BDE: Mrs. Rivka Schechter, 91, OBM

With great sadness we report the passing of Mrs. Rivka Schechter OBM, daughter of the Chosid Reb Shmuel Yitzchok Reices who owned a fabric store on Kingston Avenue for many years. She passed away on Shabbos afternoon, the 20th of Iyar, 5779.

She was 91-years-old.

Mrs. Schechter was the daughter of the Chosid Harav Reb Shmuel Yitzchokand Alte Yehudis Reices obm.

Reb Shmuel Yitzchok, whom the Rebbe referred to at Fabrengen as “Rashi Reices”, was a Shochet in the city of Minsk during the communist era.

Rivka, at the age of 6 years old, would ride the train and deliver the meat that was slaughtered by her father and Kashred by her mother to other Chassidism in town at great personal risk.

With self-sacrifice and at all costs, her father refused to send her and her siblings to the communist School.

She was named Rivka as a hakaras Hatov, in appreciation to Rebbetzin Rivka, who cared for Reb Shmuel Yitzchok when he was a young bachur learning in Lubavitch.

She married Reb Tzvi Schechter in Samarkand circa 1947, and moved to Eretz Yisroel thereafter and settled in Bnei Brak.

Years later they moved to Crown Heights and operated a fabric store on Kingston ave for many years.

Their home on Montgomery Street was a haven for many guests, out of town relatives and friends visiting New York.

After closing the shop and retiring, the couple moved back to Eretz Yisroel and lived there until the passing of Reb Tzvi OBM. In recent years she was living with her children in Miami.

Rivka is survived by her children, Mrs. Henya Holtzberg (Crown Heights), Rabbi Shmulik Schechter (Lauderhill FL), Mrs Leah Yarmush (Crown Heights), Rabbi Motti Schechter (Kfar Chabad, Israel) and Rabbi Yosef Schechter (Crown Heights), as well as many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

She is also survived by her brother Rabbi Yosef Bentzion Reices of Crown Heights.

The Levaya will be passing 770 tomorrow at 10:30am on the way to Eretz Yisroel for burial.

Baruch Dayan Hoemes