Kaliv (Hasidic Dynasty) - Jerusalem

Jerusalem

Grand Rebbe Menachem Mendel Taub is the Kaliver Rebbe in Israel, the son of the Rozler Rov, and son-in-law of Grand Rabbi Pinchos Shapiro, the Kechneyer Rebbe, scion of the Nadvorna Dynasty.

In 1944 he was put on a transport to Auschwitz by the Nazis, and he arrived there three days before Shavuos. 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 of America, where he began his work in memorializing the Holocaust in Cleveland, Ohio .

He moved to Israel in 1962. Upon coming to Israel, the Rebbe created Kiryas Kaliv in Rishon LeZion. The foundation stone was laid on 7 Adar 5723 (3 March 1963), the day of the Yahrtzeit of the founder of the dynasty, Grand Rabbi Isaac Taub. Recently a property developer acting on behalf of the Kaliver Rebbe of Jerusalem submitted plans to the Rishon LeZion municipality seeking permission to destroy the synagogue and drive out the religious residents of Kiryas Kaliv to take advantage of soaring property prices in the area and build high rise blocks for sale on the open market. Several years later he moved his headquarters to Bnei Brak. In 2004, the rebbe's court moved to Jerusalem.

During the last 60 years, since World War II, the rebbe has traveled to millions of Jews with his story and the saying of Shema Yisrael. He is also active in Jewish outreach and holds regular lectures for groups of professionals, including doctors and police officers. In addition, a Network of Kollelim, An Encyclopedia Project, and Several other divisions of Kaliv have been founded.