Yisroel Spira (November 12, 1889 – October 30, 1989), the Bluzhover Rebbe, was a senior member of Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, and a

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...

. His experiences in the

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as con ...

were the basis for the book ''Hasidic Tales of the Holocaust''.

Early life and family

Spira was born in Reisha (

Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ; la, Resovia; yi, ריישא ''Raisha'')) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów has been the capital of the Subcarpathian ...

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

, southern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, to Yehoshua Spira, the "Keren Yehoshua" of Ribiditsch, and Tziporah. Yehoshua Spira was the son of Tzvi Elimelech Spira of Bluzhov (

Błażowa Błażowa ( yi, בלאזשאוו ''Blazhov'') is a town in Rzeszów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, with a population of 2,149 as of December 2021. History The area of the gmina of Błażowa in the past was located along the borde ...

in Polish) (1841–1924), also known by the eponym ''Tzvi LaTzaddik'' (Hebrew צבי לצדיק), after his major work. Tzvi Elimelech Spira was the son of the ''Tzemach Dovid'' (Heb. צמח דוד) of Dinov, who in turn was the son of Tzvi Elimelech Spira of Dynów (1783 – 1841), the author of '' Bnei Yisaschar'' (Heb. בני יששכר). Spira married Perel Unger, the daughter of Shalom David Unger, the Zashavna Rebbe.

Career

Spira was ordained at the young age of thirteen by the Maharsham of Brezan (

Berezhany Berezhany ( uk, Бережани, ; pl, Brzeżany; yi, ברעזשאַן, Brezhan; he, בּז'יז'אני/בּז'ז'ני ''Bzhezhani''/''Bzhizhani'') is a city in Ternopil Raion, Ternopil Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It lies about fr ...

). He served as the rabbi of Pruchnik, and was later appointed rabbi of

Ustrzyki Dolne Ustrzyki Dolne (; yi, Istrik, uk, Устри́ки-Долі́шні, translit=Ustrýky-Dolíshni) is a town in south-eastern Poland, situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999) close to the border with Ukraine. It is the capital of ...

, near

Sanok Sanok (in full the Royal Free City of Sanok — pl, Królewskie Wolne Miasto Sanok, rue, Санок, ''Sanok'', ua, Cянік, ''Sianik'', la, Sanocum, yi, סאניק, ''Sonik'') is a town in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of south-eastern ...

, in southeastern Poland. After his father's death in 1931, Spira became

Rebbe A Rebbe ( yi, רבי, translit=rebe) or Admor ( he, אדמו״ר) 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 Spiritu ...

of Bluzhov.

World War II

As a result of the Nazi occupation of Poland, the Jews were first herded into

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished ...

s, then suffered deportation to destinations yet unknown. Spira was sent to the Janowska concentration camp. In October 1942, he was transferred to Bełżec, but he was subsequently able to escape back to Janowska. He would later be transferred to

Bergen-Belsen Bergen-Belsen , or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, in 1943, parts of it became a concentrati ...

On October 31, 1942, Spira's wife Perel was killed by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

. The rest of his family, among them his brothers, Rabbi Eliezer of Ribaditch, and Rabbi Meir of Bluzhev, were all killed by the Nazis. On April 15, 1945, Spira was liberated from Bergen-Belsen. After the war, Spira married his second wife, Rebbetzin Bronia Spira (Melchior) (b. June 2, 1910) from

Sosnowiec Sosnowiec is an industrial city county in the Dąbrowa Basin of southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, which is also part of the Silesian Metropolis municipal association.—— Located in the eastern part of the Upper Silesian Indus ...

. Her first husband, Rabbi Yisroel Avrohom Koshitzki, perished in the Bełżec extermination camp.

Post-war

Spira relocated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, at first settling in the Williamsburg section of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and later in Borough Park. Spira played an important role in the development of

Agudath Israel of America Agudath Israel of America ( he, אגודת ישראל באמריקה) (also called Agudah) is an American organization that represents Haredi Orthodox Jews. It is loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel. Agudah seeks to ...

Death

Spira died on October 30, 1989. He was the senior member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah. Rabbi Yitzchok Brandriss, spokesman for the Moetzes, said that Spira was the oldest living

Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism ( Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of conte ...

Rabbi.(November 1, 1989) Obituar
"Israel Spira, 99, Leader Of Bluzhov Hasidim
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' Spira was buried on the

Mount of Olives The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet ( he, הַר הַזֵּיתִים, Har ha-Zeitim; ar, جبل الزيتون, Jabal az-Zaytūn; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Jeru ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Legacy

Stories about Spira's experiences during the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

were told over to Holocaust researcher Yaffa Eliach. These stories would later become the basis for her book ''Hasidic Tales of the Holocaust''. In 2005, Spira's grandson, Rabbi Yoseph Spira, compiled two volumes of his grandfather's

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

thoughts, called ''Shufra Deyisroel'' (Heb. שופרא דישראל). He also wrote a biography called ''LeAid Bivney Yisroel'' (Heb. לעד בבני ישראל).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spira, Yis 1891 births 1989 deaths 20th-century Polish rabbis Hasidic rabbis in Europe American Hasidic rabbis Orthodox rabbis from New York City People from Williamsburg, Brooklyn Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah Polish emigrants to the United States Belzec extermination camp survivors Bergen-Belsen concentration camp survivors Burials at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives People from Borough Park, Brooklyn