Yaakov Ginsberg-Schreck

As RUACH's Founder and Executive Director, Yaakov Ginsberg-Schreck has guided RUACH's growth from a breath-focused program experiment into one of the most exciting Jewish startups in the nation (UpStart UpLift Summer 2024).

Applying his education in American Studies (BA Yale '15, magna cum laude, concentration in Cultural Theory), his experience with social movement organizing, and his belief in the healing nexus of science and spirituality, Yaakov began RUACH with a vision of Jewish community that embraces embodied practice, cross-cultural dialogue, and holistic wellbeing. In 2023, after four years of program testing through Hebrew College's pluralistic rabbinical program, RUACH incorporated as a nonprofit, and Yaakov left the Beit Midrash (study hall) to move into full-time organizational leadership, serving as RUACH's Managing Director before being appointed Executive Director by RUACH's board in 2024. Along with stewarding the development of RUACH's teaching collective and organizational capacity, his great joy is teaching and studying embodied spiritual practices drawing on traditional Jewish sources and intercultural inspiration.