Grand Rabbi Shmuel Shlomo Leiner (1909–1942) was the Radziner Rebbe (the fifth Rebbe of the Izhbitza – Radzin Hasidic dynasty).

Early Years

Rabbi Shmuel Shlomo Leiner was born in 1909. He was the son of Rabbi Mordechai Yosef Elazar Leiner, who was the Radziner Rebbe and author of ''Tiferes Yosef''. In 1928 he married Shifra Mirel Kalish, the daughter of Grand Rabbi Yosef Kalish of

Amshinov Amshinov (Yiddish: אמשינאוו) is a Polish Hasidic dynasty originating from the town of Mszczonów, Poland, where it was founded by Yaakov Dovid Kalish, the son of Israel Yitzhak Kalish. Amshinov is a branch of Warka Hasidism, which in pa ...

who was also the Rabbi of

Ostrów Mazowiecka Ostrów Mazowiecka is a town in eastern Poland with 23,486 inhabitants (2004). Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Ostrołęka Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital of Ostrów Mazowiecka County. History Ostr ...

. After his marriage, he lived near his father-in-law.

Radziner Rebbe

In 1929, Rabbi Leiner's father died and he reluctantly agreed to succeed his father as Radziner Rebbe. The Rebbe was greatly respected for his great knowledge of

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "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. In that sense, Torah means the ...

, by many

Litvishe ''Misnagdim'' (, "Opponents"; Sephardi pronunciation: ''Mitnagdim''; singular ''misnaged''/''mitnaged'') was a religious movement among the Jews of Eastern Europe which resisted the rise of Hasidism in the 18th and 19th centuries. The ''Misna ...

Gedolim, even being at such a young age. Initially, he settled 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 ...

where his father had lived. In 1934 he moved to Radzyń Podlaski where he established the Radziner

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 ...

Sod Y'sharim and appointed his brother-in-law (and future successor) Rabbi Avrohom Yissochor Englard to oversee it. Prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the Sod Y'sharim-Radzin yeshiva grew into a network consisting of 7 yeshivos which were located in various cities throughout Poland.

During the Holocaust

The Rebbe was known for encouraging resistance to the orders of the

Nazis 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 N ...

and the

Judenrat A ''Judenrat'' (, "Jewish council") was a World War II administrative agency imposed by Nazi Germany on Jewish communities across occupied Europe, principally within the Nazi ghettos. The Germans required Jews to form a ''Judenrat'' in every c ...

and for urging people to break out of the

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...

s, flee to the forests and take up arms. (Although he never made it to the woods himself, his brother-in-law, Rabbi Avraham Yissachor Englard, fled to the forest and joined the partisans with a group of Radziner Chasidim.) The story goes that in his last moments, the Rebbe was wrapped in his father's tallis as a German soldier took him into the

Włodawa Włodawa (; yi, וולאָדאַווע, Vlodave; ua, Володава, Volodava) is a town in eastern Poland on the Bug River, close to the borders with Belarus and Ukraine. It is the seat of Włodawa County, situated in the Lublin Voivodeship ...

cemetery at gunpoint. At one point, the Nazi pushed him. The Rebbe turned around, slapped him across the face, and kicked him. This obviously degraded the German greatly, thus stunning him by showing the inner power of the

Jewish people Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

. The Rebbe was immediately shot to death on that day, 29

Iyar Iyar ( he, אִייָר or , Standard ''ʾĪyyar'' Tiberian ''ʾĪyyār''; from akk, 𒌗 𒄞 itiayari " rosette; blossom") is the eighth month of the civil year (which starts on 1 Tishrei) and the second month of the Jewish religious year ...

5702 (1942). Buried in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leiner, Shmuel Shlomo Rebbes of Izhbitza–Radzin 20th-century Israeli rabbis Polish Hasidic rabbis 1942 deaths People from Krasnystaw County Deaths by firearm in Poland People murdered in Poland People from Radzyń Podlaski County 1909 births Polish Jews who died in the Holocaust

Early Years

Radziner Rebbe

During the Holocaust

See also

References