The Biale Rebbe from Switzerland

B”H 

In Europa und Israel, the Biale Rebbe from Lugano / Switzerland has become quite famous over the years. Despite the fact that Chassidut Biale has several Rebbes in different places, the Rebbe from Lugano has earned a very good reputation. Several times a year he used to come to Jerusalem. Mostly on the high holidays and people where streaming to his celebrations. I have never made it so far although someone once wanted to send me to the Rebbe in order to save my haredi lifestyle and not make me leaving society. 

Now I heard that the Rebbe has moved to Israel and more opportunities come up to participate in his services.

However, here is the website of the Swiss Biale Rebbe. Book recommendations as well as some articles from him:

http://www.mevasertovweekly.com/

The Synagogue of the BIALE REBBE in Bnei Brak

B"H

Someone from Bnei Brak once told me that the local Biale Rebbe doesn't have too many of his own followers but hundreds of other people joining his Synagogue services. 

Twice I have been to his Synagogue in Bnei Brak but always missed the prayer service. 

Here are a few photos from the Biale Synagogue in town. 

Copyright / Photos: Miriam Woelke

When Yaakov sent Messengers

B"H

Describing the history and the customs of a chassidic group is one thing. However, within all those years dealing with haredi society I learnt one important thing:

When you want to understand a chassidic group, you have to know their teachings. Only then you are becoming aware of the ideology. It doesn't help when you know all the in - laws of the Rebbe but what you need to know is their Torah and how to internalize it.

I found an interesting Torah teaching of the DIVRE BINAH, Rabbi Yitzchak Yaakov Rabinowicz who died in 1905. Rabbi Yitzchak Yaakov was a former Rebbe of Chassidut Biale, and the Bialer Rebben are direct descendants of the Przysucha Movement.

Not too much literature exists about the topic why the Przysucha Movement separated itself from the Chozeh (Seer) of Lublin. Nevertheless,  I found some great material and, for a long time, have been planning to write about it. Also about the Seer of Lublin itself who died in a rather precarious way and there is a claim that he committed suicide. 

Basically the, later on, Przysucha Movement split off from Lublin because Lublin had become too lofty and up in the air. Famous chassidic and maybe more down to earth groups from the Przysucha Movement are Gur (Ger) or Biale, including the Kotzker Rebbe.

The DIVRE BINAH commentated on Yaakov sending the messengers:

"When Yaakov sent messengers" (Bereshit 32:3). Rashi, quoting the Midrash Rabbah 75, states that they were real angels. Every time a man performs a Mitzvah, he creates an angel in the heavenly spheres. If, however, the Mitzvah is performed without any real Kavanah (intention, concentration), the newly angel is defective and does not survive. All the Mitzvot that Yaakov performed were perfect and wholehearted, and all his angels survived. Hence, the Midrash says, "real angels, living entities, angels who survive".
 __________________________


Source:

"Hasidism in Israel"
by Tzvi Rabinowicz


I just want to add a brief personal thought:

Isn't it an amazing that our Mitzvot can have an internal influence on this world ?
Nevertheless, I rather avoid thinking about the other way around.  

 

This Week in the Chassidic World

B"H

This week in the chassidic world ! Anyone is welcomed to give further information about the events.

Sheva Berachot in BELZ



The Toldot Aharon Rebbe

The Sadigura Rebbe

Engagement celebration in Vishnitz


One of the Vishnitzer Rebbes of Bnei Brak: Rabbi Israel Hager visiting Ashdod.

The Gerrer (Gur) Rebbe

The son of the Bialer Rebbe (Bnei Brak) got married.

All pictures can be viewed here:

http://www.bhol.co.il/news_read.asp?id=11910&cat_id=2

Men only !

B"H

Shabbat Teshuva.
Last Erev Shabbat (Friday night), I had hoped that there would be some chassidic Tishes going on in Mea Shearim.

After some crazy guy decided to splash some coke at the people at his table, Rabbi Mordechai Machlis held a longer speech on how we should be careful judging other people. Not only because Yom Kippur is right ahead but judging each other favourably should be one of the mail goal of every Jew. Nevertheless, even if some guy freaked out, no one seemed to be bothered too much.

After the Machlis meal, I passed the Toldot Aharon Synagogue and many people may ask why is it always Toldot Aharon ? Why not Belz, Biale, the Steipler Rebbe or Dushinsky for a change. My answer is that I mostly pass the Toldot Aharon first and mostly just get stuck there. I like them very much and, in the meantime, spoke with quite a few female members of the group.

According to their singing inside the Synagogue, the TA were holding a Tish but no women were at sight. Right in front of the Synagogue I met a Toldot Aharon woman I already knew. Quite a few times I have spoken to her before and I think that it is actually her from whom I don't need to hide any information. I don't hide information from anyone but the Toldot Aharon still don't know that I write about them. Maybe they do and I have no clue, who knows ?

