Yosef Greenwald (; 1903 – Brooklyn 1984) was the second
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
Pupa Hasidic dynasty. Before World War II he was a
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 ...
and
rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, plural, pl. , '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and th ...
in
Pápa
Pápa is a historical town in Veszprém county, Hungary, located close to the northern edge of the Bakony Hills, and noted for its baroque architecture. With its 28,549 inhabitants (2024), it is the cultural, economic and tourism centre of the r ...
, Hungary.
Greenwald was the son of
Yaakov Yechezkiah Greenwald of Pupa and the grandson of
Moshe Greenwald
Moshe Greenwald (1853–1910), also spelled Grunwald, a rabbi in Hungary at the end of the 19th century. He was the rabbi of Khust, Chust, Hungary and progenitor of the Pupa (Hasidic dynasty), Pupa Hasidic dynasty through his son Yaakov Yechezkiy ...
.
After the war he moved to
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. It was an independe ...
, and established the contemporary Pupa Hasidic movement.
Early life
Greenwald was born on 16 September 1903 (24
Elul
Elul (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Standard , Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ) is the twelfth month of the civil year and the sixth month of the Jewish religious year, religious year in the Hebrew calendar. It is a m ...
5663) in
Brezovica,
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
,
and studied in his father's yeshiva in
Pápa
Pápa is a historical town in Veszprém county, Hungary, located close to the northern edge of the Bakony Hills, and noted for its baroque architecture. With its 28,549 inhabitants (2024), it is the cultural, economic and tourism centre of the r ...
, Hungary.
In 1925 he married his grandfather's niece Chana. She had been raised by her uncle
Eliezer David Greenwald, whom Yosef Greenwald succeeded as the head of the Keren Ledovid Yeshiva.
Rabbinic career
After his father's death in 1941, Greenwald moved to
Papa
Papa is a word used in many languages as an affectionate term for father.
Papa or PAPA may refer to:
Geography and geology
* Papa, Samoa, a village on the island of Savai'i
* Papa, Scotland, various islands
* Pápa, a town in Hungary
*Papa rock ...
,
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
, and began to serve as
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 ...
and
Rosh Yeshivah
Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, pl. , '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and the Torah ...
. He brought additional students from
Satmar
Satmar (; ) is a group in Hasidic Judaism founded in 1905 by Grand Rebbe Joel Teitelbaum (1887–1979), in the city of Szatmárnémeti (also called Szatmár in the 1890s), Kingdom of Hungary, Hungary (now Satu Mare in Romania). The group is a b ...
to study in the yeshiva, and hid some sixty young men who fled from
Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
and
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 ...
.
On 11 May 1944, Greenwald was sent to an ''
Arbeitslager
''Arbeitslager'' () is a German language word which means labor camp. Under Nazism, the German government (and its private-sector, Axis, and collaborator partners) used forced labor extensively, starting in the 1930s but most especially durin ...
'' (Nazi labor camp), where his mother was murdered. Toward the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
he hid in the
Glass House in
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
. His wife and ten children were murdered in 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 ...
. After the war he returned to Pápa and re-established the yeshiva.
He was remarried after the war to Miriam Weber (b. 12 October 1918 in Soltvadkert). He moved with the yeshiva, at that time numbering approximately 60 young men, to
Szombathely
}
Szombathely (; ; also see #Etymology, names) is the 10th largest city in Hungary. It is the administrative centre of Vas County in the west of the country, located near the border with Austria. Szombathely lies by the streams ''Perint'' and '' ...
, Hungary. Later they moved to
Antwerp
Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
, Belgium
where Greenwald lived for several years.
United States
In 1950 Greenwald emigrated to the United States, settling in the
Williamsburg
Williamsburg may refer to:
Places
*Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia
*Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City
*Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California
*Williams ...
section of Brooklyn with several students, where he founded the congregation "Kehilath Yaacov - Pupa", and continued as ''
Admor
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. 3 ...
'' of the
Pupa Chassidut.
He became president of the
Central Rabbinical Congress
The Central Rabbinical Congress (in full: Central Rabbinical Congress of the US and Canada, commonly abbreviated to CRC; ) is a rabbinical organization that is a consortium of various Haredi Jewish groups, with offices in Brooklyn, New York.
H ...
of the United States and Canada c. 1980.
Death and legacy
Greenwald died on August 11, 1984, after a stroke, and was succeeded by his son
Yaakov Yechezkia Greenwald II.
His students included
Gavriel Zinner and
Yaakov Yitzhak Neumann.
Works
* Vaychi Yosef on the
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 () ...
* Vaychi Yosef on
Moadim
* Vaychi Yosef on
Chanukah
Hanukkah (, ; ''Ḥănukkā'' ) is a Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and subsequent rededication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BCE.
Han ...
* Vaychi Yosef on the
Passover Haggadah
The Haggadah (, "telling"; plural: Haggadot) is a foundational Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. According to Jewish practice, reading the Haggadah at the Seder table fulfills the mitzvah incumbent on every Jew to rec ...
* Vaychi Yosef on
tractate Mikvaot
*
Responsa
''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars i ...
Vaya'an Yosef - on four parts of
Shulchan Aruch
The ''Shulhan Arukh'' ( ),, often called "the Code of Jewish Law", is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Rabbinic Judaism. It was authored in the city of Safed in what is now Israel by Joseph Karo in 1563 and published in ...
* Shyorei Mitzvah - printed in the books of his father Vayageid Yaakov
*
pamphlet
A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a Hardcover, hard cover or Bookbinding, binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' ...
Kelach Shel Eizov - appendix to
Haggadah
The Haggadah (, "telling"; plural: Haggadot) is a foundational Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. According to Jewish practice, reading the Haggadah at the Seder table fulfills the mitzvah incumbent on every Jew to reco ...
Agudath Eizov
* pamphlet Keneh Bosem appendix to Sefer Arugat HaBoshem on EIChAI
* Pesach Tov -
Sermon
A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present context ...
s for the opening of the Yeshiva ''Zman''
* Darkei Yosef - Matters of
Musar and the
Fear of God
Fear of God or theophobia may refer to fear itself, but more often to a sense of awe, and submission to, a deity. People subscribing to popular monotheistic religions for instance, might fear Hell and divine judgment, or submit to God's omnipot ...
References
External links
* kevarim.com
"Rebbe Yosef Greenwald"
{{authority control
Greenwald family
1903 births
1984 deaths
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American rabbis
Hungarian Hasidic rabbis
People from Pápa
American Hasidic rabbis
20th-century Hungarian rabbis
Hasidic rebbes
Jewish concentration camp survivors
Orthodox rabbis from New York City
People from Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Religious leaders from Brooklyn
Writers from Brooklyn
Hasidic poskim