Jewish History Soundbites

Jewish History Soundbites


"Those Who Know Don't Speak" The Story of the Kotzk-Izhbitz Dispute

December 23, 2020

During the active years of the court of Rav Menachem Mendel Morgenstern- the Kotzker (1787-1859), one of his closest students was Rav Mordechai Yosef Leiner (1801-1854) of Izhbitz (Izbica). A series of events in 1839 led to a split in their diverging paths.As the Kotzker became more reclusive in his behaviour, Rav Mordechai Yosef felt that the chassidim needed more proactive leadership. The final break became an inevitable reality following Simchas Torah of that year. The Kotzker's most loyal chassid Rav Yitzchak Meir Alter (the Chiddushei Harim) stood at his side with many others, but the Izhbitzer went off to found his own dynasty.The story which led to this decisive split is shrouded in mystery until this very day. Subscribe To Our Podcast on: PodBean: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/ Follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @JsoundbitesYou can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com