Rabbi Chaim Leib Hildeshaim was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1976 and was raised together with his eight siblings by his parents Rabbi Shmuel and Rivkah Hildeshaim, respected educators in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., the Rebbe’s community.
Rabbi Chaim, as he is affectionately known, studied at the educational institute of Oholei Torah in Brooklyn, Tomchei T’mimim in Israel and the Central Lubavitch Yeshiva in Brooklyn. He received his rabbinical ordination from three of the leading rabbinical authorities in Israel.
Growing up at the Rebbe’s feet, Rabbi Chaim learned the meaning of giving to others and began sharing the beauty and depth of the Torah with fellow Jews from an early age. Even as young as 13, he often delivered talks of a variety of topics and spent his summers travelling to remote communities to organize summer camps, communal holiday services and adult education programs. These were the first of many trips that he would later take as a rabbinical student that would bring him to far-flung places such as Russia, Estonia, Ukraine, Germany, France, Italy, the U.S. and the British Virgin Islands as well as dozens of American cities.
With the experience gained from these adventures, coupled with a solid foundation in Jewish knowledge and his extensive knowledge of the inner dimensions of Torah, Rabbi Chaim found his calling in sharing the infinite wisdom of Judaism with others. In 2000, he was married to Chanie Zaltzman, and in May of 2002, he moved to Canada and began working on building up Jewish life in the newly developiong subdivision of Thornhill Woods. Chabad Russian Center of Thornhill Woods has evolved into a wonderful Jewish community with daily synagogue services, major Holiday Events, Hebrew School, Bar/Bat Mitzvah Clubs, ongoing classes and other programs for children and adults, Jewish Lifecycle services and more. Rabbi Chaim also sends out a popular weekly E-Torah with a joke of the week to an ever-growing list of recipients.