When Rabbi Yochanan passed away, Rabbi Elazar arose and eulogized him, saying: “This is as difficult a day for Israel as when the sun sets at midday” (Mo’ed Katan 25b). Rabbi Yochanan was 120 years old when he left this world. He was certainly not a young man. Nevertheless, Rabbi Elazar described his passing as a “difficult day for Israel,” a day when the sun set prematurely—at noon—because Rabbi Yochanan was still at the height of his leadership. He illuminated the eyes of Israel. When he died, it was as if the sun had set at midday, at the very peak of its brilliance. His age was irrelevant.
There was a great light—the light of Rabbi Moshe Hauer, a light that shone like the midday sun. Rabbi Hauer was a real leader. He knew how to navigate, to guide, to unite and to consistently act for the sake of Klal Yisrael. Rabbi Hauer did not think of himself; he thought only of what was best for the Jewish people at any given moment.
Truly, it is a difficult day for Israel.
The Gemara (Berachot 28a) relates that when Rabban Gamliel was removed from the position of nasi (head of the Sanhedrin), it was due to Rabbi Yehoshua (the details are not relevant here). Later, Rabban Gamliel went to reconcile with him and said, “It is evident from the sooty walls of your home that you are a blacksmith.” (Rabban Gamliel had not been aware of the financial hardship that compelled Rabbi Yehoshua to engage in that trade.)
Rabbi Yehoshua replied with two statements: “Woe to the ship whose captain you are; woe to the generation which you serve as a parnas (leader).” What did he mean? The words of the sages always require study. A leader must possess two traits. First, he must be like a ship’s captain. A captain need not know each passenger personally; he must know the direction—where to steer the vessel, where to take the people. But a leader must also be a parnas—from the word parnasah [someone responsible for everyone’s sustenance and livelihood]. It is not enough to see the collective; one must also see each individual—to understand that the flock is composed of individuals, each with his own needs.1
Rabbi Moshe Hauer exemplified both of these traits. He understood the nature of the Jewish people—he knew how to unite them, to sense their needs, to spread Torah and chesed, to unify people and to revive them. Someone told me, “When I was sick, I felt as though Rabbi Hauer took my illness upon himself—it became much easier for me.” Every sick person, every poor person, every needy soul—he was a parnas to each one. That is true leadership. And when such leadership is extinguished, it is like the sun setting at midday.
It is truly astonishing. Looking around the Jewish world today, we see how many divisions there are among the people and how few are truly “accepted by all their brethren”—right and left, in Israel and abroad. I ask myself, how did Rabbi Moshe Hauer merit such universal respect and affection? He achieved what few ever do—the love and esteem of all sectors.
Perhaps it is as the verse says about Mordechai HaYehudi: “Gadol laYehudim ve’ratzui l’rov echav—He was great among the Jews and accepted by most of his brethren” (Megillat Esther 10:3). Before he was “ratzui—accepted,” he was first “gadol—great.”
What does “great” mean? In Torah and throughout Tanach, gadol always denotes one who cares for others. “Moshe grew up vayigdal Moshe—and went out to see the suffering of his brothers” (Shemot 2:11). True greatness is in seeing another’s pain.
A gadol is one who gives. Likewise, the Shunammite woman is referred to as an “ishah gedolah—a great woman” (II Melachim 4:8). What made her great? She cared for Elisha’s needs, made him a room, looked after him. She concerned herself with others—and that is what made her great. Her greatness lay in her generosity, in her hospitality.
So too Mordechai HaYehudi was “gadol—great” because he cared for every Jew, saw the Jewish spark within every person. Because of that, he was accepted by most of his brethren.
Rabbi Hauer was the very embodiment of vayigdal Moshe—true greatness. For him, the only thing that mattered was the welfare of the individual and the needs of the collective. How to care for each person. What action to take. How to give—whether to the community as a whole or to each individual in need.
His universal acceptance should therefore come as no surprise. There is so much for us to learn from him. His constant caring explains why he was ratzui l’rov echav—beloved by Jews from all walks of life.
