Chaim Rosenberg with his late wife, Anna.
Chaim Rosenberg with his late wife, Anna.

Harry Rosenberg, 52, known to his family and friends by his Jewish name, Chaim, was an asset manager originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., and a recent resident of Champlain Towers in Surfside, Fla. He purchased a second-floor condo only last month, hoping that its views of the Atlantic Ocean would help him find solace after a turbulent year that saw the loss of his wife, Anna Rosenberg, to cancer, and both of his parents to COVID-19.

In recent months, Rosenberg had dedicated himself towards launching Mercaz Shalom, a young-adult center for mental healing, located on the campus of Mayanei Hayeshua Hospital in Bnei Brak, Israel, in memory of his late wife.He was identified on June 28 among those who lost their lives in the building collapse.

In a conversation recorded in Tablet magazine with Steve Eisenberg, a fellow member of The Shul of Bal Harbour, Rosenberg said of his move to Florida: “I’m so happy to be here; this is my next chapter of happiness.”

RELATED

Previously, Rosenberg had been renting smaller apartments in the area but had purchased the larger one at Champlain to have more room for his children and their families to visit. His daughter, Malki Weisz, and her husband, Benny, of Lakewood, N.J., were staying with him at the time of the collapse. They also lost their lives in the tragedy.

Rosenberg was beloved by those who know him as a truly dedicated friend and family man, someone who “loves everyone and is loved by all.”

“He was always thinking of others—the type of person who puts their needs before his own,” recalls Sendy Liebhard, a friend. “If he sees something and concludes that ‘this is just the thing that so-and-so would appreciate,’ it would arrive at the friend’s house in short order.”

Rosenberg had returned from a trip to New York just hours before the building collapse, rushing back to greet Benny and Malki Weisz.

“Chaim was a man of intense faith,” says Liebhard. “Life threw him a lot of curveballs, especially recently. His faith in G‑d and positive outlook is what’s nourished him and what he taught his family.”