Rabbi Moshe Chait, the Dean of Yeshivat Chafetz Chaim in Jerusalem, passed away on Tisha B'av eve, at the age of 87. He had been hospitalized in Hadassah Mt. Scopus Hospital.
Rabbi Chait was a long-time rabbi of the Young Israel of Wavecrest and Bayswater in Far Rockaway, New York. He was also a revered teacher at James Striar School (JSS) in Yeshiva University.
Rabbi Chait made aliyah with his family in 1968 and founded the Jerusalem branch of Yeshivat Chafetz Chaim.
He was known as a master of Mussar (Torah ethics), as well as teaching the very precise method of Talmud study for which Chafetz Chaim has long been known. As his son-in-law Rabbi Mark Harris said at the funeral, he always considered himself a student of the late Chafetz Chaim dean Rabbi David Liebowitz. His thousands of students were drawn to his love and patience for all, sparkling smile and shining eyes, and what his son Rabbi Baruch Chait said was his "sanctifiying G-d's Name in everything he did."
Rabbi Chait is survived by his wife Esther and five children, including Rabbis Baruch, David and Reuven Chait, and his brother Rabbi Joseph Chait.
His family is sitting shiva at 44 Eshkol in Ramat Eshkol, Jerusalem from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Faxes may be sent to 02-532-5380 from within Israel, and to +972-2-532-5380 from abroad.