New Jersey Jewish Nobility

I trained for my role as a Rabbanut-recognized get administrator (Mesader Gittin) from 1991 through 1993, viewing dozens of Batei Din throughout the United States and Eretz Yisrael. Why did I join Rav Elazar Mayer Teitz and the Beth Din of Elizabeth? In addition to the kind, efficient and intelligent manner in which Rav Teitz administered gittin, two points struck me. First, I learned that Rav Teitz donated all funds earned from administering gittin to tzedakah. Significantly, Rav and Rebbetzin Teitz’s home in Elizabeth was modest and modestly furnished. The same applied to their automobile. They could have easily spent the money upgrading their living space and car. Instead, it went to help those in need.

The second point that impressed me about Rav Teitz occurred when he administered a get where the couple came separately (and the get was delivered by a Shali’ach— agent), but before the delivery, the get ripped slightly through one of its letters. The letter was not crucial, yet Rav Teitz chose to rewrite the get (at his own expense) rather than relying on a leniency.

These two experiences compelled me to associate with Rav Teitz. I wanted to be part of such a noble enterprise.

Wings to Soar

Rav Teitz took quite a gamble when he admitted me to his Beth Din. I was single at the time and working in less-than-prestigious positions. Yet, Rav Teitz bestowed on me the wings to soar. With Hashem’s help and Rav Teitz’s oversight, I emerged as one of North America’s leading Rabbanut-recognized get administrators.

In early 1995, when I began to date Malca Tokayer of West Orange, my future father-in-law, Rav Shmuel Tokayer, zt”l, a very close friend of Rav Teitz from their days as youngsters in the Telz Yeshiva in Cleveland, inquired about me. Rav Teitz offered a kind evaluation, and the shidduch, thank God, progressed. After 30 years of marriage and 32 years on the Beth Din, it seems fair to say that the gamble paid off, baruch Hashem. I am profoundly grateful that I had the opportunity to publicly share these feelings before Rav and Rebbetzin Teitz when I spoke at Elizabeth’s Jewish Educational Center (JEC) last February.

Wise Guidance

I have benefited tremendously from Rav Teitz’s wise direction. I told my wife Malca that Rav Teitz almost always had a solution for the myriad of problems I raised. When he did not have a solution, I knew none could be found. Rav Teitz was unfailingly principled, always acting with integrity and looking to help others. Even when others were unkind to him, he maintained his dignity and stood his ground, even in the last years of his life when he struggled with frail health. Once he even appeared with an oxygen tank in the Tel Aviv Beth Din to help resolve a seemingly intractable situation.

Among the out-of-the-box achievements of the Beth Din of America was establishing new places to write gittin in the New York metropolitan area. For example, in New Jersey in 1993 only Elizabeth and Passaic were active locations where gittin were being written. Rav Teitz oversaw my establishing (with the consent of top poskim such as Rav Nota Greenblatt and Rav Gedalia Schwartz) new places to write gittin, such as Teaneck, Livingston and Edison, in order to ensure that all those needing a get received one.

Incredible Intelligence Coupled With Astonishing Modesty

Rav Teitz is famous for his incredible intellect. Rav Teitz’s son, Rav Eliyahu David, told me that Rav Teitz mastered calculus simply by reading a calculus book! After quickly finishing the calculus textbook, Rav Teitz remarked, “That’s right,” and he knew it well enough to teach it. I once asked Rav Teitz if studying Masechet Ohalot, known as the most difficult Talmudic tractate (which addresses Tumat Meit), is permissible on Tisha B’Av. I thought the somber topic and struggle one must engage in to understand it would make studying it on Tisha B’Av permissible. Rav Teitz responded incredulously, “Of course it is forbidden to learn Masechet Ohalot on Tisha B’Av. I find it quite enjoyable to learn it!”

Rav Teitz coupled his astonishing genius with genuine humility. For example, when we had a case of a husband refusing to grant a get, but a Reform rabbi had performed the couple’s marriage, Rav Teitz did not want to be the one to formally permit the woman to remarry without a get due to her Halachically invalid wedding ceremony. Instead, he instructed me to seek permission from someone with “Breita Pleitzas— broad shoulders,” such as Chicago’s Rav Gedalia Schwartz, to issue such permission. Rav Teitz had the broad shoulders to assume such responsibility, but he modestly presumed he did not.

Baruch Hashem, I have been blessed to witness men who were exceedingly humble despite their giant stature. Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, Rav Aharon Lichtenstein and Rav Teitz were great beyond compare, yet their bearing was shockingly humble. My experiences interacting with these outstanding men make arrogance appear ludicrous. If these giants were humble, why can’t everyone be that way?

The Last Week of His Life

There is so much that can and should be said, but let us conclude with a few points from the end of Rav Teitz’s illustrious life. A week before his passing, Rav Teitz reached out to me (from his hospital bed!) to address a situation that arose regarding our Beth Din. Remarkably, even in frail health, Rav Teitz was concerned about others. Baruch Hashem, the case worked out well, but one detail still needed to be addressed. I asked Rav Teitz how to handle it, and he instructed me how to resolve it. On the one hand, I was deeply saddened to realize that Rav Teitz lacked the strength to devise an effective approach at that moment. On the other hand, he gave me a priceless vote of confidence, telling me it was my turn to take responsibility.

On the day Rav Elazar Mayer Teitz left this world, the need arose concerning writing a get in Trenton, New Jersey. My first instinct was to reach out to him for guidance, especially since his grandfather was the last rav to administer a get there in 1913. I was so frustrated and pained that the number I dialed for decades would no longer yield me a learned and wise answer within minutes, as it had for the past 32 years. I shared this with administrators at Elizabeth’s Jewish Educational Center, and they also told me that several issues had arisen, on the same day, that had also required his guidance.

After asking my wife Malca how we will manage without Rav Teitz, she reminded me of my reaction to Rav Moshe Feinstein’s death. Upon returning to Yeshiva University from his funeral on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, I asked, “How will we manage without Rav Moshe?” While the world was much poorer after losing Rav Moshe, we somehow managed without him over the last four decades. Similarly, Malca comforted me by saying that while our community has lost an invaluable resource, Hashem will give us the strength and wisdom to continue.

On a personal note, Rav Teitz was the Jachter family Rav. We posed countless sheilot to him over the years and always received the perfect answers (many of which I cite in my writings). Baruch Hashem, Rav Teitz provided wise guidance regarding the upcoming wedding and sheva brachot, iy”H, of my talmid, Sammy Greenberg, to our daughter Atara. Although he is no longer with us, Rav Teitz’s enormous impact on many individuals, families and communities will last for eternity, along with the Eternal One and His Eternal People.

Rabbi Jachter serves as the rav of Congregation Shaarei Orah, rebbe at Torah Academy of Bergen County and a get administrator with the Beth Din of Elizabeth. Rabbi Jachter’s 18 books may be purchased at Amazon and Judaica House.