Shomer Emunim (Hasidic dynasty)

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Hasidic group founded by Aharon Roth, based in Bnei Brak and Jerusalem

Hasidic dynasties
Overview

Hasidic dynasties | Haredi and Hasidic groups in the US | Chabad-Lubavitch movement

Dynasties

Belz | Biala | Bobov | Boyan | Breslov | Chabad-Lubavitch | Chernobyl | Dushinsky | Ger | Karlin-Stolin | Lelov | Munkacs | Nadvorna | Pupa | Rachmastrivka | Sadigura | Sanz-Klausenburg | Sassov | Satmar | Shomer Emunim | Skulen | Skver | Slonim | Spinka | Toldos Aharon | Toldos Avraham Yitzchak | Tosh | Vizhnitz

Founders and early masters

Baal Shem Tov | Dov Ber of Mezeritch | Elimelech of Lizhensk | Shneur Zalman of Liadi | Nachman of Breslov | Moshe Leib of Sassov

Present-day rebbes

Aaron Teitelbaum | Zalman Teitelbaum | Yissachar Dov Rokeach | Yaakov Aryeh Alter | Yisroel Hager | Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam | David Twersky | Boruch Meir Yaakov Shochet

20th-century rebbes

Joel Teitelbaum | Aharon Rokeach | Menachem Mendel Schneerson

Politics and communal bodies

Agudat Yisrael | United Torah Judaism | Degel HaTorah | Edah HaChareidis | Neturei Karta | Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations

Places

Uman | Stamford Hill | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | Kiryas Joel, New York | Bnei Brak | Beitar Illit | Modi'in Illit

United Kingdom

Satmar institutions in the UK | Belz Communities | Satmar Kolel

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Shomer Emunim
Founded Satmar, Romania
Founder Aharon Roth (Reb Arele, 1894–1947)
Leader Rebbes Sons of Avraham Chaim Roth (died 2012), in Jerusalem, Ashdod and Kiryat Gat
Headquarters Bnei Brak and Mea Shearim, Jerusalem
Type Hasidic dynasty
Notes

Shomer Emunim or Shomrei Emunim ("guardian(s) of faith") is a small Hasidic group founded by Aharon Roth (Reb Arele, 1894–1947). He gathered a penitential fellowship in Satmar between the wars and moved to Jerusalem.[1][2] After his death his followers split. His son, Avraham Chaim Roth, kept the name Shomrei Emunim, while the majority followed his son-in-law, Avraham Yitzchak Kohn, whose group became Toldos Aharon.[3][4] The Shomrei Emunim centre moved from Mea Shearim to Bnei Brak in 1976.[5] Since Avraham Chaim Roth's death in 2012 his sons have led separate Shomrei Emunim communities.[6][7]

History

Aharon Roth

According to The Encyclopedia of Hasidism, edited by Tzvi Rabinowicz, Aharon (Arele) Roth was born in Ungvar (Uzhhorod) in 1894, the son of Shmuel Jacob. At the age of nine he studied at the yeshiva of Joseph Rothenberg in Krasnoye and then spent four years in Vaitzan. In Budapest during the First World War, Tzvi Elimelekh Spiro of Blazowa urged him to become a rebbe. He married Sima, daughter of Yitzhak Katz of Budapest, at the age of 22 and formed a group in Satmar.[8] Biale and his co-authors date the Satmar fellowship to 1921 and describe it as a "mystical, penitential group".[1] Yoel Teitelbaum, then town rabbi in Satmar, ridiculed the group and told his own students to keep away from Roth.[9][2]

The Encyclopedia says Roth went to the Holy Land in 1925 and formed a group in Jerusalem, returned to Satmar in 1929 for medical reasons, where "the self-appointed rabbi" met hostility, and then moved to Beregszász (Berehove). There he founded the Shomrei Emunim yeshiva, with 80 students, with the support of Hayyim Elazar Shapira of Munkacs. According to the Encyclopedia he returned to the Holy Land in 1939 and founded a close-knit community, "Toldot Aaron".[8] Rabinowicz's Hasidism in Israel gives four and a half years for the first stay and 1940 for the final move, "on almost the last boat from Romania".[10][11] Biale and his co-authors also give 1940.[3] The news site Matzav gives 1928.[12]

