Obituary

Inspired thousands to increase their connection to G-d and spread goodness and kindness across the globe

In recent years it often took more than an hour for Rabbi Yisroel Gordon to walk the few blocks to his home from the central Chabad-Lubavitch synagogue at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, N.Y. Every few minutes, he would be stopped to chat by another person, each one of whom felt that he or she had a unique connection with Rabbi Gordon—and indeed they all did. With humor, wit, and patience, Rabbi Gordon made each person feel special, treasured and valued. The pioneering Chabad emissary, who served for decades in Worcester, Mass., and Morristown, N.J., passed away early Sunday morning Shevat 14, just two weeks before his 93rd birthday.

Standing in the ancient home of Maimonides in the old Jewish quarter of Cairo in 1985, a group of rabbis had come from around the world to mark the first completion of the worldwide annual study of Mishneh Torah. The spokesman of the group, handpicked by the Rebbe was Rabbi Shimon Elituv, whose flowing Arabic was often broadcast on radio and television across the Arab world. Throughout his long, distinguished rabbinic career, he was in close contact with Sephardic rabbinical leaders in Israel. Elituv passed away on Wednesday, Jan. 25 (3 Shevat), in Israel. He was 86 years old.