Bobov (Hasidic dynasty)
Galician Hasidic dynasty of the Halberstam family, headquartered in Borough Park, Brooklyn; divided since 2005 into Bobov and Bobov-45
| Bobov | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1892 Bobowa (Bobov), Galicia (now Poland) |
| Founder | Shlomo Halberstam (1847–1905) |
| Leader | Rebbe Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam (Bobov); Mordechai Dovid Unger (Bobov-45) |
| Headquarters | 48th Street, Borough Park, Brooklyn, New York |
| Type | Hasidic dynasty (Sanz line) |
| Notes | |
Bobov (or Bobover Hasidism; Yiddish: באָבאָוו) is a Hasidic dynasty of the Halberstam family, a branch of the Sanz dynasty. It takes its name from the town of Bobowa in western Galicia, now in Poland.[2] After the Holocaust it was rebuilt in Borough Park, Brooklyn, by Shlomo Halberstam (1907–2000), and the Encyclopaedia Judaica counts it as one of the three largest Hasidic groups at the time of his death.[2][3] Since a succession dispute in 2005 there have been two courts: Bobov, led by Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam, and Bobov-45, led by Mordechai Dovid Unger.[4]
History
Galicia
The founder, Shlomo Halberstam (1847–1905), was a grandson of Chaim Halberstam of Sanz. Born in Tarnobrzeg-Dzików and orphaned at eight, he grew up at his grandfather's court and served as rabbi in several Galician towns, including Bukowsko and Oświęcim. In 1880 he moved to Wiśnicz Nowy, where he took on the life of a Hasidic rebbe, and in 1888 he founded what YIVO calls the first Hasidic yeshiva, against Sanz tradition. He was active in the Machzikei HaDas organisation and in the struggle against modernism and Zionism. In 1892 he settled in Bobowa, which gave the dynasty its name.[2]
His only son, Ben Zion Halberstam (1874–1941), succeeded him as rebbe and head of the yeshiva. Between the world wars he founded a network of yeshivas in Poland known as Etz Chaim: about 50 according to YIVO, and 60 according to the Encyclopaedia Judaica.[2][3] From 1932 he lived in Trzebinia. When the war broke out he fled to Lwów, where he was killed in July 1941.[2] The Five Towns Jewish Times reports that he was taken by Ukrainian collaborators on 25 July 1941 and shot with about 4,000 other Jews in the Janów forest on 28 July 1941.[5] Two of his sons, two sons-in-law and his daughters were also killed in the Holocaust.[3]
Rebuilding in New York
Shlomo Halberstam escaped through Italy and reached the United States in 1946.[2][3] He settled first in Manhattan, then in Crown Heights and from 1967 in Borough Park.[2][3] According to the Encyclopaedia Judaica, only 300 Bobover Hasidim were left at the end of the war. He obtained visas for them and for hundreds of orphans from Italian transit camps, opened a trade school in Manhattan, and built a school network reaching Toronto, London, Antwerp and Israel, with about 7,000 pupils in America. The community grew to well over 20,000 Hasidim.[3]
His son Naftali Tzvi Halberstam (1931–2005) became rebbe in 2000. The New York Times described Bobov at his death as one of Brooklyn's largest Hasidic groups, with 1,800 to 2,000 families, and with communities in Canada, England and Israel.[6]
| Rebbe | Lifespan | Led | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shlomo Halberstam | 1847–1905 | 1880–1905 | Founder; took on the life of a rebbe in 1880 and settled in Bobowa in 1892 |
| Ben Zion Halberstam | 1874–1941 | 1905–1941 | Killed in Lwów, July 1941 |
| Shlomo Halberstam | 1907–2000 | 1941–2000 | Rebuilt the dynasty in New York |
| Naftali Tzvi Halberstam | 1931–2005 | 2000–2005 | Died 23 March 2005 |
| Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam | 2005– | Bobov (48th Street) | |
| Mordechai Dovid Unger | 2005– | Bobov-45 |
Sources for the table: YIVO;[2] Five Towns Jewish Times;[5] New York Times;[6][7] JCR-UK.[4]
Succession dispute
Naftali Tzvi Halberstam died on Wednesday 23 March 2005, the day before Purim, leaving no sons. His younger half-brother Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam and his son-in-law Mordechai Dovid Unger each claimed to be his successor. The New York Times reported that on the morning after the funeral punches were thrown between the two camps in the main Bobover synagogue on 15th Avenue in Borough Park, which it called the headquarters of the world's 20,000 or so Bobover Hasidim.[6][7]
The dispute went to a rabbinical court in New York. Its ruling, published in August 2014, gave Ben Zion Halberstam the sole right to the name Bobov; Unger's side had 90 days to adopt a name with an added identifier. The buildings and community assets stayed with Halberstam's side, which was to pay Unger's side $6.2 million in quarterly instalments of $310,000. Rights to the published teachings were divided: Halberstam's side received those of Shlomo Halberstam and Unger's side those of Naftali Tzvi Halberstam.[8] In November 2014, at a gathering in a Marriott hotel in New York, Unger told his followers that he accepted the ruling and that the court would be known as Bobov-45.[9] JCR-UK explains that the suffix refers to the group's headquarters on 45th Street in Borough Park; the main Bobov court is on 48th Street.[4]
Bobov-45
In June 2024 Mishpacha reported that Mordechai Dovid Unger was overseeing building projects worth over $170 million. These included a new Talmud Torah, mesivta and mechina buildings, several buildings in Union, New Jersey, where many young families had moved, and a large synagogue in Borough Park. Nearly 4,000 pupils attended the court's institutions in Borough Park alone.[10]
Israel
