By Rena Udkoff
At a recent teacher appreciation event, the Menachem Education Foundation (MEF) honored Rabbi Yehoshua Einbinder, a 5th grade melamed at Yeshiva Darchai Menachem, with the prestigious Eisenberg Award.
Over the past several years, MEF has awarded exceptional teachers in cities across the USA to show them how much they matter. The honor is awarded annually to nominees who excel in MEF’s varied professional development programs, and this year’s award focused on the close to 100 alumni who have attended MEF’s successful Teacher Induction Program. The public was asked to weigh in and nominate a teacher they felt showed excellence in two of the seven areas in MEF’s “Vision for Chabad Schools”.
The criteria stated that the teacher must 1) instill in the students “the knowledge, values and strength of conviction to make and maintain a lifelong commitment to Torah and Mitzvos,” and 2) encourage each student to become “an independent and literarily astute reader of Judaic texts in their original language.” MEF carefully looked into each nominee using a rubric as a guide to determine who best fit this year’s criteria, and Rabbi Einbinder was ultimately declared the winner.
Students, parents and colleagues all praise Rabbi Einbinder for his sincere dedication to his students and his passion for education. He was particularly noted for turning his students into self-sustaining learners, who could open up a sefer and learn it on their own – and, moreover, enjoy learning it. His consistency, Yiras Shamayim, and ability to inspire his students made him a perfect choice for this year’s honor.
Rabbi Einbinder was officially presented with his award, along with a check for $1,000, in front of a roomful of educators at MEF’s recent teacher appreciation brunch. A video was prepared to accompany the presentation:
The Eisenberg Award is generously sponsored by Jerry and Sharon Eisenberg in honor of Yaakov Velvel (Billy) Eisenberg OBM, an acclaimed educator for more than 30 years.
