YWN regrets to inform you of the petirah of Rabbi Sholom Dovber Lipskar zt”l, the longtime Rav of The Shul of Bal Harbour and founder of the Aleph Institute, who was niftar after decades of transformative avodas hakodesh and recent medical complications. He was approximately 77 years old.

Rabbi Lipskar, born in 1946 in Tashkent in the former Soviet Union, was a lifelong servant of Klal Yisrael. As a baby, he was miraculously smuggled across the Soviet border and taken to a Displaced Persons (DP) camp in Germany, before eventually settling with his family in Ontario, Canada. His early life, marked by mesirus nefesh, shaped a neshama that would later inspire countless Jews across the globe.

A proud talmid of the Lubavitch Yeshiva in Brooklyn, he received semicha in 1968 and immediately entered the field of chinuch. In 1969, he was appointed principal of Landow Yeshiva in Miami Beach, where he helped lay the foundations for Torah learning in South Florida.

But it was in 1982 that Rabbi Lipskar made his most lasting mark, founding The Shul of Bal Harbour in Surfside. Under his leadership, The Shul became not only a beacon of Torah, chassidus, and achdus, but a spiritual hub that drew Jews of all backgrounds. With unmatched warmth and charisma, Rabbi Lipskar built a kehillah where Yidden felt seen, uplifted, and connected.

That same year, he also founded the Aleph Institute, a groundbreaking organization committed to supporting Jewish prisoners and military personnel and their families. With compassion and vision, Rabbi Lipskar championed those often forgotten by society—bringing them Torah, dignity, and hope. Through Aleph, he advocated for thousands, offering rehabilitation, legal assistance, and emotional support, all in the spirit of ahavas Yisrael.

Rabbi Lipskar’s legacy is one of towering leadership, boundless heart, and an unwavering commitment to the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s shlichus. He was a man of depth, action, and boundless energy—equally at home giving a fiery derasha, comforting a prisoner, or inspiring a secular businessman to put on tefillin.

Rabbi Lipskar is survived by his wife, Rebbetzin Chani Lipskar yb”l, his children – Devorah Leah Andrusier and Zalman Lipskar – and many grandchildren.

After passing by The Shul at 9 AM Sunday morning, the levaya will take place at 3:30 PM Sunday afternoon at the Ohel, 226-20 Francis Lewis Blvd., Cambria Heights, NY 11411.

Baruch Dayan Ha’Emes.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)