Teaneck—Esther Herzfeld has been teaching English to Yeshiva high school students since 1980, first at Central and now at Ma’ayanot, and she estimates that in these past 35 years she has taught at least 3000 students. Indeed, in recent years she has taught many daughters of former students, and in the not-too-distant future she expects to teach the granddaughters of her very first students. But Herzfeld isn’t just a teacher; she is, in the words of Rivka Kahan, Ma’ayanot’s Principal, “a master teacher who is spellbinding—a teacher who casts a spell over her students that allows them to both love and appreciate the literature they are studying.”
The community now has a way to give back to the teacher who has given so much to so many of us—vote! Vote for Herzfeld to be our local Hero in the 2015 National Mobility Awareness Month Contest, through which the Herzfeld family can win a handicap-accessible van. Unfortunately, she needs this van because all four of her beautiful children suffer from significant physical disabilities due to the ravages of muscular dystrophy.
In describing the physical limitations of her children, Herzfeld explained that the disability affects the hip/girdle area, as well as the lower extremities, making it extremely difficult for the children to get into a regular car, or even a standard minivan. In highlighting the urgency of their need for a handicap-accessible van, which can retail for about $100,000, she related the story of an evening this past winter when both she and her son coincidentally ended up at the same local movie theater for a night out: “On a bitterly cold night, ice and snow everywhere, my son and I left simultaneously, he in his scooter, I in my car. I drove parallel to him as long as I could. When I had to turn down the next street, I cried, knowing that my son was out in the frozen night, and would be for another 20 minutes, while I, his mother, going to the same place, couldn’t take him.”
As a community we can work together to win this van for the Herzfeld family. Click here to read more about Herzfeld’s difficult reality and to vote, and then share this link with your friends via email, Facebook and Twitter. If everyone votes EVERY DAY from today through May 31, we can make this happen for her, a true local hero.
Alternate last paragraph for print version:
As a community we can work together to win this van for the Herzfeld family. Visit the contest website (see link below, or find the link on Ma’ayanot’s homepage, www.maayanot.org) to read more about Herzfeld’s difficult reality and to vote, and then share this link with your friends via email, Facebook and Twitter. If everyone votes EVERY DAY from today through May 31, we can make this happen for this wonderful teacher, a true local hero. Contest link: http://www.mobilityawarenessmonth.com/entrant/esther-herzfeld-teaneck-nj/#.VUob_kLr6rI.facebook.
By Pam Ennis
