With sadness we report the petirah of Harav Chaim Yisroel Abadi, Zt”l, the pioneering mechanech and rov whose life’s work transformed the landscape of at-risk youth outreach in America.

The founder of Minyan Shelanu – known throughout Lakewood simply as “The Minyan” – and its sister program, The Chill for girls, Rav Abadi dedicated himself for over two decades to young men and women whom others had given up on.

Rav Abadi was niftar over Shabbos following a difficult illness.

In his final days, he was being treated at the University of Pennsylvania hospital, where his condition worsened. The broader community had rallied around him earlier in the week, when a special atzeres tefillah was convened at his shul, with divrei chizuk from Harav Uren Reich shlita, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Ohr Zechariah.

Rav Abadi came to Lakewood in an earlier era, when the city bore little resemblance to the sprawling Torah community it has since become. Even then, he saw what few others were willing to confront: that a growing number of young people were being lost, unable to find their footing within the standard frameworks of frum life. His response was to build something different.

Minyan Shelanu, which he established in 2001, was conceived as a refuge — a place where a teenager in crisis could walk through the door without fear of judgment. Through structured programming, one-on-one mentorship, and an atmosphere of unconditional acceptance, the institution became a genuine lifeline. Hundreds of young people who might otherwise have drifted away entirely instead found their way back, going on to build stable, fulfilling lives. Many credit Rav Abadi personally with saving them.

His petirah comes just five months after that of his father, Harav Yitzchak Abadi, zt”l, a giant of psak halacha who stood among the foundational figures of Lakewood’s formative years.

His levaya will be at 10:00 a.m. at Minyan Shelanu, located at 145 ocean ave. (Route 88).

Yehi zichro baruch.