BDE: Mrs. Rivkah Chitrik, 96, OBM

With great sadness we report the passing of Mrs. Rivkah Chitrik OBM, a longtime member of the Chabad community and matriarch of a distinguished Lubavitch family. She passed away on Monday, the 17th of Tishrei, 5787.

She was 96 years old.

Mrs. Chitrik was the daughter of the prominent Chabad activist Rabbi Chaim Eliezer Karasik, who served as chairman of Agudas Chassidei Chabad in Eretz Yisroel and played a major role in the development of Chabad institutions in the Holy Land.

In 5711, she married the noted Chossid and philanthropist Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Chitrik, OBM, son of the renowned Chossid Rabbi Yehuda Chitrik. The Rebbe served as the mesader kiddushin at their wedding, a unique connection that remained a defining part of the family’s history.

The couple subsequently embarked on a life of shlichus. In 5713, Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Chitrik was sent by the Rebbe to São Paulo, Brazil, becoming one of the Rebbe’s early emissaries to South America. Together, the Chitriks worked to strengthen Jewish life and education in Brazil, later continuing their activities in Rio de Janeiro. They returned to New York in 5721 and settled in Crown Heights, where Rabbi Chitrik remained deeply involved in communal affairs and Chabad activities for decades.

The Chitrik family was also privileged to experience a particularly memorable occasion with the Rebbe shortly after their marriage. When their first son, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Chitrik, was born, the Rebbe served as sandek at his bris on Rosh Chodesh Kislev 5712 and delivered a special sichah during the bris meal.

Mrs. Chitrik was known as a devoted mother and grandmother, raising a distinguished family whose members have continued the family’s legacy of Chabad activism and shlichus. A 2024 publication documenting the Rebbe’s views on community eruvin also records Mrs. Chitrik sharing recollections concerning her husband’s involvement in Crown Heights communal affairs.

She is survived by her children: Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Chitrik (Tzfas, EY), Rabbi Aharon Chitrik (Crown Heights), Mrs. Esther Piekarsky (Tel Aviv, EY), Mrs. Sarah Zalmanov (Crown Heights), Mrs. Ella Lerman (Crown Heights), and Mrs. Rochel Shemtov (Montevideo, Uruguay).

She is also survived by numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, many of whom are involved in Chabad shlichus and communal work around the world.

Levaya information to be announced.

Shiva information to be announced.

Boruch Dayan Hoemes