Yehuda Katz offers workshops and seminars in Hebrew and English for A.M.I. on themes such as "The Power of Music and Melody," "Music Composition: Roots and Influences," "Music and Spirituality: An Individual and Communal Journey," and "Jewish Folk Culture - Tracing Roots from Temple Times to the Modern Era."

He is the founder and leader of the popular Israeli Jewish rock and soul band Reva L'sheva (http://www.revalsheva.com/), which has performed hundreds of worldwide concerts. Moreover, as a solo artist, Yehudah has been blessed with the opportunity to touch many lives with his own unique approach to Jewish spirituality, music and story. Reb Shlomo Carlebach was a critical influence, given the 23 years during which Katz watched the master open hearts through music, story and personal connection. On his own quest to connect with Jews in the four corners of the earth, he has performed and taught in communities large and small in the U.S., Canada, England, Germany, the former Soviet Union, Switzerland, Yugoslavia, Croatia, The Czech Republic and Africa.

Katz also brings to his Jewish educational projects his M.A. in guidance and counseling, and coursework completed towards a doctorate in clinical psychology. He served the community for 12 years in the field of informal Jewish education, working for the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, the Jewish Community Centers Association, and the National Conference of Synagogue Youth, specializing as a pioneer in outreach to unaffiliated young people.

Click here to watch a live Interview with Yehudah Katz.

Josh Laufer is a performing guitarist singer and songwriter. Raised in Ann Arbor Michigan, he came to Israel in 1981 at age 18 as a spiritual seeker seeking Jewish spiritual knowledge and experience. He then studied with and accompanied Reb Shlomo Carlebach and also ran a center for prayer, study, music and meditation.

In 1986 Josh began a career working with children as a Jewish studies teacher, music director and prayer leader in Jewish Hebrew day and high school setting in Ann Arbor.

Returning to Israel in 1996, he worked at the Keshet Elementary and High School, where he was known as a teacher who had a mesmerizing touch in getting kids to connect with their Yiddishkeit through prayer and song.With the family's move to Pardes Hana, he became a specialist at Tali schools (Jewish education for a pluralistic society) all over the country. Josh composes moving and rhythmic melodies that poetically express the deep layers of meaning contained in midrashic teaching. In Josh’s unique workshop in any one - regardless of age or musical background - or any size group (up to 250 so far) composes a new song!

Mark Lazar has been involved in informal Jewish education for more than 30 years. Before making aliyah in 1993, he had been affiliated with Camp Ramah in California, the University of Judaism and the Bureau of Jewish Education in Los Angeles, as well as serving as educational and youth director of Temple Beth Haverim.

Nachshon David Carmi is a gifted educator and teacher who has been working in Jewish education for 22 years.  He loves to combine his musical roots in the Zionist labor movement with Hassidic niggunim and his Moroccan heritage.  

Nitzan Chen Razel studied violin and composition at the Rubin Music Academy in Jerusalem, and currently teaches at a High School for the Arts & Sciences. He is also a member of the "Joseph and One" Choir.

He has performed with numerous artists including "The Natural Alternative" and Ehud Banai.

In keeping with the teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, Yitzchak often visits the Jerusalem forest to play music, pray and meditate. His A.M.I. workshop, "Sounds of the Jerusalem Forest," uses percussive and vocal techniques to simulate the forest sounds, as students are transported on a contemplative musical journey to the Promised Land of the soul.

Yitzhak lives with his wife and children in Jerusalem where he works in music and as a graphic artist. See his work at www.yitzhakattias.com

Shoshana Gugenheim, MEd is a Torah scribe, community artist and educator. She engages the arts as a means for transformation and social change. Shoshana is one of 5 women in the world working as a Torah scribe.

She draws from her background in Jewish studies, multi-cultural and informal education, ecology and counseling as she implements the arts across boundaries in diverse environments. Her workshops and residencies incorporate visual art, When she is not in the studio, Shoshana can be found hiking in the desert, dancing contact improvisation, practicing yoga, cooking her favorite soup or drinking chai in the hammock.

Shoshana resides with her husband, writer Avraham Tertes, on a Moshav in Emek HaElah, a short distance from Jerusalem.