Rabbi Moshe Hauer, executive vice president of the Orthodox Union since 2020 and senior rabbi of Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion Congregation for 26 years, died last week of a heart attack at his home in Baltimore. He was 60.
Hauer was beloved at Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion in Baltimore, where he took special care to take part in greater communal leadership and worked to emphasize the importance of education, social service and at-risk children. In his role with the Orthodox Union, which supports the nation’s network of Orthodox synagogues and organizations, he served as the rabbinic leader and spokesperson.
His funeral was held on Oct. 16 in Baltimore, with the burial the next day in Israel.
Rabbi Dr. Josh Joseph, the OU’s chief operating officer who also served as co-executive vice president with Hauer, said that Hauer had a unique presence in the rooms full of important figures that the two often found themselves in.
“A lot of people today are yelling and screaming and want to speak first, and he would sit there and listen,” Joseph said. “And there would be this pause, and people would say ‘Rabbi, what would you say?’ and he would softly deliver his message. He had a lot of convictions , but he let other people speak first and say their piece and validate it, but also say ‘here’s my perspective.’”
For Joseph, Hauer’s values were easy to spot in the work he did with the OU. He brought a program from Baltimore to the national level that helped underserved members of the Orthodox community. “Sister to Sister” has since been successful in a number of places around the country.
“The people who need [help] the most, Rabbi Hauer made it his responsibility to work with those communities,” Joseph said.
Hauer was a major figure in Baltimore and American Jewry. Israeli President Isaac Herzog joined the chorus of condolences for the late rabbi, saying that he is “deeply saddened by the sudden passing of my friend, leader of the OU, Rabbi Moshe Hauer, a true leader and teacher in the Jewish world.”
Rabbi Daniel Rose worked with Hauer at Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion in Baltimore, and he said one thing that always stood out to him was Hauer’s wisdom.
“He was extraordinarily wise,” Rose said. “As much as I learned from his speeches, I learned even more from watching how he related to people, how he said the right thing and how he respected people. He was genuine in his love for people, and I saw that come through in the way he treated them.”
Hauer was a native of Montreal. He was ordained at Ner Israel in Baltimore and earned a master’s degree in engineering from Johns Hopkins University. He leaves behind his wife, Mindi, and their children.
Rose said the countless condolences that have come to the community since Hauer’s passing indicate that his influence spread even further than previously thought.
“We realize more than ever how big of an impact he had. We’re so proud, but the person that we knew and lived with was even more impressive than all the public acclaim. The greatness that we saw was even more impressive than the greatness the world saw,” he said.
The Orthodox Union said that Hauer was a consummate leader.
“Rabbi Hauer was a true talmid chacham, a master teacher and communicator, the voice of Torah to the Orthodox community and the voice of Orthodoxy to the world,” the OU said in a statement. “He personified what it means to be a Torah Jew and took nothing more seriously than his role of sharing the joy of Jewish life with our community and beyond.”
For Joseph, one story stands out among the many that illustrate Hauer’s unique ability to touch people. He said that, once during a Shabbat, Hauer was on the bimah speaking when a man came in and started yelling and screaming and muttering nonsensical things during the sermon.
“Nobody knew what to do — so Hauer stepped off the podium, walked to the back where [the man] was, put his hand on his shoulder, whispered in his ear and pointed to a seat,” Joseph said.
The man sat down and joined the group for services.
“He didn’t say, ‘Security, get this guy out of here,’” Joseph said. “He cared about every individual, and one of the things he cared about was the people who needed it the most. That’s an important piece of his legacy.”
