About Imrei Shefer

About Imrei Shefer

The phrase “imrei shefer” translates as “words of beauty.” It first appears in the blessing our forefather Yaakov gives to his son Naftali in parashas Vayechi. In Bereisheis 49:21, Rav Shimshon Rafael Hirsch expounds on the nuances of the phrase and translates it as “beautifully constructed speeches”. Naftali’s charge is not so much to articulate his own original thoughts, but to take those of others and reconstruct them in pleasing form that they may be that much more appreciated and accepted for the community’s benefit.

Shifra Rabenstein, whose first name shares the root of “shefer”, furthers Naftali’s mission. She presents shiurim on Torah from a variety of sources by borrowing the ideas and interpretations of great teachers throughout Jewish history and transmitting them to her growing audiences in a manner that renders them both meaningful and relevant.

Mrs. Rabenstein received her B.A. in Judaic Studies from Stern College and a Masters degree in School Administration from Johns Hopkins University. Residing with her husband and three children in Baltimore, she currently teaches at the Maalot seminary and Bais Yaakov High School. She is also a lecturer at the Frieda K. Hirmes Women’s Institute of Torah, a facility for ongoing adult education.