Pinchas Menachem (Elazar) Justman (1848–1920) The Piltzer Rebbe, also known by the title of his main work, the Siftei Tzadik was a

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 ...

Rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

who after the passing of his brother-in-law Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter, became a

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. ...

for some Gerrer Hasidim, in Pilica,

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 ...

Early years

He was born in Góra Kalwaria in 1848 to his father Rabbi Binyamin Leizer Justman and mother Tzina Pesa Justman (née Alter), daughter of the Chiddushei Harim the first Gerrer Rebbe, and named Pinchas Menachem. He was known to family and friends as Reb Mendele of Ger. His mother, Mrs. Tzina Pesa, died when Pinchas Menachem was young. Orphaned of his mother, he was brought up by his grandparents, Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter (known as the Chiddushei Harim) and his wife. When he was about nine years old, his grandfather took him to visit the Kotzker Rebbe, an event which left a lifelong impression on him. He married Hendel Lea, daughter of his uncle Abraham Mordechai Alter, in 1864. Justman published the fifth printed edition of the

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud (, often for short) or Palestinian Talmud, also known as the Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century Jewish oral tradition known as the Mishnah. Naming this version of the Talm ...

, at Piotrkow from 1899 to 1903, with the commentary of Rabbi Yaakov Dovid Wilovsky (Ridbaz).

Leadership

In 1905 when his brother-in-law, the second Gerrer rebbe—Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter died, some of the Hasidim sought to bestow the mantle of leadership upon him. He moved out of Gora Kalwaria to Pilica or Piltz as it was known by the Hasidim and become their Rebbe. He added the name Elazar to his name Pinchas Menachem when he was very ill, on 23 Tammuz 5672 (8 July 1912). Eventually he recovered from his illness. In 1915 he moved to

Wieruszów Wieruszów () is a town in south-central Poland with 8,446 inhabitants (2020). Situated in the southwestern part of Łódź Voivodeship, it is the seat of the Gmina Wieruszów and Wieruszów County. Wieruszów is located in the historical Wieluń ...

and four years later he moved to

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...

Death and burial

He died on

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

10th of

Kislev Kislev or Chislev (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Standard ''Kīslev'' Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''Kīslēw''), is the third month of the civil year and the ninth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew c ...

5681 (21 November 1920) in Częstochowa. His funeral was held on Monday because of a disagreement between the Community of Pilz and the Community of Częstochowa regarding the burial place. Eventually he was buried in the Jewish cemetery of Częstochowa, next to his son Yitzchak Meir who died a year earlier. The sixth Rebbe of Ger was named ''Pinchas Menachem'' by his father Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter—after his beloved uncle Rabbi Pinchas Menachem Justman. He wrote a commentary on

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 () ...

, called ''Sifsei Tzadik'', which was published after his death by his son Rabbi Enoch Gad Justman and Rabbi Menachem Mendel Alter of

Pabianice Pabianice is a city in central Poland with 63,023 inhabitants (2021). Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship, it is the capital of Pabianice County. It lies about southwest of Łódź and belongs to the metropolitan area of that city. It is the thi ...

, son of the Sfas Emes. His commentary on the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

and

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...

disappeared at some point 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 ...

Family

Justman’s first wife Hendel Leah (Alter), gave birth to six daughters and three sons. Esther - married to Rabbi Avraham Abba Bomatz Chaya Sarah - married to Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Mintz Bracha - married to Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Eibeszic Rabbi Isaac Mayer Justman - married Rachel Araten. He served as Rabbi in Częstochowa (died 1920) Feige - married to Rabbi Hanoch Henich Rotblat Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Justman - married Rachel (died 1928) Freida-Ratzh - married to Rabbi Meir Yoskovitz Rachel - first marriage married to Rabbi Dov Berish Einhorn of Amstov. Second marriage to Rabbi Yehezkel Biderman The youngest son and most famous, Rabbi Chanoch Gad Justman - married Devora Matill Halperin. He succeeded his father as Rabbi of Piltz. He later became the Rabbi of

Wieluń Wieluń () is a town in south-central Poland with 21,624 inhabitants (2021). The town is the seat of the Gmina Wieluń and Wieluń County, and is located within the Łódź Voivodeship. Wieluń is a capital of the historical Wieluń Land. W ...

. He 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, ...

(died 1942). His second wife Chaya Yuta (Rothenberg), had no children from him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Justman, Pinchas Menachem Polish Hasidic rabbis Hasidic rabbis in Europe Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah History of Częstochowa Agudat Yisrael 1848 births 1920 deaths People from Góra Kalwaria