Rabbi Dr. Yosie Levine

Yosie Levine is the Rabbi of The Jewish Center in New York City. Before joining the Center, he served as the educational director of the Lauder Foundation’s Beit Midrash in Berlin, Germany and as the visiting scholar of Congregation Knesseth Israel in Birmingham, Alabama.

Rabbi Levine has taken a leadership role on the issue of day school affordability and has pioneered a communal model for sustaining excellent Jewish education. He is co-chair of the Manhattan Eruv and is active in numerous communal organizations including AIPAC, the Beth Din of America and UJA-Federation of New York, where he is a former Board Member.

His advocacy on behalf of Israel has made The Jewish Center a model for Israel activism both within and beyond the Religious Zionist community.

He earned a BA in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia College and received rabbinic ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary where he was a Wexner Graduate Fellow. He holds a PhD in Early Modern Jewish History from Yeshiva University’s Bernard Revel Graduate School and now sits on the Dean’s Council. His work has appeared in both scholarly and popular publications. His book, Hakham Tsevi Ashkenazi and the Battlegrounds of the Early Modern Rabbinate (Littman Library, forthcoming) is the winner of the Association for Jewish Studies’ Jordan Schnitzer First Book Award.

Rabbi Mark Wildes

Rabbi Mark Wildes is the Founder of Manhattan Jewish Experience (MJE), a highly successful Jewish outreach and educational program engaging unaffiliated Jewish men and women in their 20s & 30s with Judaism and the Jewish community. He is the author of “Beyond the Instant: Jewish Wisdom for Lasting Happiness in a Fast-Paced Social Media World” (Skyhorse Publishing, 2018), “The 40 Day Challenge: Daily Jewish Insights to Prepare for the High Holidays” (Kodesh Press, 2021) and most recently: “The Jewish Experience: Discovering the Soul of Jewish Thought and Practice” (Koren Publishers).

Rabbi Wildes earned a BA in Psychology from Yeshiva University, a Law Degree from the Cardozo School of Law, a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University and ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (Yeshiva University).

In its 26 years of existence, MJE has successfully reconnected thousands of previously unaffiliated Jewish men and women with Judaism and the Jewish community, hundreds of whom are today living lives of Torah and Mitzvot, sending their children to Jewish Day Schools. Operating from its three locations in the city, with a talented staff of 15 professionals, MJE’s inspirational Shabbat dinners, beginners services, retreats, educational classes, holiday events and trips to Israel have touched the lives of thousands of young Jews and provided a venue through which 391 Jewish couples have met and married!