Scholars and Staff

Rabbi Levi Langer grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Yeshiva Ner Israel and Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood where he received his rabbinic ordination and was a three- time winner of  the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture award for Talmudic analysis . While in Lakewood he delivered advanced lectures in Talmud and Shulchan Aruch to kollel scholars, as well as in-depth classes on Nach to advanced students.  Since moving to Pittsburgh twenty years ago he has led the beis hamedrash study program, keeping it  spirited and erudite, and has served as the address for people with all sorts of Torah questions -- from practical halacha to Tanach and Gemara to the more arcane reaches of the Torah spectrum. He has delivered classes in the Kollel and elsewhere to both men and women on halacha, Nach, Jewish  thought, prayer, Jewish figures in history, contemporary issues and many other topics. He  has lectured in hospitals to physicians on  medical ethics  and is a co-author of a medical ethics paper for the American Thoracic Society.

Elky Langer, a native Detroiter, is a longtime administrator at Hillel Academy and has been a teacher, writer and editor for many years. She is a Google Certified Coach and a personal financial coach for Mesila. She has lectured in person and remotely at Kollel women events and for other organizations. She volunteers at the mikvah in various capacities and at other communal institutions

Rabbi Langer can be contacted at LLanger@kollelpgh.org.

Rabbi Avromy Broyde grew up in Monsey, NY. He attended Yeshivas Ohr Hameir of Peekskill, NY for higschool and Bais Medrash. He then went to Eretz Yisroel to learn at Yeshivas Kodoshim under the direction of Rabbi Tzvi Kaplan. Upon returning from Eretz Yisroel in 2015, he continued his studies in Bais Medrash Govoha in Lakewood. He later joined Kollel Tiferes Halacha, where he focused on gaining clarity in Halacha. During his four years there, he mastered many halachic topics including the laws of Shabbos, Berachos, and other daily halachic matters. Rabbi Broyde has also been involved in various programs, where he has been active in reaching out to unaffiliated Jews, bringing them closer to Judaism. He currently leads the Smichas Chaver program at the Kollel, a program that empowers the participants to be fluent with practical halachic, everyday issues. He enjoys engaging with community members, sharing Torah and building relationships.

Rabbi Broyde's wife, Chana Bracha (Gliksberg) grew up in Detroit, MI. After her marriage, she joined CareRite Services, where she is currently the Director of Insurance. She currently runs the CORE group women’s program.

Rabbi Yaakov Kaufman grew up in Princeton, NJ. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA and MA in Linguistics, he studied at Shapell's and the Mir Yeshiva in Yerushalayim, then Beis Medrash Govoha in Lakewood before joining the Pittsburgh Kollel in 2022. Rabbi Kaufman enjoys helping people appreciate the depth and beauty of Rabbinic literature, learning one-on-one with members of the community, saying a shiur for Daf haShavua twice a week at Poale Zedeck, and writing the weekly column Parshah Points.

His wife Sarah (née Graff) grew up in St. Louis, MO, and is an RN, having worked in hospitals and more recently in Jewish schools in Lakewood and Pittsburgh.

Rabbi Grossberg comes from Staten Island, NY. After learning in the Mir Yeshivah in Brooklyn, he learned in Eretz Yisroel under Harav Dovid Soloveitchik and Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, NJ. Rabbi Grossberg joined the Kollel in July 2002 and has been teaching at Hillel Academy since 2009.The Kollel is very fortunate to have Rabbi Grossberg join the afternoon and night seder. His wife Mimi (Fiddle) serves as Mechaneches and teacher for middle and high school girls at Hillel Academy.

Rabbi Avromi Teitelbaum grew up in Ottawa, Canada. After attending Yeshivas Beis Yisroel and Rav Tzvi Kushelevsky, he joined Center for Kehilla Development, a 5-year rabbinic training program, and received semicha from the Israeli Chief Rabbinate. For the last three years, he has been in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he was involved with community building initiatives, teaching, rabbinics and relationship building.

Originally from Lakewood, NJ, Rabbi Mordechai Jaffa began his advanced Torah studies in South Fallsburg, NY, before continuing at Yeshivas Mir Yerushalayim in Eretz Yisrael. He later returned to Lakewood to learn at Beth Medrash Govoha. In 2021, Rabbi Jaffa joined the Kollel Jewish Learning Center in Pittsburgh, where he has found a warm and supportive community that has allowed him to further develop his learning and areas of expertise. In addition to his knowledge of halacha in areas such as tzitzis, shechita, kashrus, and tefillin, Rabbi Jaffa is also a trained mohel. He lives in Pittsburgh with his wife and their three children.

His wife, Chedva Jaffa nee Silver, was born and raised in Pittsburgh. She holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from Louisiana State University and is a part of the Kollel Programming staff as well as a teacher at Hillel Academy. She coordinates the Kollel’s Mother Daughter learning program along with Mrs. Teitelbaum and runs Girls Inspired, a program that serves as a fun and productive outlet for the girls of our community.

Rabbi Chananel Y. Shapiro was born and raised in Monsey, NY. He began his Torah studies at Yeshivas Ohel Torah in Monsey and continued at the Rabbi Jacob Joseph School (RJJ) in Edison, NJ, where he completed 12th grade and pursued his Beis Medrash studies. He then joined the esteemed yeshiva of Rabbi Dovid Soloveitchik in Yerushalayim, and later continued his learning at Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, NJ, beginning in 2014. In 2018, he joined the Kollel, further deepening his commitment to Torah study. In 2023, Rabbi Shapiro assumed the position of Menahel, bringing his leadership and dedication to new heights.

Rabbi Shapiro is married to Rivky (née Margereten) of Cleveland, OH. She holds a Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Western Kentucky University and works as a practicing speech therapist.