Reflections from the Shloshim of Rabbi Rubin OBM

On Tuesday evening, family, friends, students, and community members filled Shabbos House Hosted by Rabbi Mendel & Raizy Rubin to mark the Shloshim, the thirty-day memorial of Rabbi Yisroel Rubin, of blessed memory, the Rebbe’s shliach to Albany for fifty-two years.

The large gathering brought together people from across the many decades and chapters of his shlichus, with guests traveling from New York City, Montreal, Philadelphia, New Jersey, and even England. Old friends reunited, former students shared memories, and family members reflected on a life that had touched so many people in so many different ways.

As the Rubin family wrote in the 52-page Shloshim booklet prepared for the occasion, the month since his passing had brought “many kind, thoughtful and meaningful in-person Shiva visits, phone-calls, emails and messages from people far and near.”

The purpose of gathering these memories, they explained, is expressed in the verse “Ve’hachai yiten el libo” — “the living shall take to heart.” These stories are not simply memories of the past, but lessons and inspiration for each of us to carry forward.

Rabbi Rubin’s shlichus began on Sukkos 5735 (1974), when he and his wife, Morah Rochel, arrived in Albany. It continued until his final night, when he joined the Shemini Atzeres Hakafos at his beloved Shomray Torah.

The beginnings were not easy. As recalled in a video shown that evening, when Rabbi Rubin and Morah Rochel first considered Albany, others had doubted whether a permanent Chabad presence could succeed there. Yet they were willing to take on the challenge.

At one early meeting with the Jewish Federation, Rabbi Rubin described the many activities already underway, from adult education to campus programs and children’s activities. When someone asked how many people were on his staff, he smiled and answered, “You’re looking at them.”

Over the next five decades, he built and nurtured Maimonides Hebrew Day School, Congregation Shomray Torah, and the network of Chabad centers throughout the Capital Region and Northeastern New York.

Alongside these institutions came an extraordinary stream of creative outreach ventures, fondly recalled in the booklet: “from KosherKart and Mitzvah-Mobile, to Noah’s Ark and the Kosher Pizza & Falafel; from communal high Yiddish classes to a festival at the South Mall; from a remote commune to the NYS Assembly.”

The booklet itself offered a glimpse into that creativity. Among the items reprinted were the Shabbos candle-lighting matchbooks Rabbi Rubin produced in 1974, shortly after the Rebbe launched the Shabbos candle-lighting campaign.

There was also the iconic “Enjoy Torah” sticker, designed in the familiar Coca-Cola lettering and reprinted courtesy of Greenbush Tape and Label, his downtown Albany sticker-making partner for fifty years.

In the days leading up to the Shloshim, Maimonides students visited the printing company, continuing a tradition of hands-on learning that Rabbi Rubin himself had encouraged. The company generously reprinted the original stickers, enough to share at the upcoming International Kinus HaShluchim.

It was a reminder of something characteristic of Rabbi Rubin: the relationships he developed through a simple project often grew into friendships lasting decades.

As the booklet noted, “Enjoy Torah” was more than a clever slogan. It was autobiographical. Rabbi Rubin genuinely enjoyed learning Torah and delighted in finding fresh, memorable ways to share that joy with others.

The tributes extended to the highest offices in New York State. In a letter to the family, Governor Kathy Hochul wrote that Rabbi Rubin had distinguished himself as a dedicated spiritual leader, both as regional director of Chabad of the Capital Region and as Albany’s longtime shliach. She recalled welcoming him to her office earlier this year for the celebration of 124 Days of Education in honor of the Rebbe’s birthday, as well as at her annual Hanukkah reception.

To continue his work, the family announced the Rabbi Rubin Legacy Fund capitalchabad.org/rabbirubinfund. Its goals include publishing his 600-plus-page scholarly Hebrew work Hirhurei Torah; republishing his Torah Times; collecting his many articles from The Holiday Guide, Lubavitcher Digest, The Jewish World, and other publications; reprinting his classic mitzvah promotional materials; and supporting Jewish education, holiday celebrations, and outreach throughout the region.

