Rabbi Yisroel Mordechai Teitelbaum, z”l, a longtime Chabad shliach and one of the founding members of the Chabad community in Morristown, passed away on Thursday, October 29, at the age of 75.
Rabbi Teitelbaum, or Sruly or Rabbi T., as he was affectionately known, was the son of Rabbi Yaakov and Freida Teitelbaum of Kew Garden Hills.
He spent his final months living with his daughter and son-in-law, Chana Devora and Rabbi Mendel Solomon, at their home in Short Hills, subsequent to his ALS diagnosis two years ago.
Rabbi Solomon spoke of his passing on Facebook: “With a broken heart, I share that Chana Devora Solomon’s beloved father, Rabbi Israel Teitelbaum, passed away, surrounded by his loving family. Due to COVID we were blessed to have him with us for the last eight months—invaluable time. He was the most sweet, kind-hearted, principled, gentle mentch.
“Ta, you bravely battled ALS without ever complaining. Thank you for being an amazing zeidy to our kids, thank you for being my dearest friend, and most of all, thank you for gifting me your most precious oldest child, Chana Devorah. We miss you already, Ta.”
Rabbi T. learned at the Lubavitcher Yeshiva at Bedford and Dean for elementary and high school, where he developed a close relationship with Chabad. He later attended Tomchei Temimim Yeshiva in Montreal and then learned at Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters in Brooklyn.
He married Chaia in 1970, after which he became involved in education, first at the Rabbinical College in Newark and then at the Chabad Yeshiva in Worcester, Massachusetts.
He later served as a shliach, moving with his family to Detroit, and then to Los Angeles. In 1976 he and his family moved to Morristown, where he ultimately became one of the founders and pillars of its Chabad community. Rabbi Teitelbaum was a shliach in Morristown for over 40 years, where he served as administrator of the Rabbinical College of America. He also directed Gan Israel, the Chabad day camp in Morristown.
Rabbi T. was known as a fierce advocate for school choice, working with government officials to promote this cause. His letters on this topic were published several times in The Jewish Link.
Shmuel Felzenberg, one of his sons-in-law, noted, “His most well-known passion in the past 30 years was his tireless activism on behalf of school choice. What started out as a logical need on a personal family level grew into a passion for a nationwide imperative. It can surely be said, without any exaggeration, that if school choice ever takes full hold in this country, and if any child of any ethnic background receives an enhanced education of better quality as a result of such, that indeed Sruly Teitelbaum had a direct hand in it.”
Rabbi Teitelbaum is survived by his wife and 13 children—Chana Devora Solomon of Short Hills; Yankee Teitelbaum of North Miami Beach; Dini Felzenberg of South Carolina; Dassi Leader of Manalapan; Rabbi Zalman Teitelbaum of the Bronx; Fay Rosenberg of Teaneck; Choni Teitelbaum of Hollywood, Florida; Moshe Teitelbaum of Los Angeles; Dovid Teitelbaum of Morristown; Sarah Pruce of Ithaca, New York; Beryl Teitelbaum of Los Angeles; Shayna Teitelbaum of Jersey City and Mendel Teitelbaum of Valhalla, New York—and four of his siblings.
