Rabbi Yehudah Jacobs (c. 1935 – April 27, 2020) was a mashgiach ruchani in Beth Medrash Govoha, the largest yeshiva located outside of Israel and the second to largest yeshiva in the world, second only to the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Biography

Rabbi Jacobs was born about 1935 to R' Asher and Esther Jacobs in Cologne, Germany. He learned in Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood Township, New Jersey arriving in the late 1950s during its earlier years under the leadership of Rabbi

Aharon Kotler Aharon Kotler (1892–1962) was an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and a prominent leader of Orthodox Judaism in Lithuania and the United States; the latter being where he founded Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. Early life Kotler w ...

. He married his first wife, Mrs. Ruthie, and settled in Lakewood together. He soon was appointed the mashgiach of Beth Medrash Govoha alongside Rabbi Nosson Meir Wachtfogel, a position he held for many years. After the passing of his first wife (c. 1985), Rabbi Jacobs married his second wife, Mrs. Esther. In 2010, he moved to Israel, where he stayed for a few years, all the while keeping up with the

Lakewood Yeshiva Beth Medrash Govoha ( he, בית מדרש גבוה, Sephardi pronunciation: ''Beth Midrash Gavoha''. lit: "High House of Learning"; also known as Lakewood Yeshiva or BMG) is a Haredi Jewish Lithuanian ''yeshiva'' in Lakewood Township, New Jersey ...

. He later returned to Lakewood. Rabbi Jacobs was known in Beth Medrash Govoha for the thousands of ''vaadim'' he gave to students, both before and after their marriages, where he gave advice on '' shidduchim'' and '' shalom bayis.'' Students sought after his advice in these areas. It was said that he was "the greatest and most legendary

shadchan The ''Shidduch'' ( he, שִׁדּוּךְ, pl. ''shidduchim'' , Aramaic ) is a system of matchmaking in which Jewish singles are introduced to one another in Orthodox Jewish communities for the purpose of marriage. The practice In the past and ...

" and that "he was the wisest of men." On April 27, 2020, after a month long battle with COVID-19, Rabbi Jacobs died in Lakewood. He is survived by children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, Yehudah 1940s births 2020 deaths Year of birth uncertain American Haredi rabbis American people of German-Jewish descent Mashgiach ruchani Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey Rabbis from New Jersey Beth Medrash Govoha People from Lakewood Township, New Jersey People from Cologne