A Lifetime Remembered Through Personal Stories

The heart of the evening was the collection of personal memories shared from the podium. Family members, former students, fellow shluchim, community leaders, and longtime friends each revealed another dimension of Rabbi Rubin’s personality.

Some spoke of his brilliance in Torah, others of his creativity and determination. But again and again, the stories returned to his genuine interest in people, his encouragement of others, and his ability to turn even the simplest encounter into something meaningful.

New York State Senator Patricia Fahy made a special effort to attend despite the busy Election Day schedule. She recalled how, fourteen years earlier, as a newly elected assemblywoman, Rabbi Rubin had gone out of his way to welcome her to Albany.

She remembered his kindness, his constant smile, and his patience when she struggled to pronounce Hebrew and Jewish terms.

Most of all, she recalled the visits Rabbi Rubin would arrange to the Capitol with students from Maimonides Bnos Chaya High School. He made a point of introducing each girl individually, looking on with unmistakable pride as they met their elected representatives.

“He so believed in the future,” she observed, recalling his desire to pass on that pride and love to the next generation. She added that, in some ways, she considered herself one of his students as well.

Mushky Rubin compared her father to Avraham and Sarah, whose influence extended far beyond their own home. Rabbi Rubin, too, was “global.”

She reflected on how someone with his extraordinary Torah scholarship might have pursued a life in the academic world. Instead, he and Morah Rochel chose to follow the Rebbe’s call to shlichus in Albany.

There was no established playbook. He used creativity and innovation to communicate Torah and bring the joy of Judaism into people’s lives. Projects he developed in Albany were eventually adapted by shluchim around the world.

His influence was global not because he left Albany, but because the ideas he created there traveled far beyond it.

Rabbi Abba Rubin, speaking about the development of Chabad in Saratoga, recalled how much his father had helped establish and encourage that shlichus. He continues to carry forward Rabbi Rubin’s personal and creative approach to mivtzoim — meeting Jews on Broadway in Saratoga Springs, reaching people at events such as the Shalom Festival, and providing a minyan, kosher food, and Jewish connection for travelers.

He emphasized the teaching, “Gadol talmud shemeivi lidei maaseh” — great is Torah study because it leads to action.

For all of Rabbi Rubin’s brilliance and originality, his primary focus was always on doing.

He recalled the story of a cult leader whom Rabbi Rubin could not engage in meaningful conversation. Rather than continuing an unproductive debate, Rabbi Rubin found a way to put tefillin on him. He did something.

Rabbi Abba also remembered his father’s love for every visitor who walked through the door and how, even during his illness, he expressed gratitude for every little kindness shown to him.

The lesson, he explained, was that one does not need Rabbi Rubin’s extraordinary brilliance or creativity to continue his legacy. Each person can do another mitzvah, greet another person, and take another positive action.

Chaya Rubin, his daughter-in-law, spoke movingly about the especially close relationship she developed with her father-in-law.

Sometimes, she reflected, Hashem brings someone into your life who fills a void you did not even realize was there. She found in Rabbi Rubin a presence meant more than he could have realized. What stood out most was how completely he accepted her for who she was. She never felt she had to prove herself or be someone different.

She connected this to the Rebbe’s teaching on Chayei Sarah, “the life of Sarah.” The Torah portion bearing Sarah’s name speaks primarily about the events after her passing, because the true measure of a person’s life is how that life continues through the family and the deeds they leave behind.

Looking at Rabbi Rubin’s family, his students, and the many activities continuing in his name, his life and influence were clearly carrying forward.

Morah Rochel: Dating a Man with a Mission

One of the evening’s most delightful moments came from Morah Rochel Rubin, who shared memories of first meeting her husband fifty-six years earlier.

Their dates, she recalled, were anything but ordinary.

