Ger (

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...

: גער, also Gur, adj. Gerrer) is a Polish Hasidic dynasty originating from the town of

Góra Kalwaria Góra Kalwaria (; " Calvary Mountain", yi, גער, ''Ger'') is a town on the Vistula River in the Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is situated approximately southeast of Warsaw and has a population of around 12,109 (as of 2019). ...

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 populou ...

, where it was founded by

Yitzchak Meir Alter Yitzchak Meir Rotenberg-Alter ( yi, יצחק מאיר אלטער, pl, Icchak Meir Rothenberg Alter, he, יצחק מאיר אלתר) (1799 – 10 March 1866), was the first Rebbe of the Ger Hasidic dynasty, which he founded in the town of G� ...

(1798–1866), known as the "Chiddushei HaRim". Ger is a branch of

Peshischa Peshischa (Yiddish: פשיסחה) was an important Hasidic school of thought based out of Przysucha, Poland founded by Yaakov Yitzchak Rabinowicz, which flourished during the late 18th to early 19th century. Its teachings are the foundation for ...

Hasidism, as Yitzchak Meir Alter was a leading disciple of

Simcha Bunim of Peshischa Simcha Bunim Bonhardt of Peshischa (Yiddish: שמחה בונם בונהרט פון פשיסכע, ; – September 4, 1827) also known as the Rebbe Reb Bunim was the second Grand Rabbi of Peshischa ( Przysucha, Poland) as well as one of the key le ...

(1765–1827). Before

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

, followers of Ger were estimated to number in excess of 100,000, making it the largest and most influential Hasidic group in Poland. Today, the movement is based in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, and its membership is estimated at 11,859 families, as of 2016, most of whom live in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, making Ger the largest Hasidic dynasty in Israel. However, there are also well-established Ger communities in the United States and in Europe. In 2019, some 300 families of followers led by

Shaul Alter Shaul Alter (born July 6, 1957) is the founder and current leader of Kehilas Pnei Menachem (an offshoot from the Ger Hasidic dynasty). He served as Rosh Yeshivah of Sfas Emes Yeshivah from 1993 until its closing in 2016. Early life Born in ...

, split off from the dynasty led by his cousin

Yaakov Aryeh Alter Yaakov Aryeh Alter ( pl, Jakub Arie Alter, he, יעקב אריה אלתר, born 18 May 1939) is the eighth, and current, Rebbe of the Hasidic dynasty of Ger, a position he has held since 1996. He lives in Israel, and has followers there and in ...

History

In his early years, Yitzchak Meir Alter became a close disciple of Simcha Bunim of Peshischa, who preached the ideals of Talmudic-rationalism, and the pursuance of personal authenticity, which would later go on to be foundational tenets of Ger Hasidism. After Simcha Bunim's death in 1827, Yitzchak Meir Alter was among his more radical supporters who followed

Menachem Mendel of Kotzk Menachem Mendel Morgensztern of Kotzk, better known as the Kotzker Rebbe and the Kotzker (1787–1859) was a Hasidic rabbi and leader. Life Born to a non-Hasidic family in Goraj near Lublin, Poland, he became attracted to Hasidic philosophy in hi ...

, rather than Simcha Bunim's son, Avraham Moshe. The Kotzker Rebbe continued in the ideological tradition of Peshischa, and after his death in 1859, the vast majority of his followers, accepted Yitzchak Meir Alter as his successor, rather than his son Dovid. Yitzchak Meir Alter was living in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

at the time, where he operated a Kotzker

shtiebel A shtiebel ( ''shtibl'', pl. ''shtiblekh'' or shtiebels, meaning "little house" or "little room" cognate with German Stübel) is a place used for communal Jewish prayer. In contrast to a formal synagogue, a shtiebel is far smaller and approached ...

. Shortly after accepting the role of Rebbe, Yitzchak Meir was appointed as the Av Beit Din of

(Ger in Yiddish), where he established his own Hasidic court. After his death in 1866, his followers wanted his eighteen-year-old grandson,

Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter ( he, יהודה אריה ליב אלתר, 15 April 1847 – 11 January 1905), also known by the title of his main work, the ''Sfas Emes'' (Ashkenazic Pronunciation) or ''Sefat Emet'' (Modern Hebrew), was a Hasidic rabbi ...

, to succeed him. When Yehuda Aryeh Leib refused to accept this position, most of the Hasidim became followers of the elderly Hasid,

Chanokh Heynekh HaKohen Levin Chanokh Heynekh HaKohen Levin (1798 – 21 March 1870The State Archive in Lo ...

