Rabbi Yisroel Gordon, 92, OBM

Senior Shliach Rabbi Yisroel Gordon passed away on Sunday, 14 Shevat, 5783.

He was 92 and passed away two weeks shy of his 93rd birthday.

Known for his humor, wit, and patience, Rabbi Gordon made each person feel special, treasured, and valued.

Yisroel Gordon was born in the Chassidic Balurussian town of Dokshitz, in 1930, to Rabbi Yochanan and Zeesa Gordon, where His father was the town shochet, a position that had been in the family for generations.

The youngest of the four surviving Gordon children, the honor of sandek was given to the town’s chassidic rabbi, who was later murdered by the Nazis, Rabbi Leib Sheinin.

When Yisroel was yet a baby, at the urging of the sixth Rebbe—Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, of righteous memory—Yochanan traveled to America, where he worked to earn enough money to bring his family to the new world. The family later joined their father in America, when Yisroel was three years old.

Growing up in 1930s Brooklyn, he was among the only boys to be raised in uncompromising Chassidic manner, including a European-style “zero” haircut, something even his classmates who were the children of Chassidic rebbes did not sport.

Walking to the synagogue with his father, he learned about the Rebbe, who lived across the ocean and developed a love for the Rebbe and his family members.

After the Nazi invasion of Poland, American Chassidim toiled tirelessly to bring him to American safety. Young Yisroel, who was not yet bar mitzvah, was part of the effort, making phone calls on Shabbat, when the adults were forbidden to use the phone.

As soon as the sixth Rebbe arrived in America, he founded a yeshiva, in which Yisroel’s older brother, Sholom, was enrolled. And as soon as a junior high division was founded, Yisroel followed suit.

By the age of 15, he was a part and parcel of life in the Chabad court, and was called to read the Megillah for the sixth Rebbe. He came home exhausted and sweating from the effort. Later that day, the Rebbe’s son-in-law, the future seventh Rebbe, congratulated him on his effort and told him how much his father-in-law had enjoyed it.

In the early 1950’s Yisroel was sent on several summer trips to isolated Jewish communities, where he brought Jewish literature, inspiration, and a connection to Jewish resources. On one trip, to the deep south, he almost got thrown off a bus for mistakenly sitting in the back, which was reserved for “colored” people.

A lover of Jewish music and cantorial art, he served as a cantor in many communities, including in St. Louis and Pittsburgh. He also served as the baal koreh in the Rebbe’s room for many years.

It was while he was living in Pittsburgh that the Rebbe told him to move to Worcester Mass, where he became a Judaic studies teacher and principal in the local Chabad day school and cantor at the Shaarei Torah synagogue.

Blessed with a keen sense for understanding and connecting with people, he forged a personal connection with students and congregants, which he and they treasured for life. Jolly and jovial, he always had a ready quip or kind word, for everyone from custodians to fellow administrators to students.

This continued when he relocated to Morristown, N.J., in the early 1980s to serve as administrator at the Rabbinical College of America, and director of the Yeshiva Summer Program, a popular summer experience for young bochurim which introduced generations of bochurim to the rigors and joys of yeshivah lifestyle.

For many, a most memorable moment of the summer was when Gordon would teach the students to sing Shir Hageulah, a Chassidic song written by the sixth Rebbe and set to music by students in the Chabad yeshivah in exiled in Shanghai, China.

Possessing a gift for vivid descriptions and mimicry, he would regale audiences with his depictions of scenes of his childhood, including visits by legendary Chassidim such as R. Itche Der Masmid and Mordechai Cheifetz.

Equally comfortable in his English and Yiddish, he formed a bridge to a bygone world and would lovingly paint mental images of the people, places and interactions he had experienced in his life.

He is survived by his wife, Ellen and children, Zeesy Posner (R. Yosef), Rishe Deitsch (R. Avrohom Moshe), Rivkah L. Groner (R. Chaim Tzvi), Etty Gurevitch (R. Yossel), and R. Yossy Gordon (Rochel).

The Levaya will take place today, Sunday, passing by 770 at noon, going to the Ohel.

The Gordon children will be sitting shiva at the Deitsch home, 667 Crown Street, with visitors from 10:30 AM to 12:00 Noon, 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM.

Davening will take place at the Gordon home, 719 Crown Street, with Shachris at 9:15 AM and Mincha and Maariv at 5:10 and 5:50 PM.

To arrange a visit with Mrs. Ellen Gordon, please call (718) 974-6230.

To share memories email – [email protected]

Baruch Dayan Ha’emes – R’ Yisroel ben R’ Yochanan.

On occasion during the 1950s, he served as the Rebbe’s driver. He recalls some of the wit and humor that he witnessed.