Obituary: Rabbi Akiva Wagner, 55, Beloved Educator in Toronto

by Yaakov Ort – chabad.org

Rabbi Akiva Gershon Wagner, the beloved founding rosh yeshivah (principal) of Yeshivas Lubavitch in Toronto, whose deeply insightful Torah classes enlightened and inspired thousands of students in classrooms and online, passed away Iyar 17 (May 8) after a long illness. He was 55.

Akiva Wagner was born in Toronto to an esteemed family of Torah scholars. His parents, Rabbi Refoel Menachem Nochum and Batya Wagner, ingrained in the young boy a love of learning, teaching and kindness that he would model throughout his life.

His maternal grandfather, Rabbi Dov Yehuda Schochet, was a distinguished student at the Telshe yeshivah in Lithuania and later served as a rabbi in Basel, Switzerland, and as chief rabbi of The Hague, before emigrating to Toronto in the 1950s, at which time his brother-in-law, Rabbi Chaim Mordechai Aizik Hodakov, brought him close to the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory.

After studying in Lithuanian-style yeshivahs in Toronto, Akiva transferred as a teen to the Chabad-Lubavitch Oholei Torah yeshivah in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, where he excelled in his studies and became a fixture at the Rebbe’s farbrengens. In the summer of 1989, the 21-year-old rabbinical student was sent to Los Angeles, where we worked under the direction of his uncle, Rabbi Ezra Schochet, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Ohr Elchanon Chabad, to befriend and study with young men from every kind of Jewish background.

After earning his ordination at the central Chabad yeshivah, Tomchei Tmimim, the young rabbi married Rochie Labkowski, and the couple moved to Toronto, where he founded Yeshivas Lubavitch Toronto with Rabbi Yonah Shur and served as its rosh yeshiva, a position he would hold until his passing.

A World-Class Scholar and Teacher

From the outset, Wagner’s extraordinary Torah knowledge, the fiery inspiration of Chassidus and his love for his students, combined to produce a world-class scholar and teacher. Realizing that his skills should not be confined to a physical classroom, Wagner developed deeply insightful Torah classes on Chabad.org, which have been viewed by thousands of online students around the world.

Following his passing, there was an outpouring of memories from students, colleagues and family members. Rabbi Dov Lisker, educational director at the Peltz Center for Jewish Life in Mequon, Wis., who studied under Wagner in Toronto, wrote on social media that his rosh yeshiva was “a Chassid whose perspective on life was truly otherworldly. He was a giant in every sense of the word, and his ability to teach, farbreng, and guide yeshiva students through their lives was unmatched. His impact on those around him, including baalei batim (community members), was immeasurable.”

“His love and care knew no bounds,” continued Lisker. “His dedication to learning and teaching Torah was beyond impressive. Not just the hours he would spend learning and preparing, but the dedication to take bochurim (students) even in the middle of the night and learn with them.”

When Wagner’s illness was first diagnosed in 2020, students from 35 yeshivahs around the world along with yeshiva alumni gathered in their schools to learn in his merit and were joined by many others online.

Rabbi Dov Wagner, co-director of the Chabad Jewish Student Center at USC with his wife, Runya, posted on social media that in recent years, he would take university students who were attending Shabbatons in New York to visit his brother.

“It was hard for him to talk, but he wanted to share some inspiration,” wrote Wagner. “He talked about how important it is to view the world through a deeper spiritual lens and not just with the eyes of coarse materiality. He talked about how much strength he derived from the many mitzvahs and added blessings people were doing in his honor.”

“In fact, one student told us afterward: ‘I didn’t catch much of what he said. But just the intensity with which he said the blessing before drinking water is an inspiration I will always remember.’ ”

Rabbi Akiva Wagner is survived by his mother, his wife and their 11 children: Rabbi Yitzchok Wagner of Richmond, Calif; Itty Lieberman of Toronto; Menachem Wagner, Yisrolik Wagner, Mushkie Wagner, Dovi Wagner, Nossi Wagner, Goldie Wagner, Shmuli Wagner, Levi Wagner, and Avremi Wagner.

He is also survived by his siblings: Adina Jacobson of Jerusalem; Rabbi Meir Wagner of Toronto; Elisheva Lopian of Los Angeles; Shula Isaacs of Toronto; Rabbi Noam Wagner of South Africa; Rabbi Dov Wagner of Los Angeles; Rabbi Yaakov Wagner of Morristown, N.J.; Rabbi Yitzchok Wagner of Lakewood, N.J.; and Bracha Back of Lakewood, N.J.

A special fund has been established here to help support Rabbi Wagner’s wife and children.