Rabbi Sholom Mendel Kalmenson, one of the first Shluchim of the Rebbe and Rabbi of the Jewish community in Aubervilliers, France, passed away Monday, Kislev 23, 5772.
He was 90.
Rabbi Kalmenson was born in Kiev, Russia, and after his marriage to Basya (nee Chazanow) he was sent to Prague as a representative of the Frierdiker Rebbe to care for the many refugees that were arriving there.
He was an expert shochet and mohel, and the Rebbe gave him a bracha that all those he circumcised would have yiras shomayim.
When Israel became a state, Ireland sent large amounts of meat to the country, and Rabbi Kalmenson went with a few others to Ireland to shecht all the meat before it was sent overseas.
After escaping to Paris during the second World War, the UJA provided housing in the city of Aubervilliers, France for displaced families, and Rabbi Kalmenson moved there with his family.
While living there, he wrote to the Rebbe that he could not find any local Jews, but the Rebbe replied that this was not possible, if they will look, they will find Jewish locals.
Rabbi Kalmenson and his wife therefore founded Kehilas Schneur, “two lights,” in 1963, representing 2 types of Jews – as they indeed found many Sfardi and Ashkenazi Jews living in the city.
The couple also founded a school in the city, which, due to their mesiras nefesh grew steadily through the years and now boasts 600 students. With their continued effort, devotion and dedication, Aubervilliers has become a blossoming Jewish community.
He is survived by his wife, Basya Kalmenson, Aubervilliers, France and his children: Beila Gansbourg (Milan, Italy), Rivka Lipsker (Crown Heights), Rochel Bruchstat (Crown Heights), Feiga Levitin (New Haven, CT), Leah Raskin (Australia), Sterna Deitsch (Migdal Ha’emek, Israel), Chaya Nisselevitch (Aubervilliers, France), Meir Simcha Kalmenson (Aubervilliers, France), and Yosef Yitzchak Kalmenson (Aubervilliers, France).
He is also survived by his brother Rabbi Yisroel Shimon Kalmenson of Crown Heights.
He has many grandchildren and great grandchildren, many of them proud shluchim all over the world.
The Levaya will take place tomorrow at Har Hazeisim in Israel.
The family will sit shiva in Israel and then in France from Wednesday.
Nichum aveilim can be emailed to [email protected].
Baruch Dayan Haemes
Here is the telephone number to me Menachem Avel
(011) 331 4834-2926
Zeida was an Ish Mesiros Nefesh. I remember him describing to me how he used to learn in the underground Yeshiva in Russia, and the constant fear of being caught…then the difficulties he encountered in building up Shneor and the community in Aubervillere…that was his whole life mesiros nefesh for Yidishkeit.
אחרי הברית מילה של בני מנחם שיחיה הוא סירב לקחת תשלום כל שהוא ורצתי אחריו ברחוב בשביל שיקבל ואחרי שלוש פעמים קיבל בתנאי שהכסף יהיה לבית ספר.חיוך תמידי צניעות ואמיתיות. זצוק”ל.
the only thing i can say is that i proud to be his grandchild
S.M. Kalmenson affected so many people!!
Just by looking at a video of the Levaya you see what an impact the Kalmensons had on so many different types of people in France who came!!
Moshiach Now
Rebbe now geulah now
RABBI KALMANSON WAS A NEIGHBOR OF OURS FOR A VERY LONG TIME. I’M SO SORRY ABOUT HIS LOSS. A CHOSID IS LOST TO OUR WORLD. HIS FAMILY WAS ONE OF WICH WE CAN LEARN A LOT. MOST IF NOT ALL OF THE CHILDREN IN THE FAMILY ARE SHLUCHIM, INVOLVED IN CHINUCH AND UFORATZTO AS THEIR PARENT WERE. MRS. KALMANSON AND THE REST OF THIS WONDERFUL FAMILY HAMOKOM YENACHEM ESCHEM BETOCH SHAAR AVEILEY TZION VIYERUSHALAIM, YOU SHOULD KNOW AND HAVE SIMCHAS FROM NOW ON. IT’S HARD TO SEE A GENERATION OF CHASSIDIM AND TMIMIM LEAVE US. RABBI KALMANSON PLEASE ASK HASHEM… Read more »
Special man…
(after which Leah will finish the shivah in France)
18 Connie St
East Bentleigh
they all went to the levaya in isreal then to sit in franc. im going to miss my zaide dearly very very much
The couple also founded a school in the city, which, due to their mesiras nefesh grew steadily through the years and now boasts 600 students. With their continued effort, devotion and dedication, Aubervilliers has become a blossoming Jewish community.
He was born in Vitebsk, White Russia (not Kiev)
and he was 89 years old!!
May his neshama have an aliyah
Sholom = peace
he was such a loving and peaceful man
wow!! thats so special!!
such hashgacha pratis!! really shows what a special man he was
wow!! thats so special!!
such hashgacha pratis!! really shows what a special man he was
Is tehilim was the kapitul TSADIK.
The parsha of this week is miketz, (Mem, Kuf, Tsadik) roshei teivos, MENDEL, KALMENSON, TSADIK.
and the Tania of the the day speaks about tsadik.
I will miss Sholom Mendel dearly
He was such a special person!
A shliach of the Rebbe with true mesiras nefesh!!
such a special person is hard to find these days…
moshiach now!!
he has a lot of daughters here…
Even though he was not my biological zeide he always treated me like his grandchild when we would visit as kids and later when I came to study at chne or. He cared about each and every Jew making sure everyone had what they needed. He was also extrextreamly careful about preforming every mitzvah perfectly.
We will miss you.
how old was he
100% correct
He is also survived by his brother – ybl”t ,Rabbi Yisroel Shimon Kalmenson (Crown Heights) – The Rebbes Shochet.
Nothing more to say!
I will never forget how he took care of us (the first students of Shnei Or), always with a smile, and how his wife used to cook meals for us and be our bus driver, since we lived 45 min away.
A real tzaddik I will not forget.
he was a big shliach with alot of mesirut nefesh.
He was the head of an entire family of true Tsadikim. People like them are rare these days…
I’m very sad.
One of his spiritual children