Rabbi Avraham Lipskier, 86, AH

Rabbi Avraham Lipsker, who devoted more than six decades to teaching and guiding baalei teshuva, passed away on Thursday, 28 Elul.

He was 86 years old.

Rabbi Lipsker was born on 15 Adar 1 5700 (1940) to R’ Yankel and Teibel Lipsker. As a young child, he traveled with his family from Kutaisi, Georgia, escaping the Soviet Union and eventually reaching France. The family later immigrated to New Jersey and, while he was still a bochur, settled in Crown Heights near the Rebbe.

Already as a bochur, Rabbi Lipsker became involved in reaching out to young Jews who were searching for meaning during the turbulent cultural changes of the 1960s. When young people began finding their way to 770, he would sit down to learn with them, guide them, and introduce them to Torah and Chassidus.

In 5722, he was among the pioneers of Hadar Hatorah, the groundbreaking Crown Heights yeshiva for baalei teshuva. His work there was among the early efforts that would develop into a major part of Chabad’s activities in the decades that followed.

In 5727, Rabbi Lipsker married Cirel, the daughter of the noted shliach Reb Berel Baumgarten. He initially taught at Oholei Torah before going with his family on shlichus to Italy. Five years later, the family returned to the United States, where, with the Rebbe’s approval and bracha, Rabbi Lipsker took on a role visiting Chabad Houses serving colleges and universities across the country, lecturing and working with Jewish students.

He later became closely identified with Tiferes Bochurim in Morristown, which he headed for decades. There, he taught and guided hundreds of baalei teshuva, helping them build lives as committed Chassidim and members of the Chabad community.

Rabbi Lipsker’s approach to chinuch emphasized giving students direct access to the original Torah sources rather than relying on simplified presentations. He worked to give his talmidim the language, skills and way of thinking necessary to learn independently, while combining serious learning with personal warmth and devotion to each individual talmid. A central part of his chinuch was instilling in his students a strong hiskashrus to the Rebbe.

In 5760, Rabbi Lipsker established Yeshivas Tiferes Menachem in Seagate, continuing the work to which he had already devoted decades.

Over more than sixty years in chinuch, Rabbi Lipsker influenced generations of talmidim. His relationship with them often continued long after they had left yeshiva, with former students remaining in close contact and turning to him for guidance and advice throughout their lives.

In recent years, Rabbi Lipsker had been in poor health.

He is survived by his wife Cirel and children, Mrs. Chani Kaminetzky – Dnipro, Ukraine; Rabbi Mendel Lipskier – Sherman Oaks, CA; Mrs. Dinie Mangel – Cherry Hill, NJ; Mrs. Shternie Backman – Glendale, CA; Mrs. Chaya Mushka Silberberg – Crown Heights; and R’ Berel Lipskier – Crown Heights; grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The levaya will pass by 770 today at 3:00 PM, followed by kevura near the Ohel.

Boruch dayan hoemes