List of Polish Rabbis
Encyclopedia
The rise of Hasidic Judaism
within Poland's borders and beyond has had a great influence on the rise of Haredi Judaism
all over the world, with a continuous influence that has been felt from the inception of the Hasidic movements and its dynasties by famous rebbe
s until the present time. The following are noteworthy:
Some famous Polish and Polish-born rabbis include:
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic 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...
within Poland's borders and beyond has had a great influence on the rise of Haredi Judaism
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
all over the world, with a continuous influence that has been felt from the inception of the Hasidic movements and its dynasties by famous rebbe
Rebbe
Rebbe , 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...
s until the present time. The following are noteworthy:
- Aleksander HasidismAleksander (Hasidic dynasty)The Aleksander chasidic movement flourished in Poland from 1880 until it was largely destroyed by Nazi Germany during World War II.Now nearly extinct, the Aleksander Hasidim were the second largest Hasidic group in pre-Holocaust Poland.Between the world wars, Hasidic Jews from all over flocked to...
- Belz HasidismBelz (Hasidic dynasty)Belz is a Hasidic dynasty named for the town of Belz in Western Ukraine, near the Polish border. The town has existed since at least the 10th century, with the Jewish community being established during the 14th century. The town became home to Hasidic Judaism in the early 19th century...
- Bobov Hasidism
- Ger HasidismGer (Hasidic dynasty)Ger, or Gur is a Hasidic dynasty originating from Ger, the Yiddish name of Góra Kalwaria, a small town in Poland....
- Nadvorna HasidismNadvorna (Hasidic dynasty)Nadvorna is a Hasidic rabbinical dynasty within Orthodox Judaism. The dynasty derives its name from the town of Nadvorna, known in Ukrainian as Nadvirna...
- Sassov HasidismSassov (Hasidic dynasty)The Sassov Hasidic dynasty began with Rabbi Moshe Leib Erblich of Sassov , a disciple of Rabbi Dovber of Mezeritch, the disciple of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism....
Some famous Polish and Polish-born rabbis include:
-
- Avraham Mordechai AlterAvraham Mordechai AlterAvraham 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...
- Pinchas Menachem AlterPinchas Menachem AlterPinchas 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:...
- Simchah Bunim AlterSimchah Bunim AlterSimcha Bunim Alter , also known as the Lev Simcha after the works he authored, was the fifth Rebbe of the Hasidic dynasty of Ger, a position he held from 1977 until 1992....
- Yehudah Aryeh Leib AlterYehudah Aryeh Leib AlterYehudah Aryeh Leib Alter , also known by the title of his main work, the Sfas Emes, was a Hasidic rabbi who succeeded his grandfather, Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter, as the av beis din and Rav of Góra Kalwaria, Poland , and succeeded the Rebbe, Reb Heynekh of Alexander, as Rebbe of the Gerrer...
- Yaakov Aryeh AlterYaakov Aryeh AlterYaakov 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...
- Yitzchak Meir AlterYitzchak 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...
- Baruch AshlagBaruch AshlagRabbi Baruch Shalom HaLevi Ashlag a Kabbalist, the firstborn and successor of Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag, author of "The Sulam" commentary on the Zohar...
- Yehuda AshlagYehuda AshlagRabbi Yehuda Ashlag or Yehuda Leib Ha-Levi Ashlag also known as the Baal Ha-Sulam in reference to his magnum opus, was an orthodox rabbi and kabbalist born in Łódź, Congress Poland, Russian Empire, to a family of scholars connected to the Hasidic courts of Porisov and Belz...
- Zvi Hirsch ChajesZvi Hirsch ChajesZvi Hirsch Chajes was one of the foremost Galician talmudic scholars. He is best known for his work Mevo Hatalmud , which serves both as commentary and introduction...
- Avraham DanzigAvraham DanzigRabbi Avraham Danzig was a Posek and codifier, best known as the author of the works of Jewish law Chayei Adam and Chochmas Adam; he is sometimes referred to as "the Chayei Adam".-Biography:...
- Elimelech of LizhenskElimelech of LizhenskElimelech Weisblum of Lizhensk , a Rabbi and one of the great founding Rebbes of the Hasidic movement, was known after his hometown, Leżajsk near Rzeszów in Poland...
- Joshua FalkJoshua Falk----Joshua ben Alexander HaCohen Falk was a Polish Halakhist and Talmudist, best known as the author of the Beit Yisrael commentary on the Arba'ah Turim as well as Sefer Me'irat Enayim on Shulkhan Arukh...
- Moses Fishel
- Yaakov GesundheitYaakov GesundheitRabbi Yaakov Gesundheit was the chief rabbi of Warsaw from 1870 to ca. 1874.He conducted a yeshivah for forty-two years; some of his many pupils becoming well-known rabbis...
- Avraham GombinerAvraham GombinerAbraham Abele Gombiner , known as the Magen Avraham, born in Gąbin , Poland, was a rabbi, Talmudist and a leading religious authority in the Jewish community of Kalish, Poland during the seventeenth century. His full name is Avraham Avli ben Chaim HaLevi from the town of Gombin...
- Kalonymus HaberkastenKalonymus HaberkastenKalonymus Haberkasten was a rabbi and Talmudist in sixteenth century Poland. He is well known as the rosh yeshiva of many great rabbis including Rabbi Solomon Luria, who married his daughter Lipka....
- Yitzchok HutnerYitzchok HutnerYitzchok Hutner was an Orthodox rabbi and American rosh yeshiva.-Early years:Yitchok Hutner was born in Warsaw, Poland, to a family with both Ger Hasidic and non-Hasidic Lithuanian Jewish roots. As a child he received private instruction in Torah and Talmud...
