On Motzei Shabbat, February 1, Rav Elazar Mayer Teitz, rav of Elizabeth, passed away at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, at age 89. He was laid to rest the next day at a family plot on Har Hazeitim in Jerusalem. Rabbi Teitz was the longest serving rav in America, having served in the Elizabeth rabbinate since 1958 (67 years). Also, in his own words, he was “the last Litvishe (non chasidic) kehillah rav in the United States.”

Elazar Mayer Teitz was born on November 18, 1935, in Elizabeth. His father, Rav Pinchas Teitz, was the rav of Elizabeth, as had been his maternal grandfather, Rav Elazar Mayer Preil. In 1941, young Elazar Mayer was a member of the inaugural class of the Jewish Educational Center (JEC) of Elizabeth, the first yeshiva day school in New Jersey. A gifted child, Elazar Mayer switched to the much larger Yeshiva Torah Vodaath in Brooklyn for middle school, while living with his grandmother.

Elazar Mayer attended the Telshe Yeshiva in Cleveland, Ohio, for high school. This yeshiva was an alma mater of his father’s back in Lithuania. Elazar Mayer finished high school in three years and had as his chavruta, Rav Pesach Stein—a future rosh yeshiva of Telshe.

In 1951, at age 16, Elazar Mayer took the unprecedented step of going to learn in the newly established State of Israel. In the mornings, he learned b’chavruta with the gaon Rav Yeshiel Michel Feinstein—son-in-law of the Brisker Rav—at the former’s small yeshiva in Tel Aviv. The rest of the day, he learned in the Ponevezh yeshiva in Bnei Brak. During his three years at Ponevezh, his chavrutot were Rav Berel Povarsky (current rosh yeshiva of Ponevezh), Rav Meir Schlesinger (founding rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Shaalvim) and Rav Avigdor Nebenzahl (former chief rabbi of Jerusalem’s Old City.)

Before leaving Israel, Elazar Mayer received semicha from the Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Israel, Rav Isaac Herzog. He was tested by Rav Herzog’s av beit din, Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv. To Rav Elazar Mayer’s surprise, Rav Elyashiv tested him orally for two hours without once looking into a sefer. Incidentally, Rabbi Teitz also didn’t look into a sefer for the two hour test.

Upon returning to America, Rav Teitz learned in Yeshivas Ner Yisroel in Baltimore, where he studied under the rosh yeshiva, Rav Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman. He also received a master’s degree in education from Loyola University.

In January 1958, Rav Elazar Mayer married Elisheva Rabinovich, daughter of the associate editor of Encyclopedia Talmudit. Rebbetzin Elisheva was for decades Bruriah’s renowned Navi and Chumash teacher. She was both a tough teacher and everyone’s favorite teacher.

Upon his marriage, Rav Elazar Mayer joined his father as a member of the Elizabeth rabbinate—a position he would hold for the rest of his life.

Rav Elazar Mayer’s grandfather, Rav Elazar Mayer Preil, was the rosh yeshiva of Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS), then on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. In 1921, he also became the rav of Elizabeth. Several years later, he left RIETS to devote himself full time to his rabbinic position. Rav Preil was one the leading poskim in America, as evidenced by his book of responsa, “Sefer Hamaor.” He also unsuccessfully twice started yeshiva day schools in Elizabeth that collapsed due to opposition within the community. Rav Preil died young in 1933. His shteller (rabbinic position) was left open to the rav who would marry his oldest orphaned daughter, Basya (Bessie), a common practice in Eastern Europe.

In 1934, Rav Pinchas Teitz, who was fundraising in the United States for the Telshe yeshiva in Lithuania, met and married Bessie Preil and became the new rav of Elizabeth. They were blessed with a 61 year marriage and six children, and were a highly effective rabbinic couple.

The Jewish community of Elizabeth has been one unified kehillah in which all Jewish institutions and Jewish life are under the aegis of one rav, for over a century. For decades it consisted of the JEC/Bruriah (nursery through 12th grade), five shuls, a beit din, eruv, mikvah, cemetery, kashrut, etc. Thousands of students have been educated at the JEC/Bruriah and thousands of people have been members of the kehillah.

Rabbi Baruch Witkin—a career long rebbe at the JEC—told the Jewish Link that Rav Pinchas was only able to accomplish all he did on his 26 trips to the Soviet Union and leading national rabbinic organizations because Rav Elazar Mayer was back in Elizabeth running the yeshiva, shuls and community. Rav Elazar Mayer became the de facto rav of the community by the late 1980s due to his father’s declining health. In January 1996, he became the de jure rav upon his father’s passing.

Rav Elazar Mayer Teitz was brilliant. Rabbi Binyamin Blau—former president of the RCA—cited as proof that Rav Teitz knew every single detail of the multimillion dollar JEC budget by heart. Rabbi Yosef Blau—mashgiach ruchani at RIETS—pointed out that Rav Teitz knew by heart the numerical value of many hundreds of verses in Tanach, hence his famous use of gematria. More importantly, he told the Jewish Link, “Rav Teitz was a big lamdan who was extremely knowledgeable in all areas of halacha, Gemara, Tanach and dikduk. He also had a tremendous clarity in his learning and was excellent in explaining Torah thoughts to those less knowledgeable. He was a big posek who answered shailos in the different categories of halacha. He eventually became a posek for younger rabbanim.”

Rav Teitz was one of the most important and knowledgeable mesadrei gittin in America. He administered or co-administered at approximately 800 gittin in his lifetime. Rabbi Teitz received his shimush (internship) in hilchos gittin from Rav Aryeh Leib Spitz, who had been the mesader gittin at the prestigious Vilna beit din in pre-Holocaust Europe. The fees Rav Teitz earned from administering gittin he donated for many years to his rebbe’s yeshiva in Israel and later to agunah groups. Rav Teitz always offered to refund the money if the couple decided to remarry. His sister, Dr. Rivkah Blau, shared with The Jewish Link how many people related at the shiva that Rav Teitz was adept at making both sides feel comfortable during the get process.

Rav Teitz delivered a daf yomi shiur from 1981-2015. Besides being dean, Rav Teitz also taught at JEC when needed. The younger students at JEC tended to view him as scary, but as they grew older, the fear turned into awe and respect. That’s because Rav Teitz genuinely cared about the Elizabeth community members and helped them in whatever ways he could. He would be calm and reassuring and would do his best to assist people in a tangible fashion.

On the side, Rav Teitz attended Yeshiva University’s Belfer Graduate School of Math and Science. He received a PhD in mathematical functional analysis from Yeshiva University in 1973. He was a part time professor of mathematics at Rutgers University for 20 years starting in the 1970s.

As Rabbi Eliyahu Teitz told The Jewish Link, “My father didn’t even semi-retire. He was always available for shailos and policy questions from the community. He slowed down the last few years but he still tried to make it to the office as often as he could and to stay in touch when in Israel.”

Rav Elazar Mayer Teitz is survived by his wife of 67 years, Rebbetzin Elisheva Teitz (Elizabeth/Jerusalem); sisters Dr. Rivkah Blau (Manhattan), Shulamith Ebner (Jerusalem), Abigail Rabin (Englewood), Elisheva Goldstein (Teaneck); and children Avi Teitz (Zichron Yaakov), Rabbi Eliyahu Teitz (Manhattan), Yossi Teitz (Chashmonaim), Shifra Ben-Dor (Jerusalem), Yael Wachtfogel (Kiryat Sefer); and many grandchildren and great grandchildren.