Body of Virginia Rabbi swept out to the sea saving student found

Rabbi Reuven Bauman leaves behind a wife and five children.

JULY 15, 2019 16:01

US Coast Guard (photo credit: TONY HISGETT) — US Coast Guard

(photo credit: TONY HISGETT)

A group of volunteers located the body of Rabbi Reuven Bauman on Sunday, according to the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) newspaper Hamodia.

The rabbi had gone missing last Tuesday after jumping into the ocean in a state park in Virginia Beach, to save an 11-year-old student who was having trouble returning to shore.

Bauman was 35 years old and taught at Yeshiva Toras Chaim in Norfolk. He leaves behind a wife and five children, according to the Yeshiva World news website.

The US Coast Guard, local police and other authorities, as well as many volunteers and organizations from Jewish communities participated in the search.

“We are a small, close-knit community,” Amy Levy, president of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, Virginia, told Hamodia during the search. “In addition to the efforts being made by those in our community, I am especially touched to see the outpouring of support from organizations from New Jersey, New York and Baltimore. When Jews anywhere are in trouble, Jews everywhere feel the pain and run to assist, and that is heartwarming.”

Rabbi Bauman’s body was located a mile from the North Carolina border.

JTA contributed to this report.