[COMMUNICATED] New Jersey residents were delighted to receive news of the Kaliver Rebbe shlit”a of Eretz Yisrael’s visit to Lakewood. The Rebbe arrived on Rosh Chodesh Shvat.
The chassidic court of Kaliv has its roots in a quaint village on the Hungarian-Romanian border where the saintly Rabbeinu Harav Yitzchak Eisik of Kaliv zy”a, progenitor of the chassidus, first established his Court over 200 years ago. The Kaliv dynasty was long renowned for the predominant spirit of ahavas Yisrael that prevailed within its Holy Court. Throughout the ages, Kaliver Rebbes and their chassidim endeavored with great mesirus nefesh to raise the banner of Torah and draw the hearts of thousands of lost and floundering Jews to return to their spiritual source. Countless Jewish neshamos, in turn, saw in the Rebbe a spiritual guide and mentor who lovingly and compassionately navigated them along the path of the Baal Shem Tov. Soul-stirring melodies and song were fundamental aspects of Rabbeinu’s Yitzchak Eisik’s illustrious Court. He often expressed that an intrinsic quality of music and song is its unique capacity to increase simchah and spiritual yearning, and indeed, his poignant melodies inspired many to return to the path of truth.
Even after the passing of the Harav Yitzchak Eisik of Kaliv, he continued drawing the hearts of Klal Yisrael near, and his tziyun was frequented by thousands who came to spill their hearts in prayer before the Master of the world in the zechus of the tzaddik. Every year on his yahrtzeit on 7 Adar, Yidden streamed en masse to the Rebbe’s burial site in the little town to storm the heavens and entreat for mercy and salvation, and the scene was often compared to the annual pilgrimage to the tziyun of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in Meron on Lag Ba’Omer. Indeed, until this very day, many Jews still travel to the remote border town of Kaliv to pray at this sacred site.
The sixth-generation scion of the Rebbe’s dynasty was the previous Kaliver Rebbe Harav Menachem Mendel Taub ztvk”l who restored his pure neshamah to Shamayim eight months ago on motzaei Pesach 5779. The Rebbe was a survivor of the Holocaust inferno, enduring barbaric atrocities and unspeakable physical tortures at the hands of Nazi oppressors. His brutal journey led him through 22 ghettoes and camps, among them the Warsaw Ghetto and Auschwitz; yet he survived these years miraculously, slipping through the Nazis’ vicious talons time and again. After the war, the Rebbe viewed it as his sacred obligation to commemorate the lives of the six million Kedoshim H”yd who had perished in the flames and to ensure that their memory would never fade. He emotionally recounted that he could still hear the desperate pleas of Jewish prisoners as they were marched into the gas chambers shouting, “If you stay alive, never forget us!”
For over half a century, the Rebbe founded and developed extraordinary chinuch programs, endeavoring indefatigably and lovingly to capture the hearts of Klal Yisrael and draw them all, young and old, to learn Torah and observe mitzvos. In the framework of his flagship educational project Bar Bei Rav D’Chad Yoma, which literally translates as ‘Student for a Day,’ he would travel from the towns in Israel’s far north down to Beer Sheva in the south lecturing on Torah subjects to hundreds of thousands of Jews, adults and adolescents, religious and secular alike. He likewise cultivated an impressive network of mosdos Torah and chessed that dispensed education and aid to Klal Yisrael indiscriminately, perpetuating the sacred legacy of ahavas Yisrael that was the hallmark of Kaliv.
The Rebbe zt”l’s profound love of every Jew was keenly felt by all, and he earned the admiration and esteem of gedolei Yisrael and tzaddikei hador across the spectrum.
Hagaon Harav Moshe Feinstein zt”l, wrote in a famous letter, “The Kaliver Rebbe [zy”a]…has performed great wonders in Eretz Yisrael, drawing thousands of our Jewish brothers to learn Torah…And I thus appeal to all my friends, Rabbanim, and geonim to assist him in this matter… I will also, bli neder, participate in this…”
The Shevet Halevi Hagaon Harav Shmuel Halevi Wosner zt”l likewise penned his warmest wishes to the Rebbe on the occasion of publishing one of his sefarim: “Once again, our dear and honored friend, a friend of all of Klal Yisrael…the Kaliver Rebbe [zy”a] is publishing a sefer from his treasurehouse of wisdom and toil in Torah. I have been privileged to be acquainted with him and to observe from up close his pure intentions which are exclusively for the sake of heaven. The Rebbe’s activities and efforts to draw the hearts of the sons to their Father in heaven are well-known, and he dedicates his days to reinforce and encourage outstanding lomdei Torah who learn and plumb the depths of [Torah].”
