Shimon Sholom Kalish (1882–1954) was the

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 contem ...

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 ...

of Amshinov– Otvotsk.

Biography

He was the son of Menachem Kalish (1860-1918), the second Rebbe of Amshinov (Hasidic dynasty) in

Mszczonów Mszczonów ( Yiddish: אַמשינאָוו ''Amshinov'') is a town in Żyrardów County, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland, with 6,231 inhabitants as of the 2006 census. It is situated just outside the Warsaw metropolitan area, approximately 45 ...

(Yiddish: אמשינאוו Amshinov),

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

, and the brother of

Yosef Kalish Yosef (; also transliterated as Yossef, Josef, Yoseph Tiberian Hebrew and Aramaic ''Yôsēp̄'') is a Hebrew male name derived from the Biblical character Joseph. The name can also consist of the Hebrew yadah meaning "praise", "fame" and the ...

, Rebbe of Amshinov (d. 1935). When Menachem died in 1918, Kalish, became rebbe in

Otwock Otwock is a city in east-central Poland, some southeast of Warsaw, with 44,635 inhabitants (2019). Otwock is a part of the Warsaw Agglomeration. It is situated on the right bank of Vistula River below the mouth of Swider River. Otwock is hom ...

. He was a major driving force behind the exodus of thousands of young men in

Mir ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...

Kletsk Kletsk ( be, Клецк, Klieck, originally known as ''Klechesk'', russian: Клецк, pl, Kleck, ) is a city in the Minsk Region of Belarus, located on the Lan River. In 2015 it had 11,237 inhabitants. History The town was founded in the 1 ...

, Radin, Novhardok, and other

yeshivas 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 are stud ...

, via Russia and Japan to Shanghai at the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. By the time Shanghai came under Japanese control, it held 26,000 Jews (

Shanghai Ghetto The Shanghai Ghetto, formally known as the Restricted Sector for Stateless Refugees, was an area of approximately one square mile in the Hongkew district of Japanese-occupied Shanghai (the ghetto was located in the southern Hongkou and southwest ...

). It is said that when the Mir Yeshiva was in Shanghai and they did not know what time Sabbath was so they asked Kalish he ״answered that they should keep three days of sabbath just in case״. As World War II intensified, the Nazis stepped up pressure on Japan to hand over the Shanghai Jews. Warren Kozak describes the episode when the Japanese military governor of the city sent for the Jewish community leaders. The delegation included Kalish. The Japanese governor was curious: "Why do the Germans hate you so much?"

"Without hesitation and knowing the fate of his community hung on his answer, Reb Kalish told the translator (in Yiddish): "''Zugim weil mir senen orientalim'' — Tell him the Germans hate us because we are
Oriental The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of '' Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the ...
." The governor, whose face had been stern throughout the confrontation, broke into a slight smile. In spite of the military alliance, he did not accede to the German demand and the Shanghai Jews were never handed over."''The Rabbi of 84th Street: The Extraordinary Life of Haskel Besser'' by Warren Kozak (HarperCollins, 2004) p.177

After the war, Kalish moved to the United States. Upon his passing in 1954, his son Yerachmiel Yehuda Myer Kalish (1901-1976) accompanied his father's body to

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's F ...

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 ...

, and remained there.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalish, Shimon Sholom 1882 births 1954 deaths Polish Hasidic rabbis Hasidic rebbes Jewish Chinese history Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany in the Soviet Union