Rebbe Pinchas Menachim Alter
6th Gerrer Rebbe 1992 - 1996
The "Pnei Menachem"

Leader of Ger sect dies at 69
Jewish Telegraphic Agency March 7, 1996
Sudden Passing of Gerrer Rebbe, Rabbi Pinchas Menachem Alter, z.t.l.

More than 150,000 attend Jerusalem funeral in pouring rain. * GerrerRebbe laid to rest near his saintly father, the "Imrei Emes."

Jerusalem -- The largest Chassidic sect in Israel and the second largestin the world has lost its Leader.
Rabbi Pinchas Menachem Alter, the 69-year-old Leader of the Ger sect, waslaid to rest March 7 at a huge funeral here after he died in his sLeepthe night before.
His nephew, Rabbi Ya'acov Alter, 60, of B'nei Brak, was widely expectedto take over the spiritual Leadership of the community.
Some 150,000 people followed Alter's bier in heavy rain through thestreets of Jerusalem's fervently Orthodox Geula district to a tomb siteClose to the capital's Machane Yehuda Market.
The Rabbi was laid to rest Alongside his father, Rabbi Avraham MordechaiAlter, who died during the Siege of Jerusalem in 1948 and was buried inthe courtyard of his home.
Minister of Health Ephraim Sneh issued a special permit to bury Alter inthe tomb because of its Close location to the city center.
The Ger dynasty of Rabbis reaches back to the middle of the 19th century,when it was founded near Warsaw.
The political community in Jerusalem is still assessing the potentialelectoral fallout from the Rabbi's sudden demise.
The Gerrer Rabbi has traditionally held the chairmanship of AgudatYisrael's Council of Torah Sages and has Wielded the most influencewithin the fervently Orthodox party over the composition of its Knessetrepresentation and over its policy positions.
Alter, considered right-wing in his politics, was believed to be LeaningtoWard Likud over Labor in the current political campaign.
Rabbi Ya'acov Alter, his presumed successor, is something of an unknownquantity in political terms.
Ya'acov Alter, the son of the previous Gerrer Rabbi, who died four yearsago, has led a shEltered, almost reclusive life far from the world ofpower politics.

Jews in Israel and all over the world reacted with shock and anguish onThursDay, the 16th of Adar, as the tragic news was announced that theGerrer Rebbe, Rabbi Pinchas Menachem Alter, of blessed memory, had passedaway suddenly. The Gerrer Rebbe was 69 years old.

The Admor of Gur was born on the 21st of Tammuz, 5686, in the town ofPolinitz. At the time of his birth his parents, the saintly "Imrei Emes"and his wife Rebbetzin Feige Mintche, were already well advanced inyears. Even as a young child his exceptional mind and Outstandingintellectual capacities were already in evidence.

Escaping the clutches of the Holocaust the Gerrer Rebbe and his fatheremigrated to Eretz Yisroel, reaching the Shores of the holy land in Iyarof 5700 (1940). It was there that he steadily climbed the ladder of Torahand yiras Hashem, first in yeshivah Chayei Olam and afterWard in thefamed Sefas Emes yeshivah founded by his father, which he himself laterheaded. In addition to serving as rosh yeshivah, the Gerrer Rebbe wasalso a member of the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah (Council of Torah Sages) ofAgudas Yisroel.

Rabbi Pinchas Menachem Alter assumed the nesiyus of Gur in Tammuz 5752after the histalkus of his brother, the author of the Lev Simchah. He wasrenowned for his deep and profound shiurim in all of the Talmud'stractates, providing a link to the wondrous age of the geonim of Kotzk.Of all the Leaders of the chareidi world the Rebbe of Gur's voice rangout the loudest. After his ascension to the throne of Gur the GerrerRebbe served as head of the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah, fighting with thestrength of a lion against those bent on destroying the religiouscharacter of the holy land.

