Yisroel Spira (November 12, 1889 – October 30, 1989), the Bluzhover Rebbe, was a senior member of

Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah (, "Council of great Torah ages) is the supreme rabbinical policy-making council of the Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaTorah movements in Israel; and of Agudath Israel of America in the United States. Members are usually pres ...

, and a

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...

. His experiences in the

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...

were the basis for the book ''Hasidic Tales of the Holocaust''.

Early life and family

Spira was born in Reisha (

Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ; la, Resovia; yi, ריישא ''Raisha'')) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów has been the capital of the Subcarpathian Vo ...

), Galicia, southern

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 ...

, to Yehoshua Spira, the "Keren Yehoshua" of Ribiditsch, and Tziporah. Yehoshua Spira was the son of Tzvi Elimelech Spira of Bluzhov (

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 ...

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

) (1841–1924), also known by the eponym ''Tzvi LaTzaddik'' (Hebrew צבי לצדיק), after his major work. Tzvi Elimelech Spira was the son of the ''Tzemach Dovid'' (Heb. צמח דוד) of Dinov, who in turn was the son of Tzvi Elimelech Spira of

Dynów Dynów () ( uk, Динів, lat, Dinoum, yi, דינאוו) is a small town in Rzeszów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, with a population of 6,058 (02.06.2009). History Dynów was first mentioned in written sources in 1423. At that ...

(1783 – 1841), the author of '' Bnei Yisaschar'' (Heb. בני יששכר). Spira married Perel Unger, the daughter of Shalom David Unger, the Zashavna Rebbe.

Career

Spira was ordained at the young age of thirteen by the Maharsham of Brezan (

Berezhany Berezhany ( uk, Бережани, ; pl, Brzeżany; yi, ברעזשאַן, Brezhan; he, בּז'יז'אני/בּז'ז'ני ''Bzhezhani''/''Bzhizhani'') is a city in Ternopil Raion, Ternopil Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It lies about fr ...

). He served as the rabbi of

Pruchnik Pruchnik () is a rural town in Jarosław County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district called Gmina Pruchnik. It lies approximately south-west of Jarosław and east of the regional capi ...

, and was later appointed rabbi of

Ustrzyki Dolne Ustrzyki Dolne (; yi, Istrik, uk, Устри́ки-Долі́шні, translit=Ustrýky-Dolíshni) is a town in south-eastern Poland, situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999) close to the border with Ukraine. It is the capital of B ...

, near

Sanok Sanok (in full the Royal Free City of Sanok — pl, Królewskie Wolne Miasto Sanok, rue, Санок, ''Sanok'', ua, Cянік, ''Sianik'', la, Sanocum, yi, סאניק, ''Sonik'') is a town in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of south-eastern ...

, in southeastern Poland. After his father's death in 1931, Spira became

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 Bluzhov.

World War II

As a result of the

Nazi occupation of Poland 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 Naz ...

, the Jews were first herded into

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, then suffered deportation to destinations yet unknown. Spira was sent to the

Janowska concentration camp Janowska concentration camp ( pl, Janowska, russian: Янов or "Yanov", uk, Янівський табір) was a German Nazi concentration camp combining elements of labor, transit, and extermination camps. It was established in September 194 ...

. In October 1942, he was transferred to

Bełżec Belzec (English: or , Polish: ) was a Nazi German extermination camp built by the SS for the purpose of implementing the secretive Operation Reinhard, the plan to murder all History of Jews in Poland, Polish Jews, a major part of the "Fina ...

, but he was subsequently able to escape back to Janowska. He would later be transferred to

Bergen-Belsen Bergen-Belsen , or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, in 1943, parts of it became a concentrati ...

On October 31, 1942, Spira's wife Perel was killed by 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 Na ...

. The rest of his family, among them his brothers, Rabbi Eliezer of Ribaditch, and Rabbi Meir of Bluzhev, were all killed by the Nazis. On April 15, 1945, Spira was liberated from Bergen-Belsen. After the war, Spira married his second wife,

Rebbetzin Rebbetzin ( yi, רביצין) or Rabbanit ( he, רַבָּנִית) is the title used for the wife of a rabbi—typically among Orthodox, Haredi, and Hasidic Jews—or for a female Torah scholar or teacher. Etymology The Yiddish word has a ...

Bronia Spira (Melchior) (b. June 2, 1910) from

Sosnowiec Sosnowiec is an industrial city county in the Dąbrowa Basin of southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, which is also part of the Silesian Metropolis municipal association.—— Located in the eastern part of the Upper Silesian Industria ...

. Her first husband, Rabbi Yisroel Avrohom Koshitzki, perished in the

extermination camp.

Post-war

Spira relocated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, at first 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 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 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and later in Borough Park. Spira played an important role in the development of

Agudath Israel of America Agudath Israel of America ( he, אגודת ישראל באמריקה) (also called Agudah) is an American organization that represents Haredi Orthodox Jews. It is loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel. Agudah seeks to ...

Death

Spira died on October 30, 1989. He was the senior member of the

. Rabbi Yitzchok Brandriss, spokesman for the Moetzes, said that Spira was the oldest living

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 ...

Rabbi.(November 1, 1989) Obituar
"Israel Spira, 99, Leader Of Bluzhov Hasidim
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' Spira was buried on the

Mount of Olives The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet ( he, הַר הַזֵּיתִים, Har ha-Zeitim; ar, جبل الزيتون, Jabal az-Zaytūn; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Jeru ...

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

Legacy

Stories about Spira's experiences during 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; a ...

were told over to Holocaust researcher

Yaffa Eliach Yaffa Eliach (May 31, 1935 – November 8, 2016) was an American historian, author, and scholar of Judaic studies and the Holocaust. In 1974, she founded the Center for Holocaust Studies, Documentation and Research in Brooklyn, New York, which ...

. These stories would later become the basis for her book ''Hasidic Tales of the Holocaust''. In 2005, Spira's grandson, Rabbi Yoseph Spira, compiled two volumes of his grandfather's

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 s ...

thoughts, called ''Shufra Deyisroel'' (Heb. שופרא דישראל). He also wrote a biography called ''LeAid Bivney Yisroel'' (Heb. לעד בבני ישראל).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spira, Yis 1891 births 1989 deaths 20th-century Polish rabbis Hasidic rabbis in Europe American Hasidic rabbis Orthodox rabbis from New York City People from Williamsburg, Brooklyn Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah Polish emigrants to the United States Belzec extermination camp survivors Bergen-Belsen concentration camp survivors Burials at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives People from Borough Park, Brooklyn