Ger, Gerrer, or Gur is the Yiddish name of Góra Kalwaria, a small town in Poland, and the name of a large Orthodox Hasidic dynasty which originated from this town. They are now based in Jerusalem where their Rebbe lives. The rabbis who lead them have come from a family by the name of "Alter". The founder of this group was Rabbi Yitzchok Meir Alter (also, Rothenburg), (1799-1866), known in Hebrew as the Chidushei HaRim named for his scholarly works on Talmud and the Shulchan Aruch.

Almost all of their devotees (about 200,000) in Europe perished during the Holocaust, but their leader at the time somehow managed to escape and quickly set about rebuilding the movement in then Palestine.

There are large communities of Gerrer hasidim in New York, London, and Belgium. In Israel they dominate the Agudath Israel of Israel religious political movement and party in the Israeli Knesset. They have set up several satellite communities in parts of Israel, including Ashdod in the south, Arad in the Negev desert, and Hazor in the Galilee.

They are distinguished by their dark hasidic garb, and on shabbat and Jewish holidays the married men wear a high circular fur hat called a spodik (not to be confused with the much flatter shtreimel a fur hat worn by some of the other hasidic groups.)

Gerrer dynastic leadership

Note: As is common among rabbis, the alternate names for each rebbe (given in parenthesis) is derived from the title/s of the main (Torah) works they published and were then best known for it in rabbinical scholarly circles.

• First rebbe - Yitzchak Meir Alter (Rottenburg) (1798(?) - March 10 1866), also known as the Chidushei Harim.
• Second rebbe - Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter (1847 - 1905), also known as the Sfas Emes. Born in Warsaw, Poland. Died in Ger, Poland.
• Third rebbe - Avraham Mordechai Alter (December 25 1866 - June 3 1948), also known as the Imrei Emes. He was the Gerrer rebbe from 1905 to 1948.
• Fourth rebbe - Yisrael Alter (October 12 1895 - February 20 1977), also known as the Bais Yisrael. He was the Gerrer rebbe from 1948 to 1977.
• Fifth rebbe - Simchah Bunim Alter (April 6 1898 - August 6 1992), also known as the Lev Simcha. He was the Gerrer rebbe from 1977 to 1992.
• Sixth rebbe - Pinchas Menachem Alter (June 9 1926 - March 7 1996), also known as the Pnei Menachem. He was Gerrer Rebbe from 1992 to 1996.
• Seventh rebbe is the present Gerrer rebbe - Yakov Aryeh Alter (Born 1936), has been the Gerrer rebbe since 1996 - Present

Major Hasidic groups

Dominant Hasidic groups (arranged by size) include:

• Satmar
• Chabad Lubavitch
• Ger
• Vizhnitz
• Belz
• Bobov
• Skver
• Spinka
• Puppa
• Breslov
• Rachmastrivka
• Toldos Aharon

External links

• First Ger Rebbe
• Second Rebbe
• The Gerer Shtibl - Memories about a little Ger synagogue in Poland
• Detailed family tree including the Alters