The Goldschmidt Family

Rebbe Yehudah Leib Alter, (1847-1905),
grandson of the Chiddushei HArim
Became Admur of Ger 1870
2nd Gerrer Rebbe 1890 to 1910
28 Nissan 5607 erev rosh chodesh Iyar -Yah ShevatKnown as Sfas Emes,

The title Sefat Emet , taken from the passage Sefat emet tikon la'ad,"TRuthful speech abides forever" (Proverbs 12:19), was chosen by hischildren, who published his works, because it was the last verse on whichhe commented before his passing

The Sfas Emes, Rebbe Yehudah Leib Alter, (1847-1905), was the 2nd GerrerRebbe and the grandson of the Chiddushei HArim. (See his biography i) Heorphaned at the age of one year and therefore raised by his grandfather.He was a prodigy at a very young age and studied without interuption for18 hours at a time. When he was only nineteen, his grandfather, theChiddushei HArim passed away and pressure was put on Reb Yehudah Leib tobecome the new Leader. He felt unworthy however, and instead went toAlexander giving his alliegence to Rebbe Chanoch Henoch. After only fouryears, Rebbe Chanoch Henoch passed away, and then Reb Yehudah Leib wasleft with no choice but to comply with the wishes of the Chassidim tobeco me the Leader of Ger. Until his guidance, Ger became the largestChassidic group in Poland. T he Sfas Emes, named after his magnum opus,was a supporter of building up the chassidic commu nity in Eretz Yisrael,and Greatly supported activities to that end. His son, the Emrei Emes ,escaped the Nazis, came to Eretz Yisrael and rebuilt Ger, restoring it toit's former glory .

Famous Works: Sefat Emet al Hatorah: His commentary on the Torah in fivevolumes. His commentAries are geared toWards stressing moral and ethicalbehavior, producing many kabalistic allusions. He wrote other books andcommentAries, including his commentary on Tractate Kodashim studied bythe entire spectrum of Torah scholars that show his vast knowledge ofTorah and his devout dedication to Hashem and Judaism

THE SEFAS EMES
In honor of his yahrtzeit -- 5th Shevat
HaRav Hakodosh R' Yehuda Leib Alter was the son of R' Avrohom Mordechaizt"l, the eldest son of the Chidushei HArim of Gur.
He was born on erev rosh chodesh Iyar 5607 (1847) and as a boy of onlytwo, he was orphaned of his mother. When he was about nine years old, hisfather too was niftar and he was brought up by his holy grandfather whotreated him as a son, even rebuking him when necessary.
Once when the young boy came late to shiur, the Chidushei HArim rebukedhim publicly which h e accepted in silence. His friends, who knew that hehad been up all night Learning asked hi m why he did not tell hisgrandfather so. "It wouldn't have been worth forfeiting my grandfat her'srebuke," replied the boy.

The Sefas Emes slept the Bare minimum and ate very little throughout hisyouth, but when he b ecame weak in his later years he admitted. "I feelthat my body is weak probably due to my mi nimal sLeep and food when Iwas young. I don't regret the missing sLeep because mi'ut sheino h is oneof the ways with which Torah is acquired but I do regret not having eatenproperly f or now I am suffering the consequences."
After his Bar mitzva he married the granddaughter of R' Boruch Taam, andcontinued living i n Gur with the Chidushei HArim.
The latter was niftar on 23rd Adar 5626 (1866) and the young Yehuda Leibwas appointed av beis din. He refused to act as rebbe and travelledtogether with the chassidim to R' Chanoch Henoch of Alexander zy"o untilthe latter's passing in 5630. He turned to the Admor of Kotsk i n keepingwith the advice of the Chidushei HArim who had told him before his death:"Buy trut h and do not sell -- as long as you can acquire tRuth do notsell."
On Shavuos, when he saw the massive crowd which had gathered around him,he agreed to join th e chassidim in "giving ourselves chizuk" but stilldid not say divrei Torah in public until S uccos the following year.Finally, when he started giving forth his Pearls of Torah wisdom, t heworld was astounded. These divrei Torah were printed in his famous seferSefas Emes al Hatorah. His seforim on Shas were also printed many times.
On SunDay 24th Teves 5665 (1905) a rare illness poisoned his body and atdawn of the 5th of Shevat he returned his pure soul to its Maker.

The sight of the returning Jewish soldiers, crushed in body and spirit,many of them wounded or with missing limb s, and the troubles that hadbeen Klal Yisroel's lot in his times, broke the Sefas Emes. Hi s purebody, unable to Bear the heavy burden it was carrying fell ill with astrange malady t hat no one could cure, slowly paralyzing his vitalorGans.
In a desperate attempt to heal him, Polish Jewry Stormed the heavens,gathering all over to s ay Tehillim and fast. In Gur itself, prayers wereSaid on his behalf around the clock withou t a break. But as dawn brokeon the 5th of Shevat the angels won the battle over this pure soldier,taking the aron hakodesh to the heavenly spheres.
The Avnei Nezer, who arrived the Day before in Gur to visit the Rebbe,did not sLeep all nigh t, keeping a constant vigil and tefillos at hisbedside. At the lEvaya he revealed why the Se fas Emes zt"l had to bestricken with such a rare illness. "Chazal tell us one who prays fo r hisfriend while he himself is in need of that yeshuo is answered first. Allhis life our R ebbe the Sefas Emes bore the burden of all our illnesses,our pains and sorrows, pouring ou t his heart in prayer for KlalYisroel-- that sick people be healed and the healthy not fal l ill. Hadhe become ill with a common illness, he would immediately have beenanswered. So , when the Creator wanted to take him away from this world,He struck him with an unknown ill ness for which the Rebbe had neverdavened for a fellow Jew and thus took him to Gan Eden.