, after whose death, Yehudah Aryeh Leib, acceded to the request of the Hasidim to become their next rebbe. The Gerrer movement flourished under the leadership of Yehudah Aryeh Leib and his eldest son and successor,

Avraham Mordechai Alter Avraham Mordechai Alter ( pl, Abraham Mordekhaj Alter, he, אברהם מרדכי אלתר; 25 December 1865 – 3 June 1948), also known as the ''Imrei Emes'' after the works he authored, was the fourth Rebbe of the Hasidic dynasty of Ger, a po ...

, known as the "Imrei Emes". In 1926, in a bold departure for Polish Hasidim, Avraham Mordechai established a

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are st ...

, naming it for his father, the ''Sfas Emes''. The first rosh yeshiva was Rabbi

Nechemiah Alter Nehemiah is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in rebuilding Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. He was governor of Persian Judea under Artaxerxes I of Persia (465–424 BC). The name is pronounced ...

, a brother of the Imrei Emes. Today, the yeshiva remains the flagship of the Ger yeshivas.Under the leadership of the fifth Gerrer Rebbe,

Yisrael Alter Yisrael Alter ( pl, Izrael Alter, Hebrew: ; October 1895 – 20 February 1977), also known as the ''Beit Yisrael'', after the works he authored, was the fifth Rebbe of the Hasidic dynasty of Ger, a position he held from 1948 until 1977. Life ...

, known as the "Beis Yisrael", the ''

Ichud Mosdos Gur Ihud ( he, איחוד, 'Unity') was a small binationalist Zionist political party founded by Judah Leon Magnes, Martin Buber, Ernst Simon and Henrietta Szold, former supporters of Brit Shalom, in 1942 Imrei_Emes

Distribution of Gerrer Hasidim

Almost all Ger Hasidim living in pre-war

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

(approximately 100,000 Hasidim) were murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust. Avraham Mordechai Alter, who managed to escape, set about the task of rebuilding the movement in the

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

. It is generally accepted that he was released by the Nazis, and was then able to move to Palestine, because of a very large ransom paid by his followers to the Nazis. Under its post-war leaders, the movement began to flourish again. With approximately 12,000 families, Ger is the third-largest Hasidic dynasty in the world today, comprising 9.2% of the world population of

Hasidim Ḥasīd ( he, חסיד, "pious", "saintly", "godly man"; plural "Hasidim") is a Jewish honorific, frequently used as a term of exceptional respect in the Talmudic and early medieval periods. It denotes a person who is scrupulous in his observ ...

. Large communities of Gerrer Hasidim exist in Israel, in Bnei Brak (2294 families / 19% of the Hasidic population), Ashdod (2218 families / 45%), and

(1921 families / 12%), and a slightly smaller community of 1,027 families (6% of the Hasidic population) exists in the Borough Park neighborhood of

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. Smaller communities with hundreds of families have also been established in Israel, such as Arad, Beit Shemesh,

Kiryat Gat Kiryat Gat, also spelled Qiryat Gat ( he, קִרְיַת גַּת), is a city in the Southern District of Israel. It lies south of Tel Aviv, north of Beersheba, and from Jerusalem. In it had a population of . The city hosts one of the most a ...

Hatzor HaGlilit Hatzor HaGlilit ( he, חָצוֹר הַגְּלִילִית lit. "Hatzor of Galilee") is a town in the Korazim Plateau in northern Israel near Rosh Pinna and Safed. It is named for the nearby biblical site of Tel Hazor. In it had a population o ...

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

Dimona Dimona ( he, דִּימוֹנָה, ar, ديمونا) is an Israeli city in the Negev desert, to the south-east of Beersheba and west of the Dead Sea above the Arava valley in the Southern District of Israel. In its population was . The Shi ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

, and Petah Tikva. Internationally, hundreds of families reside in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, Antwerp,

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...

(where they are the largest Hasidic group),

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, Monsey, and Lakewood, with tens more living in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Ger maintains a well-developed educational network of

Talmud Torah Talmud Torah ( he, תלמוד תורה, lit. 'Study of the Torah') schools were created in the Jewish world, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic, as a form of religious school for boys of modest backgrounds, where they were given an elementary educ ...

s, and

kollel A kollel ( he, כולל, , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim (lectures) and learning ''sedarim'' (sessions); ...

s, as well as Beis Yaakov schools for girls. The dynasty is the wealthiest in Israel, and its leaders dominate the

Agudat Israel Agudat Yisrael ( he, אֲגוּדָּת יִשְׂרָאֵל, lit., ''Union of Israel'', also transliterated ''Agudath Israel'', or, in Yiddish, ''Agudas Yisroel'') is a Haredi Jewish political party in Israel. It began as a political party re ...

political party.

