Menachem Mendel Taub ( he, מנחם מנדל טאוב) (1923–2019) was the

Rebbe A Rebbe ( yi, רבי, translit=rebe) or Admor ( he, אדמו״ר) is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties.Heilman, Samuel"The Rebbe and the Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism."''Religion and Spiritua ...

of the Kaliv (Rozlo) Hasidic

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Born in

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

in 1923, he was seventh in a direct paternal line to the founder of the dynasty, Rabbi Yitzchak Izak of Kaliv, a disciple of

Elimelech of Lizhensk Elimelech Weisblum of Lizhensk (1717–March 11, 1787) was a rabbi and one of the great founding Rebbes of the Hasidic movement. He was known after his hometown, Leżajsk ( yi, ליזשענסק, translit=Lizhensk) near Rzeszów in Poland. He was ...

. His second cousin, Rabbi Moshe Taub, is the Kalover Rebbe in Brooklyn, New York.

Biography

Menachem Mendel Taub was the son of Rabbi Yehuda Yechiel Taub, the Rozler Rov, and son-in-law of Grand Rabbi Pinchos Shapiro, the Kechneyer Rebbe, scion of the Nadvorna dynasty. He had six brothers and sisters. He married his first wife, Chana Sara Shapiro, before the start of World War II. In 1944, he was deported to Auschwitz concentration camp, arriving there three days before Shavuot. While in Auschwitz, he was experimented upon by

Josef Mengele , allegiance = , branch = Schutzstaffel , serviceyears = 1938–1945 , rank = '' SS''-'' Hauptsturmführer'' (Captain) , servicenumber = , battles = , unit = , awards = , commands = , ...

. Because of "chemical burning experiments", he was unable to grow facial hair; he also had an unusually high-pitched voice, and was rendered sterile, unable to have children. He was transferred from Auschwitz to the Breslau

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

, and later to

Bergen-Belsen Bergen-Belsen , or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, in 1943, parts of it became a concentrati ...

. Six months after the war ended, he reunited with his wife in Sweden. In 1947 they immigrated to the United States and settled in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. He and his wife

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

in 1962. The following year he founded Kiryas Kaliv in Rishon LeZion. The foundation stone was laid on 7 Adar 5723 (3 March 1963), the day of the

yahrtzeit Bereavement in Judaism () is a combination of '' minhag'' and ''mitzvah'' derived from the Torah and Judaism's classical rabbinic texts. The details of observance and practice vary according to each Jewish community. Mourners In Judaism, the ...

of the founder of the dynasty, Grand Rabbi Yitzchak Isak Taub. Several years later he moved his headquarters to Bnei Brak. In 2004, Taub's court moved to

. Taub's first wife, Chana Sara, died in 2010. On

Lag BaOmer Lag BaOmer ( he, , ''LaG Bāʿōmer''), also Lag B'Omer or Lag LaOmer, is a Jewish religious holiday celebrated on the 33rd day of the Counting of the Omer, which occurs on the 18th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar. According to some Rishonim ...

2012, he remarried 55-year-old Sheindel Malnik of Bnei Brak. The marriage was short-lived and they later divorced.

Outreach

After World War II, Rabbi Taub actively spoke about the Holocaust and frequently invoked the memory of the Jewish martyrs. He encouraged the recital of "

Shema Yisrael ''Shema Yisrael'' (''Shema Israel'' or ''Sh'ma Yisrael''; he , שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ''Šəmaʿ Yīsrāʾēl'', "Hear, O Israel") is a Jewish prayer (known as the Shema) that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewi ...

" to memorialize Holocaust victims at the conclusion of religious events in Israel. He also traveled to interact with millions of

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

by telling his story and encouraging the saying of "Shema Yisrael". He was also active in

Jewish outreach Jewish outreach is a term sometimes used to translate the Hebrew word ''kiruv'' or ''keruv'' (literally, "to draw close" or "in-reach"). Normative Judaism forbids seeking converts to Judaism from other religions, although all denominations do a ...

and conducted regular lectures for groups of professionals, including doctors and police officers. In addition, a network of

kollel A kollel ( he, כולל, , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim (lectures) and learning ''sedarim'' (sessions); ...

s, an encyclopedia project, and several other divisions of Kaliv have been founded. In March 2014 he participated in the annual conference of the Rabbinical Congress of Europe, which met in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the destruction of Hungarian Jewry. He delivered an emotion-laden speech in Hebrew, and switched to English to direct remarks to US President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

and Russian President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

Lineage

* Grand Rabbi Yitzchak Izak Taub of Kaliv (1751–1821) ** Grand Rabbi Moshe Chaim Taub of Kaliv-Zidichov (died 1831): son of Rabbi Yitzchak Izak, son-in-law of Rabbi Tzvi of Zidichov *** Grand Rabbi Shlomo Taub of Kaliv-Rozlo (1820–1879): son of rabbi Moshe Chaim, son-law of his uncle, Rabbi Yehuda Tzvi Eichenstein of Rozlo **** Grand Rabbi Yehuda Tzvi Taub of Kaliv-Rozlo (1849–1886) ***** Rabbi Pinchas Chaim Taub Chief Rabbi of Rozlo (d. 1936): son of Rabbi Yehuda Tzvi and author of ''Toras Chesed'', ''Ohel Moed'', and ''Alufei Yehudo''; lived in Margareten during World War I ****** Rabbi Yehuda Yechiel Taub, Chief Rabbi of Rozlo (d. 1938): son of Rabbi Pinchos Chaim and author of ''Lev Someach heChodosh'' ******* Grand Rabbi Menachem Mendel Taub of Kaliv, (1923–2019)

Published works

* ''Kol Menachem'', a 13-volume work on the Torah and Jewish holidays * ''Shema Yisrael'', a 2-volume encyclopedia on the Holocaust (Hebrew) * ''Shema Yisrael: Testimonies of devotion, courage, and self-sacrifice, 1939–1945'' (English)

References

External links

* * * on Rebbeclips.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Taub, Menachem Mendel 1923 births 2019 deaths Auschwitz concentration camp survivors Hasidic rabbis in Israel Hasidic rebbes Romanian emigrants to the United States American emigrants to Israel Kabbalists Philosophers of Judaism Warsaw Ghetto inmates Religious leaders from Cleveland 20th-century Romanian rabbis