Rabbi Yehuda Chitrik (August 28, 1899 – February 14, 2006) was an author and ''

Mashpia Mashpia ( he, משפיע) or feminine Mashpi'oh lit. "person of influence", pl. Mashpi'im ( he, משפיעים) is the title of a Hasidic rabbi who serves as a spiritual mentor, whose main influence and teachings are in matters of the worship of G ...

'' in the

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 group ...

Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...

community in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York.

Early life

Yehuda Chitrik was born in 1899 in , a small Jewish

shtetl A shtetl or shtetel (; yi, שטעטל, translit=shtetl (singular); שטעטלעך, romanized: ''shtetlekh'' (plural)) is a Yiddish term for the small towns with predominantly Ashkenazi Jewish populations which existed in Eastern Europe before ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, to a prominent Lubavitch family that traces its roots to the foremost Chassidim of the

Alter Rebbe Shneur Zalman of Liadi ( he, שניאור זלמן מליאדי, September 4, 1745 – December 15, 1812 O.S. / 18 Elul 5505 – 24 Tevet 5573) was an influential Lithuanian Jewish rabbi and the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, a branch of Ha ...

. At the age of 14, he began studying in Yeshiva Tomchei Temimim in the village of

Lyubavichi Lyubavichi (russian: Любавичи) is the name of several rural localities in Russia: * Lyubavichi, Monastyrshchinsky District, Smolensk Oblast, a village in Lyubavichskoye Rural Settlement of Monastyrshchinsky District in Smolensk Oblast *Lyub ...

, where he met the fifth Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi

Sholom Dovber Schneersohn Sholom Dovber Schneersohn ( he, שלום דובער שניאורסאהן) was the fifth Rebbe (spiritual leader) of the Chabad Lubavitch chasidic movement. He is known as "the Rebbe Rashab" (for Reb Sholom Ber). His teachings represent the emerge ...

. For the next 12 years, he traveled to many different communities together with the Yeshiva, for the difficulties caused by World War I, the

Bolshevik revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolsheviks, Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was ...

, and the economic pressures to which the Jews were subjected compelled the Yeshiva to move frequently. In 1926 Chitrik married Kayla Tomarkin, the daughter of Rabbi Aharon Tomarkin, a Rabbi in

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, and began to serve as a '' Shochet'' until the Russian government forcefully shut down the ritual slaughterhouses. During this period he also met Rabbi

Menachem Mendel Schneerson Menachem Mendel Schneerson (Modern Hebrew: מנחם מענדל שניאורסון; old-fashioned spelling: מנחם מענדל שניאורסאהן; April 5, 1902 OS – June 12, 1994; AM 11 Nissan 5662 – 3 Tammuz 5754), known to man ...

, who later became the seventh Lubavitcher rebbe.

Post-Holocaust

In the turmoil that followed World War II and

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

, Rabbi Chitrik and his family moved to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

with the intention of continuing to the United States. But the sixth Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi

Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn Yosef Yitzchak (Joseph Isaac) Schneersohn ( yi, יוסף יצחק שניאורסאהן; 21 June 1880 – 28 January 1950) was an Orthodox rabbi and the sixth Rebbe (spiritual leader) of the Chabad Lubavitch Chasidic movement. He is also known a ...

recognized his skills and asked him to remain in Belgium to support the community and spread

Yiddishkeit Yiddishkeit ( yi, ייִדישקייט ) literally means "Jewishness", i.e. "a Jewish way of life". It can refer to Judaism or forms of Orthodox Judaism when used by religious or Orthodox Jews. In a more general sense, it has come to mean the "Je ...

and Chassidic warmth among the many refugees who had settled in that country. In 1949, he emigrated to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, where he was appointed ''Mashpia'' in the branch of the Lubavitcher Yeshiva established there. After the passing of his wife in 1983, he moved to Brooklyn. Rabbi Chitrik was the eldest living Chabad Chassid for many years. He died 17

Shevat Shevat (Hebrew: שְׁבָט, Standard ''Šəvaṭ'', Tiberian ''Šeḇāṭ''; from Akkadian ''Šabātu'') is the fifth month of the civil year starting in Tishre (or Tishri) and the eleventh month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calend ...

5766. He has four children and eighteen grandchildren, and is survived by over 300 descendants in total. Many of his descendants serve as spiritual leaders and rabbis across the globe. Amongst them is his son-in-la
Rabbi David Moshe Lieberman
who serves as the chief rabbi of Antwerp, Belgium. His great grandsons, Rabbi

Mendy Chitrik Rabbi Menachem Mendel Chitrik (born March 31, 1977), better known as Rabbi Mendy Chitrik, is an American, Israeli, and Turkish Rabbi of the Ashkenazi Jewish community of Turkey since 2003. He became the chairman of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islam ...

of Istanbul, Turkey serves as the Chairman of the

Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States The Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States is a union of rabbis residing in Muslim countries, established in December 2019 to support Jewish life in the region. Its activity is approved by Chief Rabbi of Israel Grand Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef and foll ...

. Other descendants serve in China, Turkey
Germany
Australia
IsraelCanadaUruguay
Brazil
UkraineEngland
and cities across the United States
Bedford, NYPhiladelphia, PANew York City, NYMunster, IN
Oak Park, MI.

Writings

* ''Reshimot Devorim'', four volumes. * From My Father's Shabbos Table, A Treasury of Chabad Chassidic Stories

External links

A collection of stories by Yehudah Chitrik
on

Chabad.org Chabad.org is the flagship website of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement. It was one of the first Jewish internet sites and the first and largest virtual congregation. History In 1988, Yosef Yitzchak Kazen, a Chabad rabbi, began creating ...

Books

Rabbi Yehuda Chitrik, 106; Chasidic Storyteller
The Jewish Week

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chitrik, Yehuda Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis Chabad-Lubavitch Mashpiim Russian centenarians Canadian centenarians American centenarians American people of Russian-Jewish descent 1899 births 2006 deaths American Hasidic rabbis Belarusian Jews Men centenarians