Aharon Roth or Aaron Rote ( he, אהרן ראטה) known as Reb Arele
(1894−1947), was a
Hungarian Hasidic rebbe and
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...
ic scholar. He first established a Hasidic community he called
Shomer Emunim
Shomer Emunim ( he, שומרי אמונים, meaning "Guardian of the Faith") is a devout, insular Hasidic group based in Jerusalem. It was founded in the 20th century by Rabbi Arele (Aharon) Roth.
The Shomrei Emunim are characterized by fervent ...
(Guardian of Faith) in the 1920s in
Satu Mare and in the 1930s in
Berehovo, before he settled in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, where he also founded a Hasidic community of the same name. His main work is the two-volume ''Shomer Emunim'', written in 1942 in reaction to the news about the
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
atrocities in Eastern Europe.
After his death, the sect split into two groups. One, who adopted the name Shomrei Emunim, followed his son, Rabbi Avrohom Chayim (1924 - 2012), the other followed his son-in-law and became known as
Toldot Aharon (Generations of Aharon) of which the
Toldot Avrohom Yitzchok later split off.
Life
Roth was born in
Ungvar
Uzhhorod ( uk, У́жгород, , ; ) is a city and municipality on the river Uzh in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary. The city is approximately equidistant from the Baltic, the Adriatic and the ...
, Hungary, today Uzhhorod in
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, an outsider to the Hasidic world. He was unusually pious and ascetic from an early age. Until the age of 20, he studied Talmud in
Vác
Vác (; german: Waitzen; sk, Vacov; yi, ווייצען) is a town in Pest county in Hungary with approximately 35,000 inhabitants. The archaic spelling of the name is ''Vácz''.
Location
Vác is located north of Budapest on the eastern bank o ...
under
Yeshayahu Silberstein, a Hungarian scholar, and then with Hasidic rabbis from
Galicia, who had fled to Hungary during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, including
Yissachar Dov Rokeach of
Belz
Belz ( uk, Белз; pl, Bełz; yi, בעלז ') is a small city in Lviv Oblast of Western Ukraine, near the border with Poland, located between the Solokiya river (a tributary of the Bug River) and the Richytsia stream. Belz hosts the adminis ...
and
Tzvi Elimelech Spira of
Błażowa
Błażowa ( yi, בלאזשאוו ''Blazhov'') is a town in Rzeszów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, with a population of 2,149 as of December 2021.
History
The area of the gmina of Błażowa in the past was located along the bord ...
.
He also spent a period of time in the courtyard of
Israel Hager of
Viznitz The Author of The Sefer Ahavas Yisrael. Leading to a very strong relationship with the 2 families until today. On the latter's instruction,
Roth establish a hasidic community in
Satu Mare, where he settled in 1920, a few years after his marriage. In 1925 he went to Jerusalem, where he also gained supporters, and returned to Satu Mare four years later. In 1936 he went to
Berehovo (Beregszász) in
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
, after the conflict between him and the followers of Satmar's Hasidic rabbi
Joel Teitelbaum
Joel Teitelbaum ( yi, יואל טייטלבוים, translit=Yoyl Teytlboym, ; 13 January 1887 – 19 August 1979) was the founder and first Grand Rebbe of the Satmar dynasty.
A major figure in the post-war renaissance of Hasidism, he espoused a ...
had escalated to open physical violence. In 1939 Roth settled in Jerusalem, where he again attracted devoted followers.
The
synagogue he established in the
Mea Shearim
Mea Shearim ( he, מאה שערים, lit., "hundred gates"; contextually, "a hundred fold") is one of the oldest Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem outside of the Old City. It is populated by Haredi Jews, and was built by members of the Old Yish ...
quarter became known for the ecstatic mood of those who pray there.
After his death in 1947, he was succeeded by his son Abraham Chaim Roth, the rebbe of the Shomre Emunim, and his son-in-law Abraham Isaac Kohn, who became the rebbe of the
Toldot Aharon group.
Views
In Roth’s book Taharas HaKodesh, published in 1930 he predicted a big catastrophe happening in the near future due to immodest dress and not protecting the covenant.
In this context he cited the Zohar (Noach 66b) which states that when Jews observe the Holy Covenant (Bris Kodesh) properly no other people can have any power over them. Roth criticized the struggles and scandals within many of the Hasidic dynasties, accusing them of not following the early tsadikim's emphasis on simple prayer and piety.
Rejecting all compromise with modern views and ways of life, he called for repentance, demanded complete adherence to simple faith and ecstatic mode of praying, and expected his Hasidim to support themselves by their own labor.
He defined the group as a holy fraternity and gave guidelines for distinctive behavior, dress, and hairstyle, particularly deploring the decline of modesty.
He regarded the Holocaust as a punishment for abandoning simple faith and ancient traditions, specifically onanism,
blaming secularism and
Zionism
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
.
Writings
![Shomer emunim](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Shomer_emunim.jpg)
Roth was the author of several works of modern-day Hasidic literature:
* (''Taharath HaKodesh'') (1930) on Hasidic moral development
First VolumeSecond Volume
at HebrewBooks.org);
* (''Shulchan HaTahor'') (1933) on pious table etiquette and related matters;
* (''Noam HaLevavot'') (1934) on belief, practice, and repentance
Hebrew text
at HebrewBooks.org);
* (''Shomer Emunim'') (1942) which contains the mystical tract ''Hitragshut HaNefesh'' (Agitation of the Soul), is a two-volume collection of homilies about faith, providence, reward, punishment and guidelines for pietistic behavior to secure Israel's redemption, written at a time, when news from the Nazi atrocities in Eastern Europe reached the outside world;
First VolumeSecond Volume
at HebrewBooks.org);
* (''Osef Mikhtavim'') (1943);
* (''Mevakesh Emunah'') (1943
Hebrew text
at HebrewBooks.org.
His ethical will was published as ''Kuntres Tsavaah'' in 1947. His works, including new volumes based on his written manuscripts, continue to be published by his followers. A selection of his writings was published in English translation by Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
Meshullam Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (28 August 1924 – 3 July 2014), commonly called "Reb Zalman" (full Hebrew name: ), was one of the founders of the Jewish Renewal movement and an innovator in ecumenical dialogue.
Early life
Born Meshullam Zal ...
and Yair Hillel Goelman.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roth, Aharon
1894 births
1947 deaths
Clergy from Uzhhorod
Hasidic rebbes
Hasidic rabbis in Europe
Hungarian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine
Hungarian Orthodox rabbis
Anti-Zionist Hasidic rabbis
Rabbis in Jerusalem
Hasidic rabbis in Mandatory Palestine