Itzik is currently celebrating his chai year as a Jewish educational director. Before coming to Temple Emanuel in 2000, he served as a teacher, head teacher, and principal in day schools, supplementary schools, and synagogue-based educational settings nationwide.

Educated in both Israel and the United States, Itzik started his career as a geographer, urban planner, and transportation specialist. After a few years in the U.S., however, he fell in love with Jewish education, and hasn’t looked back since. At Temple Emanuel, Itzik’s primary goal is to create a vibrant community of learners. To this end, he has initiated cutting-edge programs that reach out to the community at large. These include the annual Sukkot retreat at Smokey Glen Farms, which has attracted more than 400 members, the Torah Fair and Celebrating Passover programs, all very popular and successful.

Itzik is also very involved in regional and national Jewish communities. He is about to begin an unprecedented third year as president of the Greater Washington Principals’ Council, where presidents have always served two-year terms. Itzik was also elected last year to the board of the National Association of Temple Educators (NATE), the primary organization for Jewish educational directors nationwide. At NATE, he is in charge of assessing new member applications and establishing qualifications for membership.

Along with his work in Jewish education, Itzik has authored and edited many books, mostly on the geography of Israel and the Middle East. He recently worked with Behrman House on a series of textbooks about Israel, and is currently coordinating all the maps in a book about Jewish history by eminent historian Dr. Jonathan Sarna.

This coming May, Itzik will celebrate his 30th anniversary with his wife, Ronit, the lead school psychologist in the emotional disabilities unit of Montgomery County Public Schools. He is the proud father of Inbal, who married high-school boyfriend Daniel Princiotta at the temple last year, and Neir, a junior at Princeton University.

E-mail: Itzik.Eshel@TempleEmanuelmd.org