By COLlive reporter
A Chabad family commemorating the yartzeit of their father in New York remained in town as they heard the sad news of the passing of their renowned first cousin.
The family of the chossid R’ Yisroel Duchman marked his 36th yartzeit with a lavish breakfast at the main shul of 770 Eastern Parkway on Sunday.
They then went to his gravesite at the Old Montefiore Cemetery in Cambria Heights, Queens, where children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren said Tehillim together.
In addition to the breafast at 770, the family also sponsored a meal for the bochurim at the Ohel.
“As we were honoring our father’s yahrtziet, we learned that… the legendary Rabbi Sholom Lipskar has passed,” wrote Rabbi Mendel Duchman, a businessman and activist from Los Angeles, California.
He is a first cousin of Rabbi Sholom Ber Lipskar, the longtime Shliach of the Rebbe who is one of the pioneers behind the growth of the Jewish community in South Florida. He led The Shul of Bal Harbour in Surfside and founded the Aleph Institute helping those in the military and the incarcerated.
“An inspiration and mentor to our family, his community, and Chabad emissaries worldwide,” Duchman wrote. “An irreplaceable legend who embodied the Rebbe’s vision with passion, love, dedication, and unwavering commitment. His legacy will continue to inspire generations. Truly a profound and devastating loss for the global Jewish community and our family.”
Rabbi Lipskar was buried at the Montefiore Cemetery alongside his mother, Mrs. Rochel Lipskar OBM, the only sister of R’ Yisroel Duchman.
“My dad thought the world of Rabbi Lipskar and Rabbi Lipsker thought the world of my dad,” Mendel Duchman commented. “One thing is for sure, Uncle Yisroel (my dad) laid out the red carpet for his beloved nephew. A very heavy day indeed.”
