Ger (Hasidic dynasty)

Ger, or Gur (or Gerrer, when used as an adjective), is a Hasidic dynasty originating from Góra Kalwaria (Yiddish: גער‎, romanized: Ger), a small town in Poland. The founder of the dynasty was Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter (1798–1866), known as the Chiddushei HaRim, after his primary scholarly work by that title. He was a disciple of Simcha Bunim of Peshischa, thus making Ger part of the Peshischa Hasidic grouping. Before the Holocaust, followers of Ger were estimated to number in excess of 100,000,[1] making it the largest and most influential Hasidic group in Poland.[2][3] Today, the movement is based in Jerusalem, and its membership is estimated at 11,859 families (as of 2016), most of whom live in Israel, making Ger the largest Hasidic dynasty in Israel.[4][5] However, there are also well-established Ger communities in the United States and in Europe.[5]

Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter with his entourage

History

After the death of the Kotzker Rebbe in 1859, the vast majority of his followers chose Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter, the Kotzker Rebbe's closest disciple, as their new rebbe. At the time, Alter lived in Warsaw and led the main Kotzker shtiebel there (on ul. Zelazna). Shortly after accepting the role, Yitzchak Meir was appointed as Rav and Av Beit Din (head of the rabbinical court) of Góra Kalwaria (Ger). Relocating to Ger, he became the founding rebbe of the Gerrer dynasty. During his seven years of leadership, the group flourished, causing it to be known as the "seven years of plenty".

Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter in Europe

After Alter's death in 1866, his followers wanted his eighteen-year-old grandson, Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter, to succeed him. When Yehuda Aryeh Leib refused to accept this position, most of the Hasidim became followers of the elderly Hasid, Rabbi Chanokh Heynekh HaKohen Levin, formerly rabbi of Prushnits and Krushnevits and then retired to Alexander. After Rabbi Chanokh Heynekh died in 1870, Yehudah Aryeh Leib (who became known post-humously as the Sfas Emes) acceded to the request of the Hasidim to become their next rebbe.

Graves of the Imrei Emes and his son Pinchas Menachem in Mea She'arim, Jerusalem

The Gerrer movement flourished under the leadership of Yehudah Aryeh Leib and his eldest son and successor, Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter (known as the Imrei Emes). In 1926, in a bold departure for Polish Hasidim, Avraham Mordechai established a yeshiva in Jerusalem, naming it for his father, the Sfas Emes. The first rosh yeshiva was Rabbi Nechemiah Alter, a brother of the Imrei Emes. Today, the yeshiva remains the flagship of the Ger yeshivas.

Under the leadership of the fifth Gerrer Rebbe, Rabbi Yisrael Alter, known as the Beis Yisrael, the Ichud Mosdos Gur (Union of Gerrer Institutions) was established as the responsible body for funding all the educational institutions affiliated with Ger in Israel. Currently, there are about 100 such institutions. The Beis Yisrael helped rebuild Ger after its virtual destruction in World War II.[6]

Distribution of Gerrer Hasidim

Almost all Ger Hasidim living in pre-war Europe (approximately 100,000 Hasidim) were murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust.[6] Avraham Mordechai Alter, who managed to escape, set about the task of rebuilding the movement in the British Mandate of Palestine.[6] It is generally accepted that he was released by the Nazis, and was then able to move to Palestine, because of a very large ransom paid by his followers to the Nazis. Under its post-war leaders, the movement began to flourish again.

With approximately 12,000 families, Ger is the third largest Hasidic dynasty in the world today, comprising 9.2% of the world population of Hasidim.[5] Large communities of Gerrer Hasidim exist in Israel, in Bnei Brak (2294 families / 19% of the Hasidic population), Ashdod (2218 families / 45%), and Jerusalem (1921 families / 12%), and a slightly smaller community of 1,027 families (6% of the Hasidic population) exists in the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.[5] Smaller communities with hundreds of families have also been established in Israel, such as Arad, Beit Shemesh, Kiryat Gat, Hatzor HaGlilit, Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Petah Tikva.[5] Internationally, hundreds of families reside in London, Antwerp, Zurich (where they are the largest Hasidic sect), Manchester, Monsey, and Lakewood, with tens more living in Los Angeles, Queens, Montreal, Melbourne, and Chicago.[5]

