Yekusiel Yehuda Teitelbaum (I)

Yekusiel Yehuda Teitelbaum
The headstones over the graves of Rabbi Yekusiel Yehuda Teitelbaum and his wife in Sighet
Title	Sigeter Rebbe
Personal life
Born	Yekusiel Yehuda Teitelbaum
Spouse	Ruchl Ashkenazi
Children	Avrohom Aharon Chananya Yomtov Lipa Moshe Yosef Elya Btzalel three daughters
Parent	Elozor Nison Teitelbaum (father)
Religious life
Religion	Judaism
Jewish leader
Predecessor	Elozor Nison Teitelbaum
Successor	Chananya Yom Tov Lipa Teitelbaum

Rabbi Yekusiel Yehuda Teitelbaum (1808–1883), known as the Yetev Lev (Hebrew: ייטב לב), was a Hasidic Rebbe in Austria-Hungary.

Early life and education

He was the son of Rabbi Elazar Nison Teitelbaum, rabbi of Drubitsh, who was the son of the Yismach Moshe (Moshe Teitelbaum).

Career

After his studies, Yekusiel Yehuda, also known by his Yiddish equivalent names as Zalman Leib, was appointed as the rabbi of Stropkov (1833). He moved to Ujhely (1841) and then to Drubitsh (1856). When the Jewish community in the city of Sighet, Hungary, was looking for a new rabbi, he was invited by the heads of the community and was appointed to that post in 1858.

In addition to serving as the Rabbi of the community, he also led a yeshiva where Rabbi Yaakov Yehuda Aryeh Leib Frenkel was among his notable students. He also served as a hasidic rebbe and became known as the rebbe of Siget.

Family life

Yekusiel Yehuda Tetelbaum married Ruchl, a daughter of Rabbi Moshe Dovid Ashkenazi of Tolcsva and his wife. Their sons were Chananya Yomtov Lipa, author of Kedishas Yomtov, who succeeded his father in Siget; Avrohom Aharon, who became the rabbi of Kolbasov; Moshe Yosef, the rabbi of Ujhel; and Eliyohu Betsalel, rabbi of Tetsh (Tyachiv, Ukraine) (see: Tetsh (Hasidic dynasty)). Yekusiel and Ruchl Teitelbaum also had three daughters.

Among the descendants of Yekusiel and Ruchl was their grandson Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, the rebbe of Satmar, who emigrated to the United States after the Holocaust.

Reb Boruch of Gorlitz, son of the Divrei Chaim of Sanz, married one of their daughters. A great-grandson of Teitelbaum's from that marriage was Rabbi Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam of Klausenberg.

Teachings and published works

Yekusiel Yehuda was the author of Yetev Lev, a Hasidic commentary on the Torah, which he originally published anonymously; Yetev Ponim on the Jewish holidays, and the responsa Avnei Tsedek and Rav Tuv.

Congregation Yetev Lev of Satmar

It is noteworthy that the monument of the Sigeter Rebbe, Yekusiel Yehuda Teitelbaum (1808–1883) spells Yetev with two Yuds, whereas the Congregation Yetev Lev D'Satmar spells Yetev with only one Yud ("Kehal Yetev Lev D'Satmar").

Sources

Levi Grossman (1943). שם ושארית Shem uSheirith. Jerusalem.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)