Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter
Encyclopedia
Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter (1847–1905), 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 (head of the rabbinical court) and Rav of Góra Kalwaria
, Poland (known in Yiddish
as the town of Ger), and succeeded the Rebbe, Reb Heynekh of Alexander, as Rebbe
of the Gerrer Hasidim
.
, 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.
of Aleksander. After the death of the latter in 1870, the Hasidim succeeded in gaining Yehudah Aryeh Leib's assent to become their Rebbe.
many of his young followers were drafted into the Russian Army and sent to the battlefields in Manchuria
. 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 Shevat
5665).
and many others. His output was prodigious, and his works (all entitled Sfas Emes) deal with the Talmud
, the ethics of the Midrash
, and mysticism of the Zohar
.
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 Talmud
ic tractates, and on Yoreh De'ah
, have been published under the same name.
The Sochatchover
Rebbe, Rabbi Avrohom Bornsztain
(known as the Avnei Nezer), a leading Torah scholar and posek
in his own right, is said to have maintained two bookcases — one for Rishonim
(earlier commentators) and another for Acharonim
(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 Yeshiva
in Jerusalem is named after him and includes his teachings in the curriculum.
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...
rabbi
Rabbi
In 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 Alter
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...
, as the av beis din (head of the rabbinical court) and Rav of Góra Kalwaria
Góra Kalwaria
Góra 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 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...
as the town of Ger), and succeeded the Rebbe, Reb Heynekh of Alexander, as 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...
of the Gerrer Hasidim
Ger (Hasidic dynasty)
Ger, 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 of Kotzk
Menachem 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
Chanokh 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 WarRusso-Japanese War
The 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 Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria 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 Shevat
Shevat
Shevat 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 GreenspanNachman Shlomo Greenspan
Rabbi 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 Talmud
Talmud
The 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 Midrash
Midrash
The 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 Zohar
Zohar
The 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 Talmud
Talmud
The 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'ah
Yoreh De'ah
Yoreh 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 Sochatchover
Hasidic dynasty
A 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 Bornsztain
Avrohom Bornsztain
Avrohom 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 posek
Posek
Posek 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
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 Acharonim
Acharonim
Acharonim 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 Yeshiva
Sfas Emes Yeshiva
Sfas 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 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...
(1798–1866) - Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter (1847–1905)
- 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...
(1866–1948) - Yisrael AlterYisrael AlterYisrael 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 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:...
(1926–1996) - 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...
(b. 1939)
External links
- "The Sefas Emes" Deiah veDibur Part I
- "The Sefas Emes" Deiah veDibur Part II
- "Sefas Emes Project" Translations of the Sefat Emet as Pdf's
- "Sfas Emes" in English A Sfas Emes Companion in English.
- Sfas Emes Blog A new homily translated each week in clear easy to understand English