Canadian Couple Honors a Cherished Rabbi’s Memory

The sudden and unexpected passing of Rabbi Eliezer Lipman “Lipa” Dubrawsky this spring at the age of 56 affected all who knew him, but mostly his constituents in Vancouver, Canada, where he served as a scholar and director of adult education at Chabad-Lubavitch.

To laud a man described as radiating optimism and warmth, Canadian couple Valeriy and Ira Arustamov decided to donate a Torah scroll they had commissioned to write in honor of the beloved rabbi. The Torah will go to Chabad of Richmond, part of the Metro Vancouver area, and headed by co-directors Rabbi Yechiel and Chanie Baitelman.

“Rabbi Dubrawsky was the teacher and the mentor for me,” Valeriy Arustamov said to 350 people gathered at a recent event to mark the completion of the Torah scroll. “Rabbi Dubrawsky and I shared a special connection, which can’t be described with words.”

Dubrawsky gave classes several times a day and through his teaching influenced thousands of people.

Members of the local Jewish community assisted in writing the final letters of the scroll—an ancient custom—with the help of expert scribe Rabbi Moshe Klein of Brooklyn, N.Y. Afterwards, participants enjoyed a festive meal, live music, speeches and a procession of the Torah to Chabad, complete with dancing in the streets.

Arustamov explained to the crowd that he and his wife’s first encounter with Baitelman involved the rabbi affixing a mezuzah scroll on the doorpost of their home. “And now, 13 years later,” he said, “we are celebrating the dedication of a new Torah scroll.”