Bobov (Hasidic dynasty)

Bobov Institutions in Jerusalem

Bobov(orBobover Hasidism) (Hebrew:חסידות באבוב,Yiddish:בּאָבּאָװ) is aHasidiccommunity withinHaredi Judaism,originating inBobowa,Galicia,in southern Poland,and now headquartered in the neighborhood ofBorough Park,inBrooklyn, New York.

Bobov developed into a leading Hasidic dynasty through the leadership ofShlomo Halberstam,aHolocaust survivor.After the death of his sonNaftali,a succession crisis ensued, leading to the ascension of Naftali's half-brotherBenzion Aryeh Leibish Halberstamas Grand Rebbe, and his son-in-lawMordechai Dovid Ungeras leader ofBobov-45,a breakaway faction.

Bobov communities are found in theWilliamsburgsection of Brooklyn; inMonsey, New York;Los Angeles;Lakewood, New Jersey;Linden NJ; Montreal; Toronto;Antwerp;and London.In Israel, Bobov has large branches in Jerusalem,Bnei Brak,Ashdod,Elad,Beitar Illit,and an enclave, "Kiryas Bobov", inBat Yam.

Outline of Bobov's Hasidic rabbinical lineage

Grand Rabbi Yisroel ben Eliezer Baal Shem Tov (1698–1760) founder ofHasidism

Grand Rabbi Dov Ber (1710–1772) theMaggidof Mezritch

Grand Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk (1717–1786) author ofNoam Elimelech

Grand Rabbi Naftali Tzvi HorowitzofRopshitz (1760–1827) author ofZera Kodesh

Grand Rabbi Chaim HalberstamofSanz (1793–1876) author ofDivrei Chaim

Rabbi Myer Noson Halberstam (1827–1855)

3.Grand Rabbi Shlomo Halberstam (1907–2000) Third BoboverRebbe author ofDivrei Shlomo

4.Grand Rabbi Hrh "k R Naftali Tzvi Halberstam (1931–2005) Fourth BoboverRebbe

Female Halberstam

1.Grand Rabbi Shlomo Halberstam (1847–1905) First BoboverRebbe author ofAteres Shlomo eldest grandson of theDivrei Chaim

2.Grand Rabbi Ben Zion Halberstam (1874–1941) Second BoboverRebbe author ofKedushas Tzion

5.Grand Rabbi Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam (b. 1955) Fifth BoboverRebbe

Grand Rabbi Rabbi Mordechai Dovid Unger Shlita (b. 1954) Bobov-45Rebbe

Rabbi Yosef Unger RuvofBeth Midrash Apirion Shel Shlome and R "Y of Yeshiva Ketane of Bobov 45

Rabbi Shulim Unger bobov-45 ruv london

Female Halberstam

Female Halberstam

Female Rubin

Rabbi Chaim Yaakov Tauber BobovDayan

Rabbi Yehoshua Rubin (born 1952) Bobov-45Ruv

Rabbi Zvi Hirsh Rabinovich presentRuvof Bobov-45 inMonsey

Female Halberstam

Female Rubin

Teacher → Student

Rabbi Yonasan Binyamin Goldberger First RebbeofBikofsk&Rosh Hakolelof Bobov

Rabbi Shimon Goldberger Second and Current Rebbe ofBikofsk

Rabbi Meyer Yosef Eichenstein Present Rosh Hakolelof Bobov-45

Father → Son

Female Halberstam

Husband ↔ Wife

Rabbi Ben Zion Blum BoboverDayanofLondon

Female Halberstam

Rabbi Yaakov Yisroel Meisles BoboverRuvofKiryath BobovinBat Yam

Female Halberstam

Rabbi Boruch Avraham Horowitz presentRosh Yeshivaof Mesivta Eitz Chaim of Bobov

Rabbi Baruch Dovid Halberstam Sorvosher Ruv

Rabbi Ben Zion Dov Halberstam

Rabbi Chaim Yehoshua Halberstam

Rabbi Yaakov Yosef Halberstam RuvofBeis Chaim Yehoshua

RabbiChaim Yehoshua Halberstam Rabbi ofSatmarinMonsey

Rabbi Yechiel Halberstam Pokshivnitzer RebbeofMonsey,NY

Rabbi Yechezkel Dovid Halberstam Pokshivnitzer Rebbe

Rabbi Chaim Halberstam Pokshivnitzer RebbeofFlatbush

Rabbi Ben Zion Avraham Halberstam Pokshivnitzer RebbeofFlatbush

Rabbi Shloime Halberstam Pokshivnitzer RebbeofLakewood, New Jersey

History

First Rebbe of Bobov, Shlomo Halberstam (1847 – 1905)

RabbiShlomo Halberstam,the first Bobover Rebbe

Bobov originated withShlomo Halberstam,who was the grandson of Grand RabbiChaim HalberstamofSanz,in theGalicianvillage of Bobowa.

While most of the earlyyeshivos(Talmudical academies) originated inLithuania,the 19th century saw the opening of similar institutions inPoland.The first yeshiva in Poland was established by the first Bobover Rebbe in 1881 inVishnitsa,where he was rabbi then; and it later moved with him to Bobov.

Second Bobover Rebbe, Benzion Halberstam (1874 – 1941)

His work was continued by his son, Grand RabbiBen Zion Halberstam,author ofKedushas Tzion.The Bobov Yeshiva was originally situated only in the town of Bobov itself. However, under his guidance, the court grew in numbers, with Hasidic youth flocking to Bobov. Subsequently, as many as sixty branches of the yeshiva under the nameEtz Chaimwere established throughout Galicia.

