Rabbi Yitzi Appoints New Shliach

By COLlive reporter

It’s now almost two years since Rabbi Yitzi Hurwitz has been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), and he has now appointed a former student and old friend to be his “mouth and hands” to serve the community he has dedicated his life to.

Rabbi Yonasan Abrams and his wife Natanya (nee Eliefja) are excited and honored to be named the new Shluchim at Chabad of Temecula, CA.

Funds permitting, they plan on moving from Crown Heights, New York with their three daughters in the beginning of December, COLlive.com has learned.

Rabbi Hurwitz and his wife Dina moved to Temecula in 1999. At that time, Rabbi Yitzi taught at the Chabad Hebrew Academy in San Diego. This is where he met Yonasan, and an enduring friendship began. Yonasan, who was not raised as a Lubavitcher, spent nearly every Shabbos after his bar mitzvah in 2000 helping the Hurwitzes in Temecula.

“Both Rabbi Yitzi and his wife Dina were instrumental in making me who I am today,” explains Yonasan Abrams. “I didn’t come from a Chabad family, and they showed me the beauty of the Chabad lifestyle. When Dina told me that I was chosen because I am like a son to them, we both cried.”

In the summer of 2006, Yonasan raised money for a group of 10 bochurim to come to Temecula to give the Hurwitzs additional support. Two bochurim made a camp for the kids, two bochurim helped clean and cook, and the rest knocked on doors encouraging Jews to do another mitzvah.

Rabbi Sholom and Chaya Katz have been assisting the Hurwitzs with activities since 2013 and are now relocating. A committee of Chabad activists run a fund that assists with the medical bills of Rabbi Yitzi.

Temecula always had a tough financial history, but now even more so, Rabbi Abrams notes.

“The current donor base covers 45% of Chabad’s community budget, and it’s hurting even more with the current turbulence,” he said. “With our inspired plans and their dedication to continuing the shlichus begun by the Hurwitzes, we are confident of success.”

But, even confidence needs start-up donations to get off the ground. Currently, there is no rabbi in the community and pressure is mounting for the Abrams to move ASAP. However, that will not be sustainable unless enough funds are secured to make it a responsible move.

Although we no longer live in Temecula, our community is our heart and soul,” Dina Hurwitz wrote on Facebook. “Please be generous in giving, and may Hashem be generous with all of us as well.”

To donate to Rabbi Yitzi’s Chabad House and help the Abrams’ move faster, please visit jewishtemecula.com.