The Gerrer Rebbe was particularly vocal in his struggle to avert the evildecrees of the Israeli government. Time and time again he expressed hissupport of the Rebbe, Melech Hamoshiach's view that it is forbidden tocede even one inch of our holy land to non-Jews. Most recently he issuedseVeral letters denouncing the actions of the government, calling for astrengthening of ahavas Yisroel, an increase in prayer for the salvationof the Jewish people living in Zion, and an intensification of faith inthe imminent Redemption.

The Gerrer Rebbe was an ardent champion of all the Rebbe MH"M's holymivtzoyim. Whenever he was in New York he always made it a point to visit770, and his yechiduses with the Rebbe would last for many hours.

After his first meEting with the Rebbe in Adar of 5726 (1966) he stated,"Since my father passed away I never met a Jew who possessed the power totake on the world. Now, however, I have merited to meet the second personin the world who can do so." (The Previous Gerrer Rebbe, the "LevSimchah," also once likened the Rebbe MH"M to his father, saying, "Fatherwas a Rebbe, and so is he.")

The Gerrer Rebbe's love and appreciation for the Rebbe MH"M wereexpressed on many different occasions. When the Rebbe MH"M firstinstituted the yearly cycle of Learning Rambam, the Gerrer Rebbe publiclyannounced that he was accepting the Rebbe's innovation and would beLearning three chApters of Rambam each Day. During the second cycle, hestudied one chApter per Day.

The esteem in which he held the Rebbe MH"M was obviously reciprocal. Onetime during a visit to 770 the Rebbe MH"M instructed that a chair for theGerrer Rebbe be placed near the eaStern wall next to the aron kodesh,right next to his own seat.

In an interview with Kfar Chabad magazine (issue #97, Iyar 5743) hestated: "On my very first visit to the Rebbe some 17 years ago he spoketo me about the need to Learn Chasidus in the yeshivos (not necessarilyTanya) in addition to Gemara with Rashi and Tosefos. On this visit [the4th of Iyar, 5743] I informed him that ever since then we've beenLearning Chasidus in our yeshivos the Sefas Emes, the Tanya, as well asother works. The Rebbe Shlita spoke about this and was interested in thedetails of our Learning.

"I have now personally seen demonstrated that nothing escapes the Rebbe'sattention, even the simplest thing I've written in a sefer. I was alsosurprised to note that he knew all about matters that were strictlypersonal: I was slated to make a trip to Los Angeles for personalreasons, and never imagined that there was a need to bring it up inconversation. But to my surprise the Rebbe knew about it, and discussedmy trip. (Later, in Los Angeles...I was stunned to see Torah-true,Chasidic Judaism flourishing in such a spiritual wasteland, shedding itslight on the entire area.)" The Rebbe's shluchim were graciously receivedby the Gerrer Rebbe, and he always offered them his assistance andsupport in all matters.

Thousands of Jews began to arrive at the Gerrer beis midrash in Jerusalemearly on ThursDay morning, to recite Tehillim and pass before the Rebbe'smitah. When the Rebbe was brought inside at 9:00 a.m. their cries ofanguish and grief filled the air. For the next few hours a steady streamof Admorim and Torah Greats came to pay their respects, after which thetaharah was performed in the Rebbe's special mikvah in the shul.

At 3:30 in the afternoon the aron left the beis midrash, and thousands ofGerrer Chasidim rent their garments and recited the bLessing "BoruchDayan Ha'emes" ("Blessed is the Judge of TRuth"). Before the funeral theRebbe's sons recited the Kaddish; in accordance with the custom inJerusalem that children do not accompany their parents' casket, Kaddishwas then Said by the Rebbe's nephew and successor, Rabbi Ya'acov Alter.

The funeral took place in a pouring rain. When the aron reached the SefasEmes yeshivah where the Rebbe had disseminated Torah for over 40 years,the throng erupted in renewed wails of grief. The Rebbe was then laid torest in the Ohel of his father, the "Imrei Emes," on the grounds of theyeshivah.

