APP: Report on Levaya

Rabbi Dovid Tzvi Schustal prays during the funeral service of Rebbetzin Rishel Kotler, mother of Rabbi Malkiel Kotler, the Dean of Beth Medrash Govoha, one of the largest Yeshivas in the world, and wife of former Dean Rabbi Shneur Kotler. Sunday, July 19, 2015. Lakewood, NJ. Mike McLaughlin/Asbury Park Press ASB 0720 Rishel Kotler  Mike McLaughlin, Mike McLaughlin

APP: LAKEWOOD More than 5,000 mourners were expected to attend the funeral of Rebbetzin Rishel Kotler on Sunday, according to Lakewood Police.

Kotler, 92, is the wife of Rabbi Shneur Kotler, the former dean of Beth Medrash Govoha, the largest yeshiva in New Jersey and one of the largest schools for Orthodox Jewish students in the world. She is the mother of the school’s current dean, Rabbi Aryeh Malkiel Kotler, and its CEO, Rabbi Aron Kotler, according to the Jewish website matzav.com.


Thousands of men gathered on Seventh Street in Lakewood around 10 a.m. Women entered Israel Henry Beren Hall at Beth Medrash Govoha through its Sixth Street entrance to listen to the funeral. Mourners at Orthodox Jewish funerals are usually separated depending on their gender.


Kotler was known throughout the community as being both regal and kind, and as a woman who served her family and the township like a mother, said women who attended the funeral but declined to give their names.

She passed away at her Fifth Street home on Friday, according to an obituary on matzav.com. In addition to her sons Malkiel and Aron, she is survived by two sons and four daughters, many of whom are active in the leadership of Beth Medrash Govoha. She was predeceased by her son Meir Kotler, according to the obituary.

Forest Avenue was closed between Sixth and Ninth streets during the funeral. Drivers should expect additional pedestrian traffic in the area.