Center

The group's headquarters is located in

. During and after the British Mandate, the group's beth midrash was at the

Sfas Emes Yeshiva Sfas Emes Yeshiva ( he, ישיבת שפת אמת) was an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva in Jerusalem, serving the Gerrer Hasidic community until 2016. Founded in 1925 in the Mahane Yehuda neighborhood of Jerusalem, it was one of the few Hasidic yeshiva ...

, near Mahane Yehuda. Later on, the synagogue moved to Ralbach Street in the

Geula Geula ( he, גאולה lit. ''Redemption'') is a neighborhood in the center of Jerusalem, populated mainly by Haredi Jews. Geula is bordered by Zikhron Moshe and Mekor Baruch on the west, the Bukharim neighborhood on the north, Mea Shearim on ...

neighborhood, and in the late 1990s, the Great Beth Midrash Gur was inaugurated on Yirmeyahu Street, near the

Schneller Orphanage Schneller Orphanage, also called the Syrian Orphanage, was a German Protestant orphanage that operated in Jerusalem from 1860 to 1940. It was one of the first structures to be built outside the Old City of Jerusalem – the others being Kerem Av ...

complex. In 2015, an extension to the building was begun, and on Rosh Hashanah 2018 (5779), the second wing of the Beth Medrash was inaugurated. In 2022, the building was finished when the two wings were joined, making it the largest synagogue in the world, with the main sanctuary seating up to 20,000, and having an area of approximately . Beginning with the emigration of Avraham Mordechai Alter to Israel, the rebbes of Ger lived in Jerusalem, with the exception of the current Rebbe Yaakov Aryeh Alter, who moved to Jerusalem only in 2012. The group has " shtibelekh" in most ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods in the city. As other Hasidic courts, Ger also expanded in Jerusalem following the immigration of young couples from Europe and the United States.

Identifying features of Ger

The men are distinguished by their dark Hasidic garb, and by their pants tucked into their socks, called ''hoyzn-zokn'' (not to be confused with the

breeches Breeches ( ) are an article of clothing covering the body from the waist down, with separate coverings for each leg, usually stopping just below the knee, though in some cases reaching to the ankles. Formerly a standard item of Western men's c ...

, called ''halber-hoyzn'', worn by men in some other Hasidic groups). They wear a round felt hat, and a high, almost-pointed kapel. They raise their sidelocks from the temples, and tuck them under the yarmulke, nearly hiding them. On

Shabbos Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical stori ...

and

Jewish holiday Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstre ...

s, married men wear the high circular shtreimel, fur hat of the Polish Hasidim, called a ''

spodik A spodik (or spodek; yi, ספּאָדיק , from Polish ''spodek'' "saucer") is a tall, black fur hat worn by some Hasidic Jews, particularly by members of sects in 19th-century Congress Poland. The origins of the spodik and the shtreimel are unc ...

'' by Galicianers (not to be confused with the much flatter shtreimel worn by married men in Hasidic groups which do not hail from Congress Poland). Ger has produced some of the most prolific composers of Jewish liturgical music of all time such as

Yankel Talmud Yaakov Dov (Yankel) Talmud (18 December 1885 – October 1965)Bleich, Chanania. "Remembering Reb Yankel Talmud". '' Ami'', 1 September 2013, pp. 128–132. was a Hasidic composer of Jewish liturgical music and choirmaster in the main syna ...

(1885-1965), who was known as "the Beethoven of the Gerrer Rebbes".Bleich, Chanania. "Remembering Reb Yankel Talmud". ''

Ami AMI or Ami may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media *AMI-tv, a Canadian TV channel **AMI-télé, the French-language version * AMI-audio, a Canadian audio broadcast TV service *''Ami Magazine'', an Orthodox Jewish news magazine Businesses ...

'', 1 September 2013, pp. 128–132.

Kehilas Pnei Menachem

In October 2019, some Gerrer Hasidim under the leadership of

, formed a new kehilla called "''Kehilas Pnei Menachem''" which is independent of the mainstream Gerrer hassidic court. On November 8, 2021, the '' Jerusalem Post'' reported that Kehilas Pnei Menachem numbers some 500 families in Israel, with another 300 in the USA, while the mainstream Gur community in Israel is thought to number as many as 100,000 people (the equivalent of 11,494 families, according to a November 2021 report by Israel's National Economic Council which averages 6.7 children per

Haredi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

family).