Ger maintains a well-developed educational network of Talmud Torahs, yeshivas, and kollels, as well as Beis Yaakov schools for girls. Its leaders dominate the Agudat Israel religious movement and political party in Israel.[7][8]

Center

The group's headquarters is located in Jerusalem. During and after the British Mandate, the group's beth midrash was at the Sfas Emes Yeshiva, near Mahane Yehuda. Later on, the synagogue moved to Ralbach Street in the Geula neighborhood, and in the 2000s, the Great Beit Midrash Gur was inaugurated on Yirmeyahu Street, near the Schneller Orphanage complex. It is one of the largest synagogues in the world (nearly 30,000 sq. feet).

Its construction is not complete yet. In 2015, the plans were changed, and construction of an extension to the building was begun. On Rosh Hashanah 2018 (5779), another wing of the Beth Medrash was inaugurated (together 80,000 sq. feet).[9]

Beginning with the emigration of the Imrei Emes to Israel, the rebbes of Ger lived in Jerusalem, with the exception of the current rebbe, who moved to Jerusalem only in 2012. The group has "shtieblach" in most ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods in the city. As other Hasidic courts, Ger also expanded in Jerusalem following the immigration of young couples from Europe and the United States. Rabbi Meir Silberstein is the rabbi of Ger in Jerusalem.

Split of the dynasty

After the passing of Rabbi Pinchas Menachem Alter (the "Pnei Menachem"), his brother's son, Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter, was crowned Rebbe.

Between him and the son of Pnei Menachem, Rabbi Shaul Alter, who was appointed by his father to rosh yeshiva of the Sfas Emes Yeshiva, differences of opinion emerged, especially on the subject of Torah study. With the Rebbe's instructions, it was discontinued to study in "depth" at Yeshivah of Ger, and in 2016, the Sfas Emes Yeshiva was closed.

Following a ostracism signed by the leaders of the dynasty in Israel in June 2019 against the current[10] Head of the Board of Camp Ger in the United States (in a case known as the Camp Ger dispute),[11] in which the majority (including some of the leaders) of the community in the United States didn't partake, and even disobeyed it.

A letter of criticism was written by Rabbi Shaul Alter against the establishment, of which the establishment of the dynasty in Israel didn't take lightly.[12] The admirers of Rabbi Shaul were continuously harassed and shamed by the establishment.

In the middle of the Holiday of Sukkos (October 2019), following an[13] attempted reconciliation that failed between him and the Rebbe, Rabbi Shaul Alter's men announced the existence of a separate congregation of prayers on Simchas Torah. In response, the establishment of the dynasty announced that they would ban students from their institutions whose fathers would attend the separate prayers.

During the holiday,[14] hundreds of followers participated in separate prayers and gatherings. Students whose fathers participated in the separate prayers were removed from the[15] Hasidic establishment's institutions. Immediately afterwards, Rabbi Shaul Alter's members announced a split and the establishment of a separate community and institutions, including "Yeshivas Pnei Menachem".

The community in the United States, the source of the conflict, was[16] currently (2020) saved from the Establishment's removal from the institution's, and currently, both factions of the dynasty are united into one community, and are studying in the same institutions and praying in the same synagogues.

Identifying features of Ger

The men are distinguished by their dark Hasidic garb, and by their pants tucked into their socks, called hoyzn-zokn (not to be confused with the breeches, called halber-hoyzn, worn by men in some other Hasidic groups). They wear a round felt hat, and a high, almost-pointed kapel. They raise their sidelocks from the temples, and tuck them under the yarmulke, nearly hiding them. On Shabbos and Jewish holidays, married men wear the high circular fur hat of the Polish Hasidim, called a spodik by Galicianers (not to be confused with the much flatter shtreimel worn by married men in Hasidic groups which do not hail from Congress Poland).

Ger follows the way of Menachem Mendel of Kotzk in stressing service of God in a sharp and objective way, as opposed to the mystical and spiritual orientation of other Hasidic groups. Ger also places much emphasis on Talmud study.

