Meet Our Staff

Yair Shahak

Cantor Yair Shahak has devoted extensive study to Tanakh, Talmud, and numerous other works in the corpus of Judaic literature. At the age of 22, he was appointed a full-time Instructor of Hebrew at Yeshiva University, one of the  youngest full-time faculty members in the history  of the institution.  He is this years winner of the International Bible Contest in Jerusalem.  After his first year of teaching he  was nominated by the student body for the Lillian F. and William L. Silber Professor of the Year Award. Also a cantor, composer and classically trained violinist, Yair is conversationally fluent in a large number of Semitic and Indo-European languages, both ancient and modern. His poetry has been published in Hador: The Hebrew Annual of America and his first book on Hebrew grammar is slated to be published in early 2012. He graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Bible, Music, and Hebrew Language & Literature, as well as an M.A. in Biblical and Semitic Studies, both from Yeshiva University. Yair comes to Rimon regularly to lead services in prayer and Torah-reading, and thoroughly enjoys all that Rimon and its congregants have to offer. He can be reached at linguisticharmony@gmail.com.

Rabbi Yonatan Korbman

Yoni as people fondly call him , received his Rabbinical Ordination from Rabbi Berel Wein. He holds a Bachelors degree in Psychology from Ramapo College, and a Master’s degree in School Psychology from Touro College. He currently practices as a School Psychologist in the Elizabeth Public Schools (Elizabeth, NJ), and teaches Psychology and several Judaic studies electives at Bruriah High School for Girls (Elizabeth, NJ). Rabbi Korbman has been leading services, reading the Torah, and lecturing publicly on Jewish topics for nearly 20 years. He is passionate about what he does and infuses it all with a tangible measure of inspiration and liveliness. His Torah lectures are filled with practical lessons from the text beckoning character improvement and spiritual growth and contain a fair dose of humor as well.  His rendition of Kabalat Shabbat  gets everyone off their feet- literally- as he engages congregants in celebratory dancing before L’cha Dodi. Yoni is also an energetic singer and guitarist and currently operates his group Musical Connections- which provides Jewish music for all affairs and occasions. His Purim night performance at the Rimon Center was dubbed “The best Purim ever”, by one of the attendees. Yoni resides in Passaic, NJ, with his wife, Naomi who is an Occupational Therapist & Craniosacral Therapist, and their four sons: Aharon Yosef, Avromi, Simcha, and Binyomin.

Yaelle Frohlich

Yaelle Frohlich is at the heart of Rimon’s Shabbat “Explanatory Services,” highlighting key insights from the davening and weekly Torah portion, and has delivered lectures and shiurim at Rimon as well as other synagogues and universities in the tri-state area. Outside of Rimon, she is a doctoral candidate in New York University’s Joint Program for History and Hebrew & Judaic Studies, writing her dissertation on Diaspora Jewish engagement with the Land of Israel during the mid-nineteenth century, prior to the rise of Zionism. She holds a B.A. in English Communications and an M.A. in Modern Jewish History from Yeshiva University. In December 2016, she was one of two contestants to represent Canada at the International Bible Contest for Adults (Chidon HaTanach HaOlami) in Jerusalem, and in 2014 won first place at Brooklyn’s first SermonSlam in 2014 (video accessible on Youtube). As of this September Yaelle has joined the faculty of The Frisch School in Paramus, NJ.