Jewish History Department - Faculty List

Mrs. Tamar Appel, Assistant Principal, has brought her passion for teaching to Ma'ayanot since 2004, when she became a teacher of Hebrew, American History, and Jewish History at the school.  She currently serves as Chairperson of the History, Jewish History, and Jewish Philosophy Departments, and she designed the school's Modern Jewish History curriculum.   Mrs. Appel has a B.A. and an M.A. in History from the University of Pennsylvania, where she also completed her coursework toward a Ph.D. and won the Penn Prize for Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching.  She is committed not only to guiding students toward intellectual development, but also to helping them find their own personal paths as young Jewish women.
 

Mrs. Julie Goldstein teaches ninth grade Jewish History and serves as a tenth grade mehanekhet.  In addition to teaching, she is currently working on her doctoral dissertation at NYU on the topic of the representation of children in medieval martyrdom narratives. Mrs. Goldstein, along with her husband Rabbi Uri Goldstein, also founded an advanced Jewish learning program at the UCLA Hillel. She received a B.A. in Jewish Studies from Stern College and an M.A. in Medieval Jewish Philosophy from Bernard Revel Graduate School at Yeshiva University.

Mrs. Melissa Kapustin taught Jewish History at Ma’ayanot from 2001-2004, during which time she helped to develop our Jewish History curriculum for ninth and tenth grades. She temporarily left Ma'ayanot to earn her J.D. at Rutgers University School of Law, but recently returned to teach Jewish History part time while continuing to pursue her legal career by working as a litigation attorney.  In addition to her J.D., Mrs. Kapustin holds a B.A. from Stern College with a major in Judaic Studies and a minor in American Studies, and an M.A. in Modern Jewish History from Bernard Revel Graduate School of Yeshiva University. She has also taught weekly adult education courses in Jewish Law and History at Congregation Etz Chaim in Livingston for the past 12 years. 

Mrs. Elana Lefkovitz, a graduate of Ma’ayanot’s Class of 2002, teaches History and Jewish History. Mrs. Lefkovitz studied at Midreshet Lindenbaum before earning a B.A. in American History from Barnard College and a J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. She worked as a research assistant, legal intern, and teaching assistant while in law school, in addition to serving as a project coordinator for the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York.