DuringWorld War II,the Bobov Hasidic movement was destroyed. The second Rebbe himself was murdered inthe Holocaust,together with family membersand thousands of his followers.

Third Bobover Rebbe, Shlomo Halberstam (1908 – 2000)

Barely 300 Hasidim survived, and the Rebbe's son,Shlomo Halberstam,took it upon himself to rebuild Bobov.He first settled in theWest Side of Manhattan,later moving to theBedford-Stuyvesantneighborhood of Brooklyn. The yeshiva, which was originally located at 184 Brooklyn Avenue, later moved to the nearbyBorough Parkneighborhood. Shlomo Halberstam was known for his wisdom, his caring for others, and his steadfastness in not taking sides in disputes.

Over the more than fifty yearsthat Shlomo Halberstam was Rebbe of Bobov, he founded and built a worldwide network of synagogues, Hasidic schools for boys and girls,mesivtas(high schools), and post-high school houses of learning. Besides schools, a summer camp for boys was founded in 1957 inFerndale, New York,and a girls camp, Camp Gila, was founded a few years later. At the time of his death in August 2000, he was mourned by more followers than his father had in pre-war Poland. At his funeral it was publicly announced that his oldest son Naftali would succeed him as Rebbe, and his younger brother Ben Zion would serve asRav Hatzair(assistant rabbi).

Fourth Bobover Rebbe, Naftali Halberstam (1931 – 2005)

With Shlomo Halberstam's death, his older son,Naftali Zvi Halberstam,succeeded him. Naftali Zvi died on March 23, 2005(12th ofAdar II,5765), at age 74, leaving a wife, two daughters, and two sons-in-law:Yehoshua Rubin,Rav of Bobov-45; andMordechai Dovid Unger,Rebbe of Bobov-45.

Fifth and current Rebbe of Bobov, Ben Zion Halberstam (1955 –)

After Naftali Tzvi Halberstam died in 2005, a dispute aroseamong Bobover Hasidim as to who should attain the dynasty leadership. Some began to followBen Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam,the younger brother of the late Rebbe, while others followed his son-in-law Unger, who was older by one year.Unger had already ensconced himself firmly within the community by then, and could not challenge his own father's leadership ofDombrov,which anyway was not as substantial a dynasty.The matter of succession was brought before abeth din(religious court) in 2007, which ruled that Halberstam would be declared the fifth Rebbe of Bobov (אדמו "ר מבאבוב) with its headquarters on 48th Street in Borough Park,while Unger would be Rebbe ofBobov-45(אדמו "ר מבאבוב-45), located on 45th Street.While the former community retained the rights to the name "Bobov", Unger's faction was permitted to use the name, provided that the qualifier be added to it.

Bobov-45

An offshoot of the Bobov dynasty, Bobov-45 is headquartered in Borough Park. It has branches inWilliamsburgandMonsey, New York;Lakewood, New Jersey;Los Angeles; Montreal; London; Manchester;Antwerp;and an enclave "Yishuv of Chasidei Bobov-45" inUnion,New Jersey. In Israel, Bobov-45 has branches in Jerusalem,Bnei Brak,Beit Shemesh,Ashdod,Elad,andBeitar Illit.

History of Bobov-45

The third Bobover Rebbe, Shlomo Halberstam, rebuilt the Bobov Hasidic dynasty in the United States after losing his wife and most of his children inthe Holocaust.His son Naftali, who survived,became the fourth Rebbe upon his father's death. He had no sons but left two daughters, one of whom married Yehoshua Rubin, and the otherMordechai Dovid Unger.In 2005, after Naftali's death, a group of Bobover Hasidim loyal to his son-in-law, Mordechai Dovid Unger, preferred him to take over the position of Rebbe of Bobov.

The dispute was taken to abeth din(arbitration panel), which ruled that Halberstam held the rights to the name "Bobov", and to all Bobov institutions. Unger was allowed to use the name Bobov, provided that a qualifier be added to it.The suffix "-45" was henceforth adopted in tribute to the street on which the community center of the sect was located at the time. In addition, thebeth dinordered Bobov to pay $6,200,000 to Bobov-45's Rebbe anddayanin twenty-five quarterly installments, as an allotment of their faction's share of the inheritance of the Bobov enterprise's assets, it is unknown what the value of the assets were at the time.

First and current Grand rabbi of Bobov-45 Mordechai Dovid Unger (1954 –)

Unger, the firstGrand Rabbiof Bobov-45, is the younger son-in-law of the fourth Bobover Rebbe, Naftali Halberstam. Unger has been active in the wider Jewish community.Yehoshua Rubin, the older son-in-law of Halberstam, is the currentdayanand rabbinical leader of the sect.

Institutions

Community institutions, such as asynagogue,have been built within Bobov-45. Other Bobov infrastructure includes aYeshiva, beth midrash(study hall), cheder(elementary school), yeshiva ketana(secondary school), mesivta, girls school, day camp, and wedding halls.

See also

• Hasidic Judaism in Poland

Sources

• Heilman, Samuel C. (December 2013)."What's in a Name? The Dilemma of Title and Geography for Contemporary Hasidism".Jewish History.27(2–4): 221–240.doi:10.1007/s10835-013-9187-5.S2CID254602685.ProQuest1460841654.RetrievedDecember 3,2023.