8/27/07

A cedar has fallen: Rabbi Leon Chait, zal

Wail, O cypress-tree, for the cedar is fallen; because the glorious ones are spoiled; wail, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest is come down (Zechariah 11:2).

My uncle, Rabbi Leon Chait, passed away early today. The funeral was held in Hewlett, NY. His sons rabbis Israel, Moishe and Chaim Ozer, two of his grandsons, his younger brother Joey and his student Rabbi Pesach Krohn eulogized him.

Uncle Leon was a great American-born-Torah-scholar who epitomized every ideal that we hold dear.

I wish my aunt May and my cousins, his remarkable children, comfort among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

Update: Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim, a talmid of Rav Yisroel Chait, writes that Mesora.org has published a special issue of the JewishTimes dedicated to Rav Aryeh Leib Chait zt"l, linked here.

9 comments:

  1. May his memory be for a blessing, and may you and the rest of his family be comforted along with all the mourners of Jerusalem.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Same from me.

    ReplyDelete
  3. An incredible family and an incredible man. May his family be comforted among all the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Rabbi Leon Chait was a man who touched others in a profound way. His gentle manner and strong sense of the world gave me a lifetime of benefit from having known and sat with him

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am a student of Rav leon's son, Harav Yisroel Chait shlita.

    May R' Leon's legacy and memory continue living through all his children.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I sat with Rabbi Leon Chait many times and just talked. He had an incredible way of tuning right into you. His approach to life of joy and kindness, his way of making you feel special, left an indelible print on my life. His memory is a strong light in my life and in the life of all he touched.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Rabbi Chait obm is responsible for decades of students staying religious and continuing to learn Torah. Once he taught you how to look at a Gemara or Rashi you could never learn any other way. Most important he had amazing kavod habriyot and taught that to his students. He was my Rebbe and every time I look at a Gemara, I ask myself how would Rabbi Chait approach this. He changed the derech of my life. My his memory be a blessing for all of Klal Yisroel

    ReplyDelete
  8. Because Rabbi Chait took us and what we had to say seriously we took ourselves more seriously and wanted to become more responsible
    for what we said and did. And his humility taught us to have a sense of humor about ourselves and not insist on unnecessary honor.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I was fortunate enough to be a talmid of Rabbi Chait in two contexts. First was the gemara shiur he delivered to the boys at the Yeshiva Dov Revel synagogue. And then, at MTA when I was in the 10th grade. He was a brilliant melamed but even more importantly, he was a kind and gentle man who understood boys. Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier had the first of their three fights when I was in his shiur in 10th grade. He was not only aware of it, but he recognized our interest in it and we spent some time talking about it and boxers whom he had known (of?) in his youth. Rabbi Chait knew when to let us have our lead, but he always had his hand on it to make sure we did not go out too far.

    A very humble man whom I have never forgotten (and a snappy dresser). May his memory remain a blessing.

    ReplyDelete

I welcome your comments.