A Jewish volunteer rescue team found the body of Rabbi Reuven Bauman on Sunday.

By World Israel News Staff

The body of Rabbi Reuven Bauman, 35, was found on July 14 off the coast of North Carolina by a boat of volunteers from Misaskim.

Misaskim is an American Orthodox Jewish nonprofit organization that helps families dealing with tragedy.

Rabbi Bauman went missing on July 9. He was swept out to sea at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia Beach. Bauman had jumped into the choppy water to save his student who was caught in a rip current.

The student survived and is in stable condition.

On Wednesday, the Coast Guard had called off its search for Bauman’s body. They later resumed their efforts following pleas from the family and community.

Jewish rescue efforts only stopped briefly to honor the Sabbath.

Two hundred emergency personnel from various Jewish organizations refused to give up hope of finding the rabbi, and immediately resumed their search once the Sabbath had ended.

Thousands of calls for prayer flooded the Jewish community through social media platforms in hopes that the spiritual efforts would aid the recovery of Bauman.

Hamodia reported that locals in Virginia Beach marveled at the Jewish community’s dedication to finding the rabbi.

A reporter said that an area gas station grocery store refused payment explaining, “This store is donating a bag of ice to you guys, out of respect for what you do.”

“It was a grueling search for them,” Aryeh Leib Freedman, president of Misaskim of Maryland told Hamodia on Sunday. “At times they felt like giving up – yet there was no way they would actually give up. That’s what being brothers is about.”

Rabbi Bauman’s funeral took place Monday morning, at B’nai Israel Congregation. He was buried at King Solomon Memorial Park Cemetery in Clifton, New Jersey.

A charity fund has been set up for the Bauman family.

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Although the search for Rabbi Reuven Bauman, missing in Virginia Beach since Tuesday, was called off by US Coast Guard, the Jewish community continues the effort.

By World Israel News Staff

On Tuesday, Rabbi Reuven Bauman, 35, was swept out to sea at False Cape State Park in Virginia Beach. He jumped into the choppy water to help his struggling 13-year-old student caught in a rip current.

Bauman was supervising 20 campers from a local day camp. He is credited with immediately entering the the water to save his camper, who made it out alive. However, it seems the rabbi was himself caught in the current.

“He acted heroically,” U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Steve Arguelles said about Bauman.

Virginia Beach fire and police departments assisted the Coast Guard in the search.

An area of about 347 square nautical miles (about 459 square miles) was searched using an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from the Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and a 45-foot boat from Coast Guard Station Little Creek, as per reports on the rescue mission.

As of Wednesday late morning, the Coast Guard called off its search for Bauman’s body. “It’s always a hard decision, and it’s not one we make lightly,” Arguelles told the Virginian-Pilot newspaper.

The Jewish community continues the effort.

Emergency personnel using jet skis, boats and eight aircraft from various Jewish organizations in New York, New Jersey and Maryland have joined the search, reported The Yeshiva World News. 

These include volunteers from Achiezer, Hatzolah air, Misaskim, and Shomrim, who are working in boats. Chaveirim deployed a specialized team with sonar for underwater searches.  COMMSAR-Community Search and Rescue is also contributing.

“No one has given up hope. Everyone is still praying, and that’s one of the reasons why the effort is still going on,” said Rabbi Gavriel Rudin, Director of Community Development and Programming at B’nai Israel Congregation in Norfolk, the synagogue which Bauman attended.

“We know the chances are slim, but we have not given up and Jews throughout the world are hoping and praying for his safe return.”

Rudin explained that finding Bauman’s body is crucial to having a proper burial and giving his family closure.

“[Jews] give incredible importance to the body,” he said, according to WTKR Norfolk, Virginia news.

“The body, first of all, houses the soul. It’s the vessel which holds the soul inside of it. I’m sure you know the family is really struggling now, and we want to bring them that closure and show Rabbi Bauman the proper respects if that’s what it comes to.”

Bauman was a teacher at Yeshiva Toras Chaim in Norfolk Virginia. He has a wife and six children.

“He was an amazing teacher. All his students loved him. His students felt very close to him,” added Rudin.

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