Overview

Menachem Mendel Taub, often noted by his Hebrew spelling, was a prominent Israeli Hasidic rebbe and a leading figure of the Kaliv dynasty. Born in 1923, he became known both for his spiritual leadership and for his tireless work preserving the memory of Jewish suffering and heroism during the Nazi era.

Early life and wartime experience

Taub was born in Marghita, in what is today Romania. During World War II he was arrested and held in a succession of Nazi concentration camps. His wartime ordeal included imprisonment at Auschwitz and later at Bergen-Belsen. Accounts from survivors and family describe that he was subjected to medical experiments attributed to Nazi physicians, including those linked to Josef Mengele. These experiences were long reported to have left him unable to father children and affected his ability to grow facial hair, consequences he carried throughout his life.

Rebuilding and communal leadership

After liberation Taub married and eventually emigrated to the United States, where many survivors sought new lives. In 1962 he and his family moved to Israel, where he re-established the Kaliv Hasidic court. He founded a community known as Kiryas Kaliv in Rishon LeZion, which later relocated to Bnei Brak near the Yarkon Park area and ultimately to central locations in Jerusalem. As rebbe he combined traditional Hasidic teaching with an emphasis on communal care for survivors and transmitting memory to younger generations.

Memory, writings, and public work

Taub devoted large parts of his life to Holocaust remembrance. He compiled and published testimony collections to preserve first‑hand accounts from survivors and to educate future generations. His best-known work, presented under the title Shema Yisrael: Testimonies of devotion, courage, and self-sacrifice, 1939–1945, gathers hundreds of survivor narratives and was used in educational and commemorative settings. He also participated in memorial events, supported burial and dignity projects for victims, and encouraged communal rituals of remembrance.

Notable facts

  • Leader of the reconstituted Kaliv dynasty in Israel.
  • Survivor of multiple Nazi camps who later organized survivor testimony projects.
  • Founder of Kiryas Kaliv communities in Rishon LeZion, Bnei Brak area, and Jerusalem.
  • Author and editor of a large collection of survivor testimonies.

Legacy and death

Menachem Mendel Taub's life spanned prewar Eastern Europe, the horrors of the Holocaust, and decades of rebuilding Jewish religious life in Israel. He died in Jerusalem on 28 April 2019 at the age of 96. His work—both as a spiritual leader and as an archivist of testimony—remains part of broader efforts to remember victims, honor survivors, and teach succeeding generations about the human consequences of hatred and mass violence.