Бобов באבוב

Beginnings in Galicia

Bobov began with Rabbi Shlomo Halberstam (1847–1905), a grandson of Rabbi Chaim Halberstam of Sanz, in the Galician town of Bobowa (Bobov) in southern Poland ^[1]. In 1881, while serving as rav in Wiśnicz, he founded the first yeshiva in Poland, which later moved with him to Bobov ^[1].

His son, Rabbi Ben Zion Halberstam (1874–1941), author of “Kedushas Tzion,” further built up the court. Bochurim from all over Galicia came to Bobov, and as many as sixty branches of the yeshiva were opened under the name “Etz Chaim” ^[1].

Destruction

In the Second World War, Bobov was destroyed. The Rebbe, Rabbi Ben Zion, perished in the Holocaust together with members of his family and thousands of Chassidim. Barely 300 Chassidim survived ^[1].

Rebuilding in America

Rabbi Ben Zion’s son, Rabbi Shlomo Halberstam (1908–2000), took upon himself the task of rebuilding Bobov from scratch. He first settled on the West Side of Manhattan, then in Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn; the yeshiva later moved to Borough Park ^[1]. In 1957 he founded a summer camp for boys in Ferndale, New York, and soon afterward Camp Gila for girls ^[1]. By his passing in 2000 he had more Chassidim than his father had in prewar Poland ^[1].

Successors and Two Courts

After Rabbi Shlomo, his eldest son, Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Halberstam (1931–2005), became Rebbe. After his passing in 2005 a dispute broke out over the succession ^[1]. Today there are two courts:

• Bobov — under Rabbi Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam, Rabbi Naftali’s half-brother; its beis medrash is on 48th Street ^[1][2].
• Bobov-45 — under Rabbi Mordechai Dovid Unger, Rabbi Naftali’s son-in-law; the name comes from its beis medrash on 45th Street ^[1][2].

According to the Hebrew Wikipedia, the two courts together number about 5,000 families — about 4,000 in Bobov and 1,000 in Bobov-45 ^[2].

Bobov Today

Besides Borough Park, there are Bobover communities in Williamsburg, Monsey, Los Angeles, Lakewood, Linden (New Jersey), Montreal, Toronto, Antwerp and London. In Eretz Yisroel there are large branches in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Ashdod, Elad and Beitar Illit, and a neighborhood of its own, “Kiryat Bobov,” in Bat Yam ^[1].