Rabbi Joel Kaplan
Newly Appointed Executive Director of the Yeshiva
Y
eshiva Darchei Torah is pleased
to announce the recent appoint-
ment of Rabbi Joel Kaplan
as executive director of
the Yeshiva. In this role he
oversees various aspects of
the Yeshiva’s administra-
tion, including the man-
agement of tuition. “Reb
Joel is uniquely suited
for this important posi-
tion,” said Rabbi Yaakov
Bender, Rosh HaYeshiva
of YDT. “He is a multi-
talented individual who
brings a broad range of rel-
evant experience to this mis-
sion. Most importantly, he is a
leader and a doer. I can think of no
better choice.”
Rabbi Kaplan was most recently the chief
executive officer of the On Our Way Learning
Center in Far Rockaway, a preschool for develop-
mentally challenged children. From 1994 to 2011,
he served as executive director of the United Jewish
Council of the East Side. Rabbi Kaplan’s connec-
tion to Yeshiva Darchei Torah is a deep and long-
standing one. He and his wife Leah are the parents
of Darchei talmidim and alumni (their oldest son
joined in 1986; their youngest is a current Mesivta
Chaim Shlomo bachur) and the grandparents of
several current talmidim. In addition, Joel served as
executive vice-president of Yeshiva Darchei Torah
in the early 1990s, an administrative position,
and has been an active lay leader of the Yeshiva
throughout the last three decades, including a stint
as president from 1988 to 1990.
“Yeshiva Darchei Torah is one of the finest ye-
shivos in the country. Among its many qualities are
its sacred mission to reach every talmid, its excel-
lence in limudei kodesh and limudei chol, its stel-
lar faculty, and its physical facilities,” said Rabbi
Kaplan. “Running such a yeshiva comes at great
financial cost, and our parents are the primary
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FALL 5779/2018
bearers of that cost, through tuition.
It is a tremendous challenge – for all
parents, of all income levels. I look
forward to engaging with every
parent in a sensitive and caring
manner to work together for
our yeshiva. Our parents
are not only our partners
in the chinuch of the chil-
dren; they are our share-
holders.”
Rabbi Kaplan suc-
ceeds the late Rabbi
Yehuda Harbater z”l, who
passed away suddenly in
February, having served as
executive director of Yeshiva
Darchei Torah for over 32 years.
“Rabbi Harbater was known for
his unwavering commitment to the
Yeshiva’s wellbeing - and his equally strong
determination to work with each parent in a fair
and compassionate fashion,” said Rabbi Bender.
“He left large shoes to fill. We are confident that,
Be’ezras Hashem, Reb Joel is amply qualified to
succeed on both counts.”
A native of Borough Park, Rabbi Kaplan holds
a J.D. from Yeshiva University’s Cardozo School
of Law and a B.A. from Touro College, and was
admitted to the New York State Bar in 1981. He
serves as the chazzan of Congregation Beth Sholom
in Lawrence, New York, and lives with his family
in Far Rockaway. !
”
Our parents are not only
our partners… they
are our shareholders.