Beloved Childhood Friend of Belz Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Shmadra Dies at 78

Rabbi Menachem Benjamin Shmadra, a prominent and longtime figure in the Belz Hasidic community, passed away at age 78 in a nursing home in Bnei Brak. Known as a childhood friend of the Belz Rebbe, he played a key role in establishing Belz institutions in Israel and the United States. His funeral took place yesterday, beginning at the Beit David Shaul study hall in Ashdod, continuing through the central study hall in Ashdod’s G neighborhood, and concluding at the Sanhedria and Belz cemetery in Jerusalem, where he was buried in the "Kahal Machzikei Hadaat" section on Har HaMenuchot.

Born in Tel Aviv in 1948 to his father Abraham, Rabbi Shmadra grew up in Tel Aviv and studied alongside the future Belz Rebbe. He later moved to Jerusalem for further studies and worked for several years in the diamond exchange in Ramat Gan, where he became known for his extensive charitable work. In the 1970s, he relocated to the United States and became a founding member of the Belz Hasidic community in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, helping to build local institutions and community infrastructure in the Catskills region of New York.

Returning to Israel in 1979, Rabbi Shmadra settled in Ashdod and was among the city’s earliest Belz community members, contributing to its growth into one of the largest centers of the Hasidic group in Israel. He is survived by a large family including children, sons- and daughters-in-law, and grandchildren who continue his legacy.