Akiva Naiman - BILT

Rabbi Akiva grew up in Baltimore, MD and later moved to Israel. He attended Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavneh as a Hesder student while he was a medic in the Israeli army. Rabbi Akiva received his ordination from Yeshivat Aish Hatorah and a Bachelors Degree in Education from Moreshet Yaakov College. He has also run a number of programs for youth and teens in Israel. He was the head counselor of Camp Landau day camp for six years. He also founded the teen programs "Al HaAish" and project Teenwork. He has taught Talmud and topics in Jewish thought in Yeshivot such as Neve Tzion and Lev Aryeh.

"I'm so thrilled to be the BILT Director" he says. "It's going be an awesome program, the schedule is amazing! It's a privilege for me to have the Israel Experience with so many types of teens from all over America."

Rabbi Akiva is currently the NCSY Director for the East Bay in North California. He lives in Oakland with his wife Chani and his two year old son, Yedidya Zev.