the Children’s Center and a personal chef. Jess spent her summer on Senior Staff at Camp Tel Noar as the Department Head of Nature and as a chef for Dance New England and is excited to incorporate her loves of cooking and the outdoors into her teaching. She believes that everyone and anyone can learn to cook and that cooking is an amazing experiential modality for youth to learn about teamwork, the Jewish year, social justice and to grow self confidence and independence.
​
Jess' experience in working with youth, food, and non-profits comes from her previous roles as a restaurant owner, non-profit professional, and various positions as an educator and counselor at URJ Camp Harlam, Eckerd Youth Alternatives wilderness camps, and the Oak Square YMCA. She has a B.A. in Women's Studies from the University of Maryland at College Park, holds a ServSafe safe food handler certificate, and was a 2014 New Leaders Council Fellow.
Liron Riess
Liron has been a part of the Temple Beth Shalom team since 2009. Born and raised in Israel, Liron incorporates the Jewish education she received growing up with her day to day teaching, which centers around a love for the land of Israel, for the history of its people, and for the holidays and traditions that have kept Judaism alive through the generations.
Her background in child psychology and her enthusiasm for education have led Liron to be involved in the education of children and teens in many capacities--from working at children's centers in Kibbutz Ginnosar, to educating young women as an officer in the Israeli army, for which she received a national award from the President of Israel for outstanding service in 1986.
After moving to the US, she continued in this field, working with preschool children in Cambridge and Foxboro. In her six years of employment at TBS, Liron has had the opportunity to teach grades K-7. She also teaches Hebrew for grades 3-6. Liron is married, has three children, and lives in Foxboro, MA. She takes pleasure in sharing her passion for Jewish learning with her fellow educators and with the children in her classes.
Sheira Rosenfield
Sheira has been an educator at TBS for the past 18 years and during that time she has taught every grade from 3-12. She has been a b'nei mitzvah tutor, a teacher of Holocaust studies and an adult learning educator as well.
Sheira is happiest when she's spending time in the classroom with her students. According to Sheira "There is magic that happens at TBS that you can't find anywhere else and it's truly a spiritual home".
Sheira received a B.A. from The University of Massachusetts, Amherst and an M.S. Ed. from Wheelock College. She lives in Acton with her husband of almost 30 years, Mark who grew up as a member of TBS. Sheira and Mark are the proud parents of Ben who is completing his Master's Degree in England.
In her spare time, Sheira loves to travel, hang out with her dog Ruby, watch movies and read.
Sabrina Shemesh
Sabrina has been a member of the Temple Beth Shalom family since 2002. She is a Jewish Learning Guide for grades 4-5 and a Hebrew Educator for grades 2-7. She also has been tutoring students in preparation for their Bnei Mitzvahs for over six years.
After serving in the Israeli Defense Force, Sabrina immigrated to the United States with her husband in 1985 where she became certified in Early Childhood Development. After working several years in pre-education, Sabrina started working at Temple Beth Shalom. There she found her passion for sharing the love, history and culture of her home country of Israel with all of the students and their families at Temple Beth Shalom.
Rena Gray Fein
​
Rena is delighted to join the Mayim Tamid faculty as the second- and third-grade (Shana Bet) JLG, after five years working in Mayim with the same age group.Rena has always been enthusiastic about celebrating Jewish life and learning, including holiday celebrations, family milestones, Hebrew language, Tefillah, text study, and more. Her professional experience includes teaching at Jewish day school and supplementary programs, tutoring Bar/Bat students, co-directing family camp, and writing curricula. She also enjoys singing in a Jewish chorus and visiting Israel. Rena is thrilled to be able to share her many experiences with the children and families of TBS.​Rena holds Masters degrees from Hebrew College in Jewish Studies and Jewish Education. She earned her BA in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University.
​
Dalia Mendel
Dalia Mendel is a native Israeli who has been teaching at a variety of congregations in the Boston area. This includes serving as a Hebrew teacher at the MetroWest Jewish Day School and as a Hebrew substitute at the Rashi School. Dalia started working at TBS in the Fall of 2015 as a substitute and then taught 7th grade Conversational Hebrew in Spring 2016. In Israel, Dalia taught in several universities and volunteered working with kids at risk, teaching Jewish and Israeli holidays and special events. Dalia has a Master’s degree in Safety Engineering and a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from Ben-Gurion University in Israel. Originally from Romania, she grew up in Israel and moved to the United States two years ago. Dalia lives in Natick with her husband and three children.
Abi Oshins
Abi is excited to join the TBS team as a 6th grade JLG, Hebrew Educator, and Jr. BESTY Advisor! Though this is Abi’s first year at TBS, she has taught in learning programs for grades 4-12 at Temple Beth Elohim of Wellesley. She brings to TBS her love of experiential learning, something she developed a passion for through her work at URJ Eisner Camp, where she has been on staff for the last 6 summers. Abi graduated from Boston University in 2015; her degree is in English Education and Theater. When Abi isn’t engaged in Jewish learning, she can be found doing community connection and outreach for Central Square Theater, playing with her dog Teddy, or practicing the ukulele.
Ilana Streit
This is Ilana’s first year at TBS, where she is a Jewish Learning Guide for 2nd and 3rd grades and Hebrew educator. She grew up in Montclair, NJ, and Mount Airy, Philadelphia. She moved to Boston in 2005 to be close to family.
Ilana is a graduate of the Heller/Hornstein Program in Jewish Community Leadership as well as the Kohenet Institute in Embodied Jewish Women's Spiritual Leadership. She has taught students of many ages in Hebrew, holidays, and creative Jewish living.
Ilana is a poet and singer-songwriter, and she loves being in nature. She is currently in a training program in the Feldenkrais Method of somatic awareness.
Emily Kestenbaum
​
Emily is excited to be joining the Temple Beth Shalom community as a Mayim JLG for 2nd and 3rd graders, a Hebrew Educator for 3rd and 4th graders, and an Etzim JLG for 7th graders. She is also looking forward to being the Itty Bitty BESTY Advisor.
​
Emily holds a Masters degree in Students with Disabilities and Literacy from SUNY Albany. Prior to working at TBS, Emily worked in schools on Long Island and taught at the Hebrew School where she grew up. Emily loves to swim and has been the Waterfront Director at URJ Eisner Camp for the last 5 summers.
​
*formerly Emily Gergen - newly married!
Didi Poliak
dpoliak@tbsneedham.org
​
​Hi, I am Didi Poliak and I am so excited to start at TBS this year! I am originally from New York but am so excited to move to the Boston area! I just graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor's degree in Human Services. I loved being involved in Jewish life at school, where I was involved in Hillel and Challah for Hunger. I am a longtime Eisner camper and staff member and love spending my summers in Great Barrington! In my free time, I love being outside, exploring new places and spending time with my family!