Rabbi Moshe Hauer passed away suddenly at age 64, from a heart attack in his home in Baltimore, Maryland.
His name may mean little to most Israelis, but here are a few words about him—and about a global story we sometimes don’t know well enough.
He was one of the leaders of the OU, one of the largest and most influential Jewish organizations in the United States, active in education, kashrut, and support for Israel. A true leader and educator, a Torah scholar who apparently touched millions of Jews around the world—many without even realizing it.
When I first met him at his home in Baltimore, years ago, I was only beginning to understand American Judaism. On a personal level, I was struck by how someone so busy, heading a huge organization and leading a large community, could be so kind, calm, and warm-hearted.
Our last conversation was about what we called the “October 8th Jews”—the global awakening that began after October 7th. He was full of hope and data: more children enrolling in Jewish schools, more people coming to synagogue, more Shabbat programs for students, more Jews speaking out publicly for Israel, visiting, even making aliyah.
The slogan accompanying the campaign to bring back the hostages abroad is simple: BRING THEM HOME NOW.
I told him that after every encounter with world Jewry, I feel that the slogan describes them, too—to bring them home, now.
They are not hostages in tunnels in Gaza, thank God—but many are held captive in other ways: lost on university campuses, confused by a progressive culture that often rejects them, caught in the hypocrisy of the UN and the global media.
So bring them home, now. And indeed, they are returning—home to themselves, to their people, to their identity.
The OU is behind the kosher food in their supermarkets, their donations to vital projects in Israel, their advocacy and growing self-confidence in the face of antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment. In his last email to me, he told me about youth delegations coming to Israel this summer, some for the very first time.
Condolences to his family, and to the countless students around the world who learned from him.
There are still millions of brothers and sisters whom Rabbi Moshe Hauer woke up every morning to care for—to bring them home.
The mission will continue.
