Bereaved Father Rabbi Mordechai Rindenow Dies Of COVID-19 And Is Buried Next To IDF Soldier Son

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Rindenow, who lost his youngest son Shlomo in an IDF military accident four years ago, passed away from coronavirus at the age of 64 just four months after immigrating to Israel. At his request he was buried next to his son.

Rindenow, a father of nine from Passaic, New Jersey, had lived in Israel in the past but settled in Passaic in 1998 and served as a communal rabbi and also worked as a psychotherapist. He was a member of the staff of the Passaic Torah Institute, and the rabbi of the Carlebach minyan. Rabbi Rindenow and his wife, Mindy, come from a long line of Chassidic rebbes, including the Chernobyl Rebbe and the Twersky family, and the family is famous for its acts of chessed and warm approach to all Jews.

Many of his children subsequently immigrated to Israel and recently Rindenow and his wife decided to move to Tzfat, where he fell ill with coronavirus and died a short time later.

“He was a father to us but also a father to everyone”, his daughter Beila Clement who arrived from the US, said. “He would help everyone. Anybody who needed a place to sleep would sleep in our house.

“After my brother was killed something changed in him. You could see the pain on his face. He was only happy with the children and grandchildren. A wonderful grandfather who would get up on Shabbos late in order not to disturb us. He was very excited to make aliya because he was very pro-Israel,” she added.

Shlomo Rindenow was killed in 2016 when a grenade held by another soldier exploded and killed both of them while they were serving in the 410 combat engineering brigade.