The Five Towns community is in mourning with the passing of Rav Dovid Spiegel zt”l, the moreh d’asra of “the Shtiebel,” also known as the Bais Medrash of Cedarhurst. With his petirah, Klal Yisroel has lost one of the great builders of Torah life in the Five Towns.
A Talmid of the Gedolim
Rav Spiegel zt”l was one of the leading students of Rav Avrohom Pam zt”l and Rav Aharon Kotler zt”l. His relationship with Rav Aharon was particularly close and personal — he was among the bochurim who would often drive Rav Aharon to where he needed to be, and through this proximity he developed a deep bond with his Rebbe.
He and his Rebbitzen were married in Newark, New Jersey on June 19th, 1962, at a wedding that drew over one thousand people, as reported by the Newark Evening News. The assembled guests were a testament to the esteem in which his family was held: Rav Mendel Zaks zt”l, the Nadvorner Rebbe, Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky zt”l, and many other luminaries were all in attendance.
The Early Years
In the early years of their marriage, the Spiegels lived in a modest one-bedroom apartment on top of the stores on Fifth Street in Lakewood. Their neighbors across the street included such future luminaries as Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch shlita, today the Rosh Yeshiva of Slabodka in Eretz Yisroel.
Building a Torah Revolution
In 1970, his brother-in-law, Rav Binyomin Kamenetsky zt”l, approached Rav Spiegel with a vision: that he could create a revolution by building a warm shtiebel in the Five Towns. Rav Spiegel accepted the challenge, and what followed was precisely that — a Torah revolution.
For decades, the Shtiebel became a center of warmth, Torah, and authentic Yiddishkeit in the Five Towns. Rav Spiegel built not just a shul, but a kehillah — a community in the truest sense. He greeted everyone b’saiver panim yafos, with a warm smile and a genuine interest in every person who walked through the doors.
A Builder of the Community
Rav Spiegel understood that building Torah in a community required wisdom, patience, and an eye for what truly matters. He helped build Torah observance in the Five Towns in countless ways, always with chochma — knowing how to make authentic Yiddishkeit not only accessible but beautiful.
Starting in 1996, the Shtiebel hosted a Shabbos Women’s Shiur that drew women from across the community each week. That shiur had a kiyum — it continues to this day, a living testament to what Rav Spiegel built.
He was a man of principle and clarity. When the community faced moments that required someone to stand up and articulate what Torah truly demands — even when it was not the easy or popular thing to say — Rav Spiegel was that voice. He understood, as the Rebbitzen would often echo, that “Kiddush Hashem is when we do what Hashem wants us to do.”
His Legacy
Rav Dovid Spiegel zt”l leaves behind a kehillah that he built with decades of devotion, a family that embodies his values, and the countless lives that were shaped by his guidance, his warmth, and his example.
Chaval al d’avdin v’lo mishtakchin. May he be a mailitz yosher for his family, his kehillah, and for all of Klal Yisroel.
