Rabbi Ben-Tzion Lipsker, the Chief Rabbi of Arad, passed away Wednesday at age 65. Rabbi Lipsker was also a member of the Chabad Rabbinical Court.
He served as Arad's most senior rabbi beginning in the 1970s.
He had been hospitalized in very serious condition at Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikva on Monday. During his hospitalization his students and other supporters gathered in praying for his recovery.
The rabbi became ill several months ago. This week his condition deteriorated rapidly and he suffered multi-system failure.
The Rabbi is mourned by a wife and four daughters. His funeral procession will leave Arad at 10 a.m. Thursday for the Har Hazeitim (Mount of Olives) cemetery in Jerusalem.