Yosef Yitzchak Kazen

Yosef Yitzchak Kazen (1954 – 1 December 1998),[1][2] also known as Y.Y. Kazen, was an American Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic rabbi. He is known for creating and running Chabad.org in 1988, before the World Wide Web existed.

Yosef Yitzchak Kazen
Born
Yosef Yitzchak Kazen
Died1 Dec 1998 (aged 44)
Brooklyn, New York City
Known forCreating Chabad.org
Spouse(s)Rochel Kazen
ChildrenRaizy, Michoel, Shmuel, Choni, Peretz and Sarah

Early life

Kazen was born in Cleveland, Ohio to Rabbi Zalman and Shula Kazen. After arriving in Brooklyn, New York from the Soviet Union, the Kazens moved to Cleveland after being encouraged to do so by the Lubavitcher Rebbe. As a child, Kazen went to the Cleveland Kaliver Yeshivah and the Hebrew Academy and studied after school with his father. He also studied in New York and Brazil. He attended high school at the Telshe ("Telz") Talmudic Academy in Cleveland and later attended the Central Lubavitch Yeshivah.

Chabad.org

In 1988, Kazen started working on Chabad.org on his home computer after discovering message boards on Fidonet.[3] He received the Lubavitcher Rebbe's approval,[4] and worked from his basement answering emails and later running the website. He was later given an office at Lubavitch Headquarters. He was inspired to create a website to aid in Chabad's outreach.

Kazen answered emails as part of "Ask the Rabbi" since 1988, making it the longest running online "Ask the Rabbi" service. In 1993, Chabad.org was launched on the World Wide Web. Kazen's outreach included organizing a Passover service on a boat near Antartica, sending kosher recipes to Jews worldwide, making thousands of Jewish documents and texts available online and using the site to answer e-mails and frequently asked questions as part of "Ask the Rabbi".[2]

Kazen was featured in the 24 Hours in Cyberspace photographic exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.[5]

Even after being diagnosed with lymphoma in 1998, Kazen continued to answer e-mails and update Chabad.org using a laptop in the hospital.[6] Kazen died on 1 December and was buried in the Lubavitch section of the Old Montefiore Cemetery in Queens, New York near the Lubavitcher Rebbe and the Frierdiker Rebbe.

As of 2013, 488,431 people worldwide are subscribed to Chabad.org's emails, the site has 25 "Ask the Rabbi" responders, 744,370 questions answered in the past decade, content from 1,890 authors, hundreds of kosher recipes and thousands of video and audio files.[7]

Family

Kazen married Rochel. Together, they had six children: Raizy, Michoel, Shmuel, Choni, Peretz and Sarah.

References
  1. "Father of the Jewish Internet Passes Away" (Press release). Lubavitch News Service. 3 December 1998.
  2. Harmon, Amy (13 December 1998). "Yosef Kazen, Hasidic Rabbi And Web Pioneer, Dies at 44". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  3. "Pioneering Net rabbi dies of cancer at 44". JTA. 11 December 1998. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  4. Mannes, George (22 December 1996). "Surfin' For Souls On The Internet". New York Daily News. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  5. Miller, Leslie (2 January 1997). "Museum Space for 'Cyberspace'". USA Today. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  6. "Pioneer of the Jewish Internet Had a Passion for People". www.chabad.org. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  7. "One Jewish Website, 37 Million Visitors - Chabad.org's Impact". www.chabad.org. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
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