In the Rebbe’s last will and testament, he appointed his beloved grandson Harav Hatzaddik Yisrael Mordechai Horowitz shlit”a as his successor. The Rebbe shlit”a assumed this awesome honor and responsibility of perpetuating his grandfather’s sacred legacy of Torah and chessed with gravity and heartfelt tefillos for success and siyata diShmaya.
Foremost on the Rebbe’s agenda is maintaining Kaliv’s flagship Kollel Network which encompasses hundreds of avreichim and offers a unique learning program and schedule that was personally created and refined by the Rebbe zt”l. In the framework of the Kaliv Kollel, young avreichim learn and master all the relevant halachos to building a home on foundations of Torah, halachah and yiras Shamayim. The rigorous study program is complemented by comprehensive tests intended to hone the mind and increase knowledge and depth of understanding of these vital topics.
A unique aspect of the Kollel is a special program offering lectures, guidance and counseling on domestic issues. The lectures are presented by world-renowned speakers who cover a variety of crucial topics related to the home and family life. The program is popularly endorsed by gedolei hador shlit”a across the board, and baruch Hashem, the positive results are keenly felt by many avreichim who express their deep gratitude to the Kollel which facilitates and guides them at significant points in their lives.
Mosdos Kaliv also features a high-level semichah program that trains outstanding talmidei chachamim in Rabbanus and practical halachah. The program had been effusively praised by gedolei hador and contemporary pillars of halachah shlit”a, and its alumni lead congregations and communities around Eretz Yisrael.
Throughout his life, the Kaliver Rebbe ztvk”l published a spectacular library of sefarim, among then the 3-volume encyclopedic masterpiece Shema Yisrael, an anthology of episodes of mesirus nefesh and spiritual valor of righteous Jews who risked their lives to fulfill the mitzvos during the Holocaust. The series also contains a collection of rare photos from those years, along with a broad range of inspirational Torah literature on the parshah and halachic topics.
Today, the Kaliver Rebbe shlit”a, along with a devoted group of followers, is striving to perpetuate the holy legacy of his illustrious forebears by expanding the circle of Torah, kedushah and ahavas Yisrael, reaching out and touching the hearts of more and more Jews in Israel and around the world. Simultaneously, he is struggling to repay the Court’s heavy burden of debt that remains from the Rebbe zt”l’s final years when he was gravely ill and required round-the-clock nursing care.
The Rebbe will, iy”H, be arriving in Lakewood on Monday, January 27, Rosh Chodesh Shvat, and will remain through Thursday, January 30, 4 Shvat. Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Bo will be spent in Toms River, and tefillos and a gala tisch will be open to the public in Beis Hamedrash Zichron Yechezkel. The Rebbe will remain in Toms River until the following Monday, February 3, 8 Shvat.
For public reception hours and to schedule an appointment please call: 347-204-2249
Focused on the Future
As the successor of his venerable grandfather zt”l and the next link in the holy dynasty of Kaliv, the Rebbe shlit”a assumed the awesome spiritual and material responsibility of perpetuating and expanding the chassidus along with its multifaceted chinuch and kiruv projects in Eretz Yisrael.
From the very start, the Rebbe shlit”a united his grandfather’s young chassidim and appealed to them to join him in upholding the Rebbe zt”l’s sacred legacy, emphasizing several primary objectives:
1. Supporting the Kaliv Kollel Network which offers a sturdy basis in Torah and avodah for young avreichim and guides them in building their homes and futures in all realms of life.
2. Perpetuating and expanding the Rebbe zt”l’s legacy of commemorating the Kedoshim of Europe Hy”d in the following ways:
A. Publishing a new, enhanced edition of the Shema Yisrael anthology.
B. Founding a Holocaust museum that will present a wide range of documentary materials that instill awareness of the Holocaust and convey the magnitude of our nation’s profound loss to contemporary youth, with a focus on gleaning vital lessons that can be learned and implemented in the daily life of a Jew who serves Hashem and is faithful to His Torah.
3. Continuing and expanding the Rebbe zt”l’s Bar Bei D;chad Yoma educational programs, seminars and gatherings in Israeli cities, settlements and educational institutions in order to further ingrain awareness and appreciation of Torah and mitzvos and reinforce foundations of Judaism and observance among other communities.
“K’ish echad b’lev echad, as one man with one heart.” Let’s all join together and partner in the goal of increasing Torah and yiras Shamayim in Eretz Hakodesh!