Chaim Elazar Spira (December 17, 1868 – May 13, 1937), also known as the Minchas Elazar after his magnum opus, was a rebbe of the Hasidic Munkacs dynasty.

Family background

Spira was born in Strzyżów, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, now part of

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 ...

, where his grandfather, Shlomo Spira, was a rabbi. Chaim Elazar's father, Tzvi Hersh Spira, was from Spira family which had held rabbinical positions in Munkács dating back to the founder of the Munkács Hasidic dynasty, Tzvi Elimelech Spira of Dinov (Bnei Yisoschor), who was Chief Rabbi from 1828 to 1832. Spira became Chief Justice of the Rabbinical Court in Munkács in 1903, where he worked along with his father until the latter died in 1913. He succeeded his father as Chief Rabbi of Munkács and the surrounding communities.

Biography

Spira wrote and published over twenty

books A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mo ...

on the Jewish law,

Torah The Torah ( , "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. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

, Hasidism, and religious philosophy and

customs Customs is an authority or Government agency, agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling International trade, the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out ...

including the six-volume ''Minchas Elazar''. He opposed political

Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

and the Agudat Yisrael. Spira established elementary schools under the name "Machzike Torah." He founded 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 ...

'' (rabbinical college) in Munkacs, named ''Darchei Tshuva'', after the title of his father's sefer (book).

Journey to Jerusalem

In 1930, Spira visited

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

for a thirteen-day trip to visit the elderly kabbalist Solomon Eliezer Alfandari (known as the Saba Kadisha, "Holy Grandfather") and also to visit with his followers in Palestine. He met with Alfandari for long hours behind closed doors over the span of a week. While Spira was in

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 ...

, Alfandari died. Mun1

Details of the trip were recorded in a book written by a disciple of Spira's, Moshe Goldstein, who was one of those accompanying the Rebbe on his trip. The book was reprinted several times in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

and

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

, and was translated to English in 2009 by Artscroll Publications.

Wedding of daughter in 1933

Spira's only daughter, Chaya Fruma Rivka (known as Frima), married Baruch Yehoshua Yerachmiel Rabinowicz in Munkács on March 15, 1933. Over 20,000 guests attended the wedding. According to the daily newspaper '' Rudý večerník'', "The wedding lasted for seven days."

Legacy

Spira died in 1937 and was succeeded as Chief Rabbi by his son-in-law Baruch Yehoshua Yerachmiel Rabinowicz, Spira's only daughter Frima's

husband A husband is a man involved in a marital relationship, commonly referred to as a spouse. The specific rights, responsibilities, and societal status attributed to a husband can vary significantly across different cultures and historical perio ...

, who was chief rabbi until the Nazi occupation of Munkács in 1944.

Successor

The Munkacs Hasidic dynasty is led by his grandson, Moshe Leib Rabinovich, who lives in

Brooklyn 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 ...

Israel

Batei Munkacs, the Israeli residential neighborhood founded by Spira, draws tourists.

References

External links

Rabbi Chaim Elazar Shapira – the Munkaczer Rebbe - A Jewish Community in the Carpathian Mountains- The Story of Munkács

Video of the wedding of Chaya Frima Rivka Spira - daughter of Rabbi Chaim Elazar to Rabbi Baruch Rabinovich
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spira, Chaim Elazar 1871 births 1937 deaths 20th-century Russian rabbis Anti-Zionist Hasidic rabbis Hungarian Orthodox rabbis People from Strzyżów County Polish Hasidic rabbis Rabbis from Galicia (Eastern Europe) Rebbes of Munkacs Religious leaders in Hungary Authors of works on the Jerusalem Talmud