Comprehensive Summary: The Angels Have Triumphed Over the Mighty

The heavenly angels have overcome the earthly beings, and the Ark of the Covenant has been taken. Blessed is the True Judge.

With great sorrow, we announce the passing of this pious man, a student of the holy forefathers, who sat and occupied himself with Torah and established an institution to perpetuate the name of Hashem in the world—the "Shema Yisrael Center, Bar Bei Rav."

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Taub, of blessed memory, departed for his eternal home at the age of 96 (1923–April 28, 2019). He was the Admor of Kaliv, a Holocaust survivor who dedicated his days to the commemoration of the holy martyrs of the Holocaust.

He was born in Margita, Transylvania, a sixth-generation descendant of Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac of Kaliv. Menachem Mendel and all his brothers and sisters were sent to Auschwitz, and all his siblings perished there. He survived but endured severe torture, including chemical treatment that prevented his beard from growing.

The Admor, of blessed memory, passed away in his home on Chana Street in Jerusalem. After recently falling in his home and his condition deteriorating, today, the 23rd of Nissan 5779, he lost consciousness, fainted, and finally returned his holy soul to the heavens.

The Connection of the Admor of Kaliv, of blessed memory, with Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a

It is well-known and famous that the Admor of Kaliv, of blessed memory, loved and greatly valued the path of serving Hashem of our teacher, the holy Gaon, Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a. The two holy luminaries met several times in the past, and the Admor of Kaliv reacted harshly against the malicious persecutions that our teacher, Rav Berland, endured. Here are words he said during the time that the intensity of the controversy reached difficult and base proportions.

Exclusive recording of the Admor of Kaliv regarding the holy Gaon, Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a, from the days when the intensity of the controversy was growing.

"Whoever touches even one hair of this tzaddik, in the end, will receive—may Hashem have mercy..."

"Rav Berland is a tzaddik, and I can testify; I knew him, I saw him, he is an upright man."

"We must do everything, and I ask for mercy from those people—not just organizations that are obligated, because the Rambam rules that one must save lives—but I ask even from those who are against religion, they must know that if they help bring about the release of Eliezer ben Atiya, they will have a merit for the World to Come!!"

"And I ask that in all the Talmud Torahs, with the help of Heaven, each in their place, they should recite one chapter of Psalms with the children to save this precious man whom many need. Happy is the portion of whoever helps; he will see nachas all his life..."

The Admor, of blessed memory, was famous for the songs he sang on holy occasions, with which he ignited the hearts of his listeners and drew them closer to our Father in Heaven.

According to Chassidic tradition, in the month of Elul of the year 5583 (1823), the Admor R' Yitzchak Isaac of Kaliv (the first Admor of Kaliv, the great-grandfather [sixth generation] of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Taub, of blessed memory) heard a Hungarian peasant humming a song of longing. The song captivated the heart of the Admor, who asked to buy it for a gold coin. The name of the song in Hungarian is 'Szól a kakas már,' and translated into Hebrew, it means 'The Longing of the Bird.'

Lyrics of the song:

"The rooster has crowed, the sun has already risen, in a green forest on a distant field, a bird is wandering.

What bird is this? Its wings are tattered, its legs are tired, it wants to return home already.

Wait, bird, wait; when Hashem has mercy on His people, then you shall go there.

When will this happen? When the Temple is built, the city of Zion will be filled, this light will shine."

This is the song that the student of the Admor carried in his heart on his long journey from Kaliv in Hungary to Jerusalem. The Chassidim say that immediately after the Admor finished learning the words of the song, it was erased from the memory of the peasant.

The Admor of Kaliv, of blessed memory, singing 'Szól a kakas már' in his holy voice, the voice that passed through the Nazi inferno, may their names be blotted out, where they conducted medical experiments on him.

May his memory be blessed.

There is no doubt that the merits of this giant tzaddik, who passed through the inferno of the oppressors, lost his family, and continued to sing to Hashem and draw His children—brands plucked from the fire—closer to our Father in Heaven, are countless. But, undoubtedly, the merit of having stood in the difficult hours by the side of our teacher, the holy Gaon, Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a, will stand for him. He stood firm even when others saw and knew the truth but chose not to enter the mouths of the instigators of controversy and the seekers of evil.

A place of honor will remain forever in the hearts of the tens of thousands of students of the holy Gaon, Rav Berland shlit"a, who drew more than a morsel of nachas and strengthening from his firm and truthful stance against those trying to breach the status of the great, G-d-fearing leaders of Israel.