Menashe Klein (1924–2011) (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: ר' מנשה קליין), also known as the Ungvarer Rav (

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...

: אונגווארער רב), was a

Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism ( Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of conte ...

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 Spiritu ...

and

posek In Jewish law, a ''Posek'' ( he, פוסק , pl. ''poskim'', ) is a legal scholar who determines the position of ''halakha'', the Jewish religious laws derived from the written and Oral Torah in cases of Jewish law where previous authorities a ...

(arbiter of Jewish law). He authored 18 volumes of

responsa ''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars ...

, spanning over 50 years, entitled ''Mishneh Halachos''. Additionally, he authored some 25 other '' seforim'', including a commentary on

Simeon Kayyara Simeon Kayyara, also spelled ''Shimon Kiara'' (Hebrew: שמעון קיירא), was a Jewish-Babylonian halakhist of the first half of the 8th century. Although he lived during the Geonic period, he was never officially appointed as a Gaon, and ...

's ''BeHag''. Toward the end of his life, he relocated from

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York to

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

Biography

Menashe Klein was born in 1924 in the town of Orlova, Czechoslovakia (now known as Irlyava, Ukraine) near the city of

Ungvar Uzhhorod ( uk, У́жгород, , ; ) is a city and municipality on the river Uzh in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary. The city is approximately equidistant from the Baltic, the Adriatic and th ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

(now known as Uzhhorod,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

). He studied in the

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy a ...

of the

Rav ''Rav'' (or ''Rab,'' Modern Hebrew: ) is the Hebrew generic term for a person who teaches Torah; a Jewish spiritual guide; or a rabbi. For example, Pirkei Avot (1:6) states that: The term ''rav'' is also Hebrew for ''rabbi''. (For a more nuan ...

of Ungvar, Yosef Elimelech Kahane. During World War II, he was incarcerated in

Auschwitz-Birkenau Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed int ...

, Auschwitz-Buna, and finally in

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or sus ...

. At Buchenwald, he was sent out to "Stein," a

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

satellite camp at Eschershausen, but was listed in camp records as returned to Buchenwald, where he was liberated and where he completed a postwar military interview. On June 2, 1945, he was evacuated by train with 427 other former Buchenwald inmates ages 7 to 17 – among them Yisrael Meir Lau,

Naphtali Lau-Lavie Naphtali Lau-Lavie (sometimes Naphtali Lavie) (1926 – December 6, 2014) was an Israeli journalist, author, and diplomat. Biography Lavie's entire family was murdered during the Holocaust, with the exception of his brother, Yisrael, who would lat ...

, and

Elie Wiesel Elie Wiesel (, born Eliezer Wiesel ''Eliezer Vizel''; September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored 57 books, written mostly in F ...

– to France, where they boarded at a sanitarium in

Écouis Écouis () is a commune in the Eure department in northern France. Population Gallery See also *Communes of the Eure department The following is a list of the 585 communes of the Eure department of France. The communes cooperate in the ...

. He was transferred to

Ambloy Ambloy () is a commune in the Loir-et-Cher department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Loir-et-Cher department The following is a list of the 267 communes of the Loir-et-Cher department of France. The communes cooper ...

together with about 100 other boys who desired

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

facilities and a higher level of religious observance. This group was under the supervision of social worker Judith Hemmendinger, who attempted to re-acclimate the boys to normal living. The group was transferred to

Taverny Taverny () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Tabernaciens''. History In 1806 the commune of Taverny merged with the neighboring commune of Saint-Leu, r ...

after

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day' ...

1945.Schmidt, Shira, and Mantaka, Bracha. "A Prince in a Castle". '' Ami'', September 21, 2014, pp. 136-143. Klein immigrated to the United States in 1947. After World War II, he served as Rav in the "Chevrah Liyadi" shul, (which was located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn) and Principal of Yeshivas Shearis Hapleitah, under the direction of

Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam (January 10, 1905 – June 18, 1994) was an Orthodox rabbi and the founding rebbe of the Sanz-Klausenburg Hasidic dynasty. Halberstam was one of the youngest rebbes in Europe, leading thousands of followers in the ...

, Klausenberger Rebbe. In 1964, he founded Yeshiva Beis Shearim in

Borough Park, Brooklyn Borough Park (also spelled Boro Park) is a neighborhood in the southwestern part of the borough of Brooklyn, in New York City. The neighborhood is bordered by Bensonhurst to the south, Dyker Heights to the southwest, Sunset Park to the west, ...

, where he served as

rosh yeshiva Rosh yeshiva ( he, ראש ישיבה, pl. he, ראשי ישיבה, '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primar ...

. In 1983, he established "Kiryat Ungvar" in the Ramot section of Jerusalem in memory of his hometown. Today, it is a thriving neighborhood with hundreds of inhabitants. In 1998, he established "Zichron Kedoshim Square" in honor of the people of Ungvar, Czechoslovakia that were erased as a result of the Holocaust,

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 19 ...

Signed Bill that Adds the Name "Zichron Kedochim Square" to the Intersection of 53rd Street and 16th Avenue in

. The Ungvarer Rav was active until old age. He had thousands of students. In 2009, he stirred controversy. He published a

which, in part, denoted

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...

messianists as " apikoras" (heretics). At the time, he referred to them and was quoted; "This sect of crazies, which falsify the Torah and our sages' words, to say the Moshiach is dead but is really alive... these are things against our holy Torah." Referring to the fringe movement,

Chabad messianism Messianism in ChabadReferred to as Chabad messianism, Lubavitch messianism, or ''meshichism''. refers to the contested beliefs among members of the Chabad-Lubavitch community, a group within Hasidic Judaism, regarding the Jewish messiah, also ...

, within Chabad that has adopted the late Rebbe,

Menachem Mendel Schneerson Menachem Mendel Schneerson (Modern Hebrew: מנחם מענדל שניאורסון; old-fashioned spelling: מנחם מענדל שניאורסאהן; April 5, 1902 OS – June 12, 1994; AM 11 Nissan 5662 – 3 Tammuz 5754), known to man ...

as the Jewish Redeemer, or Jewish messiah. He died on the last day of

Elul Elul ( he, אֱלוּל, Standard ''ʾElūl'', Tiberian ''ʾĔlūl'') is the twelfth month of the Jewish civil year and the sixth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a month of 29 days. Elul usually occurs in August� ...

(September 28) 2011, and was buried in Tzfas, near the grave of the Arizal, the Alshich Hakadosh and Beis Yosef.

Works

''Mishneh Halachos'' (Hebrew language Hebrew: ''משנה הלכות'') is an 18-volume set of

authored by Klein. These responsa span over a course of about 50 years, and cover every aspect of the Torah. In the early 1960s, he published a book entitled ''Mitzvos Hamelech'' ( Hebrew: מצות המלך), a sefer designated to learn each day, on the 613 Mitzvos. This program is called Mitzva Yomis.See Persumei Nisah, first printed in volume 10 of Mishneh Halachos, 1987. Reprinted in Jerusalem 2011.

Biography

Works

References

Further reading