Mordechai Rivkin receives bronze trophy at international chidon

Local Chabad Lubavitch of Louisiana families are celebrating the achievement of Mordechai Rivkin, son of Congregation Anshe Sfard’s Rabbi Yochanan and Sarah Rivkin, for his placement last week in the final round of the annual International Chidon HaMitzvos competition in Newark, NJ.

Mordechai Rivkin, received a bronze trophy as a fourth grader. He was part of a final field of more than 1,500 from over 150 schools pulled from an initial group of 10,000 students worldwide in the chidon (“competition”).

The event is the culmination of more than seven months of rigorous tests that qualify students to participate in the finals. The tests, which are divided by gender, are intended to determine how well students are acquainted with the Torah’s 613 Commandments.

The children, ages 9-13, pore over large detailed texts throughout the course of their study, which is organized by Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement and Tzivos Hashem, its children’s division.

As one of the finalists, he also enjoyed four days of sightseeing in New York and participated in games of competition leading up to the final tournament and on-stage tournament and award ceremony. Additionally, Rivkin family members celebrated the day as it was also the yartzeit of his great-grandfather for whom he is named.