Rabbi Kenneth Auman
Rabbinic Supervisor
Rabbi Kenneth Auman
Rabbinic Supervisor
Rabbi Kenneth Auman serves as the rabbinic supervisor of Yoatzot.org and reviews all halachic content on the site. He is also the Dean of Nishmat’s Miriam Glaubach Center for the training of Yoatzot Halacha in the United States.
Rabbi Auman has been the rabbi of the Young Israel of Flatbush since 1984 and teaches Jewish Studies at Stern College. He received semicha yoreh yoreh and yadin yadin from RIETS, and completed an MA in Jewish History at Bernard Revel Graduate School. He is a former president of both the Rabbinical Council of America and the Vaad HaRabanim of Flatbush.
Rabbi Yehuda Henkin zt"l
Founding Rabbinic Supervisor
Rabbi Yehuda Henkin zt"l
Founding Rabbinic Supervisor
Rabbi Yehuda Henkin ztz"l and his wife Rabbanit Chana Henkin are the founders of Nishmat's Yoatzot Halacha program. Rav Henkin was the chief rabbinic supervisor of Yoatzot.org from its inception in 2002 until 2020, and his halachic rulings are broadly reflected throughout the website.
Rav Henkin authored the responsa "Bnei Vanim," and was an acclaimed posek. Born in the United States, he studied closely for five years with his grandfather, the renowned Gaon Rav Yosef Eliyahu Henkin ztz"l, from whom he received semicha. After his aliyah in 1972, he served as rabbi of the community in Beit She'an, moving to Jerusalem with his family in 1982.
Hadassa Klein
Yoetzet Halacha & Site Director
Hadassa Klein
Yoetzet Halacha & Site Director
Hadassa Klein began serving as director of Yoatzot.org in 2023. She graduated from Nishmat's Keren Ariel Yoatzot Halacha program in 2017 and has been fielding calls on the Golda Koschitzky Hotline since 2018. Hadassa has also been a kallah teacher for many years and trains kallah teachers under the auspices of Nishmat.
A native of Montreal, Canada, Hadassa made aliya in 1999 after graduating Columbia College in New York and completing a master's degree in Jewish History from New York University. She currently lives in Ramat Gan with her family.
Dr. Deena Zimmerman
Yoetzet Halacha, Founder & Medical Supervisor
Dr. Deena Zimmerman
Yoetzet Halacha, Founder & Medical Supervisor
Dr. Deena Zimmerman founded Nishmat's Women's Health and Halacha website, Yoatzot.org, in 1999 and served as the site director until March 2023. She wrote many of the original articles and earliest responses on the site and continues to serve as the medical supervisor.
Dr. Zimmerman, a graduate of Yale University and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, is a pediatrician with a lifelong love of Judaic studies. One of Nishmat’s first certified Yoatzot Halacha, Deena is the author of "A Lifetime Companion to the Laws of Jewish Family Life," "Mi Dor L'Dor: Jewish Legal Medical and Ethical Perspectives on Genetics," and numerous medical and halachic articles.
Ilana Elzufon
Yoetzet Halacha & Chief Editor
Ilana Elzufon
Yoetzet Halacha & Chief Editor
Ilana Sober Elzufon is the chief editor of Yoatzot.org. Among Nishmat's first certified Yoatzot Halacha, Ilana has been contributing to the site since its founding in 2002, editing the content and co-authoring many of the articles.
Ilana has taught in the Toronto community and at Nishmat, and is a contributing editor for the website Deracheha: womenandmitzvot.org. A graduate of Yale, Ilana lives with her family in Jerusalem.
Laurie Novick
Yoetzet Halacha, Writer and Responder
Laurie Novick
Yoetzet Halacha, Writer and Responder
Laurie Novick has been a Yoetzet Halacha since 2003 and is a talmida of Rav Yehuda H. Henkin ztz"l. In addition to her work on Yoatzot.org, Laurie serves as a Nishmat Fertility Counselor, a Yoetzet Halacha who assists couples navigating their fertility journey. Laurie teaches at Nishmat and Migdal Oz and is Director and Head Writer of the website Deracheha: womenandmitzvot.org.
Fay Blashka
Yoetzet Halacha & Responder
Fay Blashka
Yoetzet Halacha & Responder
Fay Blashka has answered thousands of questions on Yoatzot.org since completing Nishmat's Keren Ariel Yoatzot Halacha program in 2007. She is a graduate of Stern College and received an MA in Jewish Education from Lander Institute. Fay has taught Halacha and Tanach in numerous seminaries in Jerusalem, and currently works as a software engineer at an ecommerce startup. Fay lives in Mitzpe Yericho with her family.