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The Aleksander (Alt. Alexander, Hebrew script: אלכסנדר ) hasidic movement flourished in Poland from 1880 until it was largely destroyed by Nazi Germany during World War II. The sect is named after the town of its origin, Aleksandrow Lodzki, Poland, (about forty five kilometers from Łódź), which was called Aleksander in Yiddish. Prior to the Holocaust, Aleksander Hasidism were the second largest hasidic group in Poland - second in size only to Ger. They attracted artisans, merchants and water carriers rather than elite Talmudic scholars and richer people that were attracted to Ger. Like the rest of Polish Jewry, almost all of Aleksander hasidim were killed in the Holocaust. The philosophy of Aleksander is drawn from the rebbes, Israel Yitzhak Kalish of Vurke and Simcha Bunim of Peshischa. Peshischa stressed "truth" (Emmes) and ''P'nimius'' in one's service of the Creator. Vurke taught ''Ahavas Yisroel'' and ''Anava'' (humility) before God and one's fellow. The rebbes of Aleksander took these teachings and formed their own unique emphasis on the service of God and a persons relationship with their fellows. The core philosophy of Aleksander can be extracted from the book ''Yismach Yisroel'' (1911). Between the world wars, Hasidic Jews from all over flocked to the small village of Aleksander to spend the holiest days of the Jewish year in the presence of their spiritual leader, their rebbe, Rabbi Yitzchak Menachem Dancyger (1879–1943). The Rebbe of Aleksander attempted to remain neutral in political issues while emphasizing communal prayer and the study of Torah. He was murdered by the Germans in the Treblinka extermination camp. Today, Aleksander has emerged from the ashes of the Holocaust and continues in growing numbers in small communities in America, Europe and Israel. ==History== The founder of the dynasty of Aleksander was Rabbi Yechiel Dancyger (1828–1894), son of Rabbi Fayvl from Gritse, a disciple of Israel Yitzhak Kalish of Vurke.〔http://www.yivo.org/downloads/Hasidism_Overview.pdf〕 His son, Yerachmiel Yisroel Yitzchok Dancyger (1853–1910), was even more famous, and accumulated a large group of followers. He was the author of ''Yismach Yisrael'' (Hebrew: "Israel will Rejoice", 1911), which he wrote together with his brother, Shmuel Tsvi (1840–1923), who later succeeded him and authored the ''Tiferes Shmuel''. The teachings of the rebbes who followed stressed ethics, mysticism and ecstatic religious forms, putting less emphasis on studying the Talmud. The followers of the rebbes from Aleksander were primarily merchants and artisans, especially from Warsaw, and also in Łódź, where there were approximately 35 houses of prayer and study. There were also ''shtiblekh'' in numerous other towns, including Bełchatów, Opoczno,〔http://web.mit.edu/maz/wolf/65-179/wolf76.txt〕 and Piotrków. In 1914 his brother Betsalel Yoir (1856–1934) began to serve as a rebbe in Łódź, thus starting a second branch of Alexander. After Shmuel Tsvi's death, the dynasty was continued by his son, Yitzchok Menachem Mendel Dancyger (1880–1943), whose accomplishments included the expansion of religious schools in Łódź and in Aleksander.〔 Unlike many chasidic leaders of that period, he was not interested in politics. During the Second World War, he was in the Warsaw Ghetto. Refusing to leave for the Land of Israel, he died along with his family in Treblinka. Nowadays, the community of chasidim of Aleksander exists mainly in Israel, but there are several synagogues (''shtiblekh'') in Boro Park, Monsey, Lakewood, Antwerp, London, and Australia. File:Dormitory of M. Kopernik High School in Aleksandrów Łódzki.jpg|Home of the Aleksander Rebbes in Poland. File:Aleksandrow kirkut 1.jpg|Graves of the Aleksander Rebbes in Poland 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Aleksander (Hasidic dynasty)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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