It is with great sadness that we mourn the petirah of Rav Elazar Mayer Teitz zt”l, longtime leader of the Elizabeth, NJ Jewish Community.
Under Rav Teitz’s guidance, the Jewish Educational Center (JEC) in Elizabeth flourished, encompassing the Yeshiva of Elizabeth elementary school, Rav Teitz Mesivta Academy, and Bruriah High School for Girls, a kollel, multiple mikvaot, a cemetery, day care, community center, day camp and more. These mosdos have educated and care for generations of students and families emphasizing the harmonious integration of Torah study with secular knowledge. His leadership extended beyond chinuch. He was instrumental in fostering unity among the community’s kehillos and shuls and was a prominent voice in local and global Jewish affairs.
Rav Teitz was a son of the late Torah luminary and community builder, Rav Pinchas Mordechai Teitz zt”l, who founded the Jewish Educational Center and served as the community’s rav from 1935 until his passing in 1995.
Born in 1935, Rav Elazar Mayer Teitz was a prodigious young ben Torah, destined for greatness and leadership. He was in the first class of the JEC, studied in Yeshivas Torah Vodas in Brooklyn, Telse in Cleveland and Ponevezh in Israel. He learned with Rav Berel Povarsky, Rav Avigdor Nebenzahl, Rav Schlessinger, and Rav Michel Feinstein. He received semicha Yoreh Yoreh and Yadin Yadin from the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rav Isaac Halevi Herzog after being examined by Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv. He earned an advanced degree in education and a PhD in mathematics.
In 1958, he began assisting his father in communal leadership, running the JEC and serving as the rov of Elizabeth’s North Avenue shul. He eventually succeeded his father as the rov of Elizabeth in 1995. He led the JEC and the city of Elizabeth through periods of growth and expansion and served all areas of communal life.
An outstanding talmid chochom, and a talented rebbi and maggid shiur, he completed Shas many times, having delivered a daily Daf Yomi Bavli shiur since 1980 and learning Yerushalmi many times. His father famously used the radio for the spreading of Torah, and Rav Elazar Mayer likewise did so, following in his father’s footsteps.
Rav Elazar Mayer Teitz distinguished himself as the leading expert in gittin and geirus, with his work being universally accepted throughout the United States, Israel and the Jewish world. He mastered these fields with erudition, care and compassion.
His knowledge of all areas of Torah and Jewish law combined with his love of mathematics formed the foundation of a life dedicated to yashrus, upright straightness and exactitude in thought and action. He lived for his family and to serve the community. He was a true anav, never accepting accolades or honors, and cared about every person. This made him a rav, a rebbi, and a leader of unique stature.