Once I met the woman I spoke to in the Nachlaot neighbourhood, near the Machane Yehudah Market. I was on my way to the laundry and didn't expect someone from Toldot Aharon in that neighbourhood. Well, I was wrong and I met her. There was no escape and she saw me wearing pants. She smiled and said HELLO and I wasn't really sure about how I should feel. Some weeks later, I met her at the groups' Tish and we had another discussion but got interrupted.



Toldot Aharon women


Last Friday night, I met her again and one of her daughters accompanied her. We started our conversation very fast and even her daughter added some comments.

Due to the upcoming Yom Kippur, the Tish was only for men. The Ezrat Nashim (women's section) was full of wooden benches and therefore, it was impossible to move. I asked her about the Toldot Avraham Yitzchak and she said that there it would be the same. My friend accompanying me and I decided to move on to the Slonim but the Toldot Aharon woman was in her talking mood. We spoke about the group and she asked me about my religious past and if there is a future. Born Haredim seem to think that the best way of getting a religious education and having a real frum life is the participation in a firm program. Not going here and there to a Shiur but being part of something serious.

When I told her that I am rather individualistic and that I have already spent more than enough time in programs, she couldn't believe it. Especially not after I told her that I once had been haredi but left society later on. I am on my way back but more modern Orthodox. Although I agree to haredi mentality and ideology, I am not totally a part of society because I also wear pants and need a distance sometimes.

The woman's response was that I need another program and if not a new one, so I should try one were I had already been. She listed me a few and then we started the whole subject about the Baalei Teshuva movement. I asked her about Toldot Aharon accepting people from the outside as members. She wasn't too excited and said that those BTs always need some special help. They don't grow up religious but not only that, as they also have no clue about the group's customs and all the little tiny details. "They need special schools or courses", she said.

She was obviously astonished when I told her that I think that a Jew should be born into a chassidic group. Newcomers can claim whatever they like but they will never be the same as someone original. A group member whose parents, grandparents, and so on have already been part of the group. There is a big difference.
It took her by surprise because after what I had told her about a more modern Orthodoxy to hear a view she totally agreed upon. The Toldot Aharon are not too excited about accepting people from the outside and she listed me the same reasons, as a Boyaner Chassid once told me. People who would like to join mostly come with the wrong expectations and many times, one of the two parts is disappointed. Either the people or the group itself.

The next time I am going to Toldot Aharon, I will definitely keep up some further conversations.

Anyway, we ended up at the Slonim but their Tish was over and, also the Slonim were just a men's club that night. Then we took Kretchnif into consideration but were too tired to walk much further. The weather was extremely warm and various people were running around and anxiously looking for Tishes.

The next day, on the way back to Rabbi Machlis, my friend and I were walking down Yechezkel Street in Ge'ulah. It was boiling hot and we tried to walk in the shade. Suddenly we saw a whole group of Chassidim coming up to us. A Rebbe in a brown coat and with white sox was walking in the middle and the Chassidim tried to be as close to him as possible. I made a joke and said to my friend that I need a computer now in order to look up who the Rebbe could be. I wasn't expecting to recognize him. The group walked up from the Sadigura Synagogue and when I took a close look, I recognized the Rebbe and the people around him. It was the Kretchifer Rebbe of Jerusalem accompanied by some of his Chassidim. He was teaching with his deep voice and we were just happy seeing him save and sound. About three or foru months ago, the Kretchnifer Rebbe had a car accident and suffered from a broken shoulder. This is why we didn't go to his Tish for such a long time because there was simply nothing going on. Now he is in good shape again and hopefully the Kretchnifers will do something for Sukkot.

Believe it or not, I was happy afterwards and felt a kind of uplifted by seeing the Rebbe so close. The only Rebbe I have ever seen almost beside me was the Rebbe of Nadvorna in Bnei Brak.

Bnei Brak - A different chassidic World

B"H

Not many tourists come to Bnei Brak and if, they are either Jewish or mostly Jewish orthodox. There is nothing to see in that rather small town near Tel Aviv unless you are either interested in the Israeli branch of Coca Cola or in the haredi (ultra - orthod.) world. Although there are some secular and national religious living in Bnei Brak, the majority of the population is haredi. The majority of the majority are the Litvish with their huge Yeshivot "Ponibezh" and "Chazon Ish". If you prefer to go to the chassidic area, well, it takes some time but once you are there, you have almost all of them.

