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Munkacz (Hasidic dynasty)
Encyclopedia
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...
(חסידות מונקאטש) is a Hasidic sect within 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 ....
of mostly Hungarian Hasidic Jews. It was founded and led by the late Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe 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 exclave, to the north...
-born Grand Rebbe Shlomo Spira, who was the rabbi of the town of Munkacs. Members of the congregation are mainly referred to as Munkacs Hasidim or Munkatcher Hasidim. It is named after the Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
town in which it was established, Munkatsh (in Yiddish
Yiddish language
Yiddish 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...
; or in Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
: Munkács; today: Mukachevo in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine 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...
).
The largest Munkacs community is in Boro Park, Brooklyn; There are also significant Munkacs communities in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...
; Monsey, New York
Monsey, New York
Monsey is a hamlet , in the Town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of the state of New Jersey; east of Suffern; south of Airmont and west of Nanuet...
; and communities can be found in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Lineage of the Munkacs Chasidic Dynasty
Roots
The dynasty traces its roots to Grand Rebbe Zvi Elimelech Spira (1783-1841), rabbi of Munkacs, and later of DynówDynów
Dynów is a town in Rzeszów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, with a population of 6,058 .-Massacre during Second World War:...
in Galicia. Himself an adherent of the Polish Hasidic leader Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak of Lublin
Yaakov Yitzchak of Lublin
Yaakov 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....
(the Chozeh of Lublin) and of his uncle, Rabbi Elimelech
Elimelech of Lizhensk
Elimelech 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...
of Lizhensk
Lezajsk
Leżajsk is a town in southeastern Poland with 14,127 inhabitants . It has been situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodship since 1999 and is the capital of Leżajsk County. Leżajsk is famed for its Bernadine basilica and monastery, built by the architect Antonio Pellacini...
, author of Noam Elimelech, Rabbi Spira was instrumental in bringing Hasidic Judaism to Hungary. He authored works such as Agra D'kala and Chidushei Mahartza , and is commonly called by the title of his most famous work B'nei Yissaschar ("Children of [the tribe] Issachar
Tribe of Issachar
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Issachar was one of the Tribes of Israel.Following the completion of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelite tribes after about 1200 BCE, Joshua allocated the land among the twelve tribes...
", named for the biblical Issachar, son of Jacob
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
, because he was told by Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak of Lublin that he a direct descendant of the tribe of Issachar). His descendants became leaders of the communities of Dynów
Dynów
Dynów is a town in Rzeszów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, with a population of 6,058 .-Massacre during Second World War:...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe 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 exclave, to the north...
(called Dinov in Yiddish), Munkacs, Hungary (now Mukachevo, Ukraine) (called Munkatch in Yiddish) and Błażowa, Poland (called Bluzhev in Yiddish). He was succeeded by his son, Rabbi Eluzer Spira of Lanczut, Poland, who was succeeded by his son, Rabbi Shlomo Spira of Munkacs, author of Shem Sh'lomo. He in turn was succeeded by his son Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh Spira of Munkacs, author of Darkei T'shuvah.
Pre World War Two Munkacs
The RebbeRebbe
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...
of Munkatch, Grand Rebbe Chaim Elazar Spira
Chaim Elazar Spira
Rabbi Chaim Elazar Spira was one of the rebbes of the Hasidic movement Munkacz .-Family background:...
, who led the community from 1913 until his death in 1937, was the most outspoken voice of religious anti-Zionism
Anti-Zionism
Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionistic views or opposition to the state of Israel. The term is used to describe various religious, moral and political points of view in opposition to these, but their diversity of motivation and expression is sufficiently different that "anti-Zionism" cannot be...