He told her about his creative methods of encouraging children at with Camp Gan Israel in Montreal to memorize Mishnayos by heart, naming it Tzivos Hashem in the early 70’s and rewarding them with cocoa and cookies.

Their dates also had a strict time limit. He had permission from the Rebbe to work on Torah Times after seder, beginning at 9:30 p.m., and he was determined to get back to his work. If their date began at eight, he was already leaving by nine-thirty.

Coming from a more mainstream Crown Heights Chabad background, she admitted that she was not initially impressed by what she perceived as the “shtetl Montreal” approach.

But one of the things that won her over was his philosophy of what he called “Chinaclosetism” — his humorous expression for the idea that people should not become overly attached to material things. It was a value she deeply identified with.

She also recalled his unusual early-morning learning routine. He would head to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens after dawn to recite Gemara by heart, afterward rewarding himself with an apple turnover from a bakery, which cost just thirty-five cents.

But Morah Rochel’s memories also revealed another side of Rabbi Rubin.

She described herself as both his greatest supporter and his greatest critic. When she questioned whether one of his unusual projects would work, he listened respectfully, then quietly continued working toward his vision.

“He never criticized me,” she recalled.

He loved his family just as they were. He did not judge his children by their accomplishments or report cards. Every member of their “non-cookie-cutter family,” as she described it, was loved and respected.

And throughout his later years, despite all he had accomplished, he would sometimes ask her, “Did I disappoint the Rebbe?”

Behind his confidence and creativity was a deep humility and an enduring desire to fulfill the Rebbe’s mission.

The Courage to Try Something New

Rivka Goldstein, who worked closely with Rabbi Rubin for more than three decades, took the audience on an imaginary journey along Interstate 87, the Northway.

She noted that their Torah mantle even features the Interstate 87 highway symbol, reflecting the many communities along the route that were close to Rabbi Rubin’s heart.

Drawing on Robert Frost’s famous words about the road less traveled, she observed that Rabbi Rubin did not simply choose an unusual path. Often, he created an entirely new road and invited everyone else to travel along it.

He saw every exit, every stop, and every opportunity as another chance to bring Yiddishkeit to someone.

With very limited resources, he helped develop projects ranging from kosher food ventures and Jewish festivals to Shabbatons, Jewish art calendars, and The Jewish Holiday Guide, a newspaper that grew from Albany into a publication distributed by dozens of shluchim across the country.

Rivka recalled suggesting the Jewish art calendar project. Rabbi Rubin initially thought it was impossible, but when she asked to try, he encouraged her.

Later, the roles were reversed. Rabbi Rubin suggested publishing a newspaper for shluchim, and Rivka, who was then a Hebrew School teacher, protested that she knew nothing about publishing newspapers.

His answer was the same: try.

That experiment developed into thirteen years of Jewish newspapers filled with Rabbi Rubin’s engaging articles, creatively connecting Torah to contemporary subjects.

He understood that Torah could be presented in fresh and unexpected ways without losing any of its authenticity.

Rivka also paid tribute to Morah Rochel, whose dedication and partnership made so much of Rabbi Rubin’s work possible, particularly during his later illness.

Her message was simple: the next time an idea seems too ambitious, unconventional, or impossible, ask what Rabbi Rubin would have done.

He would have found a way.

His Students Were the Stars

Rabbi Zalmy Kudan, now principal of the Lamplighters School in California, spoke about the deep influence Rabbi Rubin had on generations of students.

He invoked the teaching, “Sheli veshelachem shelah hu” — what is mine and yours is really his.

When colleagues at his school wondered why he needed to leave early for the Kinus, he explained that everything he had to offer as an educator had been taught to him by Rabbi Rubin.

He recalled the extraordinary hands-on learning projects that made Torah come alive at Maimonides.

One memorable example was zithum mitzri, an Egyptian medicinal preparation mentioned in the Gemara, made from barley, saffron, and salt. Rather than merely reading about it, Rabbi Rubin located the unusual ingredients and had the class actually prepare it, packaging the results in little labeled film containers.

