My Friend On The Row

I had the honor of knowing Chaim Eliav for close to 40 years. For many of those years we sat on the same row in shul. He was kind-hearted and always jovial. Besides his medical knowledge, he was worldly as he displayed his interest in many areas. He had a funny way of saying ‘correct’ or ‘awesome’. His mastery of accents could always make the listener laugh. The son of a Chazzan, he loved Chazzanis. He was devoted to his shul whether it was in Riverdale or on the West Side. He was a devoted family man to his wife Shelly, and daughter Sarah. He will be sorely missed by all he touched. Yehi Zichro Baruch.

Chaim Benzion Eliav, MD, passed away unexpectedly on Shabbos Parshas Naso, age 63. He was a child of Holocaust survivors and a life-long resident of the Upper West Side. For high school, he attended Yeshiva University’s Marsha Stern Talmudic Academy (MTA). Dr. Eliav trained in physiatry at Mount Sinai Hospital and became a well-regarded specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Those who knew Dr. Eliav enjoyed his great sense of humor coupled with his amazingly detailed, up-to-date knowledge of many areas of medicine outside his own speciality. He is survived by Shelly, his wife of 33 years, and their daughter. Yehi Zichro Baruch.