KIRYAS JOEL – The life of founder and first grand rabbi of the Satmar sect of Hasidic Judaism, Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum is being commemorated today, Sunday, on the 41st anniversary of his death.
He is the man for whom the Village of Kiryas Joel is named. Tens of thousands of Hasidic men are thronging to the village today to pay homage to the spiritual leader who played a key role in the growth of Hasidic Jewry in eastern Europe in the early to mid-20th century.
He was 92 at the time of his death and is buried at Kiryas Joel Cemetery.
