ABOUT PROJECT ZUG
Project Zug connects people to Torah and each other.
Project Zug empowers learners to engage deeply with Jewish texts and with one another through havruta (paired) study.
Jews and Jewish communities around the world make Jewish learning a regular part of their lives. They experience Jewish texts as an accessible and enduring source of wisdom, meaning, and strength. Through learning in relationship with others, they deepen their curiosity, compassion, and openness to different perspectives.
Project Zug was originally founded by Rabbi Benjamin Ross (The Amen Center for Civic and Spiritual Leadership), when he was a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, and Hagit Bartuv, former director of Midreshet, a Jewish-Israeli online learning platform. Benjamin and Hagit met in 2012 in Jerusalem, and developed a shared goal of connecting Israeli and American Jews through havruta learning. This was back in the days of Skype, when studying online with a partner was a new and revolutionary idea!
In 2014, Project Zug became a program of the Hadar Institute, a center of Jewish life, learning, and practice that builds vibrant egalitarian communities in North America and Israel. In the course of time, Project Zug became a learning platform not only for Israeli and North American Jews to learn together, but for any individual or Jewish community wishing to learn Jewish texts in havruta on their own schedule and at their own pace.
Hadar staff oversee the day-to-day operations of Project Zug and Hadar faculty members create and curate most Project Zug courses. Project Zug has published over 30 courses on a variety of topics and today, over 6,000 people learn with Project Zug annually!
Rabbi Keilah Lebell is a passionate educator and spiritual leader dedicated to helping Jews of all backgrounds claim Jewish texts as their own and to making Jewish learning a regular practice. As Director of Project Zug, she works to make the traditional practice of havruta — learning Jewish texts in pairs — accessible to learners across the world. She believes that studying Torah with others can cultivate deeper meaning, curiosity, connection, and compassion.
Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Keilah’s own Jewish learning journey began at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, where she found her spiritual home in the Beit Midrash. Before joining Hadar in 2023, she served as Assistant Rabbi and Jewish Emergent Network Rabbinic Fellow at IKAR. She received rabbinic ordination from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and did her undergrad at St. John's College, Santa Fe. She lives in Chattanooga with her husband, Rabbi Sam Rotenberg, and their three children.
Noah Dassa is the Project Zug Associate, overseeing our online platform, managing havruta-matching, responding to user inquiries, working on special projects and working to make Project Zug learning experiences accessible and joyful. Dedicated to enhancing the digital presence and user experience of our learning platform, Noah leverages his expertise in web development to build engaging and accessible online experiences.
Raised in Los Angeles, Noah grew up immersed in Jewish life, attending Jewish day schools and spending summers at Jewish camps. These formative experiences shaped his commitment to education and community building, which he later pursued through professional roles in Jewish education, marketing, and web development.
Dr. Jeremy Tabick is the Content Manager and faculty at Hadar, where he teaches, curates, and edits Hadar's content—both online and in print—and Project Zug courses. Jeremy received his PhD in Talmud at JTS. He graduated from the University of Manchester (in the UK) with a Masters in Physics, and is an alumnus of Yeshivat Hadar and the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem. He lives in Riverdale with his wife and three children.
