Princeton University is proud to be one of ten campuses participating in the Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus (JLIC) program.
The Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus program hatched in the fall of 2000,
when several senior educators from the United States and
Israel embarked on a ground-breaking initiative to develop
leadership and revive a commitment to Judaism and Jewish
traditional texts on college campuses. Working in conjunction
with Hillel: The Foundation
for Jewish Life on Campus,
the Orthodox Union,
and Torah MiTzion, these educators created JLIC to help
stimulate Jewish tradition and values on campus and beyond. Rabbi David and Sara Wolkenfeld are
the JLIC couple at Princeton.
Sara Tillinger Wolkenfeld has a B.A in Judaica and Comparative Literature from The University of Pennsylvania, but has promised to renounce her allegiance to any former sports teams as she takes on the role of JLIC educator at Princeton (Go Tigers!). Sara is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Talmud at Yeshiva University. She has studied Talmud and Jewish Law at Midreshet Lindenbaum, Drisha, Pardes, and Nishmat.
Sara has taught at The Hampton Synagogue in Westhampton Beach, NY, at United Orthodox Synagogues of Houston – where she was an intern for two years, and as a Beit Midrash Fellow at S.A.R. Academy in Riverdale, NY. Sara has also taught Hilkhot Nidah (laws for married couples) to brides and engaged couples.
Originally from Teaneck, NJ, Sara is excited to be moving back to the Garden State. Sara’s interests include theatre, dance, shopping with her sisters, and playing with her son Noam. Her favorite prophet is Jeremiah, her favorite sage is Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi, and her favorite modern Jewish writer is Cynthia Ozick.
Rabbi David Wolkenfeld grew up in Manhattan where he attended Stuyvesant High School. He has a B.A in History from Harvard College and has taken graduate courses in Medieval Jewish History at Yeshiva University. He studied for two years at Yeshivat Hamivtar in Efrat, and received semikhah from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in New York. He has worked as a rabbinic intern at The Hampton Synagogue in Westhampton Beach, at the Kemp Mill Synagogue in Silver Spring, and at United Orthodox Synagogues of Houston.
His specific Torah interests include the interaction of halakha and social thought, philosophy of halakha, and Jewish political thought. More broadly, David is an obsessive reader of The New Yorker and, when he isn’t careful, can spend far too much time reading political blogs. A fanatic coffee and tea drinker, David enjoys hiking, running, music, and collecting pine cones with his son Noam. A Yekke by heritage, a Litvak by training, David enjoys singing with the Hasidim.
Sara, David, and Noam have spent the past year living in Jerusalem, where Sara studied Talmud at Beit Morasha, David learned at Yeshivat Har Etzion, and Noam played in many different playgrounds. They are sad to be leaving their home in Jerusalem, but are looking forward to getting to know the Jewish community at Princeton.
We are available for one-on-one study, group learning, coffee, and general hanging out. Our home is always open on Shabbat and holidays for food and conversation. We look forward to meeting all of you!
For more information on the Jewish Learning Initiative, or if you would like to contact Rabbi or Sara Wolkenfeld, please email them at dwolkenf@princeton.edu or wsara@princeton.edu.