(VIDEO AND TRANSCRIPT IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)
Below is a message by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Taub, the Admor of Kaliv, to United States President Donald Trump, thanking him for his recent declaration that Jerusalem is the Capital of Israel.
In 2015, YWN published a video of the Rebbe where he directed a message towards then-President Barack Obama calling on him to be a staunch supporter of Israel, not just in words.
The Kaliver Rebbe, Rav Menachem Mendel Taub, is the seventh in a direct paternal line to the founder of the Kaliver dynasty, Rav Yitzchok Isaac of Kaliv, a disciple of Rav Elimelech of Lizensk.
The Rebbe, who is 94 years old, is a son of the Rozler Rov.
In 1944, the Rebbe was put on a transport to Auschwitz by the Nazis, and arrived there three days before Shavuos. While in Auschwitz, he was experimented upon by Dr. Joseph Mengele Y”MSH, and, consequently, was unable to have children or grow facial hair. He was transferred from there to the Warsaw Ghetto and the Breslau concentration camp, and later to Bergen-Belsen. Six months after the war ended, he discovered that his wife had survived, and they were reunited in Sweden. In 1947, they migrated to the United States, where he began his work in memorializing the Holocaust in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Rebbe moved to Eretz Yisroel in 1962 and created Kiryas Kaliv in Rishon LeZion. Several years later, the Rebbe moved his chassidus to Bnei Brak. In 2004, the Rebbe’s court moved to Yerushalayim.
During the last 70 years, since World War II, the Rebbe has traveled, spreading his story and the saying of Shema Yisrael to millions of Jews. He is active in Kiruv Rechokim and holds regular shiurim and shmuessen for groups of professionals, including doctors and police officers. In addition, he has directed a network of kollelim, an encyclopedia project, and several other undertakings of chassidus Kaliv.
The Rebbe has authored and published Kol Menachem, a 13-volume work on the Torah and Yomim Tovim, along with several other works.
In March 2014 he participated in the annual conference of the Rabbinical Congress of Europe, which met in Budapest 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 and Russian president Vladimir Putin.
The following is a rough transcript of the Rebbe’s remarks:
“My dear president of the United States, I am very very happy since I saw what the president of the United States, a young president, had the greatness to talk to the whole world [about recognizing Jerusalem]… You love everybody.
My dear President, I am already a United States citizen for more than 60 years, and living in Israel more than 50. I have traveled place to place, reaching tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of people, to let them know who we are [as Jews], they were all broken after the Holocaust.
My dear President, I am now more than 90 and I am broken from everything, 90% of my family were killed in the Holocaust. Now to hear from the President of the United States, [a country] who always helped the whole world, but now saying these words that brings love to millions of people. People are jealous that the president did such nice things for Israel.
In the Warsaw Ghetto and in Auschwitz, they wanted to throw me in a fire. I said to the almighty, help me, ‘Shema Yisrael’, my G-d let me live, and I was saved. So miracles after miracles , the almighty helped me. Afterwards I came to the United States and I said I must go to Yerushalayim, no matter if we are free people or not.
These words what you said, made the world believe that if you do, you will get help from the Almighty. I was very happy to hear while I was lying [sick] in bed, that the President came to Eretz Yisrael and was by the Kosel.”
“I want to wish u from the depths of my heart that you should have great success. Don’t worry if people are talking bad about you, the Almighty is with you and he should help you and the whole world should know that the United States helps everybody, anytime. Thank you very much and a lot of blessings to you, thank u very much,” the Rebbe concluded.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
One Response
Very moving. The Rebbe, zoll zyne gezunt is quite a bit more than 90 years of age: he just stopped counting at 90.
The article description of dr. mengele’s (lower case intended) procedures also left him without a deep masculine voice. And with it all he persevered and developed so much for Torah and to promote its learning.