Rav Pinchos Menachem Alter The Gerrer Rebbe zt"l
by R. Chosid

The Gerrer Rebbe, Rav Pinchas Menachem Alter is no longer with us. Theheartrending message sent shockwaves throughout Torah Jewry, plunging theentire Torah world into deep mourning. Slowly the bitter realization isbeginning to sink in, that overnight, Klal Yisrael has lost it's guideand Leader, that suddenly we have become orpHans. Mere words cannotportray the shock and anguish that have gripped us all.

Mere words cannot describe the agonizing scene in Yerushalayim when theRebbe's aron was brought into the large Gerrer Beis Midrash amid thepainful wails of woe of grieving Chasidim, talmidim and simple Yiden wholOved the Rebbe. To think that only hours earlier the Rebbe had b eenstanding here giving his shmooz and delivering a lengthy d'var Torah©•andnow he had bee n taken to his heavenly abode!

Mere words cannot describe the grief of the 160,000 people who bid himfarewell on his way to his final resting place. Braving a heavy downpourand an occasional hailStorm they cried wi th tear-choked voices as theyescorted the aron to the beis midrash of Yeshivas S'fas Emes. It was theYeshivah where, for decades, the Gerrer Rebbe had disseminated Torah asRosh Yeshivah to thousands of talmidim.

The mournful lEvayah then made its way to the "Ohel" in the courtyard ofthe Gerrer Yeshiva h where the kevurah took plac. It was there that theRebbe was laid to rest Alongside his saintly father, Rav AvrahamMordechai Alter, the "Imrei Emes." In keeping with the minhag ofYerushalayim, hakafos were made around the kever, amid the tearfulrecitation of the Shelosh Esrei Middos (the Thirteen Attributes, Shemos34:6,7). When the kever was being Closed, the thousands of mourners brokeanew into bitter weeping and sobBing. Many hours after the lEvayah ended,huge throngs could be seen surging to the ohel, to pour our their heartsin tefillah and supplication, pLeading for help for Klal Yisrael Andrelief from their personal troubles.

The late Gerrer Rebbe was only 69 years old when he suddenly passed awayon Motza'ei Purim, as it is celebrated in Yerushalayim (on the 15th ofAdar). He was born on Shabbos, Parashas Pinchas, 21 Tammuz 5686/1926, inPavyanitz, Poland, the youngest son of Rav Avraham Mordechai Alter (theImrei Emes). After the passing of Rebbetzin Chayah Rada Yehudis, theImrei Emes Remarried Rebbetzin Feigah Mintche, the daughter of hisbrother-in-law Rav Ya'akov Meir Biederman (a son-in-law of the S'fasEmes.) She was the late Gerrer Rebbe's mother.

The Imrei Emes kept a Close eye on his young son, paying keen attentionto his progress in Torah studies, and when he traveled to Eretz Yisraelhe took his young son Along with him. A child prodigy, young PinchasMenachem exhibited an insatiable desire to advance in Torah and Chasidusand a strong determination to emulate the deep avodas Hashem he witnessedin his father's house.

He became Bar mitzvah toWard the end of the summer of 1939, a time whenominous dark clouds were gathering over Europe. A few weeks later WorldWar II broke out.

One Day, during the frightful early Days of the German occupation, hewent to study with one of his cousins, Rav Chanoch Tzvi Hakohen Levin,the rav of bendin. On the way there he was grabbed by the Germans andpressed into a forced labor unit. In the last moment, just as ev erythingseemed to be lost, a Chasid who happened to passing by, saw what waSabout to happe n and managed to save him from certain death.

On Chanukah of 1940, his brother, the Lev Simchah, arrived from Lodz tojoin his sister Rebbetzin Matil Levin in Warsaw. It was then that planswere devised to smuggle the Imrei Emes ou t of German-occupied EuropeAlong with a small number of Close relatives, including the lat e Rebbe.Miraculously, the escape succeeded, and after a harrowing journey, theImrei Emes an d his family arrived safely in Eretz Yisrael.

Upon his arrival in Eretz Yisrael, the late Rebbe studied in the YeshivahChayei Olam, and af terWards in Yeshivas S'fas Emes. He married RebbetzinZiporah, the granddaughter of his broth er Rav Moshe Betzalel Alter and agranddaughter of Rav Shaul Moshe Silberman of Virshov. A tr ue tzadekes,the Rebbetzin is a Learned woman, well-versed in Torah and the meforshim.

