Rabbi Abba Dovid Gurevitch, who practiced Yiddishkeit under Communism, and became shliach to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and Head Shliach of Central Asia, passed away on Friday, 16 Shvat.
Rabbi Abba Dovid Gurevitch, who practiced Yiddishkeit under Communism, and became shliach to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and Head Shliach of Central Asia, passed away on Friday, 16 Shvat.
He was 88 years old.
Born on 28 Kislev 5697 (1936) in the Soviet Union, he was the son of Rabbi Refoel Dovber Gurevitch. As a child, he studied Torah in the underground with the chossid Reb Berke Chein, despite the dangers of the time.
In 1968, he merited to locate and restore the desecrated kevarim of the Tzemach Tzedek and the Rebbe Maharash in Lubavitch, erecting a fence around them to protect the sacred sites after the devastation left by the Nazis. This act of mesirus nefesh ensured that their kevarim were once again recognized and preserved.
He left the Soviet Union during the 1971 wave of Jewish emigration. He later returned as shliach to Tashkent, Uzbekistan. His tireless efforts brought many Yidden closer to Yiddishkeit, and he organized an annual public Pesach Seder, attended by hundreds. He also established a Jewish school to provide Chinuch for local children.
In 2008, after facing ongoing harassment and legal challenges, Rabbi Gurevitch was expelled from the country when his visa was not renewed. Despite this, he remained committed to the Jewish community in Tashkent, sending shluchim to continue the work he started.
In recent years, Rabbi Gurevitch resided in Nachalas Har Chabad.
He is survived by his wife Malka, and children: Rabbi Boruch Gurevitch (Chicago, IL), Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Gurevitch (Los Angeles, CA), and Mrs. Bracha Gansburg (Kfar Chabad).
The levaya took place on Friday in Nachalas Har Chabad where he was buried.
Boruch dayan haemes
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