BDE: Rabbi Baruch Shalom Kahan, 91, OBM
With great sadness we report the passing of Rabbi Baruch Shalom Kahan OBM, a longtime member of the Lubavitch community in New Haven. He passed away on Motzei Shabbos, the 25th of Cheshvan, 5786.
He was 91 years old.
Born in Kharkov in 5694 (1934), Reb Boruch Shalom was raised in a deeply Chassidisher home and spent his formative years in the Chabad community of Tel Aviv. From a young age, he was shaped by great mashpi’im such as Reb Chaim Shaul Brook and Reb Shlomo Chaim Kesselman, absorbing the warmth and Avodas Hashem of the elder Chassidim he observed around him.
In 5717 (1957), he undertook the difficult journey to New York to learn in 770 and be near the Rebbe. His years as a bochur were marked by extraordinary personal encounters: attending rare early-morning maamarim, escorting the Rebbe home at night, and meriting multiple yechidusim in which the Rebbe offered him personal guidance. He became known for his skilled typing, playing a key role in preparing the first drafts of the Rebbe’s edited sichos, which would later develop into the earliest volumes of Likkutei Sichos. He also recorded several historic farbrengens, preserving sichos that would otherwise have been lost.
In 5720 (1960), the Rebbe agreed that he move to New Haven to serve as a shochet, a position he fulfilled with dedication. That same year he married, following a direct bracha from the Rebbe, and he built his home in the New Haven Chabad community.
Beyond his rabbinic responsibilities, Reb Boruch Shalom became known for his energetic participation in the Rebbe’s mivtzoim. He organized campus outreach at Yale University, helped spearhead one of the earliest mitzvah-tank style initiatives outside New York, and inspired many Yidden to strengthen their connection to Torah and mitzvos. His efforts brought countless individuals closer to Yiddishkeit—some of whom later became rabbonim, baalei teshuva, and leaders in their own right.
Reb Boruch Shalom Kahan will be remembered as a humble and dedicated Chossid, a shliach of the Rebbe in every sense, whose quiet determination left a lasting impact on the lives of many. May his memory be a blessing.
He is survived by his wife Debbie, and daughter Mrs. Sarah Dubov of Wimbledon, London, UK, where she serves as a Shlucha with her husband.
He is also survived by his siblings; Mrs. Chitrik, (Crown Heights/Miami), Reb Berel Kahan (Crown Heights), and Rabbi Kahan (Kfar Chabad).
The Levaya will take place today, Sunday, passing by 770 Eastern Parkway at 2:30pm, with Kevurah at Old Montefiore Cemetery at 3:30pm.
Shiva information to be announced.
Boruch Dayan Hoemes
