New Rochelle, NY – A fast-moving house fire killed a prominent Westchester rabbi and his wife early Saturday, spinning a tightly knit Orthodox community into grief.
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For the past two decades, Jacob S. Rubenstein has been the leader of the synagogue Young Israel of Scarsdale, home to 400 Orthodox families.
Fire officials said Rubenstein and his wife Deborah were found inside the burning home on Barud Road in New Rochelle at around 3:30 a.m., nearly 90 minutes after the fire started. It’s possible the couple was asleep when the blaze sparked. Firefighters say it was an accident and was possibly caused by lightening.
It took between nearly 40 firefighters to get the blaze under control, fire official said.
The cause of the fire is not yet known. The Rubensteins had four adult children.
Rubenstein, 58, was a prominent rabbi in the world of modern Orthodox Judaism. From 1997 to 1999, he served as president of the Rabbinical Council of America, the largest group of Orthodox rabbis in the country. [WNBC]
One levaya at the shul before going to the feld in Valhalla (another town in Westchester)
is it two seprate funerals or one …
NEW ROCHELLE – Seven years before firefighters tried to rescue Jacob Rubenstein and his wife from a fiery blaze in their home, the rabbi tried to save his next-door neighbor from a fire.
Yesterday friends recalled Rubenstein’s heroic effort in August 2001.
“The rabbi broke down the door and broke his ribs trying to save them, but no one was in the home,” Barbara Schwerd said.
Rubenstein told The Journal News at the time: “We saw the flames pouring out the window, and the adrenaline just took over.”
When firefighters arrived at 33 Baraud Road that day, Rubenstein helped them carry the firehose.
“It was really blazing,” Fire Chief Raymond Kiernan said yesterday of the fire in 2001. “The rabbi lent a hand to pull the hose. It was a great help. We thanked him very much.”
New Rochelle Deputy Fire Chief John Reed said in 2001 that help from Rubenstein and other neighbors saved the home from more damage.
Rubenstein spoke highly of the firefighters’ efforts.
“These guys were amazing,” he said. “It’s clear to me as a community leader that without public servants, we are at a real loss. Just to see what these guys can do is truly amazing.”
Kiernan, who was one of the first on the scene of yesterday’s fire, said it was unusual that huge fires struck homes next to each other.
“It’s just one of those strange things that happen,” he said.
From his shul’s website:
He was born in Rosenheim, Germany and as a displaced person immigrated to America at an early age, residing in Memphis, Tennessee. Rabbi Rubenstein received his Jewish and secular education in Memphis, Chicago, Israel, and Boston. He attended the Yeshiva at the Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois, Yeshivat Radin in Netanya, Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem, and is one of the founders of the Diaspora Yeshiva in Jerusalem. He received his Rabbinic ordination from the Chief Justices of both the Rabbinic Court of the Ashkenazic, as well as the Sephardic community of Jerusalem, and Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, Rishon Le Zion, Chief Rabbi of Israel.
Rabbi Rubenstein is a graduate of Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel where he received a Bachelors Degree in Talmud and Jewish Philosophy & Kabbalah, and holds a Masters Degree from Harvard University in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.
They say Rabbi Rubenstein was no slouch in learning either, but one thing was klor if you even spoke to him for a moment, that he was an adam gadol in simchas hachaim.
Young Israel of Scarsdale
1313 Weaver St
Scarsdale, NY 10583
(914) 636-8686
yisny.org
R’ Yaakov a’h learned in the Mirrer & Radiner yeshivos in Eretz Yisroel.
Funeral is at 1:30pm on Sunday at the young israel of scarsdale
Truly a tragedy. He was such a nice man. May their family find nechama somehow.
BAruch Dayan Ha’emes. He was a very good man who did much for his community and for KLal Yisroel.