Shayevitch, Moshe Hakohen

שאייעוויטש, משה הכהן

Rabbi Moshe was born to his father, Rabbi Binyamin, in the year 1889 (5649) in the city of Brisk. Rabbi Moshe spent most of his youth studying Torah in one of the synagogues in Brisk. At the age of seventeen (1906), he left his hometown and traveled to faraway America, settling in the city of Chicago. Upon his arrival in Chicago, he chose the Bnei Reuven Synagogue as his place of prayer and davened there for nearly eighty years until his passing.

In 1914 (5674), he married his wife, Rebbetzin Rachel, and began to manage his business with great success. In 1930 (5690), when the Rebbe Rayatz (Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn) visited Chicago, Rabbi Moshe drew close to him with bonds of love and became a deeply connected follower and loyal friend of the Rebbe’s household.

The Rebbe Rayatz wrote nearly 150 letters to him, and the Rebbe (Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson) wrote around fifty letters to him. When Reb Itche der Masmid and the shadar (emissary) Rabbi Mordechai Cheifetz visited Chicago, Rabbi Moshe assisted them generously in every way possible. He acted similarly every time a shadar visited, such as Rabbi Shmuel Levitin, Rabbi Kadish Romanoff, and Rabbi Shlomo Aharon Kazarnovsky.

Rabbi Moshe related that the Rebbe Rayatz instructed him to study the Shlah HaKadosh (Shnei Luchot HaBrit), and from then on, he was careful to complete the Shlah every year. Once, the Rebbe Rayatz referred to him as “my Shlah Yid” (my Shlah Jew), similar to what the Rebbe Rayatz said about the Alter Rebbe, who was also known as a Shlah Yid because he studied the Shlah regularly and lived according to its teachings, even before he became connected to the Maggid of Mezritch.

When the Rebbe Rayatz visited Chicago in 1942 (5702), he told Rabbi Moshe, “Where you will be, I will be, and where I will be, you will be (too).”

On Chol Hamoed Sukkot 1950 (5710), Rabbi Moshe received a telegram from the Rebbe Rayatz urging him to make an effort to come for Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, and indeed, he traveled immediately. He had the Yom Tov meals in the Rebbe’s house. During one of the meals, Rabbi Moshe told the Rebbe Rayatz that he is careful to have the Rebbe in mind every time he blesses the congregation with the priestly blessing. The Rebbe responded, “That’s how it should indeed be. First the head goes, and then the limbs follow.”

After the passing of the Rebbe Rayatz, Rabbi Moshe informed the Rebbe (Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson) that from that point onward, he would have the Rebbe in mind during the priestly blessings, and he merited to receive the Rebbe’s blessing for longevity and good years.

The Rebbe instructed Rabbi Shusterman to give Rabbi Moshe detailed guidance on how to arrange his will, and Rabbi Moshe divided his assets between Machne Israel and Yeshivas Tomchei Temimim. At the beginning of 1984 (5744), Rabbi Moshe was struck with a terrible illness, and by Erev Rosh Hashanah, he was already breathing with the aid of a respirator. When Rabbi Yitzchak Klein came to visit him, Rabbi Moshe, in a faint voice, told him, “I am only thinking about what the Rebbe told me, that we will be together.”

On the night after Yom Kippur, 1984 (5744), Rabbi Moshe passed away at the age of 96.

Shiurim in this topic

911. Pan Read at the Ohel and Encouragement פ"נ נקרא באוהל ועידוד

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2773. The Jewish Heart Is Always Awake for Torah, Mitzvot, and Redemption לב כל ישראל ער תמיד לתורה, למצוות ולגאולה

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3320. On the Hilula, the soul of the Rebbe ascends from the higher world to an even higher world על ההילולא, נשמת הרבי עולה מעולם עליון לעולם עוד עליון יותר

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3580. Building a Central Synagogue in Chicago, Community Unity, and Preserving the Name בניית בית כנסת מרכזי בשיקאגו, אחדות הקהילה, ושמירת השם

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3794. Choosing a Neighborhood in Chicago and Consulting Three Chabad Friends בחירת שכונה בשיקאגא והתייעצות עם שלשה ידידים חב"דיים

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