According to the Five Towns Jewish Times, Shlomo Halberstam first visited Israel in 1959, when he established Kiryat Bobov in Bat Yam and Yeshiva Kedushas Zion. There are further Bobover synagogues and yeshivas in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak and Elad. Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam founded Yeshiva Eitz Chaim in Bnei Brak, whose new building on Rechov Ezra was dedicated during his two-week visit to Israel in February 2015. Rabbi Yaakov Yisroel Meisels, his brother-in-law, is rav of Kiryat Bobov.[5] The Kedushat Tzion – Bobov institutions are registered at 12 Kiryat Bobov Street, Bat Yam, under Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Yeshurun Meisels, with Israeli company number 580045771. They cover yeshivas, a Talmud Torah, kollels and girls' schools.[11]
The Encyclopaedia Judaica states: "The Israeli branch pursues a non-confrontational but non-Zionist stance vis-à-vis the Israeli government. Their sons do not serve in the IDF."[3] In December 2020 Israel Hayom quoted Ben Barber, a public activist and member of the Bobov community, who said that relations between Haredim and IDF soldiers deployed in Bnei Brak to enforce COVID-19 lockdowns had improved because of direct contact.[12]
United States and Canada
| Organisation | EIN | Address | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Congregation Khal Shaarei Zion Bobov | 85-4005332 | 4715 15th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11219 | 501(c)(3), formed 2021[13] |
| Friends of Bobov Toronto | 46-3308535 | Brooklyn, New York | 501(c)(3), formed 2013, to support the educational and religious institutions of the Bobov community in Toronto; revenue $146,034 and expenses $286,151 in 2024[14] |
For other organisations see Bobov non profits in the US.
United Kingdom
The Bobov community in London is based in Stamford Hill. JCR-UK records a Bobov-45 synagogue, Chasidey Bobov-45 Beth Hamedrash, at 73 Clapton Common, Upper Clapton, London E5 9AA, from 2008, formerly the site of the Swan public house; it met at 26 Lampard Grove, London N16, from 2006 to 2008. It is affiliated to the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations and is distinct from the Kehal Chasidei Bobov Beth Hamedrash in Egerton Road, London N16, which follows Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam.[4]
| Charity | Number | Address | Income | Where it operates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kahal Chassidim Bobov | 278823 | 87 Egerton Road, London N16 6UE | £2,585,547 (year to 31 March 2025) | England, Austria, Belgium, Israel, United States | Registered 27 March 1980. Objects: the advancement of the Jewish religion "and the world-wide organisation of Chassidim of the Grand Rabbi Bobov in particular", in the UK or elsewhere. Runs a charity voucher system and makes grants. Received funds from the Stempel Charity (243913) on 29 August 2024.[15] |
| Mosdos Bobov | 1151332 | 253 Kyverdale Road, London N16 6PQ | £84,507 (year to 31 July 2025) | Barnet, Hackney, Haringey, Belgium, Israel, United States | Registered 22 March 2013. Grants to people in need, especially at festivals, and for education and community activities.[16] |
| ABC Trust (working name: Association of the Bobov Community) | 1126661 | 79 Wargrave Avenue, London N15 6TU | £3,896,978 (year to 31 December 2024) | Hackney, Haringey, Salford, Israel, United States | Registered 11 November 2008; formerly Ichud Chasidim Limited. Holds property under development as a community centre and synagogue and makes grants. Objects name Hackney, Haringey, Salford, Israel and the United States.[17] |
See also
Notes
- ↑ Yitzchok Frankfurter, A Conversation With Professor Marcin Wodziński on Hasidism The Seforim Blog, 2 September 2018 (reprinted from Ami Magazine, 11 July 2018), accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 David Assaf, Sandz Hasidic Dynasty YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 David Derovan, Bobov Encyclopaedia Judaica (2nd ed.), via Encyclopedia.com, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 JCR-UK, Bobov-45 Beth Hamedrash, Clapton Common, London E5 JewishGen, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Gershon Tannenbaum, Bobover Rebbe’s Triumphant Visit To Israel Five Towns Jewish Times, 12 February 2015 (archived 4 December 2024), accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Margalit Fox, Naftali Halberstam Dies at 74; Bobov Hasidim's Grand Rabbi New York Times, 25 March 2005 (archived 25 August 2025), accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Andy Newman, A Battle for Succession Takes No Holiday New York Times, 26 March 2005 (archived 25 June 2024), accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Kikar HaShabbat, פסק הדין שמרעיד את חסידות באבוב Kikar HaShabbat, 22 August 2014, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Haredim10, האדמו"ר הרמ"ד הכריע: מציית - מהיום החצר "באבוב 45" Haredim10, 19 November 2014, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ David Damen, My Rebbe, My Rebbi Mishpacha, 9 June 2024, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Olam HaTorah, Kedushat Tzion – Bobov Torah Index (archived 18 June 2025), accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Dan Lavie, Coronavirus brings soldiers and Haredim closer together Israel Hayom, 30 December 2020 (archived 18 January 2026), accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Cause IQ, Congregation Khal Shaarei Zion Bobov Cause IQ, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Cause IQ, Friends of Bobov Toronto Cause IQ, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission, KAHAL CHASSIDIM BOBOV – 278823 Charity Commission for England and Wales, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission, MOSDOS BOBOV – 1151332 Charity Commission for England and Wales, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission, THE ABC TRUST – 1126661 Charity Commission for England and Wales, accessed 27 October 2026.