BDE: Rav Michel Chill, zt”l

Yitzy Fried

It is with great sadness that Rockland Daily reports upon the petirah of Rav Michel Chill, a dedicated rov for decades in the Monsey community, and a tzaddik who would travel great distances to minister and teach his fellow Yidden.

Rav Chill came from a home steeped in rabbonus, and was taught from a young age to care for others—a calling to which he dedicated himself his entire life. His father was the rov of the Young Israel of Kings Highway in Brooklyn.

Starting his career in Rabbonus in the Monsey community, Rav Chill spent the 80’s as the rov of Young Israel of Spring Valley—a community that he led with distinction and dedication. From the Young Israel, he moved on to Knesses Yisroel on Union Road, where he would walk an hour each way to get to shul.

Rockland Daily spoke with mispalellim from Knesses Yisroel who recalled a tzaddik, a giant among men, an individual who had no ego, despite all that he did for the community.

“He was always so empathetic and so kind,” recalled one congregant from those years. “He  was easy to speak to, never talked down to anyone and continued to be our rov and our guide long after he left the shul.”

“He always had a special place in his heart for the underdog,” another congregant recalls. “He had a way of zeroing in on any struggling person and he would reach out to help however he could.”

“When he heard about the death of our daughter, he and his wife were there before the kevurah,” another person shared with Rockland Daily. “They guided us on what to expect and halachas that we were not familiar with and eased the painful process just by being there to assist, answer questions, and share our pain.”

Rav Chill served a chaplain for decades in  Greenhaven in Dutchess County, New York. He also owned the popular girls Camp La Ruach on Route 306. He also devoted himself to chinuch habonim v’habonos, and he was known throughout the community to have a special place in his heart for those boys and girls who were not fortunate enough to get into high schools on the first try. He, together with his wife tibodeil l’chaim tovim, would go to the ends of the earth, meeting with parents and principals, doing everything in his power to get children into schools, doing intense homework on each student to learn which school would suit them best. They would then negotiate with local mosdos to make every effort to see that each child had a place.

Rav Chill retired from the rabbonus, and moved to Lakewood in recent years. He was niftar in his eighties on Wednesday morning, after a lifetime of dedication to his fellow Yidden.

The levaya will take place at 5:45 this afternoon at Yeshiva Spring Valley Girls Building. It follows an earlier levaya that took place in Lakewood this afternoon at Congregation Sons of Israel Chapel. The aron will be flown to Eretz Yisroel for kevurah.

Yehi zichro baruch.