Mordechai Dovid Unger | |
---|---|
Title | Rebbe of Bobov-45 |
Personal | |
Born | Mordechai Dovid Unger 1954 (age 69–70) [1] New York |
Religion | Judaism |
Nationality | American |
Spouse | Rivka Halberstam |
Children | Yosef, Shulim, Chaim Benzion, Yechezkel, Moshe Yehoshea |
Parent |
|
Jewish leader | |
Predecessor | Naftali Halberstam |
Began | March 23, 2005 |
Ended | Current |
Main work | Sheira D'bei Rav |
Dynasty | Bobov-45 |
Mordechai Dovid Unger ( Hebrew: הרב מרדכי דוד אונגער, born 1954) is the first Rebbe of Bobov-45.
Unger was born to Yaakov Yitzchok Unger of Dombrov. [1] [2] He is the younger son-in-law of Naftali Zvi Halberstam, the fourth Bobover Rebbe. [1]
Following the death of his father-in-law right before the Purim holiday in 2005, [3] a dispute arose as to who should be the Grand Rebbe of the then 120,000 Bobov Hasidim worldwide. [1] Some began to follow Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam, his father-in-law's half-brother, [1] while others followed the older (by one year) Unger, who had by then already ensconced himself firmly within the community. [1] Unger could not challenge his own father for leadership of Dombrov, which anyway was not as substantial a dynasty as Bobov. [4] The matter of succession was brought before a beth din (religious court) in 2007, which ruled that Halberstam would be declared Rebbe of Bobov (אדמו"ר מבאבוב) with its headquarters on 48th Street in Borough Park, Brooklyn, [5] while Unger would be Rebbe of Bobov-45 (אדמו"ר מבאבוב-45), located on 45th Street. [5] [6] Although some leading Torah scholars, such as Yechezkel Roth, disagreed with the ruling, Unger agreed to abide by it.[ citation needed]
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams visited Bobov–45 as part of his 2017 re-election campaign. [7]