A passing reference in the Gemara had become an unforgettable learning experience.

But beyond the creativity, what Rabbi Kudan remembered most was how Rabbi Rubin made his students feel.

When the children marched in the Lag B’Omer parade wearing simple construction-paper hats, they felt like a million dollars. When he brought students to the State Capitol, they performed plays and sang in choirs, becoming the stars of the visit.

Rabbi Rubin also entrusted children with real responsibilities. Rabbi Kudan recalled being handed a lengthy United States Postal Service manual as a young teenager and being told, “I’m sure you can figure it out.”

And he did.

Whether involving students in printing projects, graphic design, Torah publications, or community events, Rabbi Rubin treated them not as little children but as future leaders of the Jewish people.

He believed in his students, and they learned to believe in themselves.

A Rabbi and a Friend

Rabbi Michael Caras spoke about his close relationship with Rabbi Rubin, which developed through years of working together on creative projects.

Rabbi Caras and his wife, Leah, collaborated with Rabbi Rubin on numerous initiatives, including bringing Torah Times into color print and producing many videos and artistic projects with students.

Rabbi Caras’s own digital artwork honoring Rabbi Rubin reflected how deeply he understood his creativity and unique approach.

He quoted the teaching from Pirkei Avos, “Asei lecha rav u’kneh lecha chaver” — make for yourself a teacher and acquire a friend.

Usually, Rabbi Caras observed, these are two different people in one’s life. But for him, and he felt he could speak for the yungerleit of the Shomray Torah shtiebel, Rabbi Rubin was both.

Even in Rabbi Rubin’s later years, Morah Rochel would announce his arrival by saying, “Your friend is here.”

Rabbi Rubin was not interested only in their participation in Torah classes. He came to their farbrengens, learned with them, and joined their barbecues, sitting together with the younger men, eating hot dogs and enjoying their company.

He was their Rav, but he was also one of them.

Rabbi Caras also shared that his last private conversation with Rabbi Rubin had been about further editing and improving his scholarly sefer.

Even near the end of his life, Rabbi Rubin was still thinking about the next project, the next improvement, the next opportunity to create.

Rabbi Caras reflected on how deeply Rabbi Rubin had shaped his life since meeting him as a young man, bringing out his own creativity and enthusiasm.

Giving Others Room to Grow

Morah Clara Simon recalled how she and her husband, Rabbi Nachman Simon, moved to the Albany area in 1985 from West Hartford, with their six children.

Their new home was on the second floor of a house owned by a widow. After a few months, Rabbi Rubin suggested buying a hallway runner so the sound of six children running back and forth would not disturb their downstairs neighbor.

It was a small detail, but characteristic of his thoughtfulness.

Despite his many responsibilities, Morah Clara recalled, Rabbi Rubin always made her feel that he had time for her personally. Even during his later years, he would greet her warmly and attentively.

As a fellow shliach, she said, he was the best boss she could have asked for. He offered encouragement and support while giving her and her husband the space to develop their own ideas and approach in Delmar.

That shlichus has continued to grow and is now carried forward by their son and daughter-in-law Rabbi Zalman & Chanie through Chabad of Bethlehem.

Years later, when her own children were grown, Morah Clara decided to pursue a master’s degree in social work. She wanted to explore the Torah perspective on the subjects she was studying and needed reliable sources.

Whenever she approached Rabbi Rubin with a question, he quickly provided the precise references she needed, often down to the page and verse.

His assistance even helped introduce her academic colleagues to the depth of traditional Jewish scholarship on social and community issues.

She credited his combination of scholarship, humility, and willingness to let others grow with multiplying the impact of his shlichus far beyond what one person could accomplish alone.

Mesirus Nefesh for Jewish Education

Rabbi Ruvain Kudan, newly ordained as a rabbi, had been involved in nearly every aspect of Rabbi Rubin’s work. As was noted in his introduction, while many people had known Rabbi Rubin during a particular stage of his life or through one specific project, Reuven had experienced almost all of them.

