21 Oct RABBI HAUER AND THE POWER OF DISAGREEMENT

On Shemini Atzeres
of 5786, the Jewish
world lost Rabbi
Moshe Hauer zt”l,
one of the wisest and
most quietly pious
people I have ever
had the privilege of
knowing. Rabbi Hauer was a spiritual giant
and a personal mentor of mine, but it did not
start out that way. When I first interacted
with Rabbi Hauer when I was a lay leader
at the OU, I found his actions puzzling and
contrary to my instincts on how a leader
should run an organization. Let me tell you
how he not only won me over but convinced
me to leave my career in Finance and work
for him full time.
I served for years as a volunteer on the
editorial committee of Jewish Action. The
committee meets to plan each issue and
offers guidance through email on an ongoing
basis. In the past, we typically operated
independently unless questions arose that
required direction from OU leadership.
The system worked well and the magazine
earned wide praise for its educational and
inspirational value.
That changed in 2020 when Rabbi
Hauer joined the OU as executive vice
president and began attending and actively

contributing to editorial meetings. He
offered detailed thoughts on specific articles
and themes: what topics we should cover,
whether to take a first-person angle or more
of a thought piece, who would be a good
writer or interviewee for any specific article,
etc. The involvement of the head of such
a vast organization — overseeing NCSY,
Yachad and more — initially troubled me.
Was this level of hands-on participation
good for the organization? On a personal
level, he and I often disagreed in those
meetings, and I assumed he did not value
my input. I felt alienated from a publication
I loved and frustrated by what I mistook for
micromanagement.
I expected that he did not appreciate my
contribution because of our frequent
disagreements. Over time, through continued
conversation, I realized how wrong I
had been. Rabbi Hauer’s involvement
reflected a fundamental belief that came to
resonate deeply with me. He believed in the
transformative power of ideas. OU programs
are about action — outreach, assistance,
advocacy, etc. — but ideas are what inspire
action. To change the world, you start with
changing how people think. You open
conversation on urgent issues and challenge
assumptions. Without defining problems
and understanding their causes, how can
you ever solve them? How do we energize

people to take action without first
convincing them that this must be
a priority?
Nearly all of my many conversations
with Rabbi Hauer returned to this
theme: the world is complex. We
must weigh priorities and decide
which takes precedence. Talk must
lead to insight, and insight must
lead to action. Discussion without
direction, without a takeaway, was
for him a missed opportunity.
But even practical conversation
alone is not enough. It has to
reflect a Torah perspective rooted
in traditional sources and guided
by the sages of our time. Rabbi
Hauer was uncompromising in his
fidelity to Torah values on every
minor detail, every word, every
implication. This came not merely
from obedience to halachah but
from his essence. He strove to align
every decision with Hashem’s will,
through halachah and hashkafah,
Jewish law and thought. His
faith and awe of Hashem infused
everything he said and did. He
continually sought guidance from
great rabbis to confirm that he was
walking the right path.
I came to see that his attention to Jewish
Action and passionate care for its detailed
decisions stemmed not from executive
control but from religious responsibility.
He saw the magazine as a crucial forum
to explore how we as a community can
better fulfill Hashem’s will. He began
with first principles—analyze issues,
inspire reflection, identify even partial
solutions. Rabbi Hauer often reminded us
that the Orthodox community has much to
celebrate, yet always has more work to do
and more people to help.

Years earlier, in 2011, Rabbi Hauer co-
founded the Klal Perspectives journal

to discuss communal challenges and
solutions. After joining the OU, he
extended that mission through Jewish
Action, in a more accessible format. He
valued disagreement and a spectrum
of viewpoints. He wanted ideas
tested. Hearing other perspectives and
possibilities sharpened his thinking.
Sometimes he conceded to me, sometimes
not. He was a persistent man in pursuing
Hashem’s will, but at the same time he was
open to hearing and honestly considering
other views particularly from other parts
of the community.
Eventually, as he drew me into more
conversations and projects, I realized
that our differences had revealed a shared
purpose. I followed his guidance as a
student before a teacher, challenging him
respectfully and often being rewarded
with his humor in return. His appreciation
of our interactions led him to invite me

to work for him full time earlier this year,
which for me is a dream come true. I will
forever mourn that I had only a few months
under the mentorship of such a great man.
Rabbi Hauer’s blend of conviction and
openness, his strength of principle and
willingness to listen, endeared him to all
who knew him. These qualities, as so many
are now testifying, allowed him to elevate
individuals and the community alike.
I learned so much from Rabbi Hauer in
such a short time. When I first drafted this
article, I began with a clever opening line
meant to create suspense. Then I heard
Rabbi Hauer’s voice in my mind, asking in
the language of familiarity and mentorship,
“Really? That is how you begin speaking
about a rabbi who passed away? Where’s the
kavod ha-Torah, the honor for the Torah?”
In my head, I explained the literary effect
and the buildup to the kavod, the respect
which he demanded for others. To which I
heard Rabbi Hauer’s voice say the pithy and
powerful phrase I imagine he would make
up on the spot, “More kavod, less clever.”
And then he repeated in a hushed voice,
almost a whisper, as if reproaching himself
more than me, “More kavod, less clever.”
I pray that we are able to live up to his
towering example and his uncompromising
ideals, and continue reflecting in our
actions more kavod — for the Torah, for
the community and for every individual
— as Rabbi Hauer taught with his tireless
example.