A Chareidi man in his 80s was pulled from a pool in Tiveria in critical condition on Sunday, and his death was later pronounced at the scene.

He was later identified as Rav Yitzchak Kalman, z’l, 85, a resident of the Bayit V’Gan neighborhood of Jerusalem and the menahel of Beit Uplanah of Har Nof.

Rav Kalman, z’l, had spent Shabbos in Meron and on Sunday, traveled to the hot springs in Tiveria.

MDA and Hatzalah paramedics who arrived at the scene tried to perform resuscitation efforts and stabilize his condition, but unfortunately, they were forced to pronounce him dead.

The niftar was born in Budapest, Hungary. His parents were murdered in the Holocaust and he arrived in Eretz Yisrael as an orphan together with his siblings and aunt.

During the Six-Day War, he found himself near Armon HaNetziv under heavy crossfire, where he promised himself that if he returned alive from the war, he would devote himself to helping others.

Indeed, Rav Kalman, together with his wife Rivka, שתחי’, established the Har Nof Ulpana (religious school) for immigrants from the Soviet Union and dedicated themselves to teaching them about Yiddishkeit.

Rav Yitzchak was a well-known and respected educational figure who dedicated himself to establishing the Ulpana, which began in a small apartment in Beit Vegan and later moved to Har Nof, becoming a large and respected institution.

He was close to the  Amshinover Rebbe as well as to the Erlau Rebbes and was one of the first students of the Imrei Sofer, z’tl.

Rav Yitzchak was known as a ba’al chessed who opened his home to immigrants and ba’alei teshuvah. He left behind dor yesharim, sons and daughters, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

His older brother was HaGaon HaTzaddik Rav Pinchas Kalman, z’tl, a neighbor of HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky, z’tl, for decades before passing away in 2020.

תהא נשמתו צרורה בצרור החיים.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)