History of Kehilas Pnei Menachem

On October 22, 2019, the Ger Hasidic dynasty split for the first time in its history, following a public Sukkot event held by

, the cousin of the Gerrer Rebbe,

, at which donation and school enrollment forms for the new group were passed out for children of the attendees. Tensions between the two rabbis had appeared repeatedly over the preceding two decades, in particular after Yaakov Aryeh in 2016 closed the prestigious

Sfas Emes Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter ( he, יהודה אריה ליב אלתר, 15 April 1847 – 11 January 1905), also known by the title of his main work, the ''Sfas Emes'' (Ashkenazic Pronunciation) or ''Sefat Emet'' (Modern Hebrew), was a Hasidic Judais ...

yeshiva in Jerusalem, at which Shaul Alter was the Rosh Yeshiva, and failed to invite Shaul Alter in 2019 to the wedding of his grandson.

Gerrer dynastic leadership

* Grand Rabbi

(1798–1866), (the ''Chiddushei HaRim''), first Gerrer Rebbe from 1859 to 1866 ** Grand Rabbi

Chanokh Heynekh HaKohen Levin Chanokh Heynekh HaKohen Levin (1798 – 21 March 1870The State Archive in Lo ...

(1798–1870), second Gerrer Rebbe from 1866 to 1870 ** Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter (1815–1855) *** Grand Rabbi

(1847–1905), (the ''Sfas Emes''), third Gerrer Rebbe from 1870 to 1905 **** Grand Rabbi

(1866–1948), (the ''Imrei Emes''), fourth Gerrer Rebbe from 1905 to 1948 ***** Grand Rabbi

(1895–1977), (the ''Beis Yisroel''), fifth Gerrer Rebbe from 1948 to 1977 ***** Grand Rabbi

Simchah Bunim Alter Simcha Bunim Alter ( he, שמחה בונים אלתר; April 6, 1898 – August 6, 1992), also known as the ''Lev Simcha'' (), after the works he authored, was the sixth Rebbe of the Hasidic dynasty of Ger, a position he held from 1977 until his ...

(1898–1992), (the ''Lev Simcha''), sixth Gerrer Rebbe from 1977 to 1992 ****** Grand Rabbi

(born 1939), eighth Gerrer Rebbe from 1996 to present ***** Grand Rabbi

Pinchas Menachem Alter Pinchas Menachem Alter ( he, פינחס מנחם אלתר, June 9, 1926 – March 7, 1996), also known as the ''Pnei Menachem'' (), after the works he authored, was the seventh Rebbe of the Hasidic dynasty of Ger, a position he held from 1992 un ...

(1926–1996), (the ''Pnei Menachem''), seventh Gerrer Rebbe from 1992 to 1996 ******Rabbi

(born 1957), leader of Kehilas Pnei Menachem (an offshoot from the Ger Hasidic Dynasty) from 2019 to present

''Takanot''

Ger is known as having the strictest views among Orthodox Jews regarding sexual relations. In 1948, Rabbi Yisrael Alter established the "Ordinances on Holiness", known as the ''takanot'' (called ''takunes'' in the vernacular of Yiddish used by Ger Hasidim), which regulate daily living. The rules were passed on verbally, and were never written down until 2016, when a former member of the Ger Hasidic sect published them on Facebook. The ''takanot'' prescribe, for example, that a couple should not have sex more than twice a month, should do so silently and quickly, and the man should always be on top. In addition to rules about sexual relations, they include prohibitions for men on everyday activities such as combing one's hair, using soap on days other than Friday (in preparation for Shabbos), smoking, and reading the newspaper. The ordinances are reputed to have had a detrimental effect on the demand for Gerrer bachelors in the Hasidic match-making market. In 2009, a Gerrer woman, Sarah Einfeld, appeared in a short documentary film, titled in English ''Shrew'' (in Hebrew, ''Soreret''). During the filming, she decided to desert Ger, and to adopt a secular way of life. In her blog, she reported on the "repression" of women in Ger, highlighting the suppression of sexuality under the regime of these rules.

References

* *

External links

Alter family tree

Biographie, Orthodox Union * * Gerszon Góra

* Arthur Green
Ger Hasidic Dynasty
The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe * Tamar Rotem
Gur Hasidim and sexual separation
first part ''Haaretz'' 3 February 201
For members of Israel's ultra-Orthodox Gur sect, sex is a sin
second part ''Haaretz'' 10 February 2012. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ger