The Rebbe Who Rebuilt from the Ashes: The Life and Legacy of the Kaliver Rebbe

From Auschwitz to Israel: A Life of Unimaginable Pain and Unshakable Purpose

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Taub, the Kaliver Rebbe, passed away yesterday (Sunday) at the age of 96. Born in Marghita, Transylvania, he was a sixth-generation descendant of Rabbi Yitzchak Eizik of Kaliv. He married Chana Sarah Shifra Taub, who passed away in December 2011.

In 1944, after Hungary was overtaken by the Nazis, the Rebbe and his siblings were deported to Auschwitz. His entire family was murdered there. He survived but endured horrific torture and chemical experiments at the hands of Dr. Mengele, including procedures that left him permanently unable to grow a beard.

At one point, he stood before the crematoria and recited Shema Yisrael, preparing to die. Miraculously, he was spared, and from that moment, he committed his life to spreading Jewish faith, teaching the words of Shema Yisrael, and preserving the memory of the six million who perished.

Rebuilding the Kaliv Dynasty and Preserving Jewish Memory

After the war, the Rebbe reunited with his wife in Sweden. Together, they began to rebuild. He later moved to the United States and eventually settled in Israel, first in Rishon LeZion, where he founded the Kaliver Hasidic center, and then in Bnei Brak. In 1980, the Kaliv center moved to Hagai Street and later to Aharonovitz Street.

In 2002, a global Kaliv center was established on Chana Street in Jerusalem, where the Rebbe made his final home. He dedicated his life to Holocaust remembrance, especially the spiritual heroism of Jews who risked their lives to keep mitzvot (Divine commandments) under Nazi rule. In his beit midrash (study hall), the memory of the Holocaust permeated every corner.

Among his initiatives was the introduction of reciting Shema Yisrael at the end of every prayer service as a tribute to those who died with those words on their lips.

A Spiritual Will and a Living Legacy

The Kaliver Rebbe also founded Bar Bei Rav D’Chad Yoma, a nationwide Torah initiative that encouraged communities across Israel to dedicate full days to Torah learning for the general public. Each year, on the yahrzeit (anniversary of death) of the Chafetz Chaim (the 24th of the Jewish month of Elul), he called on students and communities to refrain from speaking in the spirit of the Chafetz Chaim’s teachings.

In recent years, he began developing an encyclopedia on the Holocaust tailored for the Haredi community and advocated for the establishment of a complementary Holocaust museum that would highlight the spiritual heroism of observant Jews during the war, something he believed was insufficiently commemorated.

In his will, the Rebbe wrote: “To all my students who are like children to me, I gave myself for you and shed tears like water on your behalf. I ask that you study Torah for the merit of my soul, light a candle in my memory, and continue supporting the sacred institutions and projects to which I dedicated my life. I will pray for you and your families from above, to bless you with healing, salvation, and all that you need.”

He requested that his students learn from his writings and named his adopted grandson, Rabbi Yisrael Mordechai Horowitz, as his successor.

Although the Kaliver Rebbe had no biological children, his followers tore their garments in mourning. To them, he was not just a teacher but also a father, and his passing leaves a profound