- Yisrael Meir LauYisrael Meir LauYisrael Meir Lau is the Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, Israel, and Chairman of Yad Vashem. He previously served as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1993 to 2003.-Biography:...
(later Chief rabbiChief RabbiChief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...
of IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
) - Menachem Mendel of KotzkMenachem Mendel of KotzkMenachem 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...
- Shlomo Hakohen RabinowiczShlomo RabinowiczShlomo Hakohen Rabinowicz was the first Rebbe of the Radomsk Hasidic dynasty and one of the great Hasidic masters of 19th-century Poland...
, first Radomsker Rebbe - Shlomo Chanoch Hakohen RabinowiczShlomo Chanoch RabinowiczShlomo Chanoch Hakohen Rabinowicz was the fourth and last Rebbe of the Radomsk Hasidic dynasty. He was the eldest son of the third Radomsker Rebbe, Rabbi Yechezkel Hakohen Rabinowicz and great-grandson of the founder of the dynasty, Rabbi Shlomo Hakohen Rabinowicz, the Tiferes Shlomo...
, fourth Radomsker Rebbe - Shalom Rokeach of BelzShalom RokeachSholom Rokeach , also known as the Sar Sholom , was the first Belzer Rebbe.To Belzer Hasidim, he is known as "Der Ershter Rov" , but in the city of Belz itself he was called "Der Alter Rov" in deference to the Bach, who presided as rabbi of Belz in the sixteenth century.-Biography:His father was...
- Yaakov Yitzchak of LublinYaakov Yitzchak of LublinYaakov Yitzchak of Lublin, also Jacob Isaac of Lublin, or Y. Y. Horowitz , known as "The Chozeh of Lublin" , or simply as the "Chozeh", was a Hasidic rebbe from Poland....
- Avraham Mordechai Alter
Rabbis philosophers born on Posen, West Prussia, etc
- Ismar ElbogenIsmar ElbogenIsmar Elbogen was a Jewish-German rabbi, scholar and historian....
- Abraham Joshua HeschelAbraham Joshua HeschelAbraham Joshua Heschel was a Polish-born American rabbi and one of the leading Jewish theologians and Jewish philosophers of the 20th century.-Biography:...
- Samuel HoldheimSamuel HoldheimSamuel Holdheim was a German rabbi and author, and one of the more extreme leaders of the early Reform Movement in Judaism. A pioneer in modern Jewish homiletics, he was often at odds with the Orthodox community.- Early life :...
- Kaufmann KohlerKaufmann KohlerKaufmann Kohler was a German-born U.S. reform rabbi and theologian.-Life and work:Kaufmann Kohler was born into a family of rabbis...
- Moritz LazarusMoritz LazarusMoritz Lazarus , born at Filehne, in the Prussian province of Posen, was a German philosopher, psychologist, and a vocal opponent of the anti-Semitism of his time.- Life and education :...
- Hermann Tietz (rabbi)Hermann Tietz (rabbi)Hermann Tietz was a German rabbi.He was educated at the University of Berlin . He was rabbi in Schrimm, and from 1888 was a Stiftrabbiner and teacher in the bet ha-midrash at Inowrazlaw...
- Case (rabbi)Case (rabbi)Case was one of the foremost Polish rabbis and Talmudists of the end of the sixteenth century and the beginning of the seventeenth; died at Posen about 1610...
- See also List of German Jews;
Rabbis and philosophers born on Austrian Galicia
- Rabbi Jacob AvigdorJacob AvigdorYaakov Avigdor was a Polish rabbi, author and Holocaust survivor, who served as Chief Rabbi of the Ashkenazi Jewish community in Mexico.-Life:...
- Rabbi Salo Baron
- BuberBuberBuber is a surname. It may refer to:* Martin Buber, Austrian-born Israeli Jewish scholar, socialist, Zionist, and prominent advocate of a joint Jewish-Arab state of Israel...
pedigree - Zwi Perez Chajes/Zvi Perez Chajes
- Rebbe Aharon Rokeach of BelzAharon RokeachAharon Rokeach was the fourth Rebbe of the Belz Hasidic dynasty. He led the movement from 1926 until his death in 1957....
- Rebbe Shalom Rokeach of BelzShalom RokeachSholom Rokeach , also known as the Sar Sholom , was the first Belzer Rebbe.To Belzer Hasidim, he is known as "Der Ershter Rov" , but in the city of Belz itself he was called "Der Alter Rov" in deference to the Bach, who presided as rabbi of Belz in the sixteenth century.-Biography:His father was...
- Rebbe Yissachar Dov Rokeach (I) of BelzYissachar Dov Rokeach (I)Yissachar Dov Rokeach , , was the third Rebbe of the Belz Hasidic dynasty. He was the second son of Rabbi Yehoshua Rokeach , and served as the third Belzer Rebbe from his father's death in 1894 until his own death in 1926.-Personal life:Yissachar Dov was born in the town of Belz, Poland...
- Provençal origin Schor and derivated - Wolowski (Chrisian), Wohl, Brodski, Margoliouth, Twiaschor (Chrisian) - rabbis and scholars of pedigree
- Friedrich WeinrebFriedrich WeinrebFriedrich Weinreb was a Jewish Hassidic and narrative author....
- See also List of Austrian Jews;
Rabbis philosophers born on Silesia, Brandenburg, Pomerania & Eastern Prussia
- See List of German Jews;
See also
- List of Polish Jews, List of North European Jews (LithuaniaLithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, etc), List of East European Jews (Southern Lithuania - BelarusBelarusBelarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
), List of Ukrainian Jews (UkraineUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
- Galicia, VolhyniaVolhyniaVolhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...
, et al.) - List of Hasidic dynasties