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Yitzchak Meir Alter (also Rottenburg, Rothenburg or Rothenberg as an alternate for "Alter") (1798 – 10 March 1866), is considered to be the first Rebbe
Rebbe

Rebbe which means master, teacher, or mentor is a Yiddish word derived from the identical Hebrew language word Rabbi. It mostly refers to the leader of a Hasidic Judaism Jewish movement....
 of the Ger
Ger (Hasidic dynasty)

Ger, or Gur is a Hasidic Judaism dynasty originating from Ger, the Yiddish language name of G?ra Kalwaria, a small town in Poland.Prior to the Holocaust, Ger was the largest and most important Hasidic group in Poland....
 Hasidic
Hasidic Judaism

Hasidic Judaism is a type of Orthodox Judaism or Haredi Judaism Orthodox Judaism religious movement. Some refer to Hasidic Judaism as Hasidism, and the adjective chasidic / hasidic applies....
 dynasty, which he founded in the town of Góra Kalwaria
Góra Kalwaria

G?ra 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 ....
 (known as "Ger" in Yiddish
Yiddish language

Yiddish is a non-territorial High German languages of Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. Unlike other such languages, Yiddish is written with the Hebrew alphabet as opposed to a Latin alphabet....
), Poland
Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
. He was also known as the Chidushei HaRim for his Torah
Torah

The term "Torah" , or Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch, refers to the entirety of Judaism's founding Halakha and ethical religious texts....
 books. He is sometimes referred to fondly as Reb Itche Meir by his followers.

i Yitzchak Meir was born in Magnuszew
Magnuszew

Magnuszew is a village in Kozienice County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Magnuszew. It lies approximately north-west of Kozienice and south-east of Warsaw....
, Poland, in late 1798.






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Yitzchak Meir Alter (also Rottenburg, Rothenburg or Rothenberg as an alternate for "Alter") (1798 – 10 March 1866), is considered to be the first Rebbe
Rebbe

Rebbe which means master, teacher, or mentor is a Yiddish word derived from the identical Hebrew language word Rabbi. It mostly refers to the leader of a Hasidic Judaism Jewish movement....
 of the Ger
Ger (Hasidic dynasty)

Ger, or Gur is a Hasidic Judaism dynasty originating from Ger, the Yiddish language name of G?ra Kalwaria, a small town in Poland.Prior to the Holocaust, Ger was the largest and most important Hasidic group in Poland....
 Hasidic
Hasidic Judaism

Hasidic Judaism is a type of Orthodox Judaism or Haredi Judaism Orthodox Judaism religious movement. Some refer to Hasidic Judaism as Hasidism, and the adjective chasidic / hasidic applies....
 dynasty, which he founded in the town of Góra Kalwaria
Góra Kalwaria

G?ra 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 ....
 (known as "Ger" in Yiddish
Yiddish language

Yiddish is a non-territorial High German languages of Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. Unlike other such languages, Yiddish is written with the Hebrew alphabet as opposed to a Latin alphabet....
), Poland
Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
. He was also known as the Chidushei HaRim for his Torah
Torah

The term "Torah" , or Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch, refers to the entirety of Judaism's founding Halakha and ethical religious texts....
 books. He is sometimes referred to fondly as Reb Itche Meir by his followers.

Early life

Rabbi Yitzchak Meir was born in Magnuszew
Magnuszew

Magnuszew is a village in Kozienice County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Magnuszew. It lies approximately north-west of Kozienice and south-east of Warsaw....
, Poland, in late 1798. He came from a very distinguished family of rabbis, among the most prominent in Germany and Poland. He was a descendant of Rashi
Rashi

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki, , better known by the acronym Rashi , , was a rabbi from France, famed as the author of the first comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, and Jewish commentaries on the Bible....
 and of the Tosafist
Tosafot

The Tosafot or Tosafos are medi?val commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes....
, Rabbi Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg.

He married Feigele Lipszyc, daughter of Moshe 'Halfon' Lipszyc, in 1811. They had fourteen children (according to most published sources), most of whom died in infancy.

