The Educator's Handbook

"The Torah views one who teaches...the child of his fellow man as if he had begotten him." This tenet seems to be behind every word of this brilliant treatise. The teacher must be responsible for every aspect of the well-being and education of his charges and parents must support the authority of teachers.

Rabbi Hodakov was chairman of the Lubavitcher Rebbe`s secretariat and served as chief executive of three major institutions including the Central Organization for Jewish Education. It was in the last area that he built his reputation and acquired the practical experience that informs this systematically arranged work. His vision of education was permeated with joy, ahavat yisroel, and the wisdom gained from personal contact with the sixth and seventh Lubavitcher Rebbes under whom he served.

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Reviews

Rabbi Mordechai Isaac Hodakov was a teacher and pedagogue of such outstanding skill that, as a very young man he was appointed Minister of Education in Latvia. Soon afterward he was called upon by the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe to apply his talents to building religious and educational institutions in America. Known as a nuts and bolts man, and a visionary, he formulated his paradigm of Jewish education in the field. His ideas are "classroom-tested" and his presentation is so clear that both parents and teachers can benefit from his techniqiues and approaches to educating the young. In concise, readable style he deals with the esthetics and upkeep of the school, such issues as punctuality and the efficient use of time, and provides guidlines for relating to, and meeting the needs of each individual student. The Educator`s Handbook is a valued and enduring legacy in the field of educational theory and practice.

Rabbi Chaim Mordechai Issac Hodakov was born in 1902, in Benshenkavitch, Russia. At the tender age of 18 he was put in charge of a new Jewish elementary school in Riga, Latvia. He insisted on high religious standards and he was equally zealous about all other aspects of education. The school blossomed, even attracting children from more assimilated backgrounds. In 1934, Rabbi Hodakov was appointed to the Latvian Ministry of Education as supervisor of all Jewish schools and he applied the same measures to the entire system. He also extended his influence to Jewish children in secular schools by instituting after school religious training and summer camps. In 1940, the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe called upon Rabbi Hodakov to accompany him to the United States. When Rabbi Menachem M.Schneerson succeeded his father-in-law as Rebbe, Rabbi Hodakov became his "chief-of-staff". For the next 43 years, until his passing in 1993, he was the personal confidant of the Rebbe and he directed the major Lubavitcher organizations as they transformed the Jewish landscape in the United States and around the globe.