Roth taught ecstatic, lengthy prayer and simple faith, and set rules on beards, sidelocks and women's hair.[8][11] Biale and his co-authors describe the "holiness" rules of Toldot Aharon as less strict for married couples than those of Ger and Slonim, but with heavy restrictions on women's appearance.[2][3] He took a rigidly anti-Zionist line.[8][3] In the 1945 communal elections he addressed an open letter to the voters as "author of Shomrei Emunim and guide of a closely knit band of disciples bearing the name of his book".[13] His works include Shulhan HaTohor (Satmar, 1933), Noam HaLevavot (1934), Shomer Emunim (Jerusalem, 1942) and Taharat HaKodesh (1958). He died in Jerusalem on 6 Nisan 1947 and was buried on the Mount of Olives.[8][11] The heading of his entry in Hasidism in Israel gives his dates as 1894–1946.[10]

The split

Roth's will did not name a successor. According to Rabinowicz, his son-in-law Avraham Yitzchak Kohn at first became rebbe and his son Avraham Chaim headed the yeshiva, but the two fell out. Most of the followers went with the son-in-law. On the advice of Aharon Rokeach of Belz, the son became known as the Rebbe of Shomrei Emunim and the son-in-law as the Rebbe of Toldot Aharon.[11][4] The Encyclopedia says that many of the founder's followers gave their allegiance to the brother-in-law, "and this has been a cause of friction".[14] Kohn later set up a large yeshiva in Jerusalem.[15] Biale and his co-authors call Toldot Aharon "one of the most extreme groups in Jerusalem".[3]

Avraham Chaim Roth

Avraham Chaim Roth was born in Satmar in 1924. He married a daughter of Mordechai Goldman of Zvhil; Rabinowicz names her Batyah Hayyah and the Encyclopedia names her Beila Hayyah.[5][14] He ran a small kollel in his father's study house in Mea Shearim. In 1976 he moved to Bnei Brak, where he built a centre in Sefat Emet Street with a yeshiva, a kollel, a Talmud Torah and a publishing institute for his father's works. Rabinowicz describes his following as small.[5] He died in August 2012, aged 88, and was buried next to his father on the Mount of Olives. Matzav reported that he had led the group for about 65 years and named his sons as Refael Aharon, Gedalia Moshe, Shlomo and Yaakov Yitzchak.[12]

Since 2012

According to the text of the will published by Behadrei Haredim, all four sons were to serve as rebbes. Refael Aharon received the Bnei Brak building, Gedalia Moshe was to lead in Ashdod, and Shlomo received the Mea Shearim building and institutions. Yaakov Yitzchak, then serving a prison sentence, was to receive the study house in Beit Shemesh.[6] Refael Aharon Roth died of COVID-19 on 13 August 2020, aged 72. VINnews reported that he was survived by his brothers, the rebbes of Shomrei Emunim in Jerusalem, Ashdod and Kiryat Gat.[7]

Rebbes

# Rebbe Dates Seat
1 Aharon Roth (Reb Arele) 1894–1947 Satmar, Beregszász, Jerusalem
2 Avraham Chaim Roth 1924–2012 Mea Shearim, then Bnei Brak from 1976
3 Refael Aharon Roth 1947–2020 Bnei Brak
3 Gedalia Moshe Roth Ashdod
3 Shlomo Roth Jerusalem
3 Yaakov Yitzchak Roth Kiryat Gat

Legal cases

Apart from the cases below, no criminal conviction, civil judgment or reported allegation of sexual abuse, fraud or money laundering involving the Shomrei Emunim rebbes or the group's registered institutions was found in the court records and press reports consulted.

