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 ...
Elimelech Szapira of
Grodzhisk
Grodzhisk is a Hasidic dynasty founded by Rebbe Elimelech Szapira, author of ''Imrei Elimelech''.
Grodzhisk is the Yiddish name of Grodzisk Mazowiecki, a town in present-day Poland.
Lineage
* Rabbi Elimelech Szapira of Grodzhisk (b. 1823, d ...
(1823–1892) was the leading
Hasidic
Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...
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 his time in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. He was a ' (follower) of the
Rizhiner Rebbe. After the death of his father, the ''Sorof'' of Mogelnica, he assumed leadership of the
Grodzhisk chasidim, who eventually numbered in the tens of thousands.
His sons-in-law were the
Kozhnitser Rebbe
Yaakov Yechiel Hopsztajn and Rebbe Osher the Second of
Stolin-Karlin.
When he died, his surviving sons were aged two and three, the sons from his first marriage having predeceased him. Some of the chassidim waited for the sons to grow up; one eventually became the
Piasetzner Rov. Other chassidim chose a grandson, Rabbi
Yisroel Shapira
Rabbi Yisroel Szapira of Grodzhisk was a Hasidic rebbe in Poland. His father, Chayim Meir Yechiel, was the son of the Grodzhisk Rebbe, Elimelech Szapira. When his grandfather died, some of the Chassidim chose Yisroel as the new Rebbe, others chose ...
as their next leader. A third group, including many learned rabbis, followed the scholarly
Ostrovtser Rov. This led to the common epithet that when the Imrei Elimelech died, his main successors were the ''Rebbe fun der Daies'' (Rebbe of the opinions, the Ostrovtzer,) the ''Rebbe fun der Maiyes'' (Rebbe of the hundreds, a polite way of saying the wealthy Chassidim; his grandson, Rabbi Yisroel Shapira,) and the ''Rebbe fun der
peiyes'' (Rebbe of the sidecurls, that is to say, the most intensely religious chassidim.) His youngest son, Yeshaya Shapira, became a rabbi but did not establish his own court, instead focusing on
religious Zionism
Religious Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת דָּתִית, Romanization of Hebrew, translit. ''Tziyonut Datit'') is an ideology that combines Zionism and Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' ( "National Religiou ...
as an early leader in
Hapoel HaMizrachi
Hapoel HaMizrachi ( he, הַפּוֹעֵל הַמִּזְרָחִי, lit. '' Mizrachi Workers'') was a political party and settlement movement in Israel. It was one of the predecessors of the National Religious Party and the Jewish Home.
History ...
.
Writings
The teachings of the Grodzhikser Rebbe are collected in ''Imrei Elimelech'' and ''Divrei Elimelech''.
References
External links
Imrei Elimelech
1823 births
1892 deaths
Hasidic rebbes
Polish Hasidic rabbis
Kozhnitz (Hasidic dynasty)
{{Hasidic-Judaism-stub