Avraham Mordechai Alter (, , ; 25 December 1865 – 13 June 1948), was also known as the ''Imrei Emes'' after the works he authored. He was fourth

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. The Ger Rebbe, from 1905 until his death in 1948. A participant in the foundation of the Agudas Israel in Poland. Rebbe Alter was influential in establishing a network of Jewish schools. He led over two-hundred-thousand

Hasidim Ḥasīd (, "pious", "saintly", "godly man"; plural "Hasidim") is a Jewish honorific, frequently used as a term of exceptional respect in the Talmudic and early medieval periods. It denotes a person who is scrupulous in his observance of Jewish ...

(followers).

Personal life

Rebbe Alter married his first wife, Chaya Ruda Czarna. Rebbe Alter and his first wife had eight children. She was daughter of Noah Czarny, a prominent Gerrer Hasid in Biala. Rabbi Meir Alter, was a Torah scholar and businessman, the eldest son. The second son was Rabbi Yitzchak Alter. The second son, died in 1934 in Poland. Rabbi Meir, the eldest, was murdered in

Treblinka Treblinka () was the second-deadliest extermination camp to be built and operated by Nazi Germany in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the Treblinka, ...

, along with all of his offspring and their children, all perished. This was during

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 ...

. In 1922, Rebbe Alter's wife Chaya Ruda died. Feyge Mintshe Biderman was his next wife, who also was his niece. By 1926 the youngest child,

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 ...

, was born. In 1924, Rebbe Alter accompanied the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah delegation which visited

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. It included Rabbi Hirsh Heynekh Lewin, who was his brother in-law,

Yitzhak-Meir Levin Yitzhak-Meir Levin (; 30 January 1893 – 7 August 1971) was a Haredi politician in Poland and Israel. One of 37 people to sign the Israeli declaration of independence, he served in several Israeli cabinets and was a longtime leader and Knesset ...

who also was his son-in-law, along with the Sokolover Rebbe Yitzchak Zelig Morgenstern, and several other distinguished rabbis and

rebbes 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. ...

. They visited

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 ...

Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...

Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; , ; ) is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Heb ...

and

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. This was a more than six week visit.

World War II

During World War II, Rebbe Alter was targeted by the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

authorities in occupied Poland. In 1940, he managed to escape Nazi-occupied Poland. Rebbe Alter made it to Palestine with several of his sons. He rebuilt the Ger Hasidic dynasty in Palestine. This became the Sfas Emes Yeshiva, and he remained from 1940 until his death in 1948.

Death and legacy

With the outbreak of the

1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

, Alter was trapped in Jerusalem. He died during the holiday of

Shavuot (, from ), or (, in some Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi usage), is a Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday, one of the biblically ordained Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan; in the 21st century, it may ...

of natural causes during the siege of the city by the

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

ian

Arab Legion The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army, of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of the Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, an independent state, with a final Ar ...

. As bodies could not be removed to the

Mount of Olives The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet (; ; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge in East Jerusalem, east of and adjacent to Old City of Jerusalem, Jerusalem's Old City. It is named for the olive, olive ...

during wartime, he was buried in the yeshiva courtyard on the condition that he would be reburied elsewhere after the war. However, his sons and successors, the Beis Yisrael and Lev Simcha, declined to go through with the reburial.Frankfurter, Rabbi Yitzchok. "A Riveting Visit to the Historic Home of the Pnei Menachem of Ger ''zt"l''". '' Ami'', February 17, 2016, pp. 60-73. After Alter's death, the dynasty continued with his three remaining sons, who became the consecutive next three heads of the Gerrer Hasidim worldwide: Rabbi Yisrael Alter (fifth rebbe of Ger); Rabbi Simchah Bunim Alter (sixth rebbe of Ger); and Rabbi

(seventh rebbe of Ger). In 1996, Rabbi Pinchas Menachem Alter was buried next to his father in the courtyard and a red-brick ohel was placed over both graves, which are visited regularly by students in the adjoining yeshiva. The Hebrew acronym for Rabbi Avraham Mordechai is "Re'em (). A religious moshav in central Israel is named for the Rebbe,

Bnei Re'em Bnei Re'em (, ''lit.'' Sons of Re'em) is a religious moshav in central Israel. Located in the Shephelah, it falls under the jurisdiction of Nahal Sorek Regional Council. In it had a population of . Etymology The moshav is named for the Gerrer ...

, (''lit.'' Sons of Re'em)The Speyers of Bnei Re'em

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

as well as the nearby junction of highway 40 and

highway 3 The following highways are numbered 3, H-3, PRI-3, AH3, E03 and R3. For roads numbered A3, see A3 roads. For roads numbered M3, see M3 (disambiguation)#Roads, M3. For roads numbered N3, see N3 (disambiguation)#Roads, N3. For roads numbered 3A, see ...

Sources

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alter, Avraham Mordechai 1866 births 1948 deaths Rebbes of Ger Polish Hasidic rabbis 20th-century Israeli rabbis 20th-century Polish rabbis Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah Hasidic rabbis in Israel Hasidic rabbis in Ottoman Palestine Hasidic rabbis in Mandatory Palestine People from Góra Kalwaria Members of Aliyah Bet Agudat Yisrael