By Sterna Citron
I knew Rabbi Shimon Raichik as a pulpit rabbi beginning last year. My husband’s shul closed due to Covid and we joined Congregation Levi Yitzchok on North La Brea Avenue.
I did know Rabbi Raichik as a teacher beforehand when he taught a Chassidus class for women every Tuesday morning.
He was one of those teachers who prepared for every class the way they prepare a lecture for 500 people. Far from being merely a repeat of a Sicha of the Rebbe, it was a compilation of his thoughts based on several sichos. When he would quote the Rebbe, he would say, “On Purim tuf-shin-lamed,” the Rebbe said this-and-this, or on Yud-Tes Kislev of tuf-shin-mem-alef, the Rebbe did such-and-such.
Later, when I would come to Congregation Levi Yitzchok, I realized this is how he would present his Shabbos talks too. He would begin with a story, building on it with one teaching after another, until he wrapped the Dvar Torah up in a marvelous, satisfying conclusion.
There was one small problem.
He did not like when I interrupted his shiur with a question. It was not that he did not welcome questions. It was, as a fellow student explained to me, he had his lecture in his mind, he knew what he had to say and the order he had to say them in, and interruptions distracted him. It was hard for him to get back on track. So after I heard that, I held my questions to the end. Interestingly, if I ever emailed him a question about anything he taught, he always answered immediately, something to admire in a Rabbi with a large community that kept him very busy.
But when it came to his Halacha shiur—eventually the Tuesday class changed from Chassidus to “Practical Halachos for Women”—he did not mind questions. On the contrary, he wanted to make sure we understood. In those classes, he covered almost every area of halacha that pertained to women: brochos and bentshing, food preparation on Shabbos—one entire class was once spent just on preparing egg salad—Muktzeh, Hilchos Yomtov. There was not an area in Halacha that he was unfamiliar with.
Oh, and did I say, there were times there were only four, five, or six women (I have yet to figure out why so few women took advantage of this wonderful class), and yet he treated those classes very seriously, rarely missing a class, and if he was away, he sent a substitute. He gave it with no less verve and no less thoroughly than if there had been a roomful of women. And if he felt we didn’t quite understand, he would go over it again the next week.
And all this despite his many responsibilities. Rabbi Raichik felt responsible for every member, not just of his Shul, but of the greater Lubavitch community of Los Angeles.
He visited sick patients in the hospitals. Every Friday, I was to find out, he visited Rabbi Yitzi Hurwitz, the Shliach battling with ALS, and listened while Yitzi played his Dvar Torah. If a couple had marital problems, he was there for them. He paskened shaylos, the easy and the hard ones that took a lot of research and study.
I myself saw how he treated every shayla seriously when I worked at the Mikvah that belonged to the Shul next door. It happened sometimes the rabbi of that shul went home and an issue came up. Once, on a Friday night, Rabbi Raichik put off going home until the question was resolved while his family, guests, and the Shalom Aleichem angels waited for him. It was just one example of his Ahavas Yisroel.
In this, he took after his father, Rav Shmuel Dovid Raichik OBM, whom I had the privilege to know. He was in fact an old and good friend of my father Rav Eliyahu Chaim Carlebach OBM. He would go to any length to help another Jew. His home was open to all. Nobody was turned away. The downtrodden, the poor, the ne’er-do-wells were all made to feel welcome.
But above all, Rabbi Shimon Raichik was a Chossid of the Rebbe. Just to see him in his kapota on a Chassidishe yomtov, his face shining with joy and earnestness as he organized the Farbrengen, was something to behold. He was a Chossid in the literal meaning of the word too, kind and forgiving.
Yehi zichro baruch. May his memory be a blessing.
Rabbi Raichik was a great Talmud chochom but what made him great was his mentchlichkeit and humbleness… and his heart of gold ready to help anyone who needed it. We lost one of the great chassidim
I totally agree with you Sterna about Rabbi Raichik. He and his incredible wife helped me so much over the years. May his memory be a blessing to all.
On another note, I did not know that your husband’s Shul closed because of COVID – I am so sorry. I remember all the wonderful times I spent with you both. All the best.
Tzippora from Westlake Village
Thank you very much sterna for the wonderful article about Rabbi Raichik. He was definitely a very special chossid
A huge loss to klal yisrael. moshiach now is the only comfort
Beautiful. Thank you
A lot to learn