All his life the Rebbe lived in the apartment that was formerly occupiedby his father, situa ted in the building of Yeshivas S'fas Emes. With thepassing years this house became a Beaco n of Torah, Chasidus and yirasShamayim. It was in this house that his sons grew up to becom eOutstanding talmidei chachamim: Rav Yaakov Meir, Rav Shaul, currentlyRosh Yeshivah of Yesh ivas S'fas Emes, Rav Yitzchak David, a maggid shiurin Yeshivas Ohr Simchah in Haifa, Rav Dan iel Chaim, maggid shiur inYeshivas S'fas Emes, and his son-in-law, Rav Dov Berl Lippel.

During his life, the Rebbe endured much anguish and suffering, but heaccepted it all as yesu rim shel ahavah, "afflictions of love." As ayoung man he lost a little son, and he was deal t a dreadful blow whenwhen his son, Rav Yehudah Aryeh was killed in a tragic traffic acciden t.A budding gaon, Rav Yehudah Aryeh was the son-in-law of Rav MenasheKlein, the Ungvarer Ra v of Brooklyn and held the position of RoshKollelei Chasidei Gur in Yerushalayim and wa s a rav and poseik at theyoung age of twenty-seven. The Rebbe's personal misFotunes served as asource of consolation for others. He would comfort famiLies from allcircles who had lost children, either by visiting the bereaved in personor writing them words of solace, shar ing their grief as a father whohimself had lost two of his children. At the same time, he pa id Closeattention to the development and the education of his late son's only sonwho will become Bar mitzvah in two weeks.

Aside from being the Rosh Yeshivah of Yeshivas S'fas Emes and the founderof a number of Gerr er Torah institutions, he was a member of MoetzesGedolei HaTorah of Agudas Yisrael. His pron ouncements were consideredexpressions of genuine, pure and unadulterated daas Torah, and wer etreated with the Greatest deference. A visionary, he marched in thEvanguard. He was a man saw things before others perceived them, whoviewed events from a broad perspective and ana lyzed them with keeninsight. These Tasks he fulfilled even before assuming the Leadership o fGerrer Chasidus.

In 1971, after the passing of his brother-in-law, Rav Yitzchak MeirLevin, the Leader of Agud as Yisrael, he was asked by his brother theBeis Yisrael to become the head of the movement . For the next 25 yearshis voice resounded from the rostrum of that organization. Tempestuou stimes they were. Alien ideologies were threatening to undermine the veryfoundations of Tor ah and emunah. It was during this critical period thatthe Rebbe was undaunted, inspiring cha reidi Jews with fiery speecheslaced with profound Torah insights to do battle against the fo es ofYiddishkeit.

Less than four years ago, after the petirah of his brother, the LevSimchah, Reb Pinchos Mena chem yielded to the pLeadings of the chasidim,agreed to accept the Leadership of Gerrer Chasidus.

On one occasion, the Rebbe deFined the meaning of Leadership. It happenedduring a conversati on with Rav Shlomoh Zalman Auerbach (whose yahrzeitoccurs this week) who had come to visit t he Rebbe Shortly after hisinstallation.

"I am sure," Said the Rebbe, "that the late Rav Simchah Bunam Leizerson(Rav Shlomoh Zalman Auerbach's brother-in-law) rejoices in Gan Eden overthe fact that I have assumed the Leadership of the Gerrer Chassidus."

"I quite agree," replied Rav Shlomoh Zalman. "After all, Chazal teach usthat if a talmid is condemned to go into galus, his rebbe is sent intogalus Along with him. Then surely, if a talmid rises to prominence, hisrebbi rejoices Along with him."

"What you say is right, up top a point," retorted the Rebbe. "Galus iswhat I took upon mysel f. To my mind, Leadership does not mean not honorand prestige. I see Leadership as subservie nce. And that's not all.Whenever I consider whose seat I am occupying I find myself tremblingwith fear and trepidation. But what can I do? The people need chizuk. MayHashem YisBarach help us!"

