Chaim dovid noteh wichnin

Rabbi Chaim Dovid Neta Vichnin was born in the city of Bobruisk on the 28th of Menachem Av 5698 (August 1938) to his father, Rabbi Nachman Dov Vichnin, who served as a shochet (ritual slaughterer) and shadar (emissary), and was a follower of the Rebbe Rayatz, and to his mother, Mrs. Feiga.

At the age of two, his parents began a journey to escape deep into Russia due to the Nazi invasion. After the journey, they settled in Samarkand, where he was orphaned from his mother and his sister Hinda, who both died due to the hunger and diseases that were rampant in the city.

After the war, he escaped with his father on the famous "Eshelons," smuggling across the Russian border into Poland along with thousands of Chabad Chassidim in the great escape operation later known as "The Exodus from Russia 5706 (1946)." When they arrived in France, he began studying at the Tomchei Tmimim Yeshiva in Brunoy, where he remained until 1951. That year, he emigrated with his father to Montreal, Canada, and enrolled in the local Tomchei Tmimim Yeshiva.

In honor of his Bar Mitzvah in late 1951, his father received a special letter of blessing for him, in addition to the standard text the Rebbe sent to all Bar Mitzvah boys.

After completing his yeshiva studies, he was ordained as a rabbi in 1962 by the rabbis of the Tomchei Tmimim Yeshiva in Montreal. Following his marriage to his wife, Malka (daughter of R. Yoel), he began serving as an educator at the Beit Rivka High School in Crown Heights in 1965. In 1972, he moved to Brookline, Massachusetts, where he served as the spiritual director of the local "Achei Tmimim" Yeshiva. In 1977, he began serving as a mashpia (spiritual mentor) and the head of the "Tiferet Bachurim" yeshiva in Morristown, New Jersey. Later, he was appointed as the rabbi of the Chabad community and the "Tzemach Tzedek" synagogue in Monsey, becoming one of the first members of the local Chabad community.

Rabbi Vichnin was endowed with a talent for writing and published several articles on Jewish matters in widely circulated newspapers, and he was privileged to have the Rebbe review and edit his articles.

He passed away prematurely on the 26th of Tammuz, 5755 (July 1995) at the age of 57. His position as the community rabbi is currently held by Rabbi Baruch Lesches.

His wife, Mrs. Malka Vichnin, passed away on the 17th of Cheshvan, 5784 (November 2023).