Born in Jerusalem to a family of musicians, Dana Herz began her musical studies at the age of eight with the flute, and gradually gravitated towards singing, playing piano, and songwriting. While her initial training was classical, she eventually found her creative home in different musical styles, primarily combining Jazz, R&B and folkloric styles of Middle Eastern music.

Dana studied at The High School for Music and Dance In Jerusalem , and received a scholarship to study in The Excellent Musician Program at The Center for Jazz Studies under The Israeli Conservatory, where she began her Academic education. She then returned to Opera studies temporarily at The Buchmann – Mehta School of Music, before receiving a full scholarship to continue her Jazz studies at The New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City, where she received her BFA Degree in Jazz Performance Magna Cum Laude.

Skilled and experienced in Jewish education and B’mitzvah preparations, Dana brings her passion, knowledge and creativity into her teaching, inspiring and helping each students find their voice.

Sarahann is a warm, nurturing and experienced b'nai mitzvah tutor who has skillfully worked with young people and their families for over ten years and has held a variety of senior roles in Jewish education for the past 15 years in NYC and Philadelphia. In addition to b'nai mitzvah tutoring, Sarahann currently works as the Assistant Director of Membership and Ritual Coordinator for a large suburban Philadelphia congregation where she serves as the liaison between the rabbi and the congregation, working closely with b'nai mitzvah families. Sarahann has a BA in Elementary Education from University in Maryland and an MA in Counseling Psychology from Temple University.

Photo by Ellen Dubin Photography

Meira was born and raised in Tel Aviv in a bi-lingual, bi-cultural household. She studied Linguistics, French Literature, and Creative Writing in Tel Aviv, where she published children’s books and poetry. She moved to the United States in 2010 in order to “convert to writing in English, so that her readership might someday exceed 12 people.” For some 5 years her writing has been focused on musical theater and musical satire. Most of her pieces center around social justice topics. Meira has been teaching Hebrew and Judaic studies in various settings for some 10 years, and feels fortunate to have been with Beineinu from the beginning. When it comes to Jewish values, she sees herself as an educator in the school of Menschism, and sees it as her mission to weave social justice values into all exploration. When she is not teaching, Meira is a political and environmental activist, organizer, and writer.

Miya Rotstein was raised in Montreal, Quebec by Israeli parents. She is a graduate of McGill University with a degree in English and Cultural Studies. Prior to a life of Jewish education, Miya worked as a ceramicist, a glass blower and a cheese monger in New York City. Miya is a passionate educator and has developed Jewish curricula, taught conversational and Biblical Hebrew, Jewish studies, and Torah/ Haftorah trope and preparation for over twenty years. Miya also works at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in Manhattan where she leads the Adult Education program and is the Bnai Mitzvah Coordinator for their teen and adult members. As a granddaughter of Survivors, she is passionate about imbuing Tikun Olam, Social Justice, Jewish community and continuity to her students through a more holistic understanding of Jewish history and tradition.

Miya lives in Crown Heights Brooklyn. When not teaching in person or on Zoom, she obsessively reads about the history of languages and etymology of words, works in a local ceramics studio with stoneware and porcelain, and tries very hard to catch up to her backlog of New Yorker magazines and Sunday crosswords.

Yoav is a rabbinical student at the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem. In 2020, Yoav graduated from the Joint Program between Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary with a BA in English and Jewish Literature. Yoav is passionate about Jewish education and feels so lucky to have been a part of the Beineinu team since 2017.