HAMILTON, Canada — Embarrassing as it is to admit, when I first met my father-in-law, Rabbi Zalman Itkin, of blessed memory ñ co-director along with my dear mother-in-law, may she live and be well, Rebbetzin Faigie Itkin, of Chabad-Lubavitch of Hamilton, Canada ñ I was less than impressed. A nice guy, sure; well regarded by all, with a good word and a joke at the ready for everyone he met. People liked him, but was he a success?
The Power of One
HAMILTON, Canada — Embarrassing as it is to admit, when I first met my father-in-law, Rabbi Zalman Itkin, of blessed memory ñ co-director along with my dear mother-in-law, may she live and be well, Rebbetzin Faigie Itkin, of Chabad-Lubavitch of Hamilton, Canada ñ I was less than impressed. A nice guy, sure; well regarded by all, with a good word and a joke at the ready for everyone he met. People liked him, but was he a success?
He had spent 20 years in Hamilton and never established a synagogue. He ran a converted two-story house next to campus as a student center for the college kids, but where was his pedestal from which to shine out over the town?
There were historical reasons for his reticence: When he’d first been sent to Hamilton, the Rebbe gave him parting instructions: “You are going there to add to the town, not to cause disharmony.”
Hamilton had a successful local rabbi, and an infrastructure of achievement. Starting a competing institution would have been counterproductive to his mission to increase Jewish observance in the community.
A young shliach
I miss him so much.
A Shliach
We miss his joy and inspiration every single day. Moshiach now!
Anddrea Levy
Speaking as someone who knew Rabbi Itkin sporadically through the years (first at Hillel lunches, then at the Butcher Shop when we ran into each other and then, when we started becoming more observant, we saw him regularly) I must say that he was a signpost person in our lives. He knew us single, he knew us married, he knew us as our family grew and once we started hanging out with him more regularly, he knew our kids, especially our son, Max.
We were all shocked and sad when Rabbi Itkin passed away, and every chag that passes, i think of him singing v’samachta, v’chagecha with abandon. I have to say though, that I do not think I ever realized just how much one person (or two, including Mrs Itkin) can accomplish in so many people’s lives in such a short time.
One of the other Rabbi’s in our community said (and his tone was utterly bereft) í thought wehad another 30 or 40 years with him…."and it was true, we all thought so.
Still, when someone passes early, we think that it is all the more sad because ‘their work was not done yet’and perhaps, one could say that on the surface it looked that way, but Rabbi Itkin accomplished an enormous amount in his short life, and he stands to me as an amazing example of light and learning in our community. He embodied acceptance and learning and ahavat yisrael. I know I will never be a chabad rabbi, but I sure hope i can accomplish even a fraction of what he did in during my own life.
A couple of months after he passed away, I was cleaning up my son’s room and found a picture (he was 10) of what he saw his Bar Mitzvah as….He had drawn the Shuls Rabbi and Rabbi Itkin along with a friend of his, and everyone was happy and smiling and it was so clear to me that my son truly saw Rabbi Itkin as a signpost in his life too- just like his father and I did.
What an amazing person, and how grateful I am to have known him and to continue to know his family