Professional Staff

Rabbi Avrohom Leventhal

Prior to his Aliyah in 2005, Rabbi Leventhal was a senior instructor at the Talmudical Academy of Baltimore and a director of the Ahavas Yisrael Charity Fund. Since making Aliyah, Rabbi Leventhal has been involved in many aspects of communal affairs including rabbinic leadership, municipal politics and national initiatives against poverty. As the developer and senior mentor of Smart Chesed, Rabbi Leventhal is sought out internationally for his innovative and incisive approach for poverty interventions. Having presented throughout North America and Europe, Rabbi Leventhal is considered the leading figure on implementing the Smart Chesed philosophy. The Rabbi and his family reside in Ramat Bet Shemesh.

Tanya Schwartz

Tanya has over 17 years experience working as a financial manager. She is honored to be part of the Lema’an Achai family and have the opportunity to share her extensive knowledge and experience for the benefit of our organization. Tanya made Aliyah from Cape Town 30 years ago and has been living in Bet Shemesh since 1996.  She is married to Raphael and they are the proud parents of six children.

Ron Allswang

After years of admiring and contributing to Lema'an Achai 'from the side', Ron joined the staff in January 2014. Intrigued by The Smart Chesed philosophy, Ron was excited to apply his experience and knowledge of the philanthropic world to Lema'an Achai. With years of experience developing and administering non-profits both inside Israel and abroad, Ron brought his acumen for marketing, public relations and start-up ingenuity to the Lema’an Achai team.

Menachem Porat

Menachem is a resident of Bat Ein in Gush Etzion, is 41 years old, married to Nechama, and the father of five children. He has been a social worker for 14 years and has an MSW. Previously, he worked as a social worker and therapist in the therapeutic community for the treatment of addictions "Retorno". He also managed the therapeutic service at the "Zohar" youth village. Menachem is very happy to join the Lema'an Achai family as the Director of Social Services.

Meir Crandall

Debbie Dissen

Motti Wiesner

Stuart Schrader

Rubi Tal

Heidi Bergenfeld

Avivit Levy

Avivit has been working with Lema'an Achai since 2004 and is the administrative manager of the social services department. Previous positions include office manager for the chief psychologist of the Ministry of Education, and administrator in the bureau of the CEO of Bezeq. Avivit's married with six children and lives in Ramat Beit Shemesh Aleph. 

Shmuel Katz, DDS.

Dr. Shmuel Katz is a NY trained Dental Surgeon, with over 25 years of experience in the surgical extraction of wisdom teeth. He founded the first Lema'an Achai Free Dental Clinic 20 years ago, as dentistry is relatively expensive in Israel. Together with over 15 other dentists of all dental specialties, including oral surgery, orthodontics, periodontics, root canals, they make a great team. While the main objective is to take people out of pain, healthy dental hygiene also helps people with their self confidence, so they can smile. Dr. Katz has reported that patients are more successful in school, in securing employment, and even in finding their spouse.

Ashira Ofier

Ashira Ofier, MSW retrained as a social worker after completing a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She has experience working with children and adolescents and their parents at Yad Rachel and Hakshiva, and has also completed training courses in addictions and at-risk youth. Ashira has a special interest in mental health and helping even the most difficult clients fulfill their full potential.

Nirit Goren

Nirit Goren, born in Israel, is married and has seven children and lives in Mevo Horon. Nirit holds a BA in Social Work from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and has worked as a social worker for nearly 20 years in a variety of areas: the elderly, welfare, girls at risk, as well as mental health rehabilitation. Nirit joined Lema’an Achai in the summer of 2018 and feels honored to play a part in Smart Chesed.

Dvora Marcus

Dvora is a compassionate and experienced MSW with over 20 years in the field. Specializing in elder care, family intervention and supervision of Master level graduate students, she is honoured and privileged to utilize  her empathetic and insightful approach in Lema'an Achai. Dvora and her family have been living in Beit Shemesh for over 25 years.

Ella Firbank

Ella, originally from Holland has been at Lema'an Achai since 2014. She is happy to help anyone who comes through Lema’an Achai’s door. Her positive energy, warm personality and creative thinking make her a perfect fit. Ella, the proud mother of five children, speaks seven languages, and uses them all in our office!

Shayna Enkin

Shayna Enkin made aliyah from Canada fifteen years ago and has been running our dental office for almost eight years serving as both the office manager and dental assistant. She is married to Rabbi Ari Enkin and is the mother of four children.

Elana Dvinsky

Elana received her MSW from Wurzweiler School of Social Work over 15 years ago. She has a clinical background and worked with children and families in the US as well as in her private practice in Ramat Bet Shemesh. Over the past several years, Elana has been a Lema’an Achai volunteer and helped direct the mentoring program. She was so impressed with the organization from the inside that she was honored to formally join the team and directly assist clients and their families using the smart chesed approach.

Gitty Yakobian

Ilan Roth

Yisroel Glass

Yisroel is a seasoned professional with a deep commitment to community development. Following his Aliyah journey from South Africa seven years ago, Yisroel, alongside his beloved wife and children, now calls Beit Shemesh home. With a background in Psychology, he harnessed his expertise working on projects of the Chief Rabbi of South Africa before dedicating the past five years to the realm of development and donor relations. Yisroel's dedication and experience have led him to an important role at Lema'an Achai, where he's excited to contribute his skills and passion to the organization's noble mission.

Rabbi Ari Shames

Chief Operations Officer

Rav Ari, a resident of Neve Daniel, is married to Haya and they enjoy their six children. He made aliyah in 1986, completed his academic studies in Bar Ilan University and Rabbinic Semicha at Yeshivat Har Etzion. Rav Ari comes to Lema'an Achai after decades of experience in education, administration and team building in Midreshet HaRova.

He is responsible for the overall operations of all of the organization. Rav Ari is passionate about the opportunity to be part of Lema'an Achai's smart chesed mission.

Simi Lerner