Seder Nigunim in the Hospital With Rabbi Leizer Teitelbaum

By Rabbi Kalman Weinfeld for COLlive.com

It is heartbreaking to add the appendage “עליו השלום” after Reb Leizer’s name, and it is incredibly painful to write parting words about my dear friend, the gaon and chossid, Rav Eliezer Teitelbaum, or, as he was known by all, Reb Leizer.

Although I’m younger than Reb Leizer, and generations apart from him in his vast knowledge of Torah, Reb Leizer took the time to teach me. Despite his greatness in all parts of Torah, his dedication to his personal avodas Hashem, and his holy work in kashrus, he found the time to teach and to share his knowledge with others. Reb Leizer is someone about whom the dictum of Chazal, in Maseches Sanhedrin 88b, applies. Chazal asks, “Who is the one who deserves Olam Haba?” The answer is, “A humble person, who doesn’t stop learning Torah, and who doesn’t keep his knowledge to himself, but shares what he knows with others – he is the one who deserves Olam Haba.”

Reb Leizer worked at OK Kosher for close to 40 years. Every spare moment he had was spent with an open sefer – a Gemara, Shulchan Oruch, etc. But he was also always available to receive questions from any rabbi or staff member in the office, whether for an OK certified company or a personal kashrus question, and he always answered with his full attention.

Like we say in Shacharis on Shabbos, Reb Leizer was “Ha’oz v’ha’anava”, strong and humble. He was strong in everything related to halacha, kashrus standards, minhagei Chabad, and yiras shomayim. But at the same time, he was humble, giving his full attention to every Jew regardless of his level.

During the almost four decades of working in kashrus alongside the CEO and Kashrus Administrator of OK Kosher, HaGaon HaChossid, Rav Don Yoel Levy, OB”M, Reb Leizer was involved in all areas of kashrus, from supervising restaurants to overseeing the kashrus in facilities all over the world, which required a genius level of knowledge in both halacha and technical food production. He understood it all.

Over the past decade, I had the merit to become close to Reb Leizer, and he invested many hours in personally training me, and many other rabbis at the OK. Every time I asked him a question about koshering equipment, or about a mesorah in kashrus, or any question in kashrus or halacha, he answered me with patience and a brilliant explanation, always citing the sources to back up his position. He was clearly a baki in Rishonim and Acharonim and had these sources at the tip of his fingers.

In one of my visits to Reb Leizer in the hospital, on Chai Elul 5779, I walked into his room and he immediately handed me a shofar and said, “Reb Kalman, I didn’t have the koach today to blow shofar for myself, will you please blow the shofar for me?” I said, “Reb Leizer, lets make a deal. I’ll blow the shofar and you farbreng with me for Chai Elul.” And Reb Leizer replied, “We have a deal.” We sat together for close to an hour and Reb Leizer told me stories about Chai Elul and we listened to Chassidishe niggunim on my phone, becoming totally immersed in the world of neginah.

Reb Leizer will be missed by us all – the rabbonim and the staff of OK Kosher, the residents of Crown Heights, where he gave so many shiurim for decades, and most of all, by his dear family, his rebbetzin, children, and grandchildren.

Like I mentioned at the beginning, from the words of Chazal, Reb Leizer did not keep his knowledge to himself. He mentored and shared his knowledge with others. He was happy when others achieved success through siyata dishmaya and were able to advance and take on their own kashrus responsibilities.

The choshuve rabbonim of the OK will continue the legacy of Reb Leizer, and build upon his holy work in kashrus, and emulate his pure yiras shomayim, by spreading kashrus as a mivtza of the Rebbe, Nasi Doreinu. May we merit techiyas hameisim and the coming of Moshaich immediately in our days.