Meet the Rothsteins

Rabbi Naftali and Tali Rothstein are the JLIC couple at UIUC.

Rabbi Naftali Rothstein studied at Meretz Kollel in Mevaseret Zion, Israel, where he received rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Uri Cohen and Rabbi Sinai Adler.  He received his B.A. in Education from Lifshitz College (Jerusalem) and has taught for the past three years at Yeshivat Sha’arei Mevaseret Zion.  A native of Los Angeles and an avid fan of the Lakers, Rabbi Rothstein made aliyah with his family in 1993 at the age of thirteen.  After high school, he backpacked through Europe where he slept in train stations and under bridges before returning to Israel to study at the Shilo Hesder Yeshiva.  Following his military service, where he served in the Golani infantry unit, Rabbi Rothstein returned to Shilo Yeshiva for four years of additional study.  While studying at Shilo he met his wife Tali, who shared his passion for hiking and nature.  The Rothsteins have two children – Yehonatan Yisrael, who enjoys dancing on tables and playing his guitar, and Elianna Reizel, who likes making dinosaur noises and gnawing on shoes.  If he’s not in the Beit Midrash, you can probably find Rabbi Rothstein playing sports, hiking, traveling, singing, checking the stats of the Lakers, or playing with his kids.

Tali Rothstein was born and raised in Israel, but spent part of her childhood in New Jersey.  She received her B.A. in English Literature and Linguistics from Hebrew University. In her younger years, Tali was a youth leader in Bnei-Akiva and, upon completing high school, volunteered for national service, where she worked at the emergency room in Ha’Emek Hospital in Afula.  Tali studied Torah at Binat seminary and at Hebrew University’s Havruta Talmud program, and she also completed a teachers’ training course in Jewish Marriage Education.  She has worked at the Hebrew University’s Center for Literary Studies and as a freelance translator and writer, and she has counseled brides-to-be in aspects of Jewish family law and ritual purity.  Apart from studying Torah, Tali enjoys reading, writing, art, nature and hiking, and is interested in anything from manatees and world cuisine to medieval poetry and web-comics.

We are very excited to be at UIUC, and look forward to becoming part of the vibrant campus experience.  We invite you to join us for a class, workshop or one-on-one havruta study session at Hillel.  Our house is always open for guests to enjoy a Shabbat meal, schmooze, or simply enjoy some of the best mint brownies you’ll ever have!