BDE: Rabbi Yisroel Eliezer Rubin, 78, OBM

With great sadness we report the passing of Rabbi Yisroel Eliezer Rubin OBM, the longtime Shliach and director of Chabad of the Capital District in Albany, NY. He passed away on the night of Shemini Atzeres, 5787, shortly after participating in the Hakafos.

He was 78 years old.

For 52 years, Rabbi Rubin dedicated himself to serving the Jewish community of Albany and the surrounding Capital District. He arrived in Albany during Sukkos of 5734 (1973), following the Rebbe’s directive to establish and strengthen Jewish life in New York’s state capital.

Over the course of more than five decades, Rabbi Rubin became a prominent figure in the Albany Jewish community, reaching Jews of all backgrounds as well as students and professionals in the area. His work also brought Chabad’s message to the many governmental institutions and officials based in the state capital.

Rabbi Rubin was born in 5708 (1948) to Rabbi Moshe Rubin, a respected shochet u’vodek and Chabad community leader in Montreal, and Rebbetzin Yocheved Miriam Rubin.

He studied at the Lubavitcher Yeshivah in Montreal and later received semichah at 770.

Even as a young man, Rabbi Rubin displayed the creativity and educational vision that would characterize his decades of shlichus. While serving as a counselor and teacher at Camp Gan Israel in Montreal, he developed a daily publication highlighting the day’s Chitas and Torah lessons in a newspaper-style format.

The project continued after camp and received the Rebbe’s encouragement. At the Rebbe’s suggestion, it was renamed “Torah Times.” The Rebbe personally contributed $600 toward the printing costs for its first six months and encouraged Rabbi Rubin and his colleagues to continue the project despite criticism they encountered. He also received encouragement from Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka.

That early educational initiative became part of Rabbi Rubin’s lifelong approach to Jewish outreach: finding creative and accessible ways to bring Torah and Yiddishkeit to Jews.

In 5731 (1971), he married his wife, Mrs. Rachel Rubin, daughter of Rabbi Yechiel Michel Pikarsky. Following their marriage, Rabbi Rubin studied in the Kollel Avreichim adjacent to the Rebbe’s secretariat.

Two years later, during Sukkos of 5734, the couple departed for Albany as the Rebbe’s Shluchim.

In Albany, Rabbi Rubin established the Rambam Hebrew School, developed additional educational programs, and built a vibrant Chabad presence that included an active synagogue and other community institutions.

He became known as an innovative and pioneering shaliach, frequently developing unconventional approaches to reach Jewish residents and college students. Many of his educational and outreach ideas were subsequently adopted by Chabad shluchim in other communities.

Over the decades, he and his wife brought hundreds of individuals and families closer to Torah, mitzvos and Chassidus.

In 5778 (2018), Rabbi and Mrs. Rubin were honored with the Berger Award in recognition of their educational work.

Rabbi Rubin also served on the steering and editorial team responsible for developing educational curricula for the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI).

His literary and educational works included the Albany Haggadah, Pricha on Jewish ethics and morality, a holiday guide, the Zemanei HaTorah weekly publication, and Torah Times. He also authored and compiled Torah scholarship, including his Shem Avosai series on Pirkei Avos.

Rabbi Rubin is survived by his wife, Mrs. Rachel Rubin, and their children: Rabbi Menachem Mendel Rubin (Albany, NY), Rabbi Abba Rubin (Saratoga Springs, NY), Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Rubin (Clifton Park, NY), Rabbi Shmuel Rubin (Schenectady, NY), Rabbi Ephraim Rubin (Brooklyn, NY), Rabbi Mordechai Rubin (Colonie, NY), Mrs. Rivkah Cohen (Albany, NY); Mrs. Devorah Leah Mathless (Albany, NY), Mrs. Sima, Mrs. Chaya, and Mrs. Mushka (Brooklyn, NY).