About Robert Kasirer

Robert Kasirer serves as the Manager of the Kasirer Family Office, where he helped guide the development of a national real estate investment and management company. The company holds a diversified portfolio that spans 12 states, built through steady growth and long-term planning. Alongside his business responsibilities, he serves as President of the Kasirer Family Foundation (KFF). The foundation focuses on supporting educational institutions and Jewish causes. Its charitable efforts include contributions to the University of Pennsylvania, New York University, Harvard-Westlake School, Hillel at UCLA, Penn Hillel, Pressman Academy at Temple Beth Am, Camp Ramah of Ojai, Camp Ramah of the Berkshires, Birthright Israel, Chabad, and Chabad on Campus, among many other organizations. These efforts reflect Robert’s dedication to strengthening community life and education.

 

Launching the Neshamah Project

 

In 2022, Robert founded the Neshamah Project Inc., a US non-profit, along with the Neshamah Project RA in Israel. These entities were created to develop the Neshamah Platform and the Neshamah App, collectively called Neshamah. The concept behind Neshamah is to offer a digital space for Jewish life, bringing together music, Jewish learning, prayer, podcasts, videos, and short interactive digital experiences. Neshamah is designed to support both individuals and communities and aims to offer an environment that feels warm, accessible, and personal.

 

The platform also includes white-labeled spaces, allowing synagogues, schools, camps, on-campus groups, organizations, and content creators to share their own material while also drawing from the global Neshamah library. He believes that this approach helps Jewish life remain meaningful in a digital world and provides new tools for connection and engagement.

 

A Family Story Defined by Survival

 

Robert Kasirer is the son of Holocaust survivors whose early experiences shaped the direction of his life. His mother survived imprisonment in Auschwitz, and his father lived through a forced labor camp. Most of their extended family was killed in Auschwitz. Both parents came from the small village of Bistra in the Carpathian Mountains, an area that today is part of Ukraine. Robert’s father learned the shoemaking trade and, after losing his own father at age 13, went to work for his uncle to help support the family.

​

After liberation, his parents met and married. They lived in Bregenz, Austria, for a time while waiting for a visa to immigrate to the United States. He and his younger sister were born in Bregenz, while their youngest sister was later born in Los Angeles after the family arrived there to begin a new life.

 

Strengthening Jewish Life in Los Angeles

 

When Robert’s family arrived in Los Angeles in 1954, the Jewish community was still growing. There were relatively few Jewish schools, camps, or synagogues at the time. His parents became active in building the foundations needed for the community to grow. They helped found a Jewish elementary school and a Jewish Girls' High School and took part in establishing synagogues. Their support also extended to Jewish institutions in New York and Israel. Their motivation came from a deep sense of responsibility to honor the memory of the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust and to ensure that future generations remained connected to Jewish identity.

 

These lessons guided him from an early age. At 13, he attended Torah Vodaath, a Jewish boarding school in New York, where he studied both secular subjects and Jewish learning. He continued his Jewish learning at Torah Vodaath throughout his university years, reinforcing the values and commitment his parents had taught him.

 

Academic and Professional Path

 

Robert Kasirer attended New York University before completing his legal education at St. John’s University School of Law. After passing the New York bar, he moved to Los Angeles and formed a law firm with two associates called Kasirer, Wolfson, and Frankel. The firm focused on public finance. He worked as Bond Counsel and Underwriters' Counsel in financings totaling hundreds of millions of dollars across the United States. He later joined Manatt, Phelps & Phillips as Of Counsel.

 

Vision Behind the Neshamah Platform

 

Robert’s work on the Neshamah Project reflects his belief that Jewish life must continue to evolve while staying rooted in tradition. He often thinks about how Jewish communities throughout history survived challenges through learning, connection, and relevance. He sees Neshamah as a way to maintain those strengths in the digital age. The platform aims to shift Jewish life from isolated programs to connected systems and from short-term responses to long-term planning. By bringing together technology and tradition, Neshamah supports identity, belonging, and deeper engagement.