Convictions

Biale and his co-authors write that when the Rebbe of Shomrei Emunim died, "his four sons all became rebbes, including one who sat in jail for the rape of a relative".[3] Press reports name this son as Yaakov Yitzchak Roth (also spelt Rata).

  • Ynet reported in March 2013 that he had been convicted of rape and sentenced to 16 years, which he served in the Torah wing of Maasiyahu Prison, and that he had been released the day before.[16]
  • According to a US federal complaint reported by the New York Post, he was convicted in 1997 in the Tel Aviv District Court of "raping, sodomizing and sexually assaulting a child relative" and finished serving a 16-year sentence in 2013. Behadrei Haredim reported the same complaint as describing three kinds of assault offences against a female relative.[17][18]
  • Kikar HaShabbat gave the prison term as about 13 years and his age on release as 56. It reported that the complaints came from female relatives, that he denied the offences and refused a plea bargain, and that his father believed him innocent.[19]
  • His father's will, as reported in September 2012, referred to him as "serving a long prison sentence in Maasiyahu prison in Ramla".[6]

Civil cases

The Israeli register of associations records that a court has made a winding-up order against Merkaz Mosdos Shomrei Emunim BeEretz Yisrael (מרכז מוסדות שומרי אמונים בארץ ישראל, 580029254), which ran the Mea Shearim yeshiva. The status was last updated in January 2019, and its last financial report is for 2012. No details of the proceedings were found.[20]

Allegations

After his release Yaakov Yitzchak Roth left Israel for the United States in August 2013. Behadrei Haredim reported that he was expected to lead a Shomrei Emunim study house to be opened in Monsey.[21]

  • On 19 November 2013 he was arrested in Borough Park by officers of the NYPD Special Victims Squad. A federal complaint alleged that he had sworn on his visa application that he had never been arrested or convicted. His lawyer, Shulamis Peltz, said: "The current allegations are just allegations and have not been proven."[17][18]
  • Haredim 10 reported in May 2014 that he had been held for about a month, and was then released and deported to Israel after lobbying that included a visit to the US by his brother Gedalia Moshe. He then lived in Kiryat Gat. No US conviction is reported in the sources consulted.[22]
  • In May 2014 he flew to Montreal. Border officers questioned him on arrival and put him on a flight back to Israel. His family blamed informers.[22][23]

Charities and trustees

United Kingdom

A search of the Charity Commission for England and Wales register for "Shomrei Emunim" returns no charity linked to the group.[24] Companies House lists a Shomrei Emunim Ltd (16402833), a property company incorporated in Stamford Hill in April 2025. No link to the dynasty is established in the register.[25]

Canada

The Canada Revenue Agency list of charities includes Canadian Friends of Shomrei Emunim, a Montreal charity whose registration was revoked for failure to file on 21 February 2004.[26]

United States

The organisations below carry the Shomrei Emunim or Shomer Emunim name and are recorded in IRS data published by ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer. No link to the dynasty is established in the register data. Mosdos Shomrei Emunim Inc of Monsey is the only one with Form 990 returns on ProPublica. It reported revenue of $88,308 for 2013, $541,776 for 2018 and $289,462 for 2021.[27] Congregations named Shomrei Emunah, which belong to other communities, are left out.

US tax-exempt organisations with Shomrei Emunim or Shomer Emunim names
Organisation EIN Address (register) IRS ruling
Congregation Shomrei Emunim Inc 42-2995944 700 Stone St, Rahway, NJ 07065 September 2026[28]
Mosdos Shomrei Emunim Inc 46-0529574 8 Overhill Rd, Monsey, NY 10952 July 2014[27]
Shomer Emunim 42-1553671 174 Broadway Ste 509, Brooklyn, NY 11211 February 2003[29]

Israel

A search of the Israeli Registrar of Associations for "שומרי אמונים" returns the following associations linked by name or address to the group.[20]

