Rabbi Nachman Sudak: Portrait of a Chossid

Rabbi Yitzi Loewenthal, a Shliach in Denmark, recently traveled back to his hometown of London to participate in the Levaya and Shiva of Rabbi Nachman Sudak, OBM, head Shliach to the UK. When he returned home, Rabbi Loewenthal penned the following ‘obituary,’ relating his experiences with a man who exemplified what it means to be a true Chossid:

I have known Rabbi Sudak since I was a child. He was many things, but first and foremost he was a Chossid of the Rebbe. As a child we were quite in awe of him, and I remember once being in his house as a child to play and was surprised that he was so warm and friendly. As I grew older, I began to appreciate the paradox that he was, Running a large organization, but with not an ounce of ego involved. For him it was all one thing, what does the Rebbe want. When he spoke, you knew you were hearing an authentic reflection of the Rebbe.

From the way I saw him, it seemed that his greatest love in life was disseminating the Rebbe’s teachings, whether through printing the sichos or selling the seforim in the bookshop, or teaching the Rebbe’s Torah and Chassidus in general.

He didn’t book any compromise, and ran the community top down, and because of that, we grew up in environment where chassidisher values and attitudes were paramount.

At the Shabbes kiddush and farbrengen at Bais Lubavitch others would also talk, but I never saw him remain silent if he felt something needed to be commented on. The respect for him that so many had was as a Shliach, a Chassidsher Yid and someone who had heard so much from the Rebbe and was so committed to what the Rebbe wanted.

There was also an awareness, which grew with time, that he was in almost constant contact with Rabbi Chadakov and the Rebbe, getting a stream of guidance and instruction in many areas.

When he would farbreng with bochurim, and really get into it, one could expect to hear about his time as a bochur. I remember hearing from him a few times about shevuos 5715, when the Rebbe said sholom aliechem to the rebai’im. He would also at times retell the beginnings of likutei sichos, and if you listened carefully in between the lines, you could hear how it was largely due to him that likutei sichos became a reality.

I remember the tremendous Yiras Kovod he had when receiving matza from the Rebbe, He gave the adults a piece, and each child got a piece from him too, something that we treasured at the seder.

During the Rebbe’s farbrengens late at night, 2:30am London time, he used to feverishly write the Rebbe’s sichas (if I remember correctly) setting a good example of the seriousness with which we should listen to the Rebbe.

Hey Teves Mem Zayin – Didan Notzach, He said a large amount of lechayim and was totally out of character, celebrating with a true Simcha, something which helped us appreciate the importance and simcha of that day.

Like so many, I had a fair amount of interactions with him. Sometimes he had a positive comment, other times a criticism. When I look back at it today, the times when he told us off were the ones where he was communicating an important point in chinuch or Hiskashrus, usually a point that has remained with me until today.

We once had a conversation about teaching Tanya, he said the Rebbe had told him to teach Tanya from Sha’ar Hayichud Ve’Emuna, Igeres HaTeshuva and then Likutei Amorim, and if need be, skip out chapters or parts in order to make it more streamlined.

Rabbi Sudak did not have complicated ‘Cheshboinos,” for him it was “what does the Rebbe want?” He praised when he thought people were doing right, criticized when he thought they were not doing what the Rebbe wants, but it seemed to me it was never personal; it was about the inyan.

As such, I don’t know if everyone loved him, but I do think that almost everyone respected him. Even his greatest critics were happy and proud when he praised them.

When I visited London last week to be at his shiva, representing my class to our classmate Sholom Ber and the entire Sudak family, I entered Bais Lubavitch. Rabbi Sudak’s office stood empty, and to me It felt like the heart of the building, and by extension of London and the whole country, was missing.

Rabbi Sudak will be sorely missed by many. Especially by those who were directly or indirectly impacted by him in so many different ways.

One Comment

  • There is a Boss

    Rabbi Sudak lived his life as one who felt at every moment he had a boss namely the Rebbe that he had to give and account to and indeed he is knows to have said a multiple occasions that he would write in a report every week to the Rebbe!