Rabbi Mordechai Dovid Unger Shlita ( he, הרב מרדכי דוד אונגער) is the first
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
Bobov-45
Bobov (or Bobover Hasidism) ( he, חסידות באבוב, yi, בּאָבּאָװ) is a Hasidic community within Haredi Judaism, originating in Bobowa, Galicia, in southern Poland, and now headquartered in the neighborhood of Borough Park, in Br ...
.
Biography
Unger was born in 1954 to Yaakov Yitzchok Unger of
Dombrov
Dombrov is a Hasidic dynasty founded by Rebbe Mordechai Dovid Unger (c. 1770-1846). Dombrov is the Yiddish name of Dąbrowa Tarnowska, a town in present-day Poland.
Lineage
Rabbi Mordechai Dovid Unger was the son of Tsvi Hersh, a disciple of Rabb ...
. He is the younger son-in-law of the
Naftali Zvi Halberstam, the fourth Bobover Rebbe, and the second oldest grandson of
Shlomo Halberstam, the third Bobover Rebbe.
Following the death of his father-in-law in 2005, a dispute arose as to who would be named
Grand 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 Spiritua ...
of
Bovov. Some began to follow
Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam
Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam ( he, בן ציון אריה לייבוש הלברשטאם) is the current leader of the Bobov Hasidic dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', ...
, while others followed Unger. In the end, a
beth din
A beit din ( he, בית דין, Bet Din, house of judgment, , Ashkenazic: ''beis din'', plural: batei din) is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel. Today, i ...
(religious court) decided to split the two congregations, with Halberstam being declared Rebbe of Bobov () and Rabbi Mordechai Dovid Unger Shlita Grand Rabbi of
Bobov-45
Bobov (or Bobover Hasidism) ( he, חסידות באבוב, yi, בּאָבּאָװ) is a Hasidic community within Haredi Judaism, originating in Bobowa, Galicia, in southern Poland, and now headquartered in the neighborhood of Borough Park, in Br ...
(). Although many leading Jewish Torah scholars, such as the late Rav Wosner and the late Rav Roth, fundamentally disagreed with the ruling, Rabbi Unger agreed to the ruling for the sake of peace.
Rebbes of Bobov
Bobov
#
Shlomo Halberstam (1847–1905) grandson of the
Sanzer Rebbe,
Chaim Halberstam
Chaim Halberstam of Sanz (1793–1876) ( he, חיים הלברשטאם מצאנז), known as the ''Divrei Chaim'' after his sefer (works), was the rabbi of Sanz ( pl, Nowy Sącz), a famous Hasidic Rebbe and the founder of the Sanz Hasidic ...
#
Ben Zion Halberstam
Ben Zion Halberstam (1874–1941) was the second Bobover Rebbe. He was murdered by the Nazis in 1941.
Biography
Halberstam was born in Bikofsk in 1874. His father was Shlomo Halberstam (1847–1905), the first Rebbe of Bobov, and a scion of ...
(1874–1941)
#
Shlomo Halberstam (1907–2000)
#
Naftali Halberstam
Naftali Tzvi Halberstam ( he, ר' נפתלי צבי הלברשטאם) (1931–2005) was the Grand Rebbe of Bobov from August 2000 until March 2005. He succeeded his father, Shlomo Halberstam (1907–2000), as Grand Rebbe of Bobov.
Early life
N ...
(1931–2005)
#
Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam
Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam ( he, בן ציון אריה לייבוש הלברשטאם) is the current leader of the Bobov Hasidic dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', ...
(b. 1955)
:* Rabbi Mordechai Dovid Unger Shlita (b. 1954)
Politics
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams
Eric Leroy Adams (born September 1, 1960) is an American politician and retired police captain serving as the 110th mayor of New York City since January 1, 2022.
Adams was an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the New York ...
visited Bobov–45 as part of his 2017 re-election campaign.
See also
*
Dombrov
Dombrov is a Hasidic dynasty founded by Rebbe Mordechai Dovid Unger (c. 1770-1846). Dombrov is the Yiddish name of Dąbrowa Tarnowska, a town in present-day Poland.
Lineage
Rabbi Mordechai Dovid Unger was the son of Tsvi Hersh, a disciple of Rabb ...
*
Borough Park, Brooklyn
Borough Park (also spelled Boro Park) is a neighborhood in the southwestern part of the borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, in New York City. The neighborhood is bordered by Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, Bensonhurst to the south, Dyker Heigh ...
References
Rabbi Mordechai Dovid Unger Shlita
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unger, Mordechai Dovid
1954 births
Living people
American Hasidic rabbis
Rebbes of Bobov
Rabbis from New York (state)
People from Borough Park, Brooklyn
Descendants of the Baal Shem Tov