Yaakov Aryeh Alter (, , born 18 May 1939) is the eighth, and current,

Rebbe A Rebbe () or Admor () is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties.Heilman, Samuel"The Rebbe and the Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism."''Religion and Spirituality (Audio)''. UCTV, 20 Oct 2011. web. ...

of the

Hasidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...

dynasty of Ger, a position he has held since 1996. He lives in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, and has followers there and in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. He is a member of the Presidium of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudath Israel.

Life

Yaakov Aryeh Alter was born on 18 May 1939, 29

Iyar Iyar (Hebrew language, Hebrew: or , Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Standard ''ʾĪyyar'' Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''ʾĪyyār''; from "Rosette (design), rosette; blossom") is the eighth month of the civil year (which starts on 1 Tishrei ...

5699 in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

, Poland, to Rabbi Simcha Bunim Alter, also known as the ''Lev Simcha'', who later became the sixth Gerrer Rebbe, and Yuta Henya, daughter of Rabbi Nehemiah Alter, his grandfather's brother. He was named after his ancestor Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Guterman of

Radzymin Radzymin is a town in Poland and is one of the distant suburbs of the city of Warsaw. It is located in the powiat of Wołomin of the Masovian Voivodeship. The town has 8,818 inhabitants (as of 2008, but the surrounding commune is heavily populate ...

. In 1940, he immigrated, with his father and grandfather (Rebbe Avraham Mordechai Alter), to

Eretz Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definitions ...

. He studied in the

Talmud Torah Talmud Torah (, lit. 'Study of the Torah') schools were created in the Jewish world, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic, as a form of religious school for boys of modest backgrounds, where they were given an elementary education in Hebrew language, H ...

Etz Chaim. For many years, he studied Torah at a synagogue known as ''Rashi Shtiebel'' in

Bnei Brak Bnei Brak ( ) or Bene Beraq, is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an area of 709 hectares (1,752 acre ...

. He married Shoshana, daughter of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Weitz, one of the heads of Yeshivat Chiddushei HaRim. Alter is one of the wealthiest people in the Haredi sector and in

in general, and in 2012, he was ranked third on the list of the richest rabbis in Israel, with a net worth of approximately NIS 350 million to NIS 500 million (between approximately $95 million and $135 million) due to real estate investments his father made in north Tel Aviv, Arsuf, and Jerusalem before Israel's establishment. Despite his wealth, he lived in an apartment in an ordinary residential building in the Chazon Ish neighborhood in Bnei Brak until 2011, when he moved to

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. He and his wife have five sons and four daughters. In 2019, it was reported that one of Alter's sons was accused of sexually molesting two young male students from amongst Alter's followers. In 1996, after the passing of

Pinchas Menachem Alter Pinchas Menachem Alter (; July 3, 1926 – March 7, 1996), also known as the ''Pnei Menachem'' (), after the works he authored, was the seventh rebbe of the Hasidic Judaism, Hasidic dynasty of Ger (Hasidic dynasty), Ger, a position he held from ...

, his nephew Yaakov Aryeh Alter became the Rebbe of Ger. In 2007, approximately 50,000 people attended the wedding of Alter's oldest grandson in Jerusalem. In 2016, Alter's followers were estimated at 11,859 families. In 2019, Alter's cousin

Shaul Alter Shaul Alter (; born July 6, 1957) is the founder and current leader of Ger (Hasidic dynasty)#Kehilas Pnei Menachem, Kehilas Pnei Menachem (an offshoot from the Ger (Hasidic dynasty), Ger Hasidic dynasty). He served as Rosh yeshiva, Rosh Yeshivah ...

and his followers split off, forming Kehilas Pnei Menachem. As of 2021, membership of Shaul Alter's breakaway faction consisted of some 500 families. In 2022, an estimated 60,000 people, including Rabbis Yisrael Meir Lau,

Yitzhak Yosef Yitzhak Yosef (; born ) is an Israeli Haredi rabbi. The former Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, he also serves as the rosh yeshiva of in Jerusalem's Romema neighborhood. Since the end of his term as Chief Rabbi, he joined the rabbinic leade ...

, Yitzchok Zilberstein, and Nachum Dov Brayer, attended the wedding of Alter's granddaughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alter, Yaakov Aryeh 1939 births Living people Israeli Hasidic rabbis Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Polish Hasidic rabbis Rebbes of Ger Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah People from Łódź