Co-Founder Of Kosher “Aryeh’s Kitchen” Food Truck Killed, Will Be Forever Missed

After the news that Jack “Aryeh” Freeling, a much loved Chabad Alumni of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, had been shot and killed, the Shliach to Vanderbilt Rabbi Shlomo Rothstein wrote the following message to Aryeh’s friends and colleagues.

It’s with a broken heart that I write about the passing of Zack “Aryeh” Freeling, Vanderbilt class of 2017. Zack, also known as Aryeh of Aryeh’s Kitchen fame, was a close personal friend and special member of the community that had a larger than life impact. Zack was shot and his death is under investigation as a homicide.

Regardless of cause, this is a tragedy built on tragedies and words cannot do justice…

I met Zack when he was a freshman at Vanderbilt in 2013, his older brother Sam had just passed away and he asked the University counselor to speak to the Rabbi. We became very close. Through him I met his father Ken Freeling, who was an incredible person and dear, dear friend. Together we built Aryeh’s Kitchen, the kosher food truck serving Vanderbilt. Recently recreated as Holy Smokes, this food truck is still running today.

In a kind of story, Ken passed away in 2017, and Zack’s mother Sue, passed away in 2019.

I’ve never met a person with as much family tragedy as Zack. He had every excuse and reason to give up on life, but he didn’t.

Zack loved that his Hebrew name, Aryeh, means lion. He spoke about courage, boldness, and strength and how to use that in a positive way. Beneath his tough, fun, facade, However, was a sweet, loving, trusting young man. I cannot imagine the battles he fought in his heart but he won and decided to live a life of generosity and service to others.

Zack loved to help people. He even hired employees so that he could make their life a little better. His driving force was how he could use his experiences to ease other people’s pain and help them embrace life. He sought mentors, stayed close with friends and family, and was rebuilding his life with the heart of a lion.

Zack left a deep impression on anyone who met him and made a practical difference as well; he helped start the Kosher food truck and dedicated the new Torah scroll we had written for Vanderbilt. This coupled with the inner battles that he won is more than most people accomplish in a much longer life. And of course he did much, much more than this.