Ger Hasidut produced one of the most prolific composers of Jewish liturgical music of all time, Yankel Talmud (1885-1965). Known as "the Beethoven of the Gerrer Rebbes",[17] Talmud composed dozens of new melodies every year for the prayer services, including marches, waltzes, and dance tunes. Though he had no musical training, and could not even read music,[18] Talmud composed over 1,500 melodies,[19][20] most of them sung by him and his choir in the main Ger synagogue in Poland and in Israel.[17] Several of Talmud's compositions are still widely sung today, including his rousing "Shir Hamaalos" march tune, performed at many weddings, and "Lo Sevoshi", sung in Hasidic shtiebels.[21]

Gerrer dynastic leadership
  1. Rebbe Yitzchak Meir Alter (1798 – March 10, 1866), also known as the Chiddushei HaRim. Notable student of the Kotzker Rebbe, and a prominent contemporary posek. Assumed leadership of the Hasidim in 1859.
  2. Rebbe Chanoch Heynekh HaKohen Levin of Aleksander (1798 – March 21, 1870),[22] colleague of Yitzchak Meir. Gerrer Rebbe from 1866 to 1870.
  3. Rebbe Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter (1847–1905), also known as the Sfas Emes. Born in Warsaw, Poland. Died in Góra Kalwaria. Wrote Talmudic works and Maharal-style Torah commentaries that are known within and outside Hasidic streams. Grandson of Rabbi Leib Alter. Gerrer Rebbe from 1870 to 1905.
  4. Rebbe Avraham Mordechai Alter (December 25, 1866 – June 3, 1948), also known as the Imrei Emes. Son of Rabbi Leib Alter. Gerrer Rebbe from 1905 to 1948.
  5. Rebbe Yisrael Alter (October 12, 1895 – February 20, 1977), also known as the Beis Yisroel. Son of Rabbi Avraham Mordechai. Gerrer Rebbe from 1948 to 1977.
  6. Rebbe Simchah Bunim Alter (April 6, 1898 – August 6, 1992), also known as the Lev Simcha. Son of Rabbi Avraham Mordechai. Gerrer Rebbe from 1977 to 1992.
  7. Rebbe Pinchas Menachem Alter (June 9, 1926 – March 7, 1996), also known as the Pnei Menachem. Son of Rabbi Avraham Mordechai. Gerrer Rebbe from 1992 to 1996.
  8. Rebbe Yaakov Aryeh Alter (born 1939). The only son of Rabbi Simcha Bunim. Gerrer Rebbe from 1996 to the present.
  9. Rebbe Shaul Alter (born 1957). The second son of Rabbi Pinchas Menachem. Gerrer Rosh Yeshivah (leader of a split-off from the Ger Dynasty) from 2019 to the present.[23]

Takanot

Ger is known as having the strictest views among Orthodox Jews regarding modesty and sexual relations.[24] In 1948, Rabbi Yisrael Alter established the "Ordinances on Holiness", known as the takanot (called takunes in the vernacular of Yiddish used by Ger Hasidim), which regulate daily living. The rules were passed on verbally, and were never written down until 2016,[25] when a former member of the Ger Hasidic sect published them on Facebook.[26] The takanot prescribe, for example, that a couple should not have sex more than twice a month, should do so silently and quickly, and the man should always be on top.[25][27] In addition to rules about sexual relations, they include prohibitions for men on everyday activities such as combing one's hair, using soap on days other than Friday (in preparation for Shabbos), smoking, and reading the newspaper.[26] The ordinances are reputed to have had a detrimental effect on the demand for Gerrer bachelors in the Hasidic match-making market.[25]

In 2009, a Gerrer woman, Sarah Einfeld, appeared in a short documentary film titled in English Shrew (in Hebrew, Soreret). During the filming, she decided to desert Ger, and to adopt a secular way of life. In her blog, she reported on the "repression" of women in Ger, highlighting the suppression of sexuality under the regime of these rules.[28]

Abuse scandal

In December 2019, the son of Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter was accused of abusing male yeshiva students.[29][30] Ger allegedly did not notify authorities, and paid money to stop publication of these reports. A number of sources describe a cover-up of the incidents that allegedly took place over years and were known to at least one senior figure within Ger.[29][30]

