Bobov (or Bobover Hasidism) (, ) is a
Hasidic community within
Haredi Judaism
Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...
, originating in
Bobowa,
Galicia, in southern Poland,
and now headquartered in the neighborhood of
Borough Park, in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
.
Bobov developed into a leading Hasidic dynasty through the leadership of
Shlomo Halberstam, 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 Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, its collaborators before and during World War II ...
. After the death of his son
Naftali, a succession crisis ensued, leading to the ascension of Naftali's half-brother
Benzion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam as Grand Rebbe, and his son-in-law
Mordechai Dovid Unger as leader of , a breakaway faction.
Bobov communities are found in the
Williamsburg section of Brooklyn; in
Monsey, New York; Los Angeles;
Lakewood, New Jersey; Linden NJ; Montreal; Toronto;
Antwerp
Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
; and London.
[ In Israel, Bobov has large branches in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Ashdod, Elad, Beitar Illit, and an enclave, "Kiryas Bobov", in Bat Yam.
]
Outline of Bobov's Hasidic rabbinical lineage
History
First Rebbe of Bobov, Shlomo Halberstam (1847 – 1905)
Bobov originated with Shlomo Halberstam, who was the grandson of Grand Rabbi Chaim Halberstam of Sanz, in the Galician village of Bobowa.[
While most of the early yeshivos (Talmudical academies) originated in ]Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
, the 19th century saw the opening of similar institutions in Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. The first yeshiva in Poland was established by the first Bobover Rebbe in 1881 in Vishnitsa, 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 Rabbi Ben Zion Halberstam, author of ''Kedushas 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 name Etz Chaim were established throughout Galicia.
During World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the Bobov Hasidic movement was destroyed. The second Rebbe himself was murdered in the Holocaust
The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
, together with family members[ and 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 the West Side of Manhattan, later moving to the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. The yeshiva, which was originally located at 184 Brooklyn Avenue, later moved to the nearby Borough Park neighborhood. 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 years[ that 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 in Ferndale, 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 as ''Rav 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 of Adar II, 5765), at age 74, leaving a wife, two daughters, and two sons-in-law: Yehoshua Rubin, Rav of Bobov-45; and Mordechai 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 arose among Bobover Hasidim as to who should attain the dynasty leadership. Some began to follow Ben 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 of Dombrov, which anyway was not as substantial a dynasty. The matter of succession was brought before a beth din (religious court) in 2007, which ruled that Halberstam would be declared the fifth Rebbe of Bobov () with its headquarters on 48th Street in Borough Park, while Unger would be Rebbe of Bobov-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 in Williamsburg and Monsey, New York; Lakewood, New Jersey; Los Angeles; Montreal; London; Manchester; Antwerp
Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
; and an enclave "Yishuv of Chasidei Bobov-45" in Union, New Jersey. In Israel, Bobov-45 has branches in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Beit Shemesh, Ashdod, Elad, and Beitar 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 in the Holocaust
The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
. 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 other Mordechai 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 a '' beth 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, the ''beth din'' ordered Bobov to pay $6,200,000 to Bobov-45's Rebbe and '' dayan'' in 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 first Grand Rabbi of 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 current '' dayan'' and rabbinical leader of the sect.
Institutions
Community institutions, such as a synagogue
A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
, have been built within Bobov-45.
Other Bobov infrastructure includes
a Yeshiva
A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...
,
beth midrash (study hall),
'' cheder'' (elementary school),
yeshiva ketana (secondary school),
'' mesivta'',
girls school,
day camp,
and wedding halls.["Today, is the wedding of a granddaughter of The Bobov-45 Rebbe Shlita ..."
]
Notable people
* Shlomo Halberstam (first Bobover Rebbe)
* Ben Zion Halberstam
* Shlomo Halberstam (third Bobover rebbe)
* Naftali Halberstam
* Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam
* Mordechai Dovid Unger
* Simcha Eichenstein
* Benzion Miller
See also
* Hasidic Judaism in Poland
References
Sources
*
{{Authority control
Hasidic dynasties
Hasidic Judaism in New York City
Jews and Judaism in Brooklyn
Jews and Judaism in England
Jews and Judaism in Jerusalem
Jews and Judaism in Antwerp
Jewish groups in Poland