Aleksander (Hasidic dynasty)


The Aleksander hasidic movement flourished in Poland from 1880 until it was largely destroyed by the Nazi Regime during World War II. The sect is named after the town of its origin, Aleksandrow Lodzki, Poland,, which was called Aleksander in Yiddish.
Prior to the Holocaust, Aleksander Hasidism were the second to largest Hasidic group in Poland. They attracted artisans, merchants and water carriers rather than elite Talmudic scholars and richer people who were attracted to Ger. Like the rest of Polish Jewry, almost all of Aleksander hasidim were murdered in the Holocaust.
The philosophy of Aleksander is drawn from the rebbes Israel Yitzhak Kalish of Vurke and Simcha Bunim of Peshischa. Peshischa stressed Emes and P'nimius in one's service of the Creator.
Vurke taught Ahavas Yisroel and Anava before God and one's fellow. The rebbes of Aleksander took these teachings and formed their own unique emphasis on the service of God and a persons relationship with their fellows. The core philosophy of Aleksander can be extracted from the book Yismach Yisroel.
Between the world wars, Hasidic Jews from all over flocked to the small village of Aleksander to spend the holiest days of the Jewish year in the presence of their spiritual leader, their rebbe, Rabbi Yitzchak Menachem Dancyger. The Rebbe of Aleksander attempted to remain neutral in political issues while emphasizing communal prayer and the study of Torah. He was murdered by the Germans on September 5, 1942, eight days before Rosh Hashana, at Treblinka extermination camp.
Today, Aleksander has emerged from the ashes of the Holocaust and continues in growing numbers in small communities in America, Europe and Israel.

History

The founder of the dynasty of Aleksander was Rabbi Yechiel Dancyger, son of Rabbi Fayvl from Gritse, a disciple of Israel Yitzhak Kalish of Vurke.
His son, Yerachmiel Yisroel Yitzchok Dancyger, was even more famous, and accumulated a large group of followers. He was the author of Yismach Yisrael, which he wrote together with his brother, Shmuel Tsvi, who later succeeded him and authored the Tiferes Shmuel. The teachings of the rebbes who followed stressed ethics, mysticism and ecstatic religious forms, putting less emphasis on studying the Talmud.
The followers of the rebbes from Aleksander were primarily merchants and artisans, especially from Warsaw, and also in Łódź, where there were approximately 35 houses of prayer and study. There were also shtiblekh in numerous other towns, including Bełchatów, Opoczno, and Piotrków. In 1914 his brother Betsalel Yoir began to serve as a rebbe in Łódź, thus starting a second branch of Alexander. After Shmuel Tsvi's death, the dynasty was continued by his son, Yitzchok Menachem Mendel Dancyger, whose accomplishments included the expansion of religious schools in Łódź and in Aleksander. Unlike many chasidic leaders of that period, he was not interested in politics. During the Second World War, he was in the Warsaw Ghetto. Refusing to leave for the Land of Israel, he died along with his family in Treblinka. Nowadays, the community of chasidim of Aleksander exists mainly in Israel, but there are several synagogues in Boro Park, Monsey, Lakewood, Cleveland, Antwerp, London, Zurich, and Melbourne Australia.

Dynasty

After the destruction of European Jewry, the surviving remnant of Aleksander Hassidim asked Rabbi Yehuda Moshe to assume the leadership. He was a prolific writer and published a number of works, including Responsa Hashava Letava and another volume that contained two works: Kedushat Yitzhak and Nahalat Zvi – the former on the hassidic masters who precipitated Aleksander Hassidism, and the latter comments on the weekly Torah portion. Rabbi Yehuda Moshe also spoke to survivors and collated their recollections of Aleksander Torah in Meoran Shel Yisrael. His main collection of thoughts on the Torah and the festivals was published posthumously under the title Emunat Moshe.
Rabbi Yehuda Moshe was succeeded by his son Rabbi Avraham Menahem Dancyger, whose hassidic insights are currently being printed under the title Imrei Menahem. Over the tenure of his thirty two years as Rebbe, R' Avraham Menachem expanded the Aleksander community in four countries, and built a seven story and well respected yeshiva in Bnei Brak Israel. The yeshiva was the rebbes pride and joy, reviving the Aleksander Yeshiva system destroyed in the Holocaust. He died in 2005 shortly following the holiday of Purim.
In accordance with Rabbi Avraham Menahem’s will, the eldest son, Rabbi Yisroel Zvi Yoir Dancyger, was appointed Aleksander Rebbe in Bnei Brak.
R' Yisroel expanded the Aleksander Hasidic court by building new institutions in Israel and abroad, and attracts many young students from outside Aleksander chassidus to join the chassidus.
R' Shneur Zalman, the younger brother of R' Yisroel, settled in Cleveland, where he opened a Hasidic Shtiebel that was warmly welcomed by the local Jewish Community.
In 1984, a group of Hasidim seceded and crowned Rabbi Yechiel Menachem Singer as the Rebbe of Alexander in the United States. Rabbi Singer was the grandson of Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Singer, Av Beit Din of the city of Alexander and son-in-law of the Rebbe author of Tiferet Shmuel. He founded the yeshiva Tiferet Shmuel in Boro Park. He passed away in 1989 and his place was filled by his son, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Meir Singer. He has synagogues in Bnei Brak, Lakewood, Williamsburg, Jerusalem and Ashdod, as well as the Tiferet Shmuel Yeshiva in Boro Park. His brother Rabbi Avraham Baruch Singer serves as Rosh Yeshiva of Tiferet Shmuel Yeshiva.

Important Aleksander literature

In addition to learning the chassidic works revered by all groups, Aleksander chassidim learn Aleksander chassidus regularly, often in weekly classes on Thursday evenings in their synagogues. The Aleksander Dynasty has produced a number of classic texts that are revered throughout the Jewish world.
Other works published by the Aleksander sect are: