Michelle Dardashti

The Rabbinical School

“I want to be a rabbi who educates, who pursues social justice, who makes Israel a priority, who makes family education a priority, and who is also deeply committed to multifaith education.” Michelle Dardashti definitely has the energy and vitality to make all these things happen in whatever form her rabbinical career takes. You could say that she is on a passionate journey to make the world a better place.
 
On a Dorot fellowship, Michelle, fluent in Spanish, spent six months in Uruguay, volunteering in the Jewish community of Montevideo. She also worked as a stringer there, writing for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Studying in Israel at Machon Schechter and taking part in programs at the Israel Democracy Institute, Michelle made sure to study Arabic as well. And The Rabbinical School is not the first school she has attended at JTS. She has already earned a master’s in education from the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education.
 
Here at The Rabbinical School, she pursues her interests with a vengeance. When she’s not preparing for classes at The Rabbinical School, Michelle makes sure she’s covered all bases as director of children’s programming at Congregation Shaare Zedek on the Upper West Side. “I’m doing what’s important to me, and that in itself is terrific.”