A little more than an hour before Shabbat started, I found myself standing in the main and shopping street of Bnei Brak, the Rabbi Akiva Street. I had absolutely no idea where to find the Chassidim and started walking up this long road. On my way I asked a woman and a Beit Yaakov girl where I would find Kiryat Vishnitz, as the Vishnitzer have their own neighbourhood in the town. "Wow, far away. You have to take a bus. Go to Chazon Ish Street and then ask again". Those were the answers I got.

I didn't take a bus because I wanted to see as much of Bnei Brak as I could. Near the Rabbi Akiva I found the great Synagogue of Chassidut Alexander. Once, Alexander had a great chassidic history in the Polish town Alexander. However, after the Holocaust not too much remained of it and they even decided to get together with Gur. Today you can still find Alexander in Bnei Brak but as they are a kind of together with Gur, I don't know about their politics regarding women. Alexander has a Tish but no one in Bnei Brak seemed to know if the women are allowed in. And because Alexander is a little far away from all the other chassidic groups, I decided not to check it out. Maybe next time. Anyway, it seemed to me that Chassidim of one group didn't know too much where the others were located. Don't ask the Litvishe of Bnei Brak about Chassidim, as the absolutely have no clue.

After walking up the whole Rabbi Akiva I got to the Chazon Ish Street on the right. I entered the street and asked a woman about Kiryat Vishnitz. "I am from Vishnitz", she replied, and described me all the way. A few meters further on the right I already found the synagogues of "Dushinsky", "Bobov" and "Seret - Vishnitz". Almost across was the Satmar neighbourhood with a huge synagogue and a small shopping center called "Makolet Satmar".

Some meters further in the Chazon Ish was the Ashlag - Synagogue (HaSulam - former Rabbi Ashlag wrote a huge commentary on the ZOHAR). However, I was very anxious to find two synagogues: the Shomrei Emunim - the original group of Toldot Aharon with todays' Rebbe Avraham Chaim Roth (son of Rebbe Aharon Roth) and Sadigora (Sadigura).

The Chazon Ish Street is endless and I found many many synagogues. In the side streets were even some litvishe synagogues. However, I was facing a real dilemma. Which shul should I choose for the Shabbat evening service ? There were so many of them ? I even found Breslov.

I decided to spy out the side roads and found the "Shomrei Emunim" near Rashi Street. If you saw the building, you wouldn't believe it. The front side of the building is full with musical instruments haniging on the wall. It looks a little hippie but very nice. At least, it is something else in the middle of serious Bnei Brak.
I know Rebbe Roth from his Jerusalem Tish but he lives and has his center in Bnei Brak. I found the entrance to the women's section (Ezrat Nashim) and found a man in there. I spoke to him for quite a while and he explained that the women of Shomrei Emunim don't have the custom to come to the Friday night service. The Chassidim all live around the synagogue but it is hard to recognize them as Shomrei Emunim. In Bnei Brak they wear ordinary black long coats and not like in Jerusalem coats similar to the Toldot Aharon. The founder of Shomrei Emunim (later, due to a split, Toldot Aharon), Rebbe Aharon Roth, wanted his Jerusalem Chassidim to wear Jerusalem style clothe and this is why the clothe in Bnei Brak differ. There Chassidim are not obligated wearing the Jerusalem style.

It was already after the Shabbat siren and I didn't want to waste more time with looking for a synagogue where the women come for the Friday night service. Just around the corner of the Shomrei Emunim I found Chabad and walked in. Nevertheless, I turned out to be the only female.

The Chabadnikim there were those of the real old original ones. Not Baalei Teshuva and things. Serious and they spoke Yiddish. The synagogue was nice and they also had participants from other chassidic groups. Even one Gur or Alexander. I have to say "or" because in Bnei Brak you have Gur and Alexander and they wear identical clothes.

Mincha (afternoon prayer) was done within less than ten minutes. Then the Chabadnikim sat down and had a class among each other. I couldn't hear too much but the Shiur was partly in Hebrew and partly in Yiddish. For Maariv (evening prayer) they had a great Chazan singing all the prayers.

I hadn't made any plans but had brought some grape juice and bread. I made my own Kiddush after the service and left. I really wanted to find Sadigura and visit the Tish. I walked and walked and soon I new many synagogues and their location, but no Sadigura at sight. I walked the Rabbi Akiva until its end and came to a street called Kahaneman. And there I found something interesting. Many times I have heard about them but never made it for a visit: Chassidut Biale.

I found the Biale Synagogue and walked into the women's section. There I found a guy studying. Obviously all the guys were sitting in women's sections that day.

I asked the guy about a Biale Tish. This was the start of an half - our conversation with him. He explained me all the Bnei Brak groups and how to get there. He really knew everything and was like an encyclopedia. This is exactly what I needed. In the end, he even asked about my age. I think he was looking for a Shidduch, but I escaped on time.

