Rabbi in Illinois Chabad Movement Dies at 59

Daniel Moscowitz, a Jewish rabbi who helped encourage the growth of Chabad-Lubavitch centers in more than 20 Illinois cities, has died at age 59.

Rabbi Baruch Epstein of Lubavitch Chabad of Illinois says Moscowitz died in Chicago on Tuesday following routine surgery. A funeral was scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday in Chicago.

Moscowitz, the group's director, led the organization as it grew to nearly 40 centers in 21 Illinois cities with schools and services for seniors and children with special needs. He recently oversaw the opening of a new Chabad center in Carbondale.

"It is with great shock, sorrow and grief that we report the sudden, untimely passing of Rabbi Daniel Moscowitz obm, the Head Shliach to the state of Illinois," Lubavitch Chabad of Illinois said in a statement.

Moscowitz was active in Jewish communal leadership on a national and global level. Chabad-Lubavitch is a Hasidic Jewish movement.

His funeral was held at Congregation Bnei Ruven, 6350 N. Whipple Ave.