ABOUT ZUG
Project Zug connects people to Torah and each other
Project Zug empowers Jews to take ownership of their learning through one-on-one text study.
Jewish learning isn’t meant to be done alone. “Havruta,” the traditional mode of Jewish study, is practiced in pairs. When two people read and discuss our sacred texts together, listening closely and asking questions, they discover new meanings, grow spiritually, and strengthen their relationship with Jewish tradition and each other.
Project Zug was originally founded by Benjamin Ross, a former rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College, 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.
In 2014, Project Zug became a program of the Hadar Institute, a center of Jewish learning that builds vibrant, egalitarian communities in North America and Israel. Hadar staff oversee the day-to-day operations of Project Zug and Hadar faculty members create and curate courses. Project Zug has published over 30 courses on a variety of topics and today, over 6,000 people learn with Project Zug annually!
Project Zug and the team of Hadar staff and faculty collaborate to create excellent course content, offer a transformative learning experience to Jews around the world, and contribute to the greater mission of Hadar. Learn more about our team below!
Rabbi Keilah Lebell is a passionate educator and spiritual leader committed to empowering Jews across the world to discover the transformative potential of havruta learning. Through her work at Project Zug, she makes accessible this time-honored practice of text study in pairs, which she believes can help individuals and communities cultivate greater meaning, joy, and connection in their lives.
Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Keilah's own Jewish learning journey began at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, where she fell in love with traditional text study. Before Hadar, she served as Assistant Rabbi and Jewish Emergent Network Rabbinic Fellow at IKAR in Los Angeles, where she oversaw Hesed (pastoral and community care). She holds rabbinic ordination from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, was a Balavatnik Scholar at Middlebury College's Hebrew Language School, studied at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and earned her Bachelors from St. John's College, Santa Fe, a distinctive "Great Books" liberal arts program. She lives in Chattanooga, TN 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.
