Yaakov Bender

Yaakov Bender (born 1950) is an American Haredi rabbi who is the Rosh HaYeshiva of Yeshiva Darchei Torah in Far Rockaway, New York. He acts as a speaker, writer and adviser on Jewish education.

Life and career Bender was born in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. His father was the head of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas in Brooklyn, New York. His paternal grandfather, Rabbi Avraham Bender, traveled in the 1930s within the United States to raise funds for yeshivas in New York such as Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary and Israel.

Bender started studying at the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia in 1965.

He is a member of the Vaad Roshei Yeshiva - the governing rabbinic board - of Torah Umesorah. In 1997 he was recognized as an outstanding Jewish educator by The Covenant Foundation.

In June 2026, Rabbi Bender was interviewed and profiled for an unprecedented cover story in Mishpacha Magazine.

Opinions Bender encouraged people to get the COVID-19 vaccine, saying "We haven't lived through enough?"

Following a 2018 New York Times article criticizing Haredi yeshiva education, Bender attacked the newspaper, calling the piece a "terrible and unfair attack" on yeshivos. He defended his students, stating their academic scores surpassed the New York average and their environment was superior to public schools due to the absence of drug use, crime, and disrespect.

Personal life Bender's father died suddenly in 1965, when he was 15. Rav Yaakov Bender on Chumash (ArtScroll, 2021) Chinuch for Today (ArtScroll, 2022) Rav Yaakov Bender on Chumash Vol. 2 (ArtScroll, 2023) Chinuch With Simchah (ArtScroll, 2024) A Heart for Another (ArtScroll, 2024) Divrei Yaakov - Bereishis (Hebrew, Israel Bookshop Publications, 2025) Divrei Yaakov - Shemos (Hebrew, Israel Bookshop Publications, 2026)