Alta Faige Teitelbaum (; born Alta Fajge Szapiro; April 16, 1912 – June 2, 2001), known as the Satmar Rebbetzin, was a Polish-born American

Hasidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...

community leader. Teitelbaum's status as Rebbetzin was gained through her marriage to the first

Rebbe A Rebbe () or Admor () is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties.Heilman, Samuel"The Rebbe and the Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism."''Religion and Spirituality (Audio)''. UCTV, 20 Oct 2011. web. ...

(leader) of the

Satmar Satmar (; ) is a group in Hasidic Judaism founded in 1905 by Grand Rebbe Joel Teitelbaum (1887–1979), in the city of Szatmárnémeti (also called Szatmár in the 1890s), Kingdom of Hungary, Hungary (now Satu Mare in Romania). The group is a b ...

community, Rabbi

Joel Teitelbaum Joel Teitelbaum (, ; 13 January 1887 – 19 August 1979) was the founder and first Grand Rebbe of the Satmar dynasty. The Satmar Rebbe is also known as the Krula Rav. A major figure in the post-war renaissance of Hasidism, he espoused a stric ...

(1887–1979). After her husband's death, the Satmar Rebbetzin gained a following of supporters who stood in opposition to her husband's successor, the second Rebbe of Satmar, Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum (1914–2006).

Biography

Faige Szapiro was born in

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...

, Poland, to Rabbi Awigdor Szapiro of the Kosnitz Hasidic dynasty. In 1936, she married Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum after the death of Joel's first wife. Following the death of Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum in 1979 and his succession by Moshe (Moses) Teitelbaum, a nephew of Joel, a segment of the Satmar community rejected the new leadership and remained committed to the deceased Rebbe. This group became known as Bnei Yoel or B'nei Joel ("The Children of Yoel"), and many of these Hasidim would regularly petition Faige for blessings and advice as they would normally would of a Hasidic Rebbe. This was a unique position for a Hasidic Rebbetzin in the post-World War II period, and Faige Teitelbaum is viewed as the only such woman in the late 20th century to function as a de facto rebbe and leader. The center of communal activity for Teitelbaum's followers was a synagogue on Bedford Avenue which was known as ''Bais Feige'' ("The House of Feige"). The allegiance to Faige Teitelbaum was reported to be the cause of a major rift in the Satmar community, leading to a federal lawsuit between Teitelbaum and her nephew, the second Satmar Rebbe. In some cases, public violence erupted between Satmar Hasidim.

Legacy

Teitelbaum's charitable activities included establishing the Satmar Bikur Cholim kosher food distribution network for Orthodox hospital patients.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teitelbaum, Faige 1912 births 2001 deaths People from Częstochowa American Orthodox Jews American people of Polish-Jewish descent Rebbetzins Satmar (Hasidic dynasty) Teitelbaum family

Biography

Legacy

See also

Further reading

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References