Simcha Bunim Alter

Who was Simcha Bunim Alter?

Simcha Bunim Alter, also known as the Lev Simcha after the works he authored, was the fifth Rebbe of the Hasidic dynasty of Ger, a position he held from 1977 until 1992.

Being a Palestinian citizen, Alter and his family were able to enter Mandate Palestine during 1940 to escape Nazi persecution in Poland. Prior to becoming Rebbe of Ger, Alter was a businessman dealing in real estate.

During the time of his leadership, the Ger Hasidism grew greatly in the State of Israel. He continued the family tradition of vigorous leadership of the Agudat Israel of Israel party whose representatives in the Israeli Knesset represent the interests of Haredi Judaism in the Jewish state. It was during his stewardship of the party that the non-Hasidic Degel HaTorah party split when Rabbi Elazar Shach broke with Agudat Israel and its Hasidic leadership, led mainly by the rebbe of Ger. Rabbi Shach then aligned with Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and had initially helped to launch the Sephardi Shas political party.

In 1980 he instituted Yerushalmi Yomi, the daily learning of a page of the Jerusalem Talmud, similar to the renowned Daf Yomi for the Babylonian Talmud.