Professional Team

Robert Grossman is the CEO of Yashrut. Originally from  Richmond, Virginia, he holds a B.A in Religious Studies from University of Virginia and M.A in Higher Education Administration and Non-Profit Management from George Washington University. Since moving to Israel in 2002, his professional roles have focused on fundraising for multiple organizations, including serving as Pardes’ first Director of Development. Before coming to Israel, Robert worked for Hillel on multiple campuses, then directed the Soref Initiative for Emerging Campuses at Hillel’s International Center while also helping to develop and implement Hillel’s Taglit-Birthright Israel program when it first began. He is active in his local shul, Kehillat Klausner, and takes pleasure in perfecting Shabbat recipes for his family. Robert lives in Jerusalem with his wife, Dara, and their three sabra children. 

R’ Isaac Landes is the Director of Yashrut’s Classic Talmud Program (CTP). He grew up in Jerusalem where he currently lives with his wife and two children. R’ Isaac studied in Yeshivat Har Etzion’s Hesder program, and Beit Midrash Havruta on Mt. Scopus, and earned Semikhah from Yashrut in 2019. He holds a B.A and M.A in History from Hebrew University, where he is currently a PhD candidate in History. His research focuses on birth control, abortion and infanticide among working class families in 19th-century England. R’ Isaac’s experience in informal education includes shlichut in Australia, the Jerusalem Municipality’s program for at-risk teens, and Brandeis Camp Institute (BCI). He has fond memories of guiding heads of state as a Knesset tour guide and diplomatic liaison. He is a participant in YCT’s Rikmah Fellowship and the NGF Leadership Seminar. R’ Isaac enjoys following current culinary trends and reading natural theology.

Rabbi Joel Goldstein is a faculty member of Yashrut, where he facilitates tutorials for the CTP program and is on the teaching team for the Semikhah Initiative. He is originally from Los Angeles, CA and currently lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. R’ Joel holds a B.A in Physics from UC Berkeley, M.S in Physics from University of Washington, and an MA in Jewish Studies and rabbinic ordination from Hebrew College, and and earned Semikhah from Yashrut in 2024. Professionally, he served as a US Navy submarine officer, an engineer at Boeing, a high school Talmud Teacher and a Hillel Campus Rabbi. He currently serves as the rabbi for Based-In Ann Arbor. R’ Joel and his wife, Rachel Jacobson, are the parents of Yahra and Gedalia, both of whose minds surprise them daily.

R’ Lexie Botzum is a faculty member of Yashrut. She is originally from Allentown, PA. She holds a B.A in International Studies and Political Science from Johns Hopkins University, and has studied at Yeshivat Hadar, the Conservative Yeshiva, and the Pardes Kollel, and earned semikhah from Yashrut in 2024. R’ Lexie teaches Halacha at the Conservative Yeshiva and other institutions. R’ Lexie has published articles in Jewish Currents, +972 Magazine, MyJewishLearning, and Vashti Magazine and has published a book of poetry on the weekly Torah portion, Poem HaShavuah, with Ben Yehuda Press. R’ Lexie enjoys exploring Halakha as a means of world-building, reading political theory and fantasy novels, climbing, dancing, and spending time with her cat, Bissel, who has learned all of Shas.

Liz MK Nelson is Yashrut’s Program Associate. She grew up in the Metro Detroit area and currently lives in Jerusalem. Liz has studied at Nishmat and holds a BA in Sociology and Jewish Studies from Barnard College, where she researched continuity and discontinuity in the experiences of traditionally observant Jewish young women. She also works as a freelance Hebrew-English translator, and has contributed personal essays to publications such as Hevria. Her work has focused on using communication as a means of bridging gaps and promoting meaningful change in Jewish communities, including past roles with Women of the Wall, Tzohar, and the Conservative Yeshiva. Liz is married to Matt Nelson and can usually be found working on her DJ skills or catching up on Daf Yomi.

David Bogomolny is Yashrut’s Communications Associate. He was born in Jerusalem to parents who made Aliyah from the USSR, grew up in East Brunswick, NJ, and lives in Jerusalem.He holds an MPP from Rutgers University and a BSE from Case Western Reserve University. He is a writer at the Jewish Agency for Israel, and has previously worked in communications at Hiddush and Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, and as a Contractor at the U.S Department of Energy. David is a poet who writes every day; his poems can be found on his blog. David lives with his wife and daughter, who is trilingual.