Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum (November 17, 1914 – April 24, 2006), known revered by his followers as the Berach Moshe (after his multi-volume Torah commentary), was a monumental Hasidic leader who served as the Grand Rebbe of the Satmar Hasidim for over 25 years. Under his leadership, Satmar consolidated its position as one of the largest, wealthiest, and most influential Hasidic movements in the world.

Early Life and Heritage

• Lineage: Born in Újfehértó, Hungary, he belonged to one of the most prestigious rabbinic dynasties in Europe. He was the second son of Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Teitelbaum, the Atzei Chaim, who served as the Sigheter Rebbe.

  
  

• Orphaned Early: At just 11 years old, Moshe and his older brother were orphaned when both of their parents passed away within months of each other. He was subsequently raised by relatives, including his uncle, Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum (the future founder of modern Satmar).

  
  

• Pre-War Leadership: After receiving rabbinical ordination, he served as the dean of the Karacscka yeshiva and, in 1939, became the rabbi of Senta (then Yugoslavia, now Serbia).

  
  

Holocaust Survival and Tragedy

In the spring of 1944, the Nazi occupation of Hungary shattered his community. Rabbi Teitelbaum and his family were deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp.

• Immense Personal Loss: His wife, Leah, and their three children were murdered by the Nazis. He barely survived the camp himself.

  
  

• He was later transferred to forced labor at a plant in Tröglitz and eventually moved to the Theresienstadt ghetto, where he was liberated in 1945.

Rebuilding in America

Following the war, he married his cousin, Pessel Leah, who had also lost her entire family in Auschwitz. After a brief return to Europe, the rise of Communist persecution forced them to flee. They immigrated to New York in the fall of 1947.

In Brooklyn, he took up his family’s ancestral mantle as the Sigheter Rebbe, leading a modest but devoted community—first in Williamsburg and later in Borough Park. For over three decades, he operated quietly in the massive shadow of his uncle, Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum, who was busy building the global Satmar empire.

Succession to the Satmar Rabbinate

When Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum passed away in 1949 without surviving children, the Satmar community faced a leadership crisis. Though some factions within the community were initially hesitant because he had led his own separate Sighet dynasty for decades, Rabbi Moshe was ultimately chosen to succeed his uncle in 1980.

Achievements and Growth

Despite taking over a community deeply mourning a legendary founder, the Berach Moshe oversaw an era of staggering growth:

• Explosive Demographics: Under his watch, the Satmar community more than doubled in size, growing to an estimated 100,000 to 120,000 followers by the time of his passing.

  
  

• Kiryas Joel: He heavily developed and stabilized the Hasidic enclave of Kiryas Joel in Orange County, New York, navigating complex legal battles regarding the town's public funding and school districts.

  
  

• Pragmatism: While maintaining Satmar's staunchly traditionalist, anti-Zionist theological stance, he was widely regarded as a practical and organized administrator who built up institutions worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

  
  

Final Years and Succession Dispute

The later years of his rabbinate were clouded by internal family and communal friction. In 1999, Rabbi Teitelbaum appointed his third son, Rabbi Zalman Leib Teitelbaum, as the leader of the main Williamsburg congregation, while his eldest son, Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum, controlled the community in Kiryas Joel.

This division fractured the movement into two main factions. When the Berach Moshe passed away from cancer in 2006 at the age of 91, the community formally split, with both sons claiming the mantle of Satmar Grand Rebbe over their respective factions.

He was buried in the Kiryas Joel village cemetery directly alongside his uncle, remaining a central figure of modern Hasidic history.

This video captures historic footage from his travels, showcasing his profound impact and the immense reverence he commanded within global Jewish communities: Footage of Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum