Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter (1847–1905), also known by the title of his main work, the
Sfas Emes, was a
HasidicHasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
rabbiIn Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
who succeeded his grandfather, Rabbi
Yitzchak Meir AlterYitzchak Meir Alter , is considered to be the first Rebbe of the Ger Hasidic dynasty, which he founded in the town of Góra Kalwaria , Poland. He was also known as the Chidushei HaRim for his Torah books...
, as the
av beis din (head of the rabbinical court) and Rav of
Góra KalwariaGóra Kalwaria is a town on the Vistula River in the Mazovian Voivodship, Poland, about 25 km southeast of Warsaw. It has a population of about 11,000 . The town has significance for both Catholic Christians and Hasidic Jews...
, Poland (known in
YiddishYiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...
as the town of Ger), and succeeded the Rebbe, Reb Heynekh of Alexander, as
RebbeRebbe , which means master, teacher, or mentor, is a Yiddish word derived from the Hebrew word Rabbi. It often refers to the leader of a Hasidic Jewish movement...
of the
Gerrer HasidimGer, or Gur is a Hasidic dynasty originating from Ger, the Yiddish name of Góra Kalwaria, a small town in Poland....
.
Early years
He was born in 1847 and named Yehudah Leib; he was known to family and friends as Leybl. His father, Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter, died when Yehudah Leib was only eight years old, and his mother died before that. Orphaned of both parents, he was brought up by his grandparents, Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter (known as the
Chiddushei Harim) and his wife. When he was about ten years old, his grandfather took him to visit the
Kotzker RebbeMenachem Mendel Morgensztern of Kotzk, better known as the Kotzker Rebbe was a Hasidic rabbi and leader.-Life:Born to a non-Hasidic family in Goraj near Lublin, Poland, he became attracted to Hasidim in his youth. He was known for having acquired impressive Talmudic and Kabbalistic knowledge at a...
, an event which left a lifelong impression on him.
He married Yocheved Rivka, daughter of Reb Yidl (Yehuda) Kaminer. In order not to have the same name as his father-in-law, his own name was changed to Yehudah Aryeh Leib. He is said to have been attached to the name Yehudah, and was upset at not being able to use it as his name any longer.
Leadership
When his grandfather, Rabbi Yitzchak Meir, died in 1866, many of the Hasidim sought to bestow the mantle of leadership upon eighteen-year-old Yehudah Aryeh Leib. He refused that position, and leadership of the Hasidim went to Rabbi
Chanokh Heynekh HaKohen LevinChanokh Heynekh HaKohen Levin of Aleksander served as the rebbe of a community of thousands of Hasidim during the "interregnum" between the Chidushei HaRim of Ger and the Sfas Emes.- Biography :...
of Aleksander. After the death of the latter in 1870, the Hasidim succeeded in gaining Yehudah Aryeh Leib's assent to become their Rebbe.
Death and burial
During the
Russo-Japanese WarThe Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
many of his young followers were drafted into the Russian Army and sent to the battlefields in
ManchuriaManchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
. The Rebbe was very worried over these devotees and would constantly write to them. His health suffered, and he died at the age of 57 on 11 January 1905 (5
ShevatShevat is the fifth month of the civil year and the eleventh month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a winter month of 30 days...
5665).
"When news of the Admor's petirah (funeral) spread, so many people rushed to Ger yesterday morning that although the railway dispatched extra trains there was hardly any space in the cars and thousands of people were still left without means to travel...
"One (tram)car with seating for 44 people held over 200, not even leaving any standing room, and in another car some people fainted as a result of the overcrowded conditions...
"When the time for tefillas Mincha arrived, all of the funeral-goers, 20,000 in number, stood in a field and davened Minchah together...
"The brief words spoken by the Rav of Sochachov made a powerful impression."
Lasting influence
Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib was one of the greatest Torah scholars of his generation, teaching students such as Rabbi
Nachman Shlomo GreenspanRabbi Nachman Shlomo Greenspan was an outstanding Talmudic scholar, renowned rosh yeshiva of Etz Chaim in London and a brilliant and erudite author, penning a number of Torah works.-Early years:...
and many others. His output was prodigious, and his works (all entitled
Sfas Emes) deal with the
TalmudThe Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
, the ethics of the
MidrashThe Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
, and mysticism of the
ZoharThe Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...
.
His Torah homilies as delivered to his Hasidim, and arranged according to the weekly
parashah and the festivals, were the first to be published posthumously under the name
Sfas Emes. The title was taken from the closing words of the final piece he wrote (
Sfas Emes, Vayechi 5665). His
chiddushim (original Torah thoughts) on many
TalmudThe Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ic tractates, and on
Yoreh De'ahYoreh De'ah is a section of Rabbi Jacob ben Asher's compilation of halakha , Arba'ah Turim around 1300. This section treats all aspects of Jewish law not pertinent to the Hebrew calendar, finance, torts, marriage, divorce, or sexual conduct....
, have been published under the same name.
The
SochatchoverA Hasidic dynasty is a dynasty of Hasidic spiritual leaders known as rebbes, and usually has some or all of the following characteristics:#Each member of the dynasty is a spiritual leader, often known as an ADMOR or simply as Rebbe and at times called the...
Rebbe, Rabbi
Avrohom BornsztainAvrohom Bornsztain , also spelled Avraham Borenstein or Bernstein, was a leading posek in late-nineteenth-century Europe and founder and first Rebbe of the Sochatchover Hasidic dynasty. He is known as the Avnei Nezer after the title of his posthumously-published set of Torah responsa...
(known as the
Avnei Nezer), a leading Torah scholar and
posekPosek is the term in Jewish law for "decider"—a legal scholar who decides the Halakha in cases of law where previous authorities are inconclusive or in those situations where no halakhic precedent exists....
in his own right, is said to have maintained two bookcases — one for
Rishonim"Rishon" redirects here. For the preon model in particle physics, see Harari Rishon Model. For the Israeli town, see Rishon LeZion.Rishonim were the leading Rabbis and Poskim who lived approximately during the 11th to 15th centuries, in the era before the writing of the Shulkhan Arukh and...
(earlier commentators) and another for
AcharonimAcharonim is a term used in Jewish law and history, to signify the leading rabbis and poskim living from roughly the 16th century to the present....
(later commentators). The volumes of the
Sfas Emes, written in the late 1800s, were to be found in his bookcase containing the Rishonim. To study some portions of the Talmud without the
Sfas Emes is unthinkable to the modern-day scholar. The Rebbe of Tzaltz wrote a super-commentary to the
Sfas Emes entitled the
Sfas Bitz.
The
Sfas Emes YeshivaSfas Emes Yeshiva is an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva in Jerusalem, Israel, serving the Gerrer Hasidic community. Founded in 1925 in the Mekor Baruch neighborhood of Jerusalem, two blocks north of the Mahane Yehuda Market, it was one of the few Hasidic yeshivas in Israel in the early twentieth...
in Jerusalem is named after him and includes his teachings in the curriculum.
His sayings
One of the greatest religious problems is that people fear having a relationship with God and consequently distance themselves from Him. Just as angels serve God without fear despite their lower status in comparison to God, so too human beings should take their model (walk amongst them) and not be afraid of developing a relationship with God and serving Him. This represents a wholeness that we as human beings are capable of only if we think of ourselves as walking amongst angels. (Sfas Emes, Parshat Beha'alotecha 5636)
Rebbes of Ger
- Yitzchak Meir Alter
Yitzchak Meir Alter , is considered to be the first Rebbe of the Ger Hasidic dynasty, which he founded in the town of Góra Kalwaria , Poland. He was also known as the Chidushei HaRim for his Torah books...
(1798–1866)
- Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter (1847–1905)
- Avraham Mordechai Alter
Avraham Mordechai Alter , also known as the Imrei Emes after the works he authored, was the third Rebbe of the Hasidic dynasty of Ger, a position he held from 1905 until his death in 1948. He was one of the founders of the Agudas Israel in Poland and was influential in establishing a network of...
(1866–1948)
- Yisrael Alter
Yisrael Alter, , also known as the Beis Yisroel after the works he authored, was the fourth Rebbe of the Hasidic dynasty of Ger, a position he held from 1948 until 1977....
(1895–1977)
- Simcha Bunim Alter (1898–1992)
- Pinchas Menachem Alter
Pinchas Menachem Alter, , also known as the Pnei Menachem after the works he authored, was the sixth Rebbe of the Hasidic dynasty of Ger, a position he held from 1992 until his death in 1996.-Early years:...
(1926–1996)
- Yaakov Aryeh Alter
Yaakov Aryeh Alter, , is the seventh and current Rebbe of the Hasidic dynasty of Ger, a position he has held since 1996. He lives in Israel and has followers in Europe and the United States...
(b. 1939)
External links