I have to mention one point that I think is very important. The Gemara in Sanhedrin (105b) says, “Whoever is lazy in eulogizing a sage deserves to be buried alive.” It derives this from Yehoshua bin Nun: “He was buried north of Mount Ga’ash” (Yehoshua 24:30). The Gemara understands this to mean that the mountain “erupted,” as if to swallow the Jewish people because they were negligent in his eulogy. Why were they negligent? Yehoshua was a great leader—why would the people not properly eulogize him? Actually, they did not fail in their duty. Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin explains that there are two types of negligence: One is neglecting time for Torah; the other is failing to reach depth in study. Such a lack is also a form of neglect.2
Of course there were eulogies for Yehoshua. But the Jewish people did not truly plumb the depths of who he was. They all spoke of Yehoshua the chief of staff, Yehoshua the strategist, Yehoshua the leader of Am Yisrael, the great warrior and all his achievements. But they failed to see the real Yehoshua—the source of all his success. “Yehoshua bin Nun, a lad, would not depart from the tent” (Shemot 33:11). He was constantly immersed in the depths of Torah. Everything he did flowed from a Torah-based outlook, from his role as the personal attendant of Moshe Rabbeinu. He never departed from the tent of Torah.
This was where the Jewish people failed. They did not perceive Yehoshua bin Nun’s ruach hakodesh.3 And incidentally, this was also the reason that Shmuel HaNavi’s prophecy ceased.
For a eulogy is meant to be more than remembrance—it is the takeaway, the lesson to be learned. Rabbi Hauer was a tremendous talmid chacham who could discuss any sugya, any subject in the Torah. It was through the power of Torah—its outlook on life, the world of Torah—that he achieved everything he did. We must not take a superficial view of who he was. We must look deeper, at the inner dimension—at the depth of Torah. “The lad—the servant—would not depart from the tent.” At all times, even while on his feet and going about his work, Rabbi Hauer remained focused and toiling in Torah. And from this effort, he reached all his achievements.
The Gemara says that a person’s place and time of death are decreed at birth (Shabbat 156a). How fitting that he passed on Simchat Torah—the day when all Israel unites around the Torah. Unity, yes—but unity through Torah. He sought unity but without compromising Torah. As Rabbi Avi Berman [executive director of OU Israel] told me today, “He wanted unity but never at the expense of a single value of Torah.”
That was Rav Moshe Hauer. Amid all these exceptional abilities, he attained the world of Torah.
We offer a prayer to the Creator: We send you a faithful shaliach tzibbur. Rabbi Hauer, you were here with us, and you looked after Klal Yisrael at all times. You looked after everyone. May you continue to be a Heavenly advocate for the Jewish people.
Notes
1. See Rabbi Avraham YitzchakHaKohenKook, Ein Ayah, Berachot 4:22.
2. NefeshHaChaim 4:2.
3. See Rabbi Avraham YitzchakHaKohenKook, Ein Ayah, Shabbat 13:6.
Rabbi Kalman Meir Ber is the Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Israel. This article is an unreviewed translation of Rabbi Ber’s eulogy delivered Friday, October 17, 2025 (Chaf Hei Tishrei, 5786). The sources are provided by the editor. The original eulogy, in Hebrew, can be found here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMgZ5U51QtE.
In This Section
Rabbi Moshe Hauer, zt”l: The Loss of a Leader
Man of G-d: Remembering Rabbi Moshe Hauer by Rabbi Dr. Josh Joseph
A Guiding Light for Klal Yisrael by Chief Rabbi Kalman Meir Ber
“His Life Was a Continuous Ascent” by Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb
To Illuminate Rather Than Condemn: The Legacy of Rabbi Moshe Hauer by Moishe Bane
Photos:
Speaking at the twenty-fifth anniversary celebration of the OU Advocacy Center, held at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in Manhattan, November 2024
At OU Israel’s Tefillah Chagigit on Yom Yerushalayim on the Armon Hanatziv Promenade overlooking Har HaBayit