Israeli associations with Shomrei Emunim names
Association Number Registered Address (register) Status Latest reported income
Mosdos Shomrei Emunim Bnei Brak (מוסדות שומרי אמונים בני ברק) 580029262 2 July 1984 Sefat Emet 4, Bnei Brak Registered ₪4,786,068 (2024)
Yedidei Mosdos Shomrei Emunim Bnei Brak (ידידי מוסדות שומרי אמונים בני ברק) 580029270 14 May 1984 Bnei Brak Struck off (2002)
Agudat Yedidei Mosdos Shomrei Emunim BeEretz Yisrael (אגודת ידידי מוסדות שומרי אמונים בארץ ישראל) 580029247 2 July 1984 Jerusalem Struck off (2002)
Merkaz Mosdos Shomrei Emunim BeEretz Yisrael (מרכז מוסדות שומרי אמונים בארץ ישראל) 580029254 19 July 1984 Mea Shearim 69, Jerusalem Winding-up order made by a court
Talmud Torah Chinuch LaNaar DeChasidei Shomrei Emunim Bnei Brak (תלמוד תורה חנוך לנער דחסידי שומרי אמונים בני ברק) 580446680 15 August 2005 Sefat Emet 4, Bnei Brak Struck off (2020)
Mosdos Toras Avraham Shomrei Emunim (מוסדות תורת אברהם שומרי אמונים) 580632164 6 March 2017 Sefat Emet 4, Bnei Brak Registered ₪837,522 (2023)
Mosdos Shomrei Emunim Kiryat Gat (מוסדות שומרי אמונים קרית גת) 580638757 22 January 2017 HaAdmor MiChabad 24, Kiryat Gat Struck off (2020)
Levushei Chaim she'al yedei Chasidei Shomrei Emunim (לבושי חיים שעל ידי חסידי שומרי אמונים) 580647618 20 June 2017 Sokolov 23, Bnei Brak Struck off (2024)
Rachima DeAvraham Shomrei Emunim (רחימא דאברהם שומרי אמונים) 580688232 21 August 2019 Rav Avdimi 12, Beit Shemesh Registered ₪226,937 (2024)
Kehillat Tiferet Aharon Shomrei Emunim (קהילת תפארת אהרון שומרי אמונים) 580744258 23 May 2022 Baal Shem Tov 19, Bnei Brak Registered ₪105,636
Zera Avraham she'al yedei Chasidei Shomrei Emunim (זרע אברהם שע"י חסידי שומרי אמונים) 580801298 8 October 2024 Sefat Emet 4, Bnei Brak Registered ₪0
Shomrei Emunim Pitchu Shearim (שומרי אמונים פתחו שערים) 580838936 19 April 2026 Adorayim 12, Kiryat Gat Registered

