Rabbi Abraham Hecht, Rabbi Emeritus of Shaare Zion Congregation, was recently honored at the Chabad of Thailand dinner. Rabbi Hecht served the Sephardic Community for over 50 years and has been long-known and well respected throughout the community for as long as anyone can remember.

The dinner was held at the Brooklyn Marriot Hotel. Many community members attended to show their support and appreciation to Rabbi Hecht, a great Torah scholar and community leader who is held dear to the hearts of Sephardic Jews throughout Brooklyn. Chabad of Thailand was celebrating their tenth anniversary. The Jewish community of Thailand requested that Chabad appoint a rabbi to lead their community. In December of that year, with the blessing of the Lubavicher Rebbe Z”TL, Chabad sent Rabbi Yosef Kantor as a candidate for the rabbinical post. After some time spent in Thailand, Rabbi Kantor became a qualified shochet and then took up residence as Rabbi of Thailand.

Rabbi Kantor and his family arrived in Thailand, thus creating a new branch of the worldwide Chabad movement. Rabbi Kantor is Rabbi Hecht’s grandson. The Rabbi and his wife, Nechama wrote the following in tribute to Rabbi Hecht:

“To our dear grandfather, Rabbi Abraham D. Hecht. You are our hero. Your accomplishments speak louder than words. The mosdot of Torah and tefillah that have sprung up in your community are a result of your diligence and energetic teaching, during more than 50 years of community leadership.”