On Sunday (19 Cheshvon/November 20) the RCA community and the Chabad – Lubavitch movement lost one of its most influential and scholarly members.
Rabbi Elimelech Zweibel was the Rabbinical College’s Mashpia Roshi for about 50 years. Thousands of RCA students were educated by him.
Over the recent yomim tovim, he and his wife visited their children in California and Oregon. When a third child asked them to remain one more day in California in order to attend the Upsherinish of his grandson he responded that “classes are once again beginning at the RCA in Morristown; that is a responsibility I cannot overlook.” Rabbi Zweibel and his wife took the next flight in order to arrive in Morristown in time for the classes.
He was a teacher par excellence. He will be greatly missed by the RCA and Chabad in general.
“MAY HIS SOUL BE BOUND UP IN THE ETERNAL BOND OF LIFE.”
The Rabbinical College has instituted a “chaluka” of Toras Rabeinu to be learned in his memory over the next 12 months.
We cordially invite everyone to visit www.RebMeilach.com to take part in this mivtza.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Moshe Herson
Dean
I remember Rav Zweibel when I was in Morristown. He had what I would describe as a contemplative, strong, yet anav personality. He was a great Chacham in Talmud, and especially Chasidus.
Rabbi Y. Greenberg told a story that R. Zweibel was once asked where you can find a certain topic in Chasidus. He said like, “How should I know where it is?” The student then responded like, “Come one, really.” Then he relented and said, “You can find it in such and such sefer on such and such page.”
That year we made a chalukah in the Rebbes Torah in connection with gimmel tammuz that year, and around two weeks left to the deadline, chelek chof hei (a very long chelek) was not finnished and reb meilich took on a number of sichos to finnish it.