Rabbi Yehuda Leib "Leibel" Alevsky

Blessed is the True Judge:

Rabbi Leibel Alevsky, 86,

Reb Yehuda Leib Ben Reb Chayim Boruch Alevsky Zt'l passed on the third of Iyar 5786, April 20, 2026, at the age of 85 in is home in University Heights, Ohio.

Builder of Jewish Life in Cleveland

Rabbi Alevsky has served as Executive Director of Chabad of Cleveland since 1972. Under his stewardship, Chabad in Cleveland has grown to encompass a string of institutions serving college students, children with special needs, families, and everyone else.

Born in Soviet Russia, he was raised as part of the Chabad underground, where Judaism was secretly kept under the watchful eyes of Stalin’s minions.

After escaping to the west, he was educated in Israel and France. After a decade of organizing activities for Chabad Youth Organization in New York, he was dispatched by the Rebbe to Cleveland, where he remained for the rest of his life.

Rabbi Leibel Alevsky was born in 5699 (1939) in Chernigov, Ukraine, to his parents Reb Chaim Boruch and Sima Chaya. His early childhood was marked by hardship; even before he was born, his father was drafted into the Russian army during the war against the Nazis. He fell in battle in 1941 and never returned.

He was subsequently raised by his devoted mother and his maternal grandfather, Reb Gavriel Kagan, an original product of the Yeshiva ni the city of Lubavitch (Belaurs), who played a formative role in his upbringing. Following the war, the family fled the Soviet Union using forged Polish passports, eventually reaching a Displaced Persons camp in Austria in 1947, before continuing on to France.

In accordance with the directive of the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, the family later settled in Eretz Yisrael, where Rabbi Alevsky began his formal yeshiva education in Tomchei Temimim in Lod. At the age of 15, he studied under the renowned mashpia, Reb Shlomo Chaim Kesselman, who left a lasting impression on his development. Prior to relocating to the United States, he spent a period of study in Brunoy, France, under the guidance of Reb Nissan Nemenov.

On his 19th birthday, Rosh Chodesh Sivan 5718 (1958), he arrived in New York and met the Lubavticher Rebbe for the first time, as he joined the Central Lubavitcher Yeshiva at 770 Eastern Parkway, immersing himself in advanced Torah study.

During the 1960s, Rabbi Alevsky played a central role in the Jewish outreach activities of Lubavitch Youth Organization, serving as its director in New York. In this capacity, he organized visitations to outlying communities, coordinated public Torah classes, and was involved in the original Chabad projects in New York. He also served as a liaison with New York City officials and public figures, working to advocate for and strengthen the Crown Heights community.

In those years, he also merited a close and personal connection with Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson, mother of the Rebbe, assisting her in various ways.

In the early 1970s, Rabbi Alevsky was sent on shlichus by the Rebbe to Northeast Ohio, arriving in Cleveland in 1972 together with his wife, Devorah, to establish what would become the first Chabad House in the city and the broader region.

The effort began modestly, with programming at Case Western Reserve University’s Hillel House, where his “Stump the Rabbi” sessions quickly grew from a small group of students into large, late-night discussions. With the support of philanthropist Irving Stone, who underwrote the initial years on condition that the Alevskys lead the effort, the first official Chabad House was established that same year in South Euclid.

From this foundation, Rabbi Alevsky guided the steady expansion of Chabad’s activities across the region. By 1975, new branches had opened in Columbus and Cincinnati, alongside the launch of Camp Chabad, which he described as a “major step forward.” In the years that followed, additional institutions were established, including Torah Nursery in 1980, along with a wide range of educational, social, and outreach programs designed to serve a growing and diverse Jewish population.

Under his leadership, Chabad of Cleveland developed into a regional hub encompassing multiple branches throughout Northeast Ohio, including centers in Cleveland Heights, Solon, downtown Cleveland, and on campuses such as Case Western Reserve University, Kent State, Ohio University and more. Specialized initiatives, including the Friendship Circle of Cleveland, founded in 2003 to support children with special needs and their families, and adult education programs such as the Fromovitz Adult Jewish Learning Academy, further broadened the organization’s reach.

Together with his wife, Devorah, daughter of Rabbi Zalman and Rebbetzin Shula Kazen, early pioneers of Chabad in Cleveland, Rabbi Alevsky built not only institutions but a multigenerational legacy. Their ten children became involved in the Chabad movement, many serving as shluchim in Cleveland and beyond, while grandchildren continued this work internationally, leading communities across the United States, Israel, Europe, and South America.

He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Devorah Alevsky, his children,

Sarah Freedman – Bahia Blanca, Argentina,

Chani Glitzenstein – Maaleh Efraim, Israel,

Kaila Sasonkin – Akron, Ohio,

Chayim Boruch Alevsky – Cleveland, Ohio,

Miriam Greenberg – Solon, Ohio,

Dinie Greenberg – Shanghai, China,

Estie Marozov – Pepper Pike, Ohio,

Rochie Sudak – London, UK,

Rivky Friedman – Brooklyn, New York

and Mendy Alevsky – Cleveland, Ohio.

He is also survived by his sister, Mrs. Nechama Shtrassberg, Kfar Chabad.

The funeral took place, Monday, ג׳ אייר April 20, at 4:30 PM at the Waxman Chabad Center, 2479 S. Green Road, Beachwood, Ohio.

Burial followed at Anshe Sfard Cemetery, 310 Swartz Road, Akron, Ohio.

Shiva will be at the home of Mrs. Devorah Alevsky

4481 University Parkway, University Hts. Ohio, 44118

Shiva Times: 1:00pm - 8:00pm

Davening Times:

8:00am Shacharis

8:00pm Mincha

9:00pm Maariv

הַמָּקוֹם יְנַחֵם אֶתְכֶם בְּתוֹךְ שְׁאָר אֲבֵלֵי צִיּוֹן וִירוּשָׁלַיִם