That's what his Leadership was like. No power, no glory. Total service toKlal Yisrael. He ga ve his life for others, demanding nothing forhimself-nothing but toil and hard work for th e sake of Hashem, His Torahand His people.

Like Moshe Rabbeinu he carried the burdens of Klal Yisrael, "as a nursecarries an infant" (B amidBar 11:12), with total dedication, compassion,worrying about the troubles of each and ev eryone. He did not restricthis love to the circle of Gerrer chasidim. He once Said: "Befor eaccepting the Leadership of Gerrer Chasidus I worked on myself to reachthe point that I lo ve every Jew as though he were my own child."

And so he was totally devoted to the advancement of Torah in itsmultifaceted vAriety. Ther e was his involvement in Moetzes GedoleiHatorah as whose president he served. Then there wa s his personalsupervision of the operation of the numerous Gerrer yeshivahs, offeringconsta nt encouragement to teachers and rebbe'im to raise the standardsof Learning, not to mentio n his strenuous efforts to enlarge existingapartment complexes and erect new residential nei ghborhoods in townsthroughout Eretz Yisrael, like the ones in Kiriat Gat and Bet Shemesh that were built under his Leadership. Above all, the Rebbe's heart wasfilled with boundless lov e. Day after Day, for hours on end, his doorwas open to petitioners who poured out their wou nded hearts to him. Withinfinite patience he listened to their tales of woe, smiling compassionately. With incredible astuteness and concentration he listened to thestory of each visit or, to the point that each petitioner was fullyconvinced that his problem was uppermost on t he Rebbe's mind. He hadtotal recall, and could describe in miNute detail incidents that happened to the petitioner's father or grandfather. He spoke the Language ofthe heart, a Languag e everyone understood, no matter what was hisbackground. Whether the visitor lived in Eret z Yisrael or abroad, theRebbe always knew how to reach a person's soul, how to ignite the sp arkof love in his heart, how to solve his problem.

What about the many orpHans who cherished him as their father. He caredfor them, took part i n their weddings. Now they are heartsick anddistraught having become orpHans for the secon d time.

And what about the "special" children toWard whom the Rebbe displayedsuch exceptional love a nd affection. Now they are left without the handthat guided them, the heart that felt for th em.

And what about the thousands of depressed souls, Chasidim, Ashkenazim,Sefardim, traditiona l Jews, and what have you? They knew how to get tothe Rebbe's house, they knew the door, an d above all, they knew theheart. And now that heart is stilled!

The Rebbe once Said, "I'm not like my brothers. I'm not like my fathereither. I have only on e ability: the ability of tefillah. Look, I amnamed after the Rebbe of Piltz, and it was kno wn that all his tefilloswere answered."

And so, the Gerrer Rebbe davened a Great deal for the salvation of KlalYisrael. In this conn ection, mention should be made of a awe-inspiringincident that happened a Short time befor e the Rebbe's petirah.

The name of a gravely ill woman was mentioned to the Rebbe. The Rebbepronounced a heartfelt Berachah for a speedy recovery and then added themysterious words, "This Berachah will las t as long as the one who gaVeit will live."©•The woman's condition changed for the better, bu t onlast ThursDay-precisely the Day of the Rebbe's petirah-the woman passedaway.

The Torah thoughts the Rebbe deliVered at the Tischen of Shalosh Seudosand at the closing ho urs of Yom Tov were suffused with a wealth of loftyinsights. As his fervent words were reach ing a crescendo he would demandfrom his Chasidim-young and old alike-to strive relentlessl y for higherlevels of kedushah, taharah and improvement of middos. Over and over hewould mention the quality of ayin tovah, kindness and generosity, that islacking so much toDay. He h ighlighted his Torah thoughts with poignantquotations from the Gemara, MidRashim, sifrei Kab balah and the Zohar.

