Melinda Ribner L.C.S.W. whose Hebrew name is Miriam Shulamit is the founder and director of " Kabbalah of the Heart" and Beit Miriam, www.beitmiriam.org. A leading international pioneer in the field of Jewish meditation, she has taught Jewish meditation, meditative kabbalah, healing and spiritual transformation workshops for over 30 years at synagogues of all affiliation from Chabad, orthodox, conservative, reform and Jewish renewal to new age centers such as Kripalu, Open Center and Elat Chayyim to Jewish national conferences such as CAJE, Limmud London, and the Jewish renewal "Kallah". Through her own organization, Beit Miriam, an organization seeking to embody the feminine within Judaism, she offers ongoing classes in meditation, new moon celebrations, and alternative holiday gatherings for both men and women many years in Israel, New York, Florida, and throughout the United States where she is invited to teach. For over 20 years, she has freely offered her teachings gleaned from her study and experience of Judaism to thousands of people through an email group recently entitled, Kabbalah of the Heart.

Miriam Shulamit is also a licensed social worker (L.C.S.W.) who serves as a spiritual psychotherapist, guide and healer in private practice for individuals, couples, and groups for over 25 years. Her healing work offers a unique synthesis of the depths of meditation, kabbalah, gestalt, inner child, body-centered psychotherapies and angelic spiritual transmission. Sessions are tailored to the needs and interests of individuals and for the most part take place on the telephone or Skpe. She also serves as a spiritual and kabbalistic guide for life transitions such as births, weddings, divorces and End of Life.

She is the author of four books on Jewish spirituality, meditation, healing and personal transformation Three of them, Everyday Kabbalah, New Age Judaism, and Kabbalah Month by Month are available at bookstores throughout the country and through various online venues. The fourth book, The Gift of A New Beginning is currently out of print, but an updated revised version is planned. She is currently completing a fifth book, Conversations with Biblical Women, Reclaiming the Path of the Feminine.

A student of leading scholars and rabbis for many years, she also developed and offered a two year training program to empower others to be Jewish meditation teachers and spiritual counselors. She is personally Shomer Shabbat for 30 years and currently single. She travels throughout the United States, Canada, and Israel sharing her work. On a personal level, she loves to dance, do yoga, meditate, sing, daven, travel, read spiritual books and be in the nature hiking.