THEY BUILT A FUTURE—Rabbi Mordechai Meir Bryski, left, joins his son, Rabbi Moshe Bryski, director of Chabad of the Conejo at the construction site of the Chabad’s new Center for Jewish Life in Agoura Hills. The elder Bryski recently died in Brooklyn, N.Y. Rabbi Mordechai Meir Bryski—father of Rabbi Moshe Bryski, director of Chabad of the Conejo in Agoura Hills—died Jan. 8 at the age of 88 in Brooklyn, N.Y. after a brief illness.

A community-wide “Shloshim” memorial service honoring the life of the elder Bryski will take place at 7:30 p.m. Tues., Feb. 7 at Chabad of Tarzana, 18181 Burbank Blvd., Los Angeles.

Mordechai Meir Bryski, or “Mottel” as he was known, was a 16-year-old student at the Chabad Rabbinical Yeshiva, or seminary, in the city of Otwock, Poland, when the Germans invaded in 1939.

After fleeing from one city to the next, Bryski and many of his fellow schoolmates ended up in the city of Vilna—then under the control of Lithuania— where he obtained a transit visa from the Japanese consul, Chiune Sugihara.

After traveling across Russia on the Trans-Siberian railway to the port of Vladivostok and on to Kobe, Japan, Bryski and his group were eventually transferred to Shanghai, China, where they spent the duration of the war continuing their religious studies.

Mordechai Meir Bryski was the only member of his family of four sisters and one brother to survive the Holocaust.

Bryski arrived in the U.S. in 1945. With his wife, Ethel, he started a family of 11 children. He taught Judaic studies at the central Chabad Yeshiva in Brooklyn.

When his earnings as a teacher were not enough to support his family, Bryski went into real estate as a broker of home sales and as a negotiator for the New York Board of Education’s school leasing department.

In 1987, Bryski received a formal commendation from the City of New York for his exemplary dedication and conscientiousness as an outstanding civil servant.

In the 1970s, when the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn began seeing its Jewish population diminish, Bryski was recruited to help implement a campaign to make home ownership in Crown Heights newly accessible to Jewish families. His efforts were instrumental to the neighborhood emerging as a flourishing center of traditional Jewish life.

Members of Chabad of the Conejo become acquainted with the senior rabbi during his frequent visits over the years. The elder Bryski gave talks at Shabbat services, during gatherings at his son Moshe’s home and at the High Holiday services.

In September 2011, despite his poor health, the elder Bryski flew to Southern California for the grand opening of Chabad of the Conejo’s new Center for Jewish Life. During the ceremonies he delivered an address, recited a prayer, and then consecrated the front door of the new edifice by affixing the traditional mezuzah.

On the day before he passed away, the elder Bryski attended the circumcision ceremonies of his newest great-grandson.

“ He was highly respected and admired for his wisdom and piety,” said Irwin Weiss, a longtime congregant of Chabad of Agoura Hills, “but no less so for his warmth and sensitivity. The kindness in his eyes and the humility in his smile told you instantly that this was a very beautiful and special human being. He was always so friendly, approachable and pleasantly down-to-earth.”

Condolences to Rabbi Moshe Bryski can be emailed to rabbibryski@chabadconejo.com.

For more information about the memorial service, call (818) 991-0991.