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Chasidim of Bobowa
[Yiddish, Bobover chasidim] - A Chasidic group
founded by one of the grandsons of tzaddik Chaim Halberstam
of Nowy
Sacz, Shlomo (1847-1906). He was raised and educated in the
home of his
grandfather. He served as a rabbi in Oswiecim and Wisznica,
and was the
teacher of many outstanding future rabbis.
As a member of the delegation to the Austrian Ministry
of Education,
he protested against the expansion of secular education for
Jews. In
the late nineteenth century, he settled in the small town of
Bobowa in
Malopolska, which belonged to the Dlugoszewski family. He
founded a
yeshiva there that attracted many pupils.
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During the interwar period, this was one of the
most influential Chasidic groups. Tens of thousands of
Chasidim would
travel to Bobowa for major holidays. The Bobowa dynasty
perpetuated the
teachings of the tzaddik Chaim Halberstam of Nowy Sacz,
stressing
Talmudic studies and a modest, almost ascetic, lifestyle.
Shlom
Halberstam was succeeded by his son, Ben-Tsion (1874-1941),
who founded
sixteen yeshivas in Malopolska. He was famous for his talent
for music,
and wrote many songs. He participated in politics and
community life,
and organized help for Polish Jews who had been forced to
leave Germany
in 1938 who had been put in a camp in Zbaszyn by the Polish
government.
His philanthropic activities were legendary. He was also
famous for
the boisterous weddings he gave for his daughters. He was
killed along
with many of his family members in Lw�w in July 1941, after
the Germans
entered the city.
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Ben-Tsion's successor was his son, Shlomo (b.
1908), who managed to leave Poland during the Second World
War. He
settled in New York and founded a yeshiva there. Houses of
prayer run by
the Bobover Chasidim continue to operate in London,
Jerusalem, Antwerp,
Toronto and Montreal.
(H.W./CM)
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