Photo courtesy of Lubavitch Archives.

Boruch Dayan Hoemes: Rabbi Eliezer Zirkind, 83, OBM

With sadness we inform you of the passing of Rabbi Eliezer Tzvi Zev ben Mordechai Shachne Zirkind OBM, who was known as the Sofer of the Rebbe as well as of Beis Chayenu, 770. He was 83 years old.

Rabbi Eliezer was the son of Rabbi Mordechai Shachne and Ada Zirkind, who served as the principal of Beis Rivka for many years.

He merited to be the Sofer of the Rebbe, following the passing of Rabbi Shaya Matlin OBM, and would check the Rebbes Tefillin every Rosh Chodesh Elul. He was also the Sofer who checked the Sifrei Torah in 770.

At the request of the Rebbe, Rabbi Eliezer wrote a pair of Rabainu Tam Tefillin for Rabbi Moshe Feinstein.

He is survived by his wife Rozy (Raizel) and his children Gershon (Montreal, Canada), Shaina Rochel Schmidt (Jerusalem, Israel), Shaza”k (Crown Heights), Yaakov Mendel (Morristown, NJ), Yehuda Michoel (Crown Heights), Shmuel Yosef (Toronto, Canada), Meir (Weston, FL), Chana Rissel Moscowitz (Crown Heights), Chaim Nachman (Boston, MA), Dovid (Crown Heights) and Chinka Zirkind (Toronto, Ontario).

He is predeceased by his sons Rabbi Yehoshua Shlomo Zirkind OBM, and Rabbi Yitzchok Zirkind OBM.

He is also survived by his brother Rabbi Simcha Zirkind (Montreal, Canada) and sister Peshy Stern (Brooklyn, NY).

The Levaya will take place tomorrow, Tuesday and will be leaving from Shomrei Hadaas at 1:00pm and passing by 770 at around 1:45pm. [These times may change]

To be Menachem Avel Gershon Zirkind from Montreal, call 917-822-9388.

Boruch Dayan Hoemes

rabbi-eliezer-zirkind

18 Comments

  • cheski baum

    My great grandfather was chaim ezra the sofer.
    He was sofer to last 3 rebbes

  • BD"E

    He was a very special man. I will miss him, his love of Torah, adherence to Halacha, and his wit and wisdom.
    May the family be comforted among the mourners of Tzion and Yerusahlayim

  • BDE

    I used to stand near him on the bleachers in 770 and he would translate the Rebbe’s sichos during the breaks. Boruch Dayan HoEmes!

  • Yosi

    Baruch Dayan Emet.

    I also had the privilege of listening to Rabbi Zirkind’s translations of the Rebbe’s Sichos in “the bleachers”. What was really amazing was his ability to continue his translation from where he had left off after stopping each time the Rebbe began to speak again.

    I also remember how he was the first and only “whole” Jew I have ever met. His clothes were home sewn so there would be no chance of shatnas. He made his own wine, slaughtered his own chickens, wrote his own mezuzahs and Tefilin, and Sefrei Torah too.

    May his memory be a blessing.

  • A big loss

    There are very few Like rabbi Zirkind today a man who stood for Emes didn’t care or involve himself in any of the politics & couldn’t be swayed to even think about compromising The question to be asked is why was he taken so soon They don’t need sofrim up there do they? he leaves a great legacy but also a gaping hole That I don’t think can be properly filled Yehay Zichron Baruch

  • Yossi A

    BDE
    The yartzeit of his son from Yerushalaim that passed away 2 years ago was just this past Shabbos…

  • Murphys Shul

    For immediate Release:

    Murphy’s Shul mourns the passing of Rabbi Eliezer Zirkind AH

    Yesterday, the Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Chovevei Torah (NOT the Open Orthodox one), aka “Murphy’s Shul”, was niftar.

    Rabbi Eliezer Zirkind, or as he was affectionally called by so many (Zeide) was deeply committed to Torah and Mitzvos and was amongst many other things, “A Shulchan Aruch Yid”. His ability to teach (almost anyone) the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch was unparalleled. He had a knack for explaining the most abstract of situations that might arise in Halacha. In the decades before Amazon and Youtube, you might have thought that Rabbi Zirkind was a “beta tester” and had access to the internet long before its inception. Thats because, today, if you want to learn how to make wine, olive oil, bake matzas or even shecht, you can order a book via Amazon Prime or instantly watch a few “How to videos” and begin. Rabbi Zirkind was knowledgeable in every aspect of life and learned how to do these and many other skills. Yet, he learned them on his own and then was able to teach generations how to follow along the same path. If he had a You tube channel, he would have had many subscribers.

