Halakha Department - Faculty List

Rabbi Donny Besser teaches Talmud and Halakha, serves as Mashgiach Ruchani for our students, leads the Parsha Club, and runs the Mishmar Program. He joined the Ma'ayanot faculty in 2005, prior to which he practiced law for six years. Throughout his career, Rabbi Besser has been involved in informal Jewish education for teens and adults. He was also involved in editing the Masoret HaRav Yom Kippur Machzor, whose commentary incorporates insights of Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, and he is currently preparing a birkon with the Rav’s commentary. He earned his J.D. from Columbia Law School and received semicha from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University.

Rabbi Yair Hindin is a member of our Halakha department. He received semicha  from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University, holds an M.A. in Modern Jewish History from Bernard Revel Graduate School of Yeshiva University, and earned his B.A. in English from Yeshiva College. Prior to joining the Ma'ayanot faculty, Rabbi Hindin taught at Ramaz Upper School for five years, and before that he taught at both Yeshiva University High School for Boys and Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway. He has also served in numerous rabbinic positions, including Camp Director and Rabbi at Yesh Camp, Community Rabbi of the Rimon Center for Jewish Learning, and High Holidays Rabbi of the Irving Place Minyan. 

Rabbi Zev Prince teaches both Talmud and Halakha, and he serves as Director of Religious Programming and Director of the Ma’ayanot Scholars Program. Prior to joining the Ma’ayanot faculty, Rabbi Prince worked in adult education as a member of the Boca Raton Community Kollel.  He earned a B.S. in Psychology from Yeshiva University and Semicha from REITS, the Yeshiva University Kollel in Jerusalem.

Mrs. Shoshana Samuels teaches Halakha and Jewish Philosophy and serves as a ninth grade mehanekhet. She earned a B.A. in Judaic Studies from Stern College, an M.A. in Jewish Philosophy from Ben Gurion University, and she is a graduate of the Keren Ariel Yoetzet Halakha Program at Nishmat in Israel.  While living in Israel, Mrs. Samuels taught high school students at Mekif Amit and at Yeshivat Bnei Akiva in Beer Sheva, and she also worked with elementary  through college-age students in a variety of informal Jewish educational settings. In addition to teaching at Ma’ayanot, Mrs. Samuels is the yoetzet halakha at Congregation Rinat Yisrael, Congregation Netivot Shalom, and Kesher Synagogue in Bergen County, and  she regularly visits the Jewish community in Los Angeles to give shiurim and to serve as yoetzet halakha there as well.