The objects of Rachima DeAvraham include maintaining the graves of the Shomrei Emunim rebbes on the Mount of Olives and spreading the works of the Rebbe of Shomrei Emunim. Merkaz Mosdos Shomrei Emunim's objects refer to institutions run in the way of the founder, "Aharon Roth, the Rebbe of Beregszász".[20]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 David Biale, David Assaf, Benjamin Brown, Uriel Gellman, Samuel C. Heilman, Moshe Rosman, Gadi Sagiv and Marcin Wodziński, Hasidism: A New History, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2018, p. 391.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 David Biale, David Assaf, Benjamin Brown, Uriel Gellman, Samuel C. Heilman, Moshe Rosman, Gadi Sagiv and Marcin Wodziński, Hasidism: A New History, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2018, p. 720.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 David Biale, David Assaf, Benjamin Brown, Uriel Gellman, Samuel C. Heilman, Moshe Rosman, Gadi Sagiv and Marcin Wodziński, Hasidism: A New History, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2018, p. 721.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Tzvi Rabinowicz, Hasidism in Israel: A History of the Hasidic Movement, Northvale, N.J.: Jason Aronson, 2000, p. 97.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Tzvi Rabinowicz, Hasidism in Israel: A History of the Hasidic Movement, Northvale, N.J.: Jason Aronson, 2000, p. 100.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Yonah Green, 'Shomrei Emunim': Behadrei Haredim reveals the details of the will Behadrei Haredim, 4 September 2012 (in Hebrew), accessed 29 October 2026.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Yehuda Dov, Rabbi Refael Aharon Roth, Admor Of Shomrei Emunim, Dies Of COVID-19 VINnews, 13 August 2020, accessed 29 October 2026.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Tzvi M. Rabinowicz (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Hasidism, Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1996, ISBN 1-56821-123-6, p. 414, s.v. "Roth, Arele".
  9. ↑ David Biale, David Assaf, Benjamin Brown, Uriel Gellman, Samuel C. Heilman, Moshe Rosman, Gadi Sagiv and Marcin Wodziński, Hasidism: A New History, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2018, p. 632.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Tzvi Rabinowicz, Hasidism in Israel: A History of the Hasidic Movement, Northvale, N.J.: Jason Aronson, 2000, p. 95.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Tzvi Rabinowicz, Hasidism in Israel: A History of the Hasidic Movement, Northvale, N.J.: Jason Aronson, 2000, p. 96.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 The Shomrei Emunim Rebbe, Rav Avrohom Chaim Roth zt"l Matzav.com, 22 August 2012, accessed 29 October 2026.
  13. ↑ Tzvi M. Rabinowicz (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Hasidism, Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1996, ISBN 1-56821-123-6, p. 344, s.v. "Neturei Karta".
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Tzvi M. Rabinowicz (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Hasidism, Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1996, ISBN 1-56821-123-6, p. 413, s.v. "Roth, Abraham Hayyim".
  15. ↑ Tzvi M. Rabinowicz (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Hasidism, Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1996, ISBN 1-56821-123-6, p. 548, s.v. "Yeshivot".
  16. ↑ Kobi Nahshoni and Raanan Ben-Tzur, Sex offender released from prison – and became a rebbe Ynet, 14 March 2013 (in Hebrew), accessed 29 October 2026.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Jamie Schram, Rabbi held for allegedly hiding monstrous sex crime record New York Post, 20 November 2013, accessed 29 October 2026.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Eli Schlesinger, The Shomrei Emunim Rebbe arrested on suspicion of a false declaration Behadrei Haredim, 21 November 2013 (in Hebrew), accessed 29 October 2026.
  19. ↑ Israel Cohen, After 13 years: the Shomrei Emunim Rebbe released from prison Kikar HaShabbat, 13 March 2013 (in Hebrew), accessed 29 October 2026.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Registrar of Associations, Israeli Ministry of Justice, Register of associations and public benefit companies: search "שומרי אמונים" data.gov.il, accessed 29 October 2026.
  21. ↑ Yonah Green, The fourth son of the Shomrei Emunim Rebbe will serve as rebbe in Monsey Behadrei Haredim, 28 August 2013 (in Hebrew), accessed 29 October 2026.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Yoni Green, Humiliation at the airport: the Shomrei Emunim Rebbe deported from Canada Haredim 10, 20 May 2014 (in Hebrew), accessed 29 October 2026.
  23. ↑ Moshe Weisberg, Again informants: Shomrei Emunim Rebbe expelled from Canada Behadrei Haredim, 21 May 2014, accessed 29 October 2026.
  24. ↑ Charity Commission, Register of Charities search results for "Shomrei Emunim" Charity Commission for England and Wales, accessed 29 October 2026.
  25. ↑ Companies House, Search results for "Shomrei Emunim" Find and update company information, accessed 29 October 2026.
  26. ↑ Canada Revenue Agency, "List of charities: basic search results – organization name 'Shomrei Emunim'", accessed 29 October 2026.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 ProPublica, Mosdos Shomrei Emunim Inc Nonprofit Explorer (IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File data), EIN 46-0529574, accessed 29 October 2026.
  28. ↑ ProPublica, Congregation Shomrei Emunim Inc Nonprofit Explorer (IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File data), EIN 42-2995944, accessed 29 October 2026.
  29. ↑ ProPublica, Shomer Emunim Nonprofit Explorer (IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File data), EIN 42-1553671, accessed 29 October 2026.
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