Mordechai Dovid Unger
Mordechai Dovid Unger | |
|---|---|
| Title | Illegitimate Rebbe of Bobov |
| Personal life | |
| Born | Mordechai Dovid Unger 1954 (age 70–71)[1] New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Rivka Halberstam |
| Children | Yosef, Shulim, Chaim Benzion, Yechezkel, Moshe Yehoshea |
| Parent |
|
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Jewish leader | |
| Predecessor | Naftali Halberstam |
| Began | March 23, 2005 |
| Ended | Current |
| Main work | Sheira D'bei Rav |
| Dynasty | Bobov-45 |
Mordechai Dovid Unger (Hebrew: הרב מרדכי דוד אונגער, born 1954) is the first Rebbe of Bobov-45.
Biography
[edit ]Unger was born to Yaakov Yitzchok Unger of Dombrov.[1] [2] He is the younger son-in-law of Naftali Zvi Halberstam, the fourth Bobover Rebbe.[1]
Following the death of his father-in-law right before the Purim holiday in 2005,[3] a dispute arose as to who should be the Grand Rebbe of the then 120,000 Bobov Hasidim worldwide.[1] Some began to follow Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam, his father-in-law's half-brother,[1] while others followed the older (by one year) Unger, who had by then already ensconced himself firmly within the community.[1] Unger could not challenge his own father for leadership of Dombrov, which anyway was not as substantial a dynasty as Bobov.[4] The matter of succession was brought before a beth din (religious court) in 2007, which ruled that Halberstam would be declared Rebbe of Bobov (אדמו"ר מבאבוב) with its headquarters on 48th Street in Borough Park, Brooklyn,[5] while Unger would be Rebbe of Bobov-45 (אדמו"ר מבאבוב-45), located on 45th Street.[5] [6]
Politics
[edit ]Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams visited Bobov–45 as part of his 2017 re-election campaign.[7]
References
[edit ]- ^ a b c d e f Heilman 2013, p. 236.
- ^ Rebbes of Bobov: Ben Zion Halberstam, Mordechai Dovid Unger, Naftali Halberstam, Shlomo Halberstam. General Books. 2010. ISBN 9781157267386.
- ^ (March 26, 2005) "A Battle for Succession Takes No Holiday", The New York Times. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
- ^ Heilman 2013, p. 237.
- ^ a b Heilman 2013, p. 238.
- ^ (October 26, 2017) "Watch: Bobov-45 Rebbe Dances at Wedding", Arutz 7. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
- ^ "Brooklyn Boro President Eric Adams Visits Bobov-45 Rebbe in Preparation to his Upcoming Re-election". September 28, 2017.
Sources
[edit ]- Heilman, Samuel C. (December 2013). "What's in a Name? The Dilemma of Title and Geography for Contemporary Hasidism". Jewish History. 27 (2–4): 221–240. doi:10.1007/s10835-013-9187-5. S2CID 254602685. ProQuest 1460841654 . Retrieved July 19, 2023.