"You know, the guy said, Bnei Brak is very easy to spot out. There are only four streets encircling the chassidic areas and you are standing in the middle of them. Sadigura ? Walk up the road but I have to tell you, there is not much going on in Sadigura. Go to Modzidz or Vishnitz. Vishnitz has all the Tish guests and they are huge. Look at their Beit Midrash; they have two floors women's section. Everybody is going to the Vishnitz Tish".

Me: "Who is giving the Tish ? Israel or Menachem Mendel ?
(The two fighting sons of the Vishnitzer Rebbe in Bnei Brak)

Guy: "Oh, you know something about groups. Israel is giving the Tish and he is the king here. Not Menachem Mendel".

Me: "How about Gur ? What do people here think of them ?"

Guy: "Well, Gur is difficult. They only talk to themselves and you will never get information from them. No one has anything to do with them. A chassidic group should be open and happy and not like Gur".

Me: "How about Machnovka, the small group having a fight with Belz ?"

Guy: "Machnovke, Machnovke, they have a tiny shul in Rashi Street and even started calling themselves "Machnovke - Belz" or "Belz - Machnovke". Fights among Chassidim are very sad".

Me: "And what about Biale ?"

By the way, the guy was not Biale but just goes there to pray.

Guy: "Well, it is very sad here in Bnei Brak. The Biale Rebbe has 300 people coming in for his Shabbat service and he is a great man. Unfortunately, he doesn't have any Chassidim and he is over 80 years old".


I was very grateful to the guy despite his asking for my aged and maybe Shidduch intentions. And next time I am in Bnei Brak, I will definitely go to the Biale service. But not because of the guy.

I kept on walking Kahaneman Street and somehow got lost in one of the side roads. I passed the Karlin - Stolin center and suddenly found myself in Kiryat Vishnitz. There I got totally lost and asked a Chassidiah (chassidic woman) for the way. Through Ezra Street I got back to Chazon Ish and on my way I found the huge Nadvorna Synagogue. After again having a look if the Shomrei Emunim have a Tish going on (there was none), I decided to go to the Nadvorna Tish, as I was too lazy walking back to Vishnitz. Modzidz, by the way, is only for guys.

I walked back to the vast synagogue complex of Chassidut Nadvorna and found the Ezrat Nashim without any difficulties. I was just about to enter, as right behind me appeared the Nadvorna Rebbe with a few Chassidim and two young litvishe guys. I made space and one of the Nadvorna Chassidim gave me a sign to wait a few minutes.

Here I was, standing almost next to the Nadvorna Rebbe who lives in a house right across the women's entrance. He was so busy talking to the two Litvishe who were almost creeping before him. The kissed his hands and already drove me nuts. They bend down and couldn't stop creeping anymore but the Rebbe escaped inside his own entrance door.

The Ezrat Nashim in Nadvorna is huge and reminded me of the one in the Belzer Beit Midrash in Jerusalem. Huge and clean. The Mechitzah are glass windows with little painted holes inside. I was dripping, as it was so hot and humid outside. Nadvorna has a great air condition and lots of space to stand. More and more women walked in and disappeared around a corner a little further. I followed after a while and found a small room with only glass as a Mechitzah. A woman told me that I should stay here because we are able to see everything. She introduced herself as a Nadvorna member and we had a great talk. And by the way, the Tish would last for two hours and their members are only to be found in Bnei Brak. No New York, no Jerusalem. In Jerusalem they only have a small shul in Ge'ulah, I replied.

It was very easy talking to the women and girls of Nadvorna. They speak Hebrew and Yiddish and many times even use Hebrew among each other. Also the teenage girls.

Me and another Israeli girl were the only visitors. On the men's side downstairs were four or five national religious and at least 300 Nadvorna Chassidim. The Rebbe started the Tish with clapping his hands. As soon as he claps, everyone listens to his command, I can tell you that. He was the first Rebbe I ever saw so much involved into songs. He waved his arms and clapped. The guy I met at Biale had told me that Nadvorna has the best melodies (Niggunim). I cannot confirm that. I loved the first song. The second was sung to the melody of "Avinu Malkeinu", but all the rest was nothing throwing me off the table I was sitting on. For me, still Belz has the best Niggunim.

The Nadvorna Rebbe made Kiddush and had some Challah (Shabbat bread) but this was it. There was so much food but he divided everything among the Chassidim. It was a great Tish and never boring. I will definitely go again although it is very hard walking back to Tel Aviv at 2am in the morning.

If you are in Bnei Brak, don't always go with the most famous, in this case Vishnitz. Visit the smaller ones as well and I can only recommend Nadvorna.

Nadvorna on Pessach Sheni

Wedding Nadvorna - Biale