What stood out most to him was Rabbi Rubin’s mesirus nefesh l’chinuch al taharas hakodesh — his self-sacrifice for authentic Jewish education.

That morning, Stan Rosenberg had pointed out an especially fitting Hayom Yom: the account of the Tzemach Tzedek being arrested twenty-two times for opposing government interference in Jewish education.

Rabbi Kudan remembered Rabbi Rubin farbrenging about the Frierdiker Rebbe’s struggle to preserve Jewish education in Soviet Russia. The Communist authorities had offered to allow him to continue his other activities if he would abandon his work with Jewish youth. The Frierdiker Rebbe refused.

Rabbi Rubin drew tremendous inspiration from that mesirus nefesh.

Rabbi Kudan described Maimonides Hebrew Day School as the crown jewel of Rabbi Rubin’s work, an institution into which he poured his heart and soul.

Establishing the school was far from easy, particularly in its earliest years. Maintaining chinuch al taharas hakodesh at the highest standards required determination, sacrifice, and persistence, often in the face of considerable difficulties.

But Rabbi Rubin persevered because he understood that the future of Jewish life depended upon educating Jewish children.

For him, chinuch was never just another institution or project. It was a lifelong commitment.

Torah That Made His Face Light Up

The evening also included a Siyum Mishnayos by Rabbi Efraim Rubin, who had worked closely with his father on Torah projects, editing much of his scholarly writing and helping prepare his sefer for publication.

Efraim spoke of his father’s remarkable Torah knowledge, much of which he carried in his head, and his approach of lilmod ulelamed — learning Torah himself and teaching it to others.

Whether he was speaking to a visiting yeshiva student, teaching young children, or discussing a scholarly question, he found a way to engage each person at their own level.

He also took special pleasure in recognizing other people’s Torah accomplishments, often mentioning their questions and insights in his writings.

Efraim recalled the Gemara’s description of Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai, whose face would light up with the joy of Torah.

That was his father.

He shared a personal memory of discovering that a new issue of the Torah journal Haoros U’Biurim had been published. As Efraim excitedly told his parents the news, Rabbi Rubin turned to Morah Rochel and observed that some people light up over the Yankees or baseball, while Efraim gets that excited over a new Torah publication.

It was a touching moment of fatherly nachas, reflecting Rabbi Rubin’s own excitement about Torah and his joy in seeing that enthusiasm in someone else.

The Siyum concluded with the Mishnah’s teaching that Hashem found no vessel capable of containing blessing for the Jewish people other than peace, an especially fitting message for a man who devoted his life to connecting people.

Carrying the Legacy Forward

Rabbi Menachem Schmidt, a longtime friend and fellow shliach from Philadelphia, recalled how Rabbi Rubin had been a source of encouragement and assistance to him over many years.

He returned to the central theme of the evening, “Ve’hachai yiten el libo” — the living shall take to heart.

The most meaningful way to honor Rabbi Rubin, he emphasized, is not simply to put it on your heart and say thank you, but to put them into action and allow them to grow.

A special message was also shared by Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, executive director of Merkos 302 and the International Kinus HaShluchim, whose father, Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, had been a close friend of Rabbi Rubin.

He described Rabbi Rubin as a role model of a Chassid, shliach, and talmid chacham, someone whom shluchim around the world looked up to as an example of what it means to represent the Rebbe with authenticity and personal dedication.

He recalled how, even in his later years, when traveling had become difficult, Rabbi Rubin made extraordinary efforts to attend the International Kinus HaShluchim and regional gatherings.

Anything important to the Rebbe was important to him.

Rabbi Kotlarsky encouraged everyone to take one additional action in Rabbi Rubin’s memory — another mitzvah, another effort to inspire a fellow Jew, another way to give the Rebbe nachas.

The evening also included the recitation of Tehillim and Kaddish, with the Siyum Mishnayos bringing the formal program toward its conclusion.