. He had succeeded his father, Grand Rebbe Zvi Hirsh Spira, who had earlier inherited the mantle of leadership from his father Grand Rebbe Shlomo Spira. Rabbi Chaim Elazar led his community with unsurpassed dignity and drew worldwide respect and honor for Munkács. His keen understanding and vast knowledge in Jewish as well as worldly matters drew thousands of people to his home where they sought his advice and blessings. Under his leadership, the Munkács Jewish community grew by leaps and bounds and at the time of his death in 1937 over half of the town's inhabitants were Jewish. After his passing in May of 1937, leaving an only daughter Frima, he was succeeded as rebbe by his son-in-law Grand Rabbi Baruch Yehoshua Yerachmiel Rabinovich, who led the Munkacs dynasty with much success, until the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Munkacs Today
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
, the Munkatch dynasty and community was re-established in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in Brooklyn, New York and developed a close affinity with the Satmar
Satmar (Hasidic dynasty)
Satmar is a Hasidic movement comprising mostly Hungarian and Romanian Hasidic Jewish Holocaust survivors and their descendants. It was founded and led by the late Hungarian-born Grand Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum , who was the rabbi of Szatmárnémeti, Hungary...
hasidim, who also originated from North-Eastern Hungary (namely Szatmár county, hence the name of the dynasty).
Currently, the Munkacs dynasty is led by the son of Rabbi Baruch, Grand Rebbe Moshe Leib Rabinovich
Moshe Leib Rabinovich
Moshe Leib Rabinovich is the current rebbe of Munkacs.Rabinovich was born as the third child to his parents Rabbi Baruch and Frima Rabinovich in Munkacs, Carpathian Ruthenia, Ukraine, the country itself having at the time just been created with a sizable piece of Hungary, which in turn received...
.
The sect's main Brooklyn synagogue, which also serves as world headquarters for Munkacs hasidim, is located in the Boro Park section of Brooklyn. The hasidic group also boasts a plethorum of educational and charitable institutions across the United States, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Israel, and Australia.
Charitable institutions
The Munkacs Hasidic movement is famous for its many charitable organizations, which were founded by the current Grand Rebbe Rabbi Moshe Leib RabinovichMoshe Leib Rabinovich
Moshe Leib Rabinovich is the current rebbe of Munkacs.Rabinovich was born as the third child to his parents Rabbi Baruch and Frima Rabinovich in Munkacs, Carpathian Ruthenia, Ukraine, the country itself having at the time just been created with a sizable piece of Hungary, which in turn received...
and his wife, Rebbetzin
Rebbetzin
Rebbitzin or Rabbanit is the title used for the wife of a rabbi, typically from the Orthodox, or Haredi, and Hasidic Jewish groups...
Perl Rabinovich. The Munkacs Bikur Cholim ("visiting the sick"), Mazkereth Frima, founded by the Munkacser Rebbetzin in memory of the current Rebbe's mother Rebbetzin Frima Rabinovich, is highly respected for helping Jewish people, regardless of affiliation, when they are ill in a hospital, taking care of their needs, such as financial aid for doctors' bills and other accommodations, both religious and general, as well as the needs of their families who visit them. Munkacs is also very active in the Ukrainian town of Mukachevo, birthplace of the hasidic sect where it helps run and fund Synagogues, free kosher soup kitchens, educational and religious programs.
Educational institutions
Rabbi Moshe Leib Rabinovich founded a network of large educational institutions, both yeshivaYeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
s, girls' schools running from pre school thru high school, as well as post graduate advanced learning kollel
Kollel
A kollel is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim and learning sedarim ; unlike a yeshiva, the student body of a kollel are all married men...
s for married men. The girl's schools are called Bnos Frima and the yeshivas Tiferes Bunim. Munkacs also operates youth summer camps Chaim V'Shalom in the Catskill Mountains during the Summer months.
Publishing
Hotzoas EMES (Hebrew acronyim for O'hr T'orah M'unkacs) publishes the works of the Rebbes of Munkacs, as well as periodicals on news and subjects of interest to the Munkacs Hasidic community. To date, they have published hundreds of works which are used by Talmudic scholars around the world.Spiritual lineage from Baal Shem Tov
- Rebbe Yisrael Baal Shem Tov - founder of Hasidism
- Rebbe DovberDovber of MezeritchRabbi Dov Ber of Mezeritch was a disciple of Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidic Judaism, and was chosen as his successor to lead the early movement...
, the MaggidMaggidMaggid , sometimes spelled as magid, is a traditional Eastern European Jewish religious itinerant preacher, skilled as a narrator of Torah and religious stories. A preacher of the more scholarly sort was called a "darshan", and usually occupied the official position of rabbi...
of MezritchMezhirichiMezhirichi is a village in the Korets Raion of the Rivne Oblast, Ukraine. It is located in western Ukraine, 13 miles W of Korets, 27 miles E of Rivne.- Names :Mezhirichi is also known as , , .- Jewish life in Mezhirichi :...
