Jewish Philanthropy Podcast · Dovid M Cohen

Breaking Barriers While Helping Others with Michelle Greenberg-Kobrin

·52 min·3 clips

Michelle says prenuptial agreements have made “tremendous inroads” in the modern Orthodox community.

David M. Cohen opens by welcoming Michelle Greenberg-Cobran and tracing her career across Cardoza Law School, Columbia Law School, Columbia undergrad, and Teachers College. She is a clinical professor of law, the founding director of the program on leadership at the Hayman Center for Corporate Governance, a lecturer on law at Columbia Law School, and she served as dean of students for 11 years. The conversation quickly becomes personal. They recall Columbia classes, including Jewish law with Rabbi Berman, and shared administrative work, and the exchange settles into an easy, familiar rhythm. Michelle talks about the work that pulled her toward law and student leadership. She explains how the daily reality of guiding students can feel like raising a huge family, with the same patience, attention, and sense of duty. That image lands. The two of them laugh about the kind of parenting book they would never write, because the real lesson is not a slogan but a lifetime of care. The talk then moves to ORA. Michelle remembers doing pro bono work for the Beis Din of America in law school and realizing she could find a voice on the agunot issue. She says that, over the last 24 years, she has watched ORA act with real mesirus nefesh. The subject is serious, but the tone stays warm, conversational, and rooted in lived experience rather than abstract advocacy. David keeps returning to the idea that the people he interviews give so much of themselves. Michelle answers in kind, speaking about people who work tirelessly for others and the inspiration that comes from seeing that dedication up close. There is also a sense of continuity. A day of education for rabbanim on the Upper West Side, the RCA, and ORA all sit inside the same larger story of communal responsibility. The episode keeps linking professional life with Jewish values. Law, teaching, leadership, and family are treated as parts of one moral fabric rather than separate careers. Michelle also notes that agunot feels like it is having a small moment of attention now. The close is reflective and grateful, with David saying these conversations leave him uplifted and equipped with something practical to carry into his own life.

As heard by us

A warm conversation about law, leadership, and Jewish communal responsibility.

The episode follows a lawyer-educator whose life runs through Columbia and Cardozo, with teaching, leadership, and advocacy all tied together.

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Why you'd press play

For when you want a Jewish philanthropy conversation that feels personal, practical, and rooted in service.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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