Joel Teitelbaum

Joel Teitelbaum (, ; 13 January 1887 – 19 August 1979) was the founder and first Grand Rebbe of the Satmar dynasty. A major figure in the post-war renaissance of Hasidism, he espoused a strictly conservative and isolationist line, rejecting modernity. Teitelbaum was a fierce opponent of Zionism, which he decried as inherently heretical. His role as a Jewish community leader in Transylvania during the Holocaust remains controversial. Biography Early life Teitelbaum was born on January 13, 1887. He was the second son of Grand Rabbi of Sighet, Chananyah Yom Tov Lipa Teitelbaum, and his second wife, Chana Ashkenazi. The couple married in 1878, after receiving a special dispensation for him to take a second wife, as his first wife, Reitze – daughter of Rebbe Menashe Rubin of Ropshitz – was unable to bear children. Joel was the youngest child; he had four older siblings.