Chaim Halberstam

Chaim Halberstam

Chaim ben Leibusch Halberstam (born 1793 in Tarnogród , Poland , died 1876 ) was a Hasidic rabbi and founder of the Halberstam dynasty named after him .

Life

On the maternal side, Chaim Halberstam was a descendant of Jacob Emden ; his father was the head of a cheder . As a youth, Chaim came to the Seer of Lublin and, under his influence, turned to Hasidism. In 1830 he was appointed rabbi of Nowy Sącz ( Yiddish Zans). He was known for his erudition and his ecstatic expression in prayer and led a modest life, which led to several months of confrontation with the Hasidim in Sadagora , who were characterized by their princely lifestyle. Several publications appeared under the title Divre Chaim (literally “Words of Chaim”): 1864 on ritual purity and divorce regulations, 1875 responses and 1877 Hasidic sermons on the Torah and Jewish holidays . His works reveal a thorough knowledge of the Talmud and its commentaries, as well as the Midrashim . From medieval philosophical literature he quotes extensively the Kusari of Yehuda ha-Levi as well as the works of Maimonides and Nachmanides . His later sources include Judah Löw , Jacob Emden's prayer book and his teachers in Kabbalah and Hasidism. Chaim Halberstam was an opponent of an ascetic way of life. In his writings he emphasized the importance of charity and criticized tzaddikim with lavish lifestyle.

Chaim Halberstam had eight sons, of whom Ezekiel Schraga of Sieniawa (1811–1899) was best known as a halachic scholar. A grandson of Chaim, Solomon ben Meyer Nathan von Bobowa (1847–1906), founded a large yeshiva in which numerous young people studied. His son Ben Zion (1873–1941) became famous as a composer of Hasidic melodies; he was killed in the Holocaust . Ben Zion's son Solomon was able to flee to the USA and founded a Hasidic center in Boro Park, Brooklyn .

literature

• Encyclopedia Judaica , Vol. 7, pp. 1176-1177.