Overview
- The Orthodox Union said Rabbi Moshe Hauer died of a heart attack at his Baltimore home on Oct. 14, the holiday of Shemini Atzeret, with the announcement released after Simchat Torah concluded.
- A funeral was held Oct. 16 at Baltimore’s Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion, where he led for 26 years, with plans for burial in Israel.
- As the OU’s executive vice president since 2020, he became a prominent public voice and in 2023 testified before the House Education and Workforce Committee on campus antisemitism, a hearing that spurred university investigations.
- He helped shape the OU’s COVID-19 response by meeting with Dr. Anthony Fauci in 2020 and urging congregations to exceed government reopening guidelines, and he publicly condemned a violent settler rampage in the West Bank in 2023.
- Condolences poured in from across the spectrum, including Agudath Israel, Reform leader Rabbi Rick Jacobs, Council of Presidents CEO William Daroff, NCJW’s Sheila Katz, and Sen. Josh Hawley, who praised his integrity and bridge‑building.