Rabbi Ari Schwarzberg

Students at Shalhevet High School have the space to build their character, resilience and ambition, thanks in large part to 12th grade dean and Judaic studies teacher Rabbi Ari Schwarzberg. Since becoming a teacher at Shalhevet 13 years ago, his honesty and kindness help him build a strong rapport with students, colleagues and parents alike.

Hailing from a family of educators, Rabbi Schwarzberg keeps students’ academic, emotional, and spiritual growth top of mind. He seamlessly instills Judaic values, Torah learning, and critical thinking into every class, whether teaching the highest level of Gemara (Talmud) shiur to juniors and seniors, advanced Tanach shiur to sophomores, or Jewish law to freshmen. Rabbi Schwarzberg’s first year heading Shalhevet’s participation in Yeshiva University’s Gemara Learning Bekiut Program yielded outstanding results: His students took four of the top six highest scores nationwide. Rabbi Schwarzberg holds a rabbinic ordination and a master’s in education from Yeshiva University in New York, as well as a master’s in theological studies from Harvard Divinity School in Massachusetts.

Rabbi Schwarzberg supports the betterment of those around him, inspiring the senior class to act as leaders and run town halls through Shalhevet’s Just Community. Fostering a lifelong love of learning, he established the “Night Seder” initiative at Shalhevet, providing students with time after school once a week to learn on their own terms – not attached to their class grade or content.

“Every student, no matter their natural intellectual ability, work ethic, or familial expectations, can push themselves beyond their imagination,” Rabbi Schwarzberg says. “Students need to leave their class feeling nourished, enriched, and proud of what they’re learning and how they’re growing.”