Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam
Halberstam at a Kolel Chibas Yerushalayim gathering
TitleGrand Rabbi of Bobov
Personal
Born
Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam

1955 (age 68–69)[1]
New York
ReligionJudaism
SpouseRosa Wachsman
ChildrenChaim Shulem
Chaya Fradl
Dovid
Chana Ruchel
Rifkah Sheindel
Mordechai Dov
Yechezkel Shraga
Avrohom Yehoshua Heshil
Miriam Beila
Nechumah
Yisroel Elimelech
Shlomo
Parents
Jewish leader
PredecessorNaftali Halberstam
BeganMarch 23, 2005
EndedCurrent
DynastyBobov

Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam (Hebrew: בן ציון אריה לייבוש הלברשטאם, born 1955) is the current Rebbe of the Bobov Hasidic dynasty.

Early life

Halberstam was born to the third Bobover rebbe, Grand Rabbi Shlomo Halberstam and his second wife.[2] His father had lost his first wife and most of their children in the Holocaust,[3] but a son, Naftali, survived.[1] Naftali was later reunited with the family in Borough Park, Brooklyn.[1]

Career

After his father's passing in 2000, Naftali was appointed as fourth Bobover Rebbe at age 69,[1] while Halberstam was appointed as Rav Hatza'ir (assistant rabbi). Naftali died right before the Purim holiday in 2005,[4] which led to a succession crisis over who should be the Grand Rebbe of the then 120,000 Bobov Hasidim worldwide.[1] Some began to follow Halberstam, while others followed Naftali's son-in-law Mordechai Dovid Unger, who was older by one year.[1] Unger had already ensconced himself firmly within the community by then, and could not challenge his own father's leadership of Dombrov, which anyway was not as substantial a dynasty.[5] The matter of succession was brought before a beth din (religious court) in 2007, which ruled that Halberstam would be declared the fifth Rebbe of Bobov (אדמו"ר מבאבוב) with its headquarters on 48th Street in Borough Park,[6] while Unger would be Rebbe of Bobov-45 (אדמו"ר מבאבוב-45), located on 45th Street.[6][7][8][9]

Personal life

In January 2021, during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, the Times of Israel reported that an Israeli Haredi news website had announced that Halberstam's youngest son was to be married in a ceremony that had to be kept secret due to possible violations of social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines. The website subsequently changed its story to say that the ceremony would be kept small, while thousands of the sect's adherents were to follow the proceedings remotely. The Times reported that photos obtained from the wedding showed full attendance at the ceremony, and that Halberstam later rebuked people he referred to as mosrim for reporting on the event.[10]

Rebbes of Bobov

  1. Shlomo Halberstam (1847–1905), grandson of the Sanzer Rebbe, Chaim Halberstam
  2. Ben Zion Halberstam (1874–1941)
  3. Shlomo Halberstam (1907–2000)
  4. Naftali Halberstam (1931–2005), older son of Shlomo Halberstam
  5. Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam (b. 1955), younger son of Shlomo Halberstam

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Heilman 2013, p. 236.
  2. ↑ "Admor Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam, 5th Bobover Rebbe ..." 25 April 1955. Birthdate: 1955
  3. ↑ "The Life And Legacy Of Rabbi Shlomo Halberstam". August 1, 2008.
  4. ↑ (March 26, 2005) "A Battle for Succession Takes No Holiday", The New York Times. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  5. ↑ Heilman 2013, p. 237.
  6. 1 2 Heilman 2013, p. 238.
  7. ↑ (October 26, 2017) "Watch: Bobov-45 Rebbe Dances at Wedding", Arutz 7. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  8. ↑ Nussbaum Cohen, Debra (February 29, 2012). "Serenading the Bobov Bride". The Forward.
  9. ↑ "Hasidic Businessman Who Flipped AIDS Home Part of Sect With Cozy Ties to Mayor Bill de Blasio". The Forward. April 1, 2016. The Bobov rebbe, Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam, ...
  10. ↑ Hanau, Shira (January 19, 2021). "Thousands Attend Hasidic Wedding in Brooklyn Kept Secret Due to COVID Rules". The Times of Israel. Retrieved October 6, 2021.

Sources

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