'Kind, Patient, Sincere': Manalapan Community Unites To Remember Beloved Rabbi

MANALAPAN, NJ — Described as kind, outgoing, and sincere, Rabbi Levi Wolosow was someone that everyone knew and loved.

Wolosow, 43, was a Chabad rabbi in Manalapan for 18 years before he suddenly passed away during a family trip on Feb. 3, according to Chabad.org’s obituary for him.

A beloved figure in the Monmouth County community, Wolosow was known for his love of learning and known as someone who loved to help others.

Whether it was putting mezuzahs up in someone’s house or arranging a lecture, Rabbi Shmaya Galperin, who directs a Chabad center in Holmdel, said he was “always happy and always doing something,” according to the obituary.

Mitch Halpert, who sat near Wolosow during services in their Manalapan synagogue, emphasized Wolosow’s love of learning and said he taught him how to reach out to people.

Wolosow was also known for things such as Project Rosh, the obituary said, a High Holiday service for as many as 500 people who were not inclined to attend traditional synagogue services.

“Everyone knew him and everyone loved him,” Halpert said. “He would tell everyone, ‘Just do a little bit more,’ and they would.”

Before Wolosow came to Monmouth County, he was raised in Sharon, Massachusetts, as the second of 12 children, according to his obituary.

His parents, Rabbi Chaim and Sara Wolosow, have served as Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries since 1980.

Following Wolosow’s marriage to Chana Chazanow in 2006, the couple settled in Manalapan, where her parents, Rabbi Boruch and Tova Chazanow, direct the Chabad of Western Monmouth County, the obituary said.

After two children in their community became orphans, Rabbi Wolosow and his wife took them in and raised them as their own, according to a fundraiser that was started to support Wolosow’s family.

Together, the couple have eight children, with a ninth on the way.

“Their home was built on love, kindness, and generosity,” the fundraiser said. “...That’s the kind of people they were — always giving, always opening their hearts.”

Following Wolosow’s passing, around 1,000 mourners made their way to Brooklyn for his funeral, the obituary said, coming from all over North America to pay their respects and say goodbye

Today, the community is coming together to support Wolosow's wife and children, who have lost a vital part of their family.

As of Monday evening, the fundraiser started to support Wolosow’s family has raised $1,676,665, which is 83% of their original goal.

To donate to the fundraiser, you can click here.

Donations can also be mailed to the Friendship Circle of Central Jersey at 26 Wickatunk Road, Manalapan, sent via Zelle to Chabadwmc@gmail.com, or sent through Venmo.

To read the full obituary from Chabad.org, you can click here.