Menachem Toker: Childhood Loss, Kindness, and a Life on the Airwaves

Menachem Toker is an Israeli media personality. He is married and a father of six.

A childhood story that stayed with you

This is not a story from a book. It’s a real childhood story — about Menachem Ehrenthal, a child with cancer after whom the organization Zichron Menachem was founded. We studied in the same class, we were neighbors, and in fact, we were also relatives. Menachem had leukemia, which at the time was considered quite rare. I accompanied him throughout the entire illness — through the periods of hair loss and recovery from pain. I remember myself at age ten, walking from the Bayit Vagan neighborhood, where we lived, to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, where he was kept in isolation. I was the only one allowed to enter and visit him there. That entire journey is deeply etched into my memory. I think this is the strongest story that shaped me as a person and brought me to where I am today, in every sense.

A Jewish focal point you personally connect to

The Rebbe of Amshinov is my Jewish anchor. Every professional or personal question I need to ask, he has accompanied me for many years. He is a wise man whom I deeply respect, a great tzaddik.

A figure from the Jewish world you connect to

Uri Lupolianski. A man who returned to Judaism, built the largest organization in the country helping the sick in every possible way, served as a mayor for all of Jerusalem, lived in a small apartment when he could have had much more, never gets angry, never raises his voice at anyone, and even the “bribe” he was accused of taking — he took it for Yad Sarah, not for himself. To me, he is the embodiment of integrity.

Judaism, for you, is

My entire essence.

A mitzvah that is especially close to your heart

Kindness (chesed). I grew up on it, I live by it, and I try to bring it into my career as well — sometimes in lighter, simpler ways, even through things that seem small or insignificant. Why is the first blessing of the Amidah, the blessing of the Patriarchs, sealed with the words “Shield of Avraham”? Because Avraham represents kindness, and that is the most important value for me.

A holiday you love

Passover, on a professional level, as it marks the end of my radio season. Then I can breathe, reconnect much more with myself and my family, clear my head, and prepare for the next season.

Chanukah, on a personal level. I simply love it. I can’t really explain it. I feel connected to it. It’s a sweet holiday, without a heavy burden.

A biblical figure you would like to meet

King David, the sweet singer of Israel. I would ask him why he didn’t compose a few more Psalms, so we’d have many more songs. If he were alive today, he’d be incredibly wealthy from royalties.

A book or song that changed you

It’s not a book and not a song — it’s a singer. Mordechai Ben David, the king of Jewish music. I know it sounds cliché, but even if he sang “Yonatan HaKatan,” I would be moved.

A project you participated in that influenced you deeply

“Apartment in the Air” — a radio reality show in which we gave away an apartment to listeners. In the end, the woman chose to take the cash equivalent. It was a unique kind of reality show, built around deeply meaningful and ethical challenges. It was incredible, because I was facing at least a hundred contestants, including brilliant yeshiva students who surely could have won an apartment — or at least half of one. And yet the one who took the money was a widow. That moved me deeply. It felt like Heaven was showing me that the outcome truly went where it was needed most.

Professionally, are you where you imagined you’d be?

Absolutely yes. I feel like I was born with a microphone in my hand — and thank God, I fulfilled that dream. In my time, there weren’t radio personalities I grew up listening to or people I could imitate. It was just innate. As my parents tell it, I walked around with a microphone from the moment I could hold one, “broadcasting.” So you could say I always knew and imagined what I would be. Thank God I was privileged to achieve it — it’s not something to take for granted.

Where would you like to be in five years?

A person should always strive to be better than they are, and my mind is constantly working on how to grow and progress. I truly see myself in five years — and even at age 100… okay, maybe 80 or 90, still sitting in a radio studio, handing out CDs to listeners.

A lesson you learned that stays with you

Silence. Knowing how to stay silent is incredibly important — even though I’m not very good at it… When I was first fired from Radio Kol Chai, I decided I would remain silent no matter what. There was a lot of noise and chaos. Almost every media outlet called me, wanting a gossip piece, and I simply stayed quiet, because I chose that path. That decision is probably what eventually led me to return there in the most dignified way.

Something people might not know about you

I have hobbies beyond radio, such as sports, for example. It’s real therapy for me.

Something you’d like people to know about you

I had a dream of creating a “Haredi Galgalatz.” In the meantime, I founded Toker FM, a radio website with pure music only. No talk — not even mine. It’s perfect for people who love music of all kinds and from all eras.

Living according to Judaism is, in your view, a recipe for…

Stability. Judaism is the perfect formula.