BDE: Professor Baruch Bush, Dedicated Chossid and Esteemed Legal Scholar, 78, OBM
With great sadness, we report the passing of Professor Baruch Bush OBM, a longtime resident of Crown Heights and beloved member of the community, passed away peacefully just before Shabbos, surrounded by his loving children.
He was 78 years old.
Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Baruch excelled academically, attended Harvard University, and later earned his law degree from Stanford Law School, laying the foundation for a distinguished career in legal scholarship.
In 1977, his life took a transformative turn when he connected with Yiddishkeit at the Chabad House in Berkeley, California. There, under the guidance of Rabbis Yosef Langer, Chaim Itche Drizin, and Chaim Citrin, his deep and lasting bond with Chassidus and the Rebbe was formed. It was also at a Chabad House Purim celebration in Berkeley that he met his wife, Shulamis, A”H.
Seeking to raise their family in a vibrant Jewish environment, the Bush family moved to Crown Heights, where Professor Bush joined the faculty of Hofstra Law School. The Rebbe encouraged his teaching and writing, blessing him with “success with your students.” Those words became his lifelong mission and marching orders. Even in the face of illness, he continued teaching until just weeks before his passing, impacting and inspiring thousands of students and colleagues through his scholarship, care, and unwavering devotion to Yiddishkeit.
Together with Professor Joseph Folger of Temple University, Professor Bush became the co-creator and leading advocate of the Transformative Model of Mediation. He authored dozens of influential articles and the award-winning book The Promise of Mediation, which reshaped the field and earned him international recognition.
During the 1991 Crown Heights riots, Professor Bush stepped forward and became involved in community activism, offering legal guidance and ultimately serving as a volunteer member of the Vaad Hakahal.
His travels for academic lectures often doubled as points of connection and chizuk. Wherever he went in the world, he made it a point to visit the local Chabad House to farbreng and offer support. In Crown Heights, he would inspire many, speaking at farbrengens and community functions. He took particular pride in being a partner in supporting the Chabad House of Petaluma, established by his son Rabbi Dovid Bush, in the Bay Area, where his own journey of Yiddishkeit had begun decades earlier.
Professor Bush possessed a deep love for learning and teaching Chassidus and approached mitzvos and minhagim with diligence and joy. He loved inspiring children’s love for the Torah, becoming his shul, Bais Levi Yitzchak’s, “candyman,” distributing sweets when the kids would kiss the torah.
He took immense pride in the accomplishments of all of his children. Professor Baruch Bush leaves behind a legacy of scholarship and inspiration.
He will be deeply missed by his children, family, students, colleagues, and the many communities he touched.
The levaya will take place on Monday, passing by 770 Eastern Parkway at 12:00PM. 1:00PM burial at Montefiore Cemetery.
Shiva will take place next door to the family home at 1505 President St.
Davening Times:
Shacharis: 8 AM
Mincha/Maariv: 5:30
Visiting times:
11:00a-2:00p
7:00p-8:00p
(Monday: Shiva 4-5pm. No Shiva visits on Purim)
Friday:
Shachris: 6:10 AM
Motzei Shabbos:
In Petaluma, CA
Boruch Dayan Hoemes
