Rav Benzion Lipsker zt”l, Chief Rabbi of the southern Israeli city of Arad, was niftar today at the age of 65 after suffering from severe illness for the last few months. Rav Lipsker was known for his kiruv efforts and for standing up for Yahadus in the face of opposition. Rav Lipsker was born in Georgia and moved to Eretz Yisroel in 5734. In Arad, Rav Lipsker built the local Chabad center and established a semicha institute.
Many residents remember him for his annual bar mitzvah ceremony, during which he took 13 year-old boys and their parents to the picturesque Masada mountaintop overlooking the Dead Sea.
Rav Lipsker was also a member of the Chabad Bais Din in Eretz Yisroel.
He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Sara Lipscker, and his children, Chana Mendelsohn of Arad, Esther Druk of Omrim, Ruth Hillman of Petach Tikva and Nechama Dina Kozlovsky of Kfar Chabad. He has two brothers living in the U.S., Rabbi Zalman Lispker, Director of the Va’adah L’dovrei Ivrit Chabad-Israeli center in Philadelphia, PA, and musician Eli Lispker of Crown Heights.
The levaya will take place tomorrow at 10 a.m. at his home in Arad. Kevurah will take place on Har Hazeisim in Yerushalayim.
{Yair Alpert-Matzav.com ISrael/COLlive}