    That prowess was accompanied by a non negotiable stance and posture especially when he felt that Kavod Hatorah was being threatened. I remember vividly one shabbos many years ago, when a NY Times reporter brazenly walked into our shul looking for a “scoop” and the Rabbi literally sent him running. There were many times when he would raise his intonation and pitch and you knew how dear and important the issue was.

    Yet, there was another side of him that some of us were fortunate to see as well. He was a kind gentle soul. Deeply caring of family and friends, even a house guest that spent over 30 years at his Shabbos table. Once when this guest had taken ill, Rabbi Zirkind called him in the emergency room, at 3 AM, and advocated on his behalf (giving the doctors his medical history and staying involved as if he was the patient’s father).

    He had a sense of humor and an uncanny ability to identify a joke being told, almost immediately. He had what we would call “Zirkinism’s” which were phrases, that he would inject during the course of conversation or in response to “trigger” questions and greetings.

    Since he was a master in Halacha, he knew not only the final and definitive rulings, he also could tell you the machlokes and the dissenting and minority views.
    Because of this skill, he was able to compromise and walk away from machlokes, when he felt Halacha supported that action.

    Several years ago, it became increasingly difficult for him to walk to shul. As the weeks, months and years went by, we began to realize the deep impact he had on us and we missed him dearly. We begged, cajoled, made modifications, but alas, it was not meant to be. A minyan was formed in his home, and he wasn’t coming back to our Shul. We are grateful for the time we did have with this great giant in Torah.

    For more information contact:
    Gabbai of Congregation Chovevei Torah
    Bezalel Leshes

  • Gadol Byisroel.

    Rabbi Zirkind, olav hashalom, was an emesse gadol byisroel. His knowledge of torah was exceptional and his devotion to all matters of yiddishkeit was phenomenal. He was a chossid and loved his family and his family loved him. Above all he was a real mentch in every which way.

  • MM Mayer

    I’ll never forget the hundreds of bucherim at R’Eliezers apartment Friday nights enjoying home baked rolls , homemade fish, chicken, dessert, the singing the ruach all emanating from this modest unassuming couple into the wee hours and the whole family serving Hashem with love. A profound loss, and he will be sorely missed.

  • A real moser nefesh

    I remember his story(late 70’s) about the Korean war (1953):

    He was not in Yeshiva or any school, so he was not eligible for a deferment. To make these stories short,
    I’ll do the best I can:

    1.) Army regulations – no beards. The Rebbe, when he asked about it, said,”You should be moser nefesh that you don’t touch your beard!” Of course, he told
    the military aurthorities about his religous obligation about the beard. Guess what! They asked an “orthodox” Jewish chaplin his opinion.”I think he’s doing that as an excuse to get out of service.” So, the only way they could get his beard off was for 5 guys to tie him, and they did it,Y”SH.

    2.) He was in action in Korea. Came Pesach. “All they had was Manishewitz cametzdicha matzos.” So, he ate just things like vegetables and eggs.

    3.) He was in the brig (military jail) a couple of times because of his refusal, on religious grounds, to obey certain orders. “I want to see my lawyer.” “You can’t
    have a lawyer.” WHAT DO YOU MEAN, I”M AN AMERICAN CITIZEN.” They did not know what to do with him because he read their manuals, so he knew better than them about his rights and obligations. Anyway, after he composed a letter about his treatment in jail and threatened to send this letter to this official, his Congressman, and the President, they gave him an honorable discharge.

  • question

    wasnt he part of the Malochim group? If so, who can tell us about that.
    What a special gifted family they are. He surely was a bracha to us all and esp. his own family.
    Wishing them nechomah.

    • TO #12

      No, we are not part of the Melochim group.
      He just happened to have Davened in the Melochim’s Shul as that was the only Nussach Ari Shul in the area at that time.

  • It was his friend

    His friend, as he called him, Rabbi Pinchas Weberman in Miami, was actually a leader of a Melochim group.

  • Melbourne

    I remember him when he came to Melbourne, such a gem of a fellow, such a mentch. His son Dovid who lived here was also such a mentch , a real gem of a guy and such a wonderful asset to the community for the time that he lived here.

    What a special family.

  • YMSP

    BDE. He and his Rebbetzin, YLC”T, used to give up their own room every Tishrei so guests would be comfortable. He was truly unique. May the family be comforted.
    May this story comfort: http://www.beverlyhillschabad.com/jewish-stories/text/rebbe-next-world.pdf

    HaMokom Yenachem Eschem BSoich Aveilei Tzion Virushalayim.

    Heard from Reb Aron Sirota, why do we say “HaMokom” (from all kinuyim)? Because He is right here with us and He is right there with that person/neshomo at the same time and connects us right now with that person/neshomo.