Rabbi Yitzchak Meir became known as a Talmud
Talmud

The Talmud is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Halakha, Jewish ethics, customs, and history. It is a central text of mainstream Judaism....
ic genius
Gaon

Gaon may refer to* Gaon , means "genius"; plural Geonim* Gaon , in Hindi or Marathi or Assamese means a village* A surname:** Yehoram Gaon, Israeli singer...
. At first he was close to the Rebbes of Kozhnitz. After some years he was drawn to the Rebbe
Rebbe

Rebbe which means master, teacher, or mentor is a Yiddish word derived from the identical Hebrew language word Rabbi. It mostly refers to the leader of a Hasidic Judaism Jewish movement....
, Reb Simcha Bunim
Simcha Bunim of Peshischa

Rabbi Simcha Bunim Bonhart of Przysucha was one of the main leaders of Hasidic Judaism in Poland. After Torah study at yeshivas in Mattersburg and Mikulov, he was introduced to the world of Hasidism by his father-in-law, and became a chasid of Rabbi Yisroel Hopsztajn , and then Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak of Lublin , and the Rabbi Yaakov...
 of Prshischa
Przysucha

Przysucha [] is a town in Poland. Located in the Masovian Voivodeship, about 100 km southwest of Warsaw, it is the capital of Przysucha County....
, whose close adherent he became. After the demise of the Rebbe, Reb Bunim, Yitzchak Meir, in common with many of the former's Hasidim, became a disciple of Rabbi Menachem Mendel
Menachem Mendel of Kotzk

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Morgensztern of Kock, better known as the Kotzker Rebbe was a Hasidic Judaism leader. Born to a non-Hasidic family in Goraj, Lublin Voivodeship near Lublin, Poland, he became attracted to Hasidim in his youth....
 of Kotzk
Kock

Kock is a town in eastern Poland, about 45 km north of Lublin and 120 km south-east of Warsaw. It lies in Lublin Voivodeship, in Lubart?w County....
, known as the Kotzker rebbe, who was famous for his acerbic wit and Talmudic brilliance. The two eventually became brothers-in-law, when the Kotzker Rebbe married Chaya Lipszyc, sister of Rabbi Yitzchak Meir's wife Feigele.

Rabbi Yitzchak Meir was succeeded as Rebbe of Ger by his colleague and disciple, Rabbi Chanoch Henoch of Alexander
Chanokh Heynekh HaKohen Levin

Chanokh Heynekh HaKohen Levin of Aleksandr?w L?dzki served as the rebbe of a community of thousands of Hasidic Judaism during the "interregnum" between the Yitschok Myer Alter of Ger and the Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter....
.

One of his sons, Avraham Mordechai, and three daughters, Cyna Pesia, Leah Hudes and Esther, survived to adulthood and married. By the time of Rabbi Yitzchak Meir's death on 23 Adar
Adar

Adar is the sixth month of the civil year and the twelfth month of the religious year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a winter month of 29 days. In leap years, it is preceded by a 30-day intercalary month named Adar Aleph , Adar Rishon or Adar I and it is then itself called Adar Bet , Adar Sheni or Adar II....
 5626 (1866), only one child (Esther) remained alive.

Rebbes of Ger

  1. Yitzchak Meir Alter
    Yitzchak Meir Alter

    Yitzchak Meir Alter , is considered to be the first Rebbe of the Ger Hasidic Judaism dynasty, which he founded in the town of G?ra Kalwaria , Poland....
     (1798-1866)
  2. Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter
    Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter

    Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter , also known by the title of his main work, the Sfas Emes, was a Hasidic Judaism rabbi who succeeded his grandfather, Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter, as the av beis din and Rav of G?ra Kalwaria, Poland , and succeeded the Rebbe, Reb Heynekh of Alexander, as Rebbe of the Ger ....
     (1847-1905)
  3. Avraham Mordechai Alter
    Avraham Mordechai Alter

    Avraham Mordechai Alter, , also known as the Imrei Emes after the works he authored, was the third Rebbe of the Hasidic Judaism dynasty of Ger , a position he held from 1905 until his death in 1948....
     (1866-1948)
  4. Yisrael Alter
    Yisrael Alter

    Yisrael Alter, , also known as the Beis Yisroel after the works he authored, was the fourth Rebbe of the Hasidic Judaism dynasty of Ger , a position he held from 1948 until 1977....
     (1895-1977)
  5. Simcha Bunim Alter (1898-1992)
  6. Pinchas Menachem Alter
    Pinchas Menachem Alter

    Pinchas Menachem Alter, , also known as the Pnei Menachem after the works he authored, was the sixth Rebbe of the Hasidic Judaism dynasty of Ger , a position he held from 1992 until his untimely death in 1996....
     (1926-1996)
  7. Yaakov Aryeh Alter
    Yaakov Aryeh Alter

    Yaakov Aryeh Alter, , is the seventh and current Rebbe of the Hasidic Judaism 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)


Sources

  • Meir Einei Hagoilo, by Avrohom Yisochor Binyomin Alter and Avrohom Mordechai Alter, (1928)
  • Toldoth Horim, by Itshe Myer Broder of Ger.