Today, the hakomas matzeivah of the legendary Rabbi Eli Teitelbaum zt”l, Rav Chaim Eliyahu ben Rav Avrohom Yaakov, will take place at 10:30 a.m. at the Beth Israel Cemetery in Woodbridge, New Jersey.
Rabbi Eli Teitelbaum was a multi-faceted eved Hashem, a humble, self-effacing man who, in his innovative, unique manner, left an indelible impact on Klal Yisroel that will remain for generations.
He was a pioneer in chinuch, in harbotzas haTorah through his Torah Communications Network, in true Yiddishe music, in Jewish camping with Camp Sdei Chemked, in Jewish outreach and in helping kids at risk. He pioneered all sorts of projects on behalf of the klal and was a fearless fighter for the integrity of Torah and against injustice.
One year ago, as he approached the age of 70, this pure neshama was taken from us.
Rabbi Eli Teitelbaum grew up in the illustrious home of his parents, Rav and Rebbetzin Yaakov Teitelbaum zt”l. Rav Yaakov Teitelbaum, a tremendous talmid chochom, was a talmid of Rav Meir Arik zt”l, the famed rov of Tirnau and a Sadiguerer Chossid who spent his youth in Vienna. Ultimately, Rav Yaakov fled Vienna for London where he spent the war years and that is where his son Eli was born in 1940. Eventually, Rav Yaakov and his family made their way to the United States where he later founded K’hal Adas Yereim of Kew Gardens.
Rabbi Teitelbaum attended the Lubavitcher Cheder and Yeshiva and forty years ago married his wife, ybl”ch Toby Perkowski, daughter of Rav Dovid Perkowski, a marbitz Torah in Boro Park.
Rabbi Eli Teitelbaum was a true chinuch trailblazer. In 1965, he began his teaching career which spanned four decades, and he inspired hundreds of talmidim during those years, always utilizing innovations in the classroom which were completely revolutionary.
Rabbi Teitelbaum was a talmid chochom who possessed yedios in virtually every area.
His Torah Communications Network (TCN) of which Dial-A-Daf, later called TorahPhone, was the flagship program, impacted tens of thousands and brought limud HaTorah to people across the globe.
In the 1960s, he produced a series of Pirchei choir records and tapes that became classics with songs that have remained popular until today. Rabbi Teitelbaum became an ardent advocate to preserve the “Jewish” in today’s Jewish music.
Another one of his great services to Klal Yisroel was the famous Pirchei Siyum Mishnayos that he was instrumental in establishing. For years, the Siyum Mishnayos was one of Pirchei’s most popular, prestigious programs, and through it, hundreds of thousands of Mishnayos were learned by many thousands of children from across the United States and Canada.
Rabbi Teitelbaum spent an extensive amount of time uncovering financial scams that had duped many unsuspecting members of the frum community.
Rabbi Teitelbaum left behind his wife, Mrs. Toby Teitelbaum, and his two children, Reb Dovid Teitelbaum and family and Mrs. Shaindy Friedman and family.
At the levaya one year ago at the Shomrei Hadas Chapel in Boro Park, hespeidim were delivered by Rabbi Teitelbaum’s brother-in-law, Rabbi Eliyahu Perkowski of Los Angeles; his cousin, Rav Moshe Barone of Yeshiva Bais Hatalmud; his son-in-law, Rabbi Akiva Friedman; his son, Reb Dovid Teitelbaum; and his brother, Rav Shlomo Teitelbaum, rov of K’hal Adas Yereim of Queens.
Yehi zichro boruch.
{Dovid Bernstein-Matzav.com Newscenter}
