Chabad of Shadyside

Rabbi Mordy and Rivkee Rudolph on a visit to Israel at the beginning of the war in Lebanon

The son of a businessman and dedicated community activists Billy and Lieba Rudolph, Mordy attended Yeshiva Schools, in which his father presides as President, through elementary and high school, to continue on to advanced Jewish studies, attending Yeshivas in London, and Morristown, NJ. He served as a mentor to younger students in Yeshiva Tzeirei HaShluchim in Tzfat, Israel. Mordy spent a year in The Rabbinical College of America in Morristown, NJ, where he prepared for his ordination as a rabbi, he was then ordained in 2006 while studying at the Kollel Menachem Yeshiva for married men. Mordy always cared for the Jewish community in Pittsburgh and hopes to add to its vibrancy, with the development of Chabad of Shadyside and the Friendship Circle of Pittsburgh.

Rivkee Rosenfeld, now Rudolph, also grew up in Squirrel Hill and attended Yeshiva Schools from pre-school, until her graduation in the twelfth grade class of 2003. As the daughter of Rabbi Yisroel and Blumi Rosenfeld, Dean of Yeshiva Schools and pre-school director respectively, Rivkee was shown the example of commitment to community early on. Rivkee's parents moved to Pittsburgh close to 30 years ago which set the standard for their six children so far to develop Jewish communities in Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Rome, and Phoenix. Rivkee continued her studies at Seminary Machon Alta in Tzfat, Israel, before she returned to Pittsburgh to excel as a Kindergarten teacher at Yeshiva Pre-School. She spent last school year teaching preschoolers at Associated Beth Rivkah Girls School in Brooklyn, NY. Rivkee knows that "Charity starts at home," coupled with her love and devotion to children, she promises to be a wonderful asset to the Jewish community, especially in the department of children with special needs.

Mordy and Rivkee are part of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. The movement, under the leadership of "The Rebbe," Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of Blessed Memory, continues to flourish twelve years after his passing. There are thousands of representatives worldwide, "Shluchim," dedicated to bettering the Jewish community locally, as well as nationally and globally. The Rebbe taught his followers the value of Jewish continuity, and how it begins; with one Jew. Every Jew is as important as the next for the very reason that we all possess an inherent soul. With this in mind, affiliation of any kind is of no difference, the only factor being that each and every Jew has the responsibility to try and strengthen, not physically but spiritually, the Jewish community at large. How? By doing one good deed, a mitzvah, and with that, we can all make the world a better place.

From ChabadofShadyside.com