- primary disciple of the Baal Shem Tov- Rebbe ElimelechElimelech 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...
of LizhenskLezajskLeżajsk is a town in southeastern Poland with 14,127 inhabitants . It has been situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodship since 1999 and is the capital of Leżajsk County. Leżajsk is famed for its Bernadine basilica and monastery, built by the architect Antonio Pellacini...
, author of Noam Elimelech - disciple of the Maggid of Mezritch- Rebbe Yaakov YitzchakYaakov 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....
, the Seer 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....
, author of Zikoron Zos - disciple of Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk
- Rebbe Yaakov Yitzchak
- Rebbe Elimelech
- Rebbe Dovber
Dynasty
- Grand Rabbi Tzvi Elimelech Spira of Dinov, author of B'nei Yisoschor, a disciple of the Seer 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....
- Grand Rabbi Eleazar Spira of Lancut, author of Yod'ei Binah, son of the B'nei Yisoschor
- Grand Rabbi Shlomo Spira of Munkatch, author of Shem Sh'lomo, son of the Yod'ei Binah
- Grand Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Spira of Munkatch, author of Darkei T'shuvah, son of the Shem Sh'lomo
- Grand Rabbi Chaim Elazar SpiraChaim Elazar SpiraRabbi Chaim Elazar Spira was one of the rebbes of the Hasidic movement Munkacz .-Family background:...
of Munkatch, author of Minchas El'azar, son of the Darkei T'shuvah- Grand Rabbi Baruch Yehoshua Yerachmiel Rabinovich, son-in-law of the Minchas El'azar
- Grand Rabbi Moshe Leib RabinovichMoshe Leib RabinovichMoshe Leib Rabinovich is the current rebbe of Munkacs.Rabinovich was born as the third child to his parents Rabbi Baruch and Frima Rabinovich in Munkacs, Carpathian Ruthenia, Ukraine, the country itself having at the time just been created with a sizable piece of Hungary, which in turn received...
, son of Rebbe Baruch, current Munkatcher Rebbe - Grand Rabbi Yitzchok Yakov Rabinovich, son of Rebbe Baruch, current Dinover Rebbe
- Grand Rabbi Moshe Leib Rabinovich
- Grand Rabbi Baruch Yehoshua Yerachmiel Rabinovich, son-in-law of the Minchas El'azar
- Grand Rabbi Chaim Elazar Spira
- Grand Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Spira of Munkatch, author of Darkei T'shuvah, son of the Shem Sh'lomo
- Grand Rabbi Shlomo Spira of Munkatch, author of Shem Sh'lomo, son of the Yod'ei Binah
- Grand Rabbi Eleazar Spira of Lancut, author of Yod'ei Binah, son of the B'nei Yisoschor
External links
- Religious Life in Munkács Before the Holocaust on the Yad VashemYad VashemYad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
website - Mukacheve, Ukraine (Munkács, HU) ShtetLink on JewishGen.org
- Wedding of the Daughter of Rabbi Chaim Elazar Shapira in Munkács, 15.03.1933 from Yad VashemYad VashemYad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
- A Film of Jewish Life in Munkacs - includes footage of the Munkacser Rebbe, zt"l, author of Minchas Elazer
- A Video Clip of the Present Rebbe of Munkatch celebrating Purim
- A Video Clip of the Present Rebbe of Munkatch celebrating Lag B'omer
- http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8336542609138047350&q=munkatcherA Video Clip of the Present Rebbe of Munkatch celebrating SukkotSukkotSukkot is a Biblical holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei . It is one of the three biblically mandated festivals Shalosh regalim on which Hebrews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.The holiday lasts seven days...
] - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8157298069648358703&q=munkatcherVideo of Celebrations of SukkotSukkotSukkot is a Biblical holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei . It is one of the three biblically mandated festivals Shalosh regalim on which Hebrews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.The holiday lasts seven days...
in various Hassidic Courts, including Munkatch] - Satellite view of Mukachevo, Ukraine
- Complete Collection of the works of the Rebbes of Munkacs