Rabbi Meir Fendel, the father of Rabbi David Fendel, head of the Sderot yeshiva, and Hillel Fendel, longtime writer for Arutz Sheva, ,has passed away. The funeral will be held tomorrow (Sunday) at 12:30 at the Eretz Hachaim cemetery in Beit Shemesh.
Rabbi Meir, of blessed memory, is also the father of journalist and author Hillel Fendel, a resident of Beit El, a writer for many years for Arutz Sheva - Israel National News.
Rabbi Meir Fendel was a spiritual leader and a pioneer of Orthodox day-school education under the aegis of the Torah Umesorah Organization in America. He established a religious elementary school in Long Island, a place otherwise devoid of religious education. The book he wrote describing his pioneering educational endeavors, "Nine Men Wanted for a Minyan," was reviewed on Arutz Sheva
His son, Rabbi David Fendel, head of the Sderot yeshiva, eulogized him in a conversation with Arutz Sheva - Israel National News: "He was an educator who built many institutions in America. He trained generations of students and always spoke of the Land of Israel and outreach. He went to a place where there was nothing - a desert abroad - and built a large community and Torah institutions that today number thousands. He brought Rabbi Kook's Torah to various communities, along with a lot of outreach work."
"After his immigration to Israel, he was a member of the Union of Rabbis for the Land of Israel under the leadership of [Chief Rabbi and Dean of Merkaz HaRav Yeshiva] Rabbi Avraham Shapira. He was deeply concerned about the folly of Oslo and it was important fr him to protest it. In his youth, he studied for a decade in the Chafetz Chaim yeshiva. Then he went and established educational institutions throughout the USA, planting seedlings of Torah everywhere, trying to fill the void that existed after the Holocaust. From the ground up, he established an institution that educates thousands of people in outreach."
"After his immigration to Israel, he taught at the Ora Institute and the Moriah Seminary for foreign students. Additionally, he established a summer camp for Diaspora girls, changing their lives and their attitude towards Israel and Torah. In summer, you can achieve what you learn in a whole year - an educational innovation he brought here to Israel."
Rabbi Fendel added, "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. He was very dedicated and caring; he personally accompanied me through all the construction in Sderot."
Journalist Chani Luz wrote about Rabbi Meir, saying, "He was an immense scholar, a great educator with pleasant manners who knew how to reach the heart of each one. He ran summer camps in the USA and later in Israel. His many students and disciples absorbed from him love of Torah, love of kindness, and love for Israel. Many of them immigrated to Israel and built their homes here."
"His son, Rabbi David Fendel, continues his path and established a yeshiva in Sderot in the early 1990s in a place that was educationally and religiously empty, and today it is the largest hesder yeshiva. Together with his wife Goldie, they raised a wonderful family; all of them immigrated to Israel and built their homes here. May his great spiritual influence be remembered and bring elevation to his soul."