Who's Who at the JRCC
Rabbi Chaim L. Hildeshaim
Director, JRCC`s Thornhill Woods Affiliate
Rabbi Chaim Leib Hildeshaim was born in March of 1976 and was raised together with his eight siblings by his parents Rabbi Shmuel and Rivkah Hildeshaim, respected educators in the Crown Heights neighbourhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., the Rebbe’s community.
Rabbi Chaim, as he is affectionately known in the Jewish Russian community, studied at the educational institute of Ohalei Torah in Brooklyn, Tomchei T’mimim in Israel and the Central Lubavitch Yeshiva in Brooklyn. He received his rabbinical ordination from three of the leading rabbinical authorities in Israel.
Growing up at the Rebbe’s feet, Rabbi Chaim learned the meaning of giving to others and began sharing the beauty and depth of the Torah with fellow Jews from an early age. Even as young as 13, he often delivered talks of a variety of topics and spent his summers travelling to remote communities to organize summer camps, communal holiday services and adult education programs. These were the first of many trips that he would later take as a rabbinical student that would bring him to far-flung places such as Russia, Estonia, Ukraine, Germany, France, Italy, the U.S. and the British Virgin Islands as well as dozens of American cities.
With the experience gained from these adventures, coupled with a solid foundation in Jewish knowledge and his extensive knowledge of the inner dimensions of Torah, Rabbi Chaim found his calling in sharing the infinite wisdom of Judaism with others. In 2000, he was married to Chanie Zaltzman, and in May of 2002, he joined the JRCC in the dual capacity of director of holiday programs and launching the JRCC of Thornhill Woods. A community centre focused on providing educational programs, spiritual services and community events for Jews of all ages, the JRCC of Thornhill Woods has evolved into a community unto itself with daily synagogue services, a plethora of ongoing classes and other programs for children and adults. Rabbi Chaim also sends out a popular weekly E-Torah with a joke of the week to an ever-growing list of recipients.
Chanie Hildeshaim (nee Zaltzman) was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1980. As a baby, she moved to Toronto with her parents when they were dispatched by the Rebbe to serve the Jewish Russian community there. She attended Beis Yakov School, followed by one year at the Beit Chanah seminary in Tzfat, Israel. She returned to Toronto and spent the following year at the teachers’ college Machon Bnot Menachem.
In November 2000, Chanie married and moved to New York where she worked for the Orthodox Union. She returned with her husband to Toronto in 2002 to become the directors of the JRCC of Thornhill Woods branch. She is a proud mother and assists her husband at the JRCC of Thornhill Woods Branch co-ordinating several women’s and children’s programs.
Together with their children, the Hildeshaim family has touched the lives of many people with their warmth, friendship, leadership and dedication.
