Yaakov Bender[1][2] (born 1950) is an American Orthodox rabbi. He is the rosh hayeshiva (dean) of Yeshiva Darchei Torah (Far Rockaway).[3] He was appointed[4] first as a seventh-grade rebbi (Hebrew teacher) in 1978 and less than a year later as principal.[5] Bender is a speaker, writer[6] and adviser on Jewish education.
His parents, Rabbi Dovid and Basya Bender, were pioneering educators on the American Jewish scene.[8] His paternal grandfather, Rabbi Avraham Bender, traveled in the 1930s within the United States to raise funds for yeshivas in New York such as RIETS and Israel.[9][10]
In 1997 he was recognized as an outstanding Jewish educator by The Covenant Foundation.[11]
COVID-19 vaccination advocacy
Bender encouraged people to get the COVID-19 vaccine, saying "We haven't lived through enough?"[2][12]