See also

References
  1. Estēr Farbšṭeyn (1 October 2007). Hidden in Thunder. Feldheim Publishers. p. 82. ISBN 978-965-7265-05-5. Retrieved 31 July 2013. During this venerated rebbe's lifetime, the Ger court spread farther than ever before; some estimates of the number of his followers before the Holocaust exceed 100,000.
  2. Skolnik, Fred; Berenbaum, Michael (2007). Encyclopaedia Judaica. 8. Macmillan Reference USA. p. 424. ISBN 978-0-02-865936-7. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
  3. Spector, Shmuel; Wigoder, Geoffrey (2001). The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life: Before and During the Holocaust. NYU Press. p. 1430. ISBN 978-0-8147-9356-5. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
  4. Simeon D. Baumel (2006). Sacred Speakers: Language And Culture Among The Haredim In Israel. Berghahn Books. p. 35. ISBN 978-1-84545-062-5. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  5. Wodzinski, Marcin (2018). Historical Atlas of Hasidism. Princeton University Press. p. 207.
  6. "Gur Rabbi Dies in Israel; Leader of Hasidim Was 82". The New York Times. 1977-02-22. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  7. "The ultra-Orthodox rabbi at the center of the crisis that almost toppled Israel's government". www.haaretz.com. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  8. Sugarman, Daniel (October 24, 2019). "Ger, one of the largest chasidic dynasties in the world, splits after 160 years of unity". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  9. "Israel's Largest Synagogue Under Construction - World Center Of Gur Hasidism In Jerusalem".
  10. "DECISION + ORDER ON MOTION". New York State Unified Court System.
  11. https://www.kikar.co.il/322171.html
  12. https://www.kikar.co.il/323673.html
  13. https://www.kikar.co.il/333834.html
  14. https://www.kikar.co.il/333986.html
  15. https://www.kikar.co.il/333876.html
  16. https://www.kikar.co.il/338782.html
  17. Bleich, Chanania. "Remembering Reb Yankel Talmud". Ami, 1 September 2013, pp. 128–132.
  18. Mandelbaum, Dovid Avrohom (2005). היכל הנגינה [The Chamber of Music] (PDF) (in Hebrew). Jerusalem: Machon HM”Y. p. 213. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  19. Werdyger, Duvid; Finkel, Avraham Yaakov (1993). Songs of Hope. CIS Publishers. p. 34. ISBN 1-56062-226-1.
  20. "Accompanying Notes by Cantor Moshe Haschel for Shabbat Shira" (PDF). pelorous.totallyplc.com. 3–4 February 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  21. Mandelbaum (2005), p. 215.
  22. The State Archive in Lodz/Archiwum Państwowe w Łodzi: "Jewish Civil Registry of Aleksandrow Lodzki", 1870, death (akt) #10, age: 76, marital status: widower, date: March 21
  23. https://www.kikar.co.il/333834.html
  24. Rabinowitz, Aaron (2019-12-22). "Sexual Assault Allegations Rock an Israeli Hasidic Community". Haaretz. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  25. "Sexual Abstinence of Married Men Roils Hasidic Sects". Tablet Magazine. 2019-02-14. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  26. Ettinger, Yair (2016-07-03). "Ger Hasidim's Secret Rules on Male-Female Relations Revealed by Ex-Member". Haaretz. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  27. Marienberg, Evyatar (2014). "Contemporary Haredi Sexual Guidance" (PDF). New Perspectives on Gender and Jewish Life. Frankel Institute Annual 2014.
  28. "Sexual Abstinence of Married Men Roils Hasidic Sects". Tablet Magazine. 2019-02-14. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  29. Rabinowitz, Aaron (2019-12-22). "Sexual Assault Allegations Rock an Israeli Hasidic Community". Haaretz. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  30. "Chasidic earthquake: son of Ger sect leader accused of sexual abuse". +61J. 2019-12-27. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
  • Alfasi, Yitzchak (2005), בית גור The House of Ger (2 vols) (4th ed.), Bnei Brak: Moriah
  • Leff, Nosson Chayim (2010), Personal Correspondence
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