Yitzchak Meir Rotenberg-Alter (, , ) (1799 – 10 March 1866), was the first Rebbe of the Ger Hasidic dynasty, which he founded in the town of Góra Kalwaria (known as "Ger" in

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 ...

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 ...

. He headed the Kupath Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Kollel Polen (Poland) Varsha (

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

) (Hebrew ). He was also known as ''The Chiddushei HaRim'' () for his

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 () ...

writings, and was sometimes fondly called ''Reb Itche Meir'' (Yiddish) by his followers.

Biography

Alter was born in Magnuszew, Austrian Poland, in late 1799. He came from a very distinguished family of rabbis, among the most prominent in Germany and Poland. He was a descendant of

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...

and of the Tosafist, Rabbi Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg. In 1830, he was forced to change his name from “Rosenberg” to ''Alter'' because of his support towards the

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

during the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

. Alter became known as a

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 ...

ic gaon. At first, he was close to the rebbes of Kozhnitz, however after some years, he was drawn to Rebbe Simcha Bunim of Peshischa, whose close adherent he became. After the demise of Simcha Bunim, Alter became a disciple of Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk, also known as the Kotzker Rebbe, who was famous for his acerbic wit and Talmudic brilliance. After the passing of the Kotzker Rebbe in 1859, an overwhelming majority of the latter’s disciples chose Alter as their new Rebbe, thus founding the Gerrer Hasidic Dynasty. Although after Alter’s passing 1866, Rabbi Chanoch Henoch of Aleksander succeeded him in his position and transferred the Chasidic center to the city of

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

. Four years later, Rabbi Alexander passed away, and then Alter's grandson, Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter, known as "Sfas Emes" (the son of Avraham Mordechai), became the new Rebbe of the overwhelming majority of his grandfather’s followers. All of the future Rebbes of Ger have been Alter’s descendants.

Family

Alter married Feigele Lipszyc, daughter of Moshe 'Halfon' Lipszyc, in 1811, and settled in Warsaw. They had fourteen children, according to most published sources, most of whom died in infancy. One of his sons, Avraham Mordechai, and three daughters, Cyna Pesia, Leah Hudes, and Esther, survived to adulthood and married. However, by the time of Alter's death on 23 Adar 5626 (1866), only one child (Esther) remained alive. Alter and his Rebbe, the Kotzker Rebbe, became brothers-in-law, when the latter married Chaya Lipszyc, the sister of Alter's wife Feigele.

Works

Rabbi Alter is still well known for his talmudic commentary, though he wrote on many other areas. Extant published works are: *''Chiddushei HaRim on Choshen Mishpat'
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*''Chiddushei HaRim on

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*''Chiddushei HaRim on

Bava Batra Bava Batra (also Baba Batra; ) is the third of the three Talmudic tractates in the Talmud in the order Nezikin; it deals with a person's responsibilities and rights as the owner of property. It is part of Judaism's oral law. Originally it, to ...

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*''Chiddushei HaRim on Bava Metzia'
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*''Chiddushei HaRim on Bava Kama'
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*''Chiddushei HaRim on

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 ...

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*''Chiddushei HaRim on Gittin'
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*''Chiddushei HaRim on Kiddushin'
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*''Chiddushei HaRim on Ketubot'
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*''Chiddushei HaRim on

Pirkei Avot Pirkei Avot (; also transliterated as ''Pirqei Avoth'' or ''Pirkei Avos'' or ''Pirke Aboth'', also ''Abhoth''), which translates into English as Chapters of the Fathers, is a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims from Rabbinic Jewis ...

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Sources

*''Meir Einei Hagoilo'', by Avrohom Yisochor Binyomin Alter and Avrohom Mordechai Alter, (1928) *''Toldoth Horim'', by Itshe Myer Broder of Ger. *''No. 100, Elul 5727, page 80 ''בית יעקב, פנחס יעקב הכהן לוין * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alter, Yitzchak Meir Rebbes of Ger Polish Hasidic rabbis 19th-century Polish rabbis 1799 births 1866 deaths People from Kozienice County