Yaakov Aryeh Alter
{{Short description|Israeli rabbi}}
{{Infobox rebbe
| honorific-prefix = Rabbi
| name = Yaakov Aryeh Alter
יעקב אריה אלתר
| title = Gerrer Rebbe, March 1996 to the present
| image = GerrerRebbe.JPG
| caption = Alter as Sandek at a bris milah
| term =
| birth_name = Yaakov Aryeh Alter
| main_work =
| predecessor = Pinchas Menachem Alter
| successor =
| spouse =
| children =
| dynasty = Ger
| father = Simcha Bunim Alter
| mother = Yuta Hena Alter
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1939|5|18|df=y}}
| birth_place = Łódź, Poland
| date of death =
| place of death =
| date of burial =
| place of burial =
}}
Yaakov Aryeh Alter ({{langx|pl|Jakub Arie Alter}}, {{langx|he|יעקב אריה אלתר}}, born 18 May 1939) is the eighth, and current, Rebbe of the Hasidic dynasty of Ger, a position he has held since 1996. He lives in Israel, and has followers there and in the United States, Europe, and Canada. He is a member of the Presidium of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudath Israel.
Life
Yaakov Aryeh Alter was born on 18 May 1939, 29 Iyar 5699 in Łódź, Poland, to Rabbi Simcha Bunim Alter, also known as the Lev Simcha, who later became the sixth Gerrer Rebbe, and Yuta Henya, daughter of Rabbi Nehemiah Alter, his grandfather's brother. He was named after his ancestor Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Guterman of Radzymin.{{cite web |title=Handwriting of the Rebbe Yaakov Aryeh of Radzymin a special segulah for protection |url=https://winners-auctions.com/en/content/handwriting-rebbe-yaakov-aryeh-radzymin-special-segulah-protection |website=winners-auctions.com |access-date=22 February 2021}} In 1940, he immigrated, with his father and grandfather (Rebbe Avraham Mordechai Alter), to Eretz Israel. He studied in the Talmud Torah Etz Chaim. For many years, he studied Torah at a synagogue known as Rashi Shtiebel in Bnei Brak. He married Shoshana, daughter of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Weitz, one of the heads of Yeshivat Chiddushei HaRim.
Alter is one of the wealthiest people in the Haredi sector and in Israel in general, and in 2012, he was ranked third on the list of the richest rabbis in Israel, with a net worth of approximately NIS 350 million to NIS 500 million (between approximately $95 million and $135 million) due to real estate investments his father made in north Tel Aviv, Arsuf, and Jerusalem before Israel's establishment.{{Cite news|last=Ettinger|first=Yair|url=https://www.haaretz.com/forbes-presents-the-richest-rabbis-in-israel-1.5176390|title=Forbes Presents: The Richest Rabbis in Israel|date=2012-06-11|work=Haaretz|access-date=2020-03-23|language=en}} Despite his wealth, he lived in an apartment in an ordinary residential building in the Chazon Ish neighborhood in Bnei Brak until 2011, when he moved to Jerusalem.
He and his wife have five sons and four daughters.{{cite news | url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3370845,00.html | title=Gur Hassidic wedding of the year | access-date=2011-02-04|work=Ynetnews|first=Neta|last=Sela| date=28 February 2007 }} In 2019, it was reported that one of Alter's sons was accused of sexually molesting two young male students from amongst Alter's followers.{{cite news | url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2019-12-22/ty-article/.premium/sexual-assault-allegations-rock-an-israeli-hasidic-community/0000017f-dc20-db5a-a57f-dc6afb930000 | title=Sexual Assault Allegations Rock an Israeli Hasidic Community; the Hassidut covered up the cases | access-date=2012-06-22|work=Haaretz|first=Aaron|last=Rabinowitz}}
In 1996, after the passing of Pinchas Menachem Alter, his nephew Yaakov Aryeh Alter became the Rebbe{{cite news |title=WATCH: 60,000 Gur Chasidim Celebrate Wedding Of Rebbe's Grandson |url=https://vinnews.com/2022/09/06/466830/ |access-date=6 September 2022 |work=VINnews |publisher=Vos Iz Neias |date=6 September 2022}} of Ger.{{cite news |title=Gerrer Rebbe Recovering After Surgery |url=https://matzav.com/gerer-rebbe-recovering-after-surgery/ |access-date=7 November 2021 |website=matzav.com |date=11 July 2012}}
In 2007, approximately 50,000 people attended the wedding of Alter's oldest grandson in Jerusalem.{{cite news |title=Yerushalayim: 50,000 people attend Gerrer Chasunah |url=https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/uncategorized/5375/yerushalayim-50000-people-attend-gerrer-chasunah.html |access-date=7 November 2021 |work=The Yeshiva World |date=28 February 2007}}
In 2016, Alter's followers were estimated at 11,859 families.{{Cite book|last=Wodzinski|first=Marcin|title=Historical Atlas of Hasidism|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2018|page=207}}
In 2019, Alter's cousin Shaul Alter and his followers split off, forming Kehilas Pnei Menachem.{{Cite news|title=Religious Affairs: The Gerrer rebellion|url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/religious-affairs-the-gerrer-rebellion-606493|access-date=2020-12-03|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post}} As of 2021, membership of Shaul Alter's breakaway faction consisted of some 500 families.{{cite news |title=Followers Of Rav Shaul Alter Purchase 40 Million NIS Property Near Jerusalem Entrance |url=https://baltimorejewishlife.com/news/news-detail.php?SECTION_ID=1&ARTICLE_ID=147963 |access-date=7 November 2021 |work=Baltimore Jewish Life}}
In 2022, an estimated 60,000 people, including Rabbis Yisrael Meir Lau, Yitzhak Yosef, Yitzchok Zilberstein, and Nachum Dov Brayer, attended the wedding of Alter's granddaughter.{{cite news |title=WATCH: 60,000 Gur Chasidim Celebrate Wedding Of Rebbe's Grandson |url=https://vinnews.com/2022/09/06/466830/ |access-date=6 September 2022 |work=VINnews |agency=Vos Iz Neias |date=6 September 2022}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Ger (Hasidic dynasty)}}
{{Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alter, Yaakov Aryeh}}
Category:Israeli Hasidic rabbis
Category:Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine
Category:Polish Hasidic rabbis