It is with great sadness that Matzav.comreports the petirah of Rabbi Yitzchak Kalman z”l, beloved educator and founder of Ulpana Har Nof in Yerushalayim. He tragically passed away on Sunday afternoon at the age of 85 after drowning in a pool in Tiveria during a visit to Chamei Tiveria.
Rav Kalman had traveled north to the kever of Rashbi in Meron ahead of Lag BaOmer.
Medical personnel at the scene attempted prolonged resuscitation efforts, but sadly, they were forced to pronounce his passing.
Rav Kalman, a longtime resident of the Beis V’gan neighborhood in Yerushalayim, was a towering figure in the field of chinuch, dedicating decades of his life to building and running the Har Nof Ulpana for girls, primarily serving immigrants from the former Soviet Union.
The institution, which he established together with his wife, Rebbetzin Rivka, in the wake of the Six-Day War, began humbly in a small apartment in Beis V’gan and grew into a prestigious educational center in Har Nof.
His journey to building a life of chesed and service began in tragedy. Born in Budapest on the 20th of Teves 1940, Rav Kalman lost both of his parents—R’ Avraham hy”d and Mrs. Devorah hy”d—in the Holocaust. He arrived in Eretz Yisroel as an orphan, together with his brother and aunt, and was raised in the Ponevezh orphanage. He later studied in Yeshivas Erlau under the Imrei Sofer, becoming one of the Rebbe’s early talmidim.
During the Six-Day War, he found himself under fire near Armon Hanatziv. At that moment, he made a neder: if he survived, he would dedicate his life to helping others. He kept that promise with fierce devotion.
Together with his wife, Rav Kalman built a haven for young women from the former USSR, offering them warmth, direction, and a deep connection to their Jewish heritage at a time when many were being absorbed into secular kibbutzim.
He was known not only as a visionary educator but as a man of extraordinary chesed, whose home was always open to baalei teshuvah and new immigrants who had no families of their own. To many, he was more than an educator. He was a father figure, a mentor, and a pillar of strength.
Rav Kalman was closely connected to many of the gedolei hador, including the Rebbe of Amshinov and the admorim of Erlau. He also shared a special bond with the Rebbe of Ribnitz, who resided for a time in Rav Kalman’s home during his stay in Eretz Yisroel before moving to the United States.
He was blessed with a beautiful family of sons, daughters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Thanks to swift efforts by ZAKA’s legal department, led by Michoel Gutwein, and with the help of Health Minister Uriel Busu, Deputy Transportation Minister Uri Maklev, and Rabbi Asher Landau of the Institute of Forensic Medicine, Rav Kalman’s body was released in accordance with halachah. ZAKA North, under the leadership of Anshel Friedman, assisted on the ground.
The levayah took place at the Gra Bais Medrash in Beis V’gan, proceeding via the Shamgar funeral home to Har Hamenuchos, where he is being buried now.
Yehi zichro boruch.
{Matzav.com Israel}