An Indelible Mark  

Chaim Boruch, you weren’t even 50 when you left This World, but in your relatively short life, you became a mainstay of our community.

You were born on Simchas Torah 48 years ago and closed the circle when you slipped away quietly on the first day of Pesach — two of the happiest and most elevated points in the Jewish calendar. That link exemplified who you were: a deep, thinking intellectual with a joyous spark that reached everyone you came in contact with.

You were an authentic, true-to-goodness “Yiddisher Yid,” living your unique brand of Yiddishkeit with infectious bren and geshmak. There’s almost no area of community endeavor you weren’t involved in. You ran the mikveh with dedication and self-sacrifice. You learned Yoreh Dei’ah in Gateshead Kollel and trained as an expert shochet, and also became a beloved alef-beis rebbi. You were a key player in the matzah bakery and ran the annual pre-Pesach hagalas keilim. You were a world-class, highly sought-after baal tefillah, davening the tefillos of the Yamim Noraim from the age of 23, first in London and then Eretz Yisrael.

You sat on the kehillah committee, working to improve the town you loved. You spoke at countless sheva brachos, invariably bringing the crowd to tears of laughter with your jokes, often delivered in a faultless Geordie accent. You delivered captivating shiurim in Beis Chaya Rochel seminary, in addition to a weekly Pirkei Avos shiur and hosting Melaveh Malkah for The Chabura , a local hub of learning and friendship,, exposing the beauty of Yiddishkeit to others.