Rebbe Moses Teitelbaum, the leader of the Satmar Hasidic sect died on Monday. Thousands of observant Jews are in Brooklyn mourning his passing. This from New York 1.

The rebbe, or Grand Rabbi, died Monday at the age of 91.

Teitelbaum had more than 100,000 followers worldwide, most of them in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and the upstate village of Kiryas Joel. His Satmar sect is the largest Hassidic Jewish sect in the United States.

Police in Williamsburg began cordoning off streets late Monday afternoon in expectation of the large crowds.

The rebbe died at Mount Sinai Hospital, where he had been treated since late last month for spinal cancer and other health problems.

He leaves behind two daughters and four sons, two of whom have fought over who will succeed their father. In 2004 the pair went to a Brooklyn judge, who ruled it was up to the rebbe himself to choose his spiritual heir.