Baruch Dayan, the truth teller: The Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Migdal HaEmek, the late Rabbi Avraham Menachem, founder and leader of the educational institutions 'Ner HaZafon', passed away tonight (Friday night) at the age of 79 - after more than 40 years as rabbi.
The late zt"l was born in Morocco, where he studied Talmud Torah and in the yeshiva of the Chabad "Oheli Yosef Yitzhak" network in his city, and was known as an eloi. At the age of 15, he immigrated to the Holy Land and settled with his family in Migdal HaEmek.
He studied at the Tiferet Yisrael Yeshiva in Haifa, and even before his marriage he taught at the She'erit Yosef Yeshiva in Be'er Ya'akov at the request of the Rosh Yeshiva. After his marriage he studied at the Kollel Avrechim in Haifa, and continued to regularly attend the Tiferet Yisrael Yeshiva.
In the final years of the Sephardic rabbi of Migdal HaEmek, Rabbi Meir Yona zt"l, Rabbi Menachem filled in on his duties due to his illness. After Rabbi Yona's passing in 1984, Rabbi Menachem was officially elected to the position.
For more than 40 years, he served as the Sephardic rabbi of Migdal HaEmek, and served as a beloved spiritual leader among all segments of the public.
The Rabbi founded and headed the "Ner HaTzafon" institutions in the city, which included Torah studies, kindergartens, a small "Nazar HaTorah" yeshiva, a kollel for avrakim and a synagogue - and thousands of students were educated in his institutions.
He left behind a blessed generation of righteous people, sons and grandsons who engage in Torah and mitzvot and continue his glorious path.
The funeral procession left from the Beit Midrash and the Ner HaTzafon institutions in Migdal HaEmek towards the Beit HaHayim in the city, where he will be buried.
The Rishon LeZion, Rabbi David Yosef, eulogized: "With a heavy and sorrowful heart, we received the bitter news of the passing of the great and wise rabbi, a relic of a generation of knowledge, who spread Torah in public and raised up legions of students, a copyist of the rumor, humble and above all, who passed on the tradition of the fathers to the last generation, who brought the hearts of Israel closer to their Father in Heaven and returned the hearts of the fathers to their sons, the rabbi of Migdal HaEmek for decades, where he served as a great spiritual leader and beloved by all classes of the public. Our sincere condolences to his brothers, sons and grandsons, the rabbis of genius, his students and all who heard him.".
