Rabbi Yitzchak HaCohen Hendel (1916-2007) was a prominent

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...

Hasidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...

rabbi from

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. From 1944 until his death in 2007, Rabbi Hendel served as the chief rabbi of the Chabad community in Montreal.

Biography

Rabbi Yitzchak Hendel was born in 1916 in the town of Komarów-Osada,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. He joined the Chabad movement while studying in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Rabbi Hendel and a number of rabbinical students escaped to

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. After the war, Rabbi Hendel moved to

.Rabbi Hendel. Obituaries. ''Beis Moshiach Magazine''. Accessed March 10, 2014.
/ref> Rabbi Yitzchak Hendel served as the chief rabbi for Montreal's Chabad community. His appointment as chief rabbi began soon after his marriage in 1944. Upon the request of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi

Menachem Mendel Schneerson Menachem Mendel Schneerson ( – June 12, 1994; Anno Mundi, AM 11 Nissan 5662 – 3 Tammuz 5754), known to adherents of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or simply the Rebbe, was an American Orthodox rabbi and the most rec ...

Rabbi Hendel helped establish the Chabad community in Montreal. Aside from leading the Chabad community in Montreal, Rabbi Hendel additionally served as the Av Beis Din (head of the rabbinical court) for Montreal's Orthodox Jewish community.

References

1916 births 2007 deaths Canadian Hasidic rabbis Canadian people of Polish-Jewish descent People from Zamość County Polish emigrants to Canada Polish Hasidic rabbis Rabbis from Montreal {{Canada-rabbi-stub