Batei Munkacs

Batei Munkacs is bordered by Yizrael Street to the south, Netziv Street to the west, the neighborhood of Batei Rand to the north, Shomron Street to the northeast and Mesilas Yesharim Street to the east.

File:Batei Munkatsh apartments.jpg

Batei Munkacs was founded in 1928 by the Munkacser Rebbe, Rabbi Chaim Elazar Spira,{{cite book |title=Great Chassidic Leaders: Portraits of seven masters of the spirit|first=Rabbi Aharon|last=Sorasky|author-link=Aharon Sorasky|publisher=Mesorah Publications|date=1991|isbn=0-89906-482-5|page=110}} as a housing project for members of the Munkacser Kollel,{{cite web|url=http://www.jerusalem.muni.il/jer_sys/picture/atarim/site_form_atar_eng.asp?site_id=2269&pic_cat=4&icon_cat=6&york_cat=9&type_id=197|title=Lev Ha'ir (Machane Yehuda and Nachlaot)|publisher=Jerusalem Municipality|date=30 June 2013|access-date=22 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219201218/http://www.jerusalem.muni.il/jer_sys/picture/atarim/site_form_atar_eng.asp?site_id=2269&pic_cat=4&icon_cat=6&york_cat=9&type_id=197|archive-date=2014-02-19|url-status=dead}} Kollel Tiferes Zvi,{{cite web|url=http://www.tog.co.il/en/Article.aspx?id=164 |title=Munkacz – an Empire of Torah |first=Motty |last=Meringer |date=25 May 2009 |access-date=22 January 2014 |work=Tog News }}{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} a charity organization that supported families from Munkács, Hungary, living in Jerusalem.{{cite web|url=http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/communities/munkacs/rabbis.asp|title=The Hasidic Rabbis of Munkács|publisher=Yad Vashem |year=2014|access-date=22 January 2014}} The land was purchased in 1914 by two Hasidim sent by the Rebbe, but the outbreak of World War I halted building plans. Construction was further delayed until 1929, apparently due to a lack of funds. Batei Munkacs was one of only a handful of new neighborhoods constructed during the British Mandate era.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KzOAxmHDzHUC&q=munkacs&pg=en |page=165|title= Jerusalem and Its Environs: Quarters, Neighborhoods, Villages, 1800-1948 |first1=Ruth|last1=Kark|first2=Michal |last2=Oren-Nordheim|year=2001|publisher=Wayne State University Press|isbn= 0814329098}} It was the seventh, and last, Haredi neighborhood established in the Nachlaot area.

While the Munkacser Hasidim intended to build on the entire tract of land, only three buildings – two row houses at either end, and a synagogue building in the center – were eventually erected due to a lack of resources.{{cite web |url=http://www.aplaton.co.il/story_587|title= שכונת בתי מונקאטש |trans-title=Batei Munkacs Neighborhood|first=Uri|last=Katzir|publisher=aplaton.co.il|access-date=22 January 2014}} Like other kollel neighborhoods constructed at the end of the Ottoman period, such as Batei Ungarin, the buildings of Batei Munkacs were planned around a courtyard, with the synagogue in the center of the courtyard. Each apartment had a kitchen and bathroom in the entrance hall, and two rooms located to the rear. According to a 1914 newspaper report, the Munkacser Rebbe intended that each homeowner would also have room for a small vegetable garden in front of his apartment.{{cite web |url=http://jpress.org.il/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Skin=TAUHe&BaseHref=MRH/1914/05/12&EntityId=Ar00200&ViewMode=HTML|title=ירושלים: בתים וגנות לבני כולל מונקטש|language=he|trans-title=Jerusalem: Houses and Gardens for Members of Kollel Munkacs|work=Moriah|date=12 May 1914|access-date=22 January 2014}}

File:M house 8.JPG

The neighborhood regulations, approved and signed by the Munkacser Rebbe during his visit to Palestine in 1930,{{cite web |url=http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/communities/munkacs/rabbi_shapira.asp|title=The History of the Munkács Community Before the Holocaust – Religious Life – Rabbi Chaim Elazar Shapira – the Munkaczer Rebbe|publisher=Yad Vashem|year=2014|access-date=22 January 2014}} sought to maintain the integrity of the neighborhood as a Hasidic enclave. Residents were required to wear Hasidic dress (levush), and were not allowed to shave their beards or payot (sidelocks). Like members of other Hasidic sects in Palestine, the Munkacser Hasidim were enjoined to send their children to Haredi schools, and not to schools run by Zionist pedagogues. Residents were also required to support the neighborhood synagogue by praying there at least once a week on weekdays, and on at least one Shabbat every two months. The synagogue adheres to the prayer customs of the Munkacser Hasidism.{{cite web|url=http://www.jerusalem.muni.il/jer_sys/picture/atarim/site_form_atar.asp?site_id=10189&pic_cat=1&icon_cat=5&york_cat=8|title=בתי מונקאטש|trans-title=Batei Munkacs|language=he|publisher=Jerusalem Municipality|date=7 October 2007|access-date=22 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219201215/http://www.jerusalem.muni.il/jer_sys/picture/atarim/site_form_atar.asp?site_id=10189&pic_cat=1&icon_cat=5&york_cat=8|archive-date=2014-02-19|url-status=dead}}

The Munkacser Rebbe visited Palestine for the first time in the spring of 1930. He spent one Shabbat in Batei Munkacs, where he was hosted by a homeowner.Sorasky (1991), p. 113. A huge outdoor awning was erected for his Friday-night tish, which was attended by myriads of Jerusalem residents.

Batei Munkacs continues to be occupied by Haredi families in the 21st century.{{cite web |url=http://www.mynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4233439,00.html|title=מחנה יהודה: הסוחרים התנגדו, בלבסטה בוטל|language=he|trans-title=Mahane Yehuda: Merchants objected, Balabasta cancelled|first=Tzipi|last=Malkov|date=24 May 2012|access-date=22 January 2014|work=Ynetnews}} It is home to about 30 families. The yahrtzeit of the Munkacser Rebbe, Rabbi Chaim Elazar Spira, on 2 Sivan is commemorated in the synagogue with refreshments after the prayer services.

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{{Commons category|Batei Munkatsh}}

{{Nachlaot}}

{{Neighborhoods of Jerusalem}}

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Category:1928 establishments in Mandatory Palestine

Category:Buildings and structures in Jerusalem

Category:Nachlaot

Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1929