Sholom Dovber Lipskar (born 1946) is a

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic groups ...

rabbi who was principal of the Landow Yeshiva in

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which s ...

in 1969. He founded The Shul of Bal Harbour in

Surfside, Florida Surfside is a town in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,689 as of the 2020 census. Surfside is a primarily residential beachside community, with several multistory condominium buildings adjacent to Surfside Beach on ...

, as well as the

Aleph Institute Aleph Institute is a Jewish humanitarian organization for both prisoners and military personnel. Aleph Institute also has sister branches, the European Aleph Institute, and the North Eastern US Aleph Institute. Services Aleph provides critical so ...

in 1981.

Early life

Born in

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic Uzbekistan (, ) is the common English language, English name for the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR; uz, Ўзбекистон Совет Социалистик Республикаси, Oʻzbekiston Sovet Sotsialistik Respublikasi, ...

in 1946, Lipskar was smuggled as a baby through the Soviet border to a

Displaced person Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, g ...

(DP) camp in Germany. On his passport, his country of birth is listed as Germany as this was where he was registered. Arriving in North America in the early 1950s, Lipskar's family settled in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada. Lipskar was ordained as a Rabbi from the Lubavitch Yeshiva in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

in 1968.

Rabbinical career

Miami Beach

In 1969, Lipskar was hired as the principal of the Landow Yeshiva School in Miami Beach, Florida. He served as principal of its elementary school for a number of years.

Surfside

In 1982, Lipskar founded

The Shul of Bal Harbour The Shul of Bal Harbour is a Chabad-Lubavitch synagogue in Surfside, Florida named by ''Newsweek'' as one of America's 25 most vibrant congregations. History The Shul was founded by Rabbi Sholom Lipskar, who was sent as an emissary of the Chabad- ...

and is its head Rabbi. He also founded the

, a non-profit national humanitarian organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for both prisoners and military personnel and their families.

References

External links

The Chaim Yakov Shlomo College of Jewish Studies profile

The Shul Official Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lipskar, Sholom 1946 births American Hasidic rabbis Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis Living people People from Miami Beach, Florida People from Surfside, Florida