The evening following Shabbos VaYeitzei was scheduled for a melaveh malkah at the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County, the yeshivah in West Hempstead. Unknown to the faculty, parents, and students was the news that its founder, Rabbi Meyer Fendel, 94, died in Jerusalem. Upon learning of his passing, Rabbi Ouriel Hazan, the principal of HANC, expressed pride in the founder’s determination to create a yeshivah in West Hempstead, which made the community a magnet for Orthodox families.
In 1953, West Hempstead was a young community with freshly built homes that exemplified the postwar building boom on Long Island. Rabbi Fendel organized HANC inside a mansion, with an initial class of 30 students. He also served as the first Rabbi of the Young Israel of West Hempstead, today the largest shul in the community.
“In my youth, he used to visit HANC. Everything that we have in West Hempstead, he was the nucleus,” said Rabbi Joshua Goller, Rav of the Young Israel of West Hempstead. “He was the source. It has to be appreciated.”
In those early years, Rabbi Meyer and his wife Goldie built the school without accepting any compensation, personally appealing to parents who attended shul and would have sent their children to public schools if not for their personal appeals. It is a story told in the book Nine Men Wanted for a Minyan, which he wrote in 2013. The school resulted in West Hempstead’s growth as an Orthodox community. It was also a pioneer in Zionist education among Orthodox day schools, encouraging high school seniors to study for a year in Israel before entering college. This practice has since become the standard among Orthodox Jews in America.
Another practice that Rabbi Fendel created is the New Opportunities Program, in which HANC welcomes transfer students from public schools, offering small, self-contained classes in which they can catch up to their peers and integrate into the student body. The school’s commitment to outreach includes the Chanukah assembly, in which public school students receive a chumash or siddur as a gift.
“Most of the kids were not frum; and when there was a bar mitzvah, he made sure we all participated,” said Harvey Liebman, a 65-year resident of West Hempstead. “There were many homes that became kosher and ultimately these students became frum and some made aliyah. They became leaders in their communities.”
As principal, he routinely visited classes, paying close attention to the teachers and students.
“We were among the first families here. I joined in third grade, in the first class. It was in an old mansion on the same property as today,” said Ray Goren, whose family settled in West Hempstead in 1955. Rabbi Fendel evaluated his Hebrew reading skills before placing him in a class.
“I was called by the teacher to answer a question. I was talking to a classmate, and he told me to stand in the corner.” Rabbi Fendel then entered the class. “He was very involved, and it impressed me. He was not like a principal who sits in his office; he was still a teacher. He told me to take a seat.”
He whispered to the teacher, and they stepped out for a second. “Reflecting back, Rabbi Fendel told the teacher that it was not the right move. He was not a disciplinarian.”
Another memory that Goren shared was from his teenage years, when he worked as a counselor at the HANC summer camp. At an event, he was playing the drums. “He had a smile on his face and asked me if he could play the drums, and I showed him. It was a very rhythmic beat. Everyone was singing and clapping. How cool is this? The principal plays the drums. It wasn’t strictly learning and studying; he also had fun in a Jewish environment.”
Liebman noted that Rabbi Fendel served as an example for his students and neighbors.
“Their home was always open for Shabbos; they were involved in showing the way. Long Island was a big Conservative area; when he arrived here, children of Conservative rabbis went to HANC and they became frum.
Rabbi Fendel’s children all attended HANC: Hillel, Raizy Steinberg, David, and Mindy Marcus. In 1984, a year after their youngest child Mindy graduated from HANC, the Fendels made aliyah, settling in Har Nof.
In their new home, Rabbi Fendel reconnected with the renowned poseik Rav Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg zt”l, the mashgiach ruchani at Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim, where he received s’michah in the 1940s. Like his teacher, he established new schools in Israel, the hesder yeshivah in Sderot, the Machon Morah Seminary for Women in Jerusalem, and the N’veh Ashdod summer program for young women. Rabbi David Fendel now heads the yeshivah in Sderot, and his oldest son Hillel lives in Beit El, working as a reporter for Arutz Sheva. His daughter Mindy is married to Rabbi Ari Marcus, who is a rosh yeshivah of Reishit Yerushalayim and author of Halacha 24/7/12.
“He was a sensitive and empowering father. He made us understand that everyone is the most serious in the world, giving us all the tools of self-confidence to do great things,” Rabbi David Fendel said in an interview with Arutz Sheva. “He was very dedicated and caring; he personally accompanied me through all the construction in Sderot.”
By Sergey Kadinsky