Excerpts from the Torah insights he deliVered during the four years ofhis Leadership have been assembled. They are a treasure of profoundwisdom, in which he stresses the overriding imp ortance of ahavas Hashem,of kindness to our fellow man. From the pages of his divrei Torah h eemerges as an towering gaon in nigleh and nistar, (the revealed andhidden aspects of the T orah), as a genius of sublime intellect.

In the final weeks of his life, he often expressed his deep concern aboutthe general situati on in Eretz Yisrael. The appalling suicide bomBingsin Yerushalayim and Tel-Aviv shredded hi s heart. The pronouncements hemade in his final hours show that he had an uncanny feeling o f hisimpending end.

On the Day before the Rebbe's petirah, a chasid approached the Rebbe,asking him to be the sa ndek at the bris of his newborn son, a request herarely turned down.

"A zeideh iz oichet gut," replied the Rebbe. "Why don't you give thehonor to the grandfather . He can do it just as well." The chasid thenasked what name he should give his son.

"Tomorrow you'll know the name," was the Rebbe's cryptic answer. The nextDay, the chasid knew .

In his final letter, published last MonDay, Taanis Esther, he writes,"'It is a time of distress for Ya'akov.' That which we have feared andagainst which we have warned has come true. Let us set aside allcalculations and conjectures. Chazal tell us, 'Once the Destroyer hasbeen given a free hand he does not distinguish between tzaddikim Andresha'im' (Bava Kamma 60a).

"Let us remember, 'All Jews are responsible for one another.' Let'seliminate from our hearts the hatred of our fellow Jews. Let us have morekindness and goodness. Let us strengthen ourselves through Torah"

The Gemara he metioned in his letter, "Once the Destroyer has been given"he reiterated on t he night of Purim, when his son the Rosh Yeshivah, RavShaul told him about the most recent t errorist suicide bomBings.Replying to Reb Shaul, he added the rest of the saying in the Gemara,"'and that is not all; the Destroyer starts with the tzaddikim.'" TheRebbe continued t o quote the Gemara, "'Rav Yosef wept when he heardthis, saying, 'Are the tzaddikim then comp ared to nothing [that they arepunished together with the resha'im]?' But Abaye consoled him , saying,'This is for the tzaddik's benefit, as it says, 'The tzaddik is takenaway from th e impending evil.' (YesHayah 57:1).

On the Tisch, on the night before his petirah, he gave an unusually longspeech. AfterWards h e Said, "Tonight I spoke above and beyond myphysical strength. It is mesiras nefesh for Yidd ishkeit. This Purim is atime for mesiras nefesh©•" As he spoke he digressed to the subject ofDavid and Shaul. Both were Great men, and both of them acted LeShaimShomayim, in the inter est of Hashem. But Shaul was puzzled. He wondered,"If both of us are acting Leshem Shamayim , why is there a need for a newLeader?" Came the answer, "A poorer generation requires a dif ferentLeadership."

When the Gabbai asked him after the Tisch to remember names of lOved onesin his tefillos h e replied, "There is no need to remember names.Everyone is remembered. It says in the Megill ah, 'These Days arerememberd and observed' (Esther 9:28)." With a sigh he concluded, "Ever ygeneration has its own peckel (pack of troubles)."

One of the most important manhigim of Klal Yisrael has left us. In anunguarded moment, whil e we were all asLeep, unable to daven and toimplore Hashem to let us keep him, he was torn f rom us and ascended in awhirlWind to Shamayim. We have lost a defender, the guide who led o n thepath of Chasidus and ahavas Yisrael. And we know full well that "thetzaddik is taken a way because of the evil to come." Time and again hewarned and hinted at the things that la y ahead, but we refused to heedthe writing on the wall. Let us wake up before chalilah it i s too late.Let us now fulfill wholeheartedly the words he wrote with his last ounceof stren gth,

"It is a time of distress for Yaakov. Let us set aside all calculationsand conjectures." The n, and only then will the nevuah come true, "ForHashem will not forsake His people, He wil l not abandon His inheRitance"(Tehillim 113:2). And may Hashem help us.

Zechuso yagein aleinu.