64 | NOVEMBER 11 • 2021 

OBITUARIES
OF BLESSED MEMORY

P

inhas Barak’s life story 
was truly one going 
from rags to riches. 
A poor Moroccan Jew whose 
parents died young, he rose to 
become an officer in the Israel 
Defense Forces (IDF) and later 
a respected Ph.D. engineering 
professor in Michigan and 
eminent leader in his profes-
sion.
Mr. Barak, 86, of Bloomfield 
Hills, died Oct. 31, 2021. He 
and his wife, Miriam, were 
members at Congregation 
Beth Ahm in West Bloomfield 
and Isaac Agree Downtown 
Synagogue in Detroit, and Beth 
Ahm Rabbi Steven Rubinstein 
officiated at his Nov. 1 funeral 
service. 
Born April 3, 1935, Pinhas’ 
original name was Felix 
Ohana. His family lived for 
generations in Morocco where 
young Felix experienced vio-
lence and antisemitism. More 
misfortune struck when he 
and his older brother, Rami, 
lost their parents, Sreha and 
Shlomo Ohana, to typhoid and 
tuberculosis. The young boys 
went to live in orphanages.

A Paris-based Jewish orga-
nization, Alliance Israelite 
Universelle, rescued 13-year-
old Felix and his brother. After 
a year in a French orphanage, 
the brothers were taken to 
Israel. Felix joined and studied 
Judaism at Hafetz Haim, a reli-
gious kibbutz in central Israel. 
Renaming himself Pinhas 
Barak, he discovered his love of 
mechanical things while work-
ing in the kibbutz auto shop.
He joined the IDF as a teen-
ager, working his way up to the 
rank of lieutenant colonel. Son 
Leor Barak said, “One of my 
dad’s proudest life accomplish-
ments was helping to design 
the Israeli tank, the Merkava.
” 
Pinhas attended the Technion-
Israel Institute of Technology 
in Haifa, graduating with an 
advanced degree in engineer-
ing.
Pinhas met his future wife, 
Miriam Savescu, a native 
of Romania, in Haifa. They 
became friendly when he 
bought chocolates at the kiosk 
she ran with her mother. 
Miriam at first scoffed when 
Pinhas said he wanted to take 

her out when he’
d return from 
his military training in the 
Negev. But Pinhas was a man 
of his word, and the couple 
married on Aug. 28, 1966. 
In 1979, the Barak family 
moved to Detroit for Pinhas to 
pursue a doctorate in automo-
tive engineering at Wayne State 
University. He worked more 
than 25 years as a tenured 
professor in the Engineering 
Department at General Motors 
Institute/Kettering 
University in Flint. 
Colleague Dr. Greg 
Davis said, “He loved 
the give-and-take 
of teaching.
” Pinhas 
also was a world-re-
nowned expert in 
his field of mechan-
ical engineering, 
suspension design and vehicle 
dynamics. He wrote articles 
and several textbooks. 
For personal interests, 
Pinhas loved the State of Israel, 
soccer, James Bond movies, 
dogs and all types of music. 
Leor called him a “gentle, lov-
ing, emotional and optimistic 
person. He always found the 
good in people and looked for 
peace in difficult situations.
”
A natural fighter, he 
persevered through numerous 
and challenging medical 
conditions. Nurses and doctors 
were said to be amazed by 

his humor and unflagging 
optimism. Pinhas emphasized 
to Leor: “Don’t you ever 
squander your experiences in 
life.
”
In his eulogy, Dr. Brian 
Blaufeux described a father-
in-law who was welcoming, 
effusive in his point of view 
and an excellent storyteller. 
Pinhas Barak was the 
husband of Miriam Barak, 
father of Leor Itzhak Barak and 
Shlomit (Dr. Brian) 
Blaufeux, grandfather 
of Adam Chaim 
Blaufeux and Chloe 
Leah Blaufeux, and 
uncle of Uri and Osi 
Barak.
He was the son of 
the late Sreha and the 
late Shlomo Ohana, 
and brother and brother-in-law 
of the late Rami and the late 
Eti Barak.
Interment was at Clover 
Hill Park Cemetery in 
Birmingham. Contributions 
may be made to Friends of 
the IDF, PO Box 999, Walled 
Lake, MI 48390, (248) 926-
4110/4111, www.fidf.org; Isaac 
Agree Downtown Synagogue, 
1457 Griswold, Detroit, MI 
48226, (313) 362-4047, www.
downtownsynagogue.org; 
or a charity of one’s choice. 
Arrangements by Hebrew 
Memorial Chapel. 

A Brilliant 
Professor

ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Pinhas Barak

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