Atara Cohen is a student at Yeshivat Maharat, expecting to be ordained in 2020, who hopes to inspire her future congregants to connect Torah with social justice work. She graduated from Princeton University with a BA in Religion and a Certificate in Judaic Studies. Through her undergraduate studies, she focused on the impact of text on religious experience. Outside of her academic work, Atara was involved with the interfaith community on campus as a member of a Muslim-Jewish dialogue group, the interfaith council, and as the leader of an interfaith project for the homeless. She was also active in the Orthodox and pluralistic Hillel communities on campus; she taught many shiurim on topics ranging from the weekly Torah portion to eschatology, was a participant in the Princeton Yeshiva Fellowship, served as education chair of the Orthodox community, and organized a Yiddish language table at the Center for Jewish Life. Atara has studied Torah in a variety of settings, including Midreshet Nishmat, Yeshivat Hadar, and the Drisha Institute. She is an avid knitter, an occasional painter, and an accomplished vegetarian. (Photo credit: Shulamit Seidler-Feller)
