‘Mitch’ Chefitz, Miami rabbi known for his wisdom and humility, dies at 84
Rabbi Mitchell “Mitch” Chefitz had a special way of looking at the world.
A South Florida rabbi, author, teacher and a man of many, many hobbies, Chefitz was well-known in the Miami community for his wisdom, innovative teachings on Judaism and humble demeanor.
His ability to teach about Jewish spirituality was unlike others, his son, Walt Chefitz recalled.
“He was able to teach everyone in the room something new at the same time,” Walt said. “His unique style was that he was teaching for everyone at one moment, and so the kids would be learning, the parents would be learning.”
“Everything he did was for the sake of Jewish learning and getting people excited about it,” his wife of 55 years, Walli, told the Miami Herald.
Chefitz passed away earlier this week at 84 years old.
On Monday, the day before he passed away, Chefitz imparted some last words of advice.
“He said, listen to each other,’” Walt said, recalling his father’s final moments. “And it was so, so sweet.”
A Rabbi’s rabbi
Chefitz was a lifelong learner, constantly exploring new interests and a skilled community connector.
Chefitz studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California, Berkeley, then served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy with service in Vietnam and in the Mediterranean during the Six Day War. He then studied in Israel at HUC-JIR in Jerusalem in 1970 and received his rabbinical ordination from HUC-JIR (New York) in 1975, according to his personal website.
His commitment to Jewish life and community was evidenced through his various leadership roles. He served first as associate rabbi at Temple Beth Am in Miami, and then was the director of the Havurah of South Florida (a Jewish fellowship group) for 22 years. Later, he served as rabbi at Temple Israel of Greater Miami. After five years as rabbi, he continued for another seven as scholar-in-residence.
And he never stopped teaching. In his retirement, he led study sessions at the Center for Jewish Life at Beth David. Last year, he created a Substack to share Jewish wisdom with rabbis or anyone, all around the world.
“He teaches two weeks in advance of that week’s study session from the Torah, so that all rabbis can use his lessons and their sermons the following week,” Walt said. “He’s become a Rabbi’s rabbi.”
Throughout his life, Chefitz collected a long list of accomplishments as a rabbi and teacher.
He authored three novels, most notably “The Seventh Telling: The Kabbalah of Moshe Katan;” served as chairperson of the National Havurah Committee; edited a nationally syndicated weekly Torah column; and was a frequent teacher at Havurah institutes and rabbinic conferences. He was a past-president of the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami.
But, as someone who held many titles, Chefitz never let his success shake his humble nature. He insisted that his title “rabbi” be spelled with a lowercase “r.”
He felt the title was too “pompous,” his wife Walli said, and he didn’t want people to feel intimidated by titles.
In her eulogy for Chefitz, Rabbi Julie Jacobs reflected on his impact, deeply felt by many. Chefitz was Jacobs’ “chevruta” or study partner for several years at the Center for Jewish Life of Beth David.
“His mentorship would become a source of inspiration I carry forward. In that way, Mitch did not just teach - it rippled out, changed trajectories,” Jacobs wrote. “He taught me (and so many others) that the mundane is suffused with the sacred, if we have the eyes to see it.”
Loving father, fearless adventurer
Chefitz and his wife came to Miami in 1974 for a job at Florida International University for Walli. She said her and her husband “fell in love with Miami, and stayed all this time.”
His family lived in Pinecrest and Coconut Grove, one of Chefitz’s favorite neighborhoods in all of Miami. He practiced yoga in the Grove and enjoyed long early-morning rides on his motorcycle.
“He’s the most loving father, the kindest grandfather to his two grandchildren ... just the ultimate parent,” Walt said, adding that his dad always wanted to be involved with “everything his kids were doing. And that’s exactly what he did,” Walt said.
When Walt and his wife started a popular fruit stand at the Pinecrest Farmers’ Market, Chefitz was right there, joining in on the fun.
“People would walk up, and they would know him as a rabbi, and they’d say, ‘Hello Rabbi, You married me. And he says, Oh, that’s wonderful. Today I’m a fruit salesman.’”
Many of his students would credit Chefitz as the teacher who sparked their lifelong interest in Judaism, said Walt.
“Everybody would call him wise,” Walt said. “He changed everyone, people would say, ‘he was my favorite teacher at Jewish Day School or it wasn’t until I met him that I understand rabbis can be cool ... or I became interested in Judaism.’”
Walt explained Chefitz as someone who had a “kaleidoscope way of seeing the world,” referring to his dad’s ability to integrate all aspects of life — from the spiritual to the scientific — in his writings and teachings.
Above all else, he was a person who loved living life, his family said. Chefitz was a mountain climber, soccer player, cross-country motorcyclist, flamenco guitarist, writer and poet — to name just some of his hobbies.
“He went out there and did. He was a scuba diver. He just went. He was a Navy Lieutenant in Vietnam. He just had no fears. And he had no fears of dying. He was out there,” said Walli. “He made every day count,” his son, Walt, added.
“We were lucky to have him,” his wife said.
Chefitz was also a close friend of Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who posted a tribute to the rabbi on her public social media accounts.
“To me and my husband Rob, he has been a dear friend and muse, an endlessly caring, calming yet passionate seeker of truth and meaning,” Levine Cava wrote. “He is mourned by his beautiful family, friends, and the many thousands whose lives he touched with his profound wisdom.”
And in a recent Substack, where Chefitz shared his writings until the very end of his life, he writes:
“Learning alone is like learning in darkness. One becomes blinded by one’s own light with the certainty one is right.”
The family requests donations be made in memory of Mitchell Chefitz to the National Havurah Committee, https://www.havurah.org
This story was produced with financial support from Trish and Dan Bell and from donors comprising the South Florida Jewish and Muslim Communities, including Khalid and Diana Mirza, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.
This story was originally published October 25, 2025 at 1:35 PM.
