Volover Rav’s Son Traveled the World as Kosher Inspector

When terrorists stormed the Chabad-Lubavitch center in Mumbai, India, and stole the life of Rabbi Aryeh Leibish Teitelbaum, 37, they also took a father from his eight young children.

Ordinarily, the rabbi wouldn’t have been in Mumbai. But he took the trip so that his own father wouldn’t have to. He didn’t live long enough for his father to thank him for the good deed.

Known as an extremely learned individual, Teitelbaum was the son of the Volover Rav from Boro Park, N.Y. He married the daughter of the Rebbe of the Toldos Avraham Yitzchak Chasidic community and made his home in Israel. From a young age, his abilities in Torah learning were well-known, and he attended prestigious yeshivas around the world.

His children’s own education was a prime concern. According to Yitzchok Cohen in an article for Hamodia, Teitelbaum would call weekly to check on the progress of one of his sons. It was not enough to know that the son was learning; Teitelbaum wanted to ensure that he was motivated as well.

Along with his intensive study of the Torah, Teitelbaum assisted his father as a supervisor for the Volover kosher certifying agency. An American citizen, he traveled the world to ensure proper operations at various production facilities, personally inspecting the ingredients going into kosher products.

When he was back home in Israel, however, he could be found once again in the study hall from early in the morning until late in the evening. On Shabbat, the rabbi and his wife Frume kept an open home for a cadre of American students studying at local yeshivas.

“He saw his purpose to be a rabbi in Israel in order to continue the legacy of his family,” Shmuel Poppenheim, a friend, told The Jerusalem Post.

Last week’s trip to India was originally unscheduled. Teitelbaum’s father was supposed to travel to the South Asian nation and China on a tour of several factories, but the son volunteered to go to spare his father the difficulty. He asked a colleague, Rabbi Bentzion Kruman of Bat Yam, to accompany him. An unexpected early stop in production at the facility they were supervising last Wednesday gave them some extra time to attend afternoon services at Mumbai’s Chabad House and learn Torah.

Shortly after they arrived, terrorists stormed the building. Their bodies were among the six victims retrieved by forensic teams after a Friday evening raid on the location by Indian commandos.

“The bullets found him after prayer, while studying inside the Chabad House,” said Poppenheim. “He died there sanctifying G‑d’s name.”

After a Tuesday morning memorial service in Jerusalem’s Mea Shearim neighborhood, Rabbi Aryeh Leibish Teitelbaum was buried at the Mount of Olives cemetery.