Pinchas Menachem Alter

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Pinchas Menachem Alter (June 9, 1926 - March 7, 1996), was also known as the Pnei Menachem (for the name's of his Torah works). He was an Orthodox Judaism rabbi and the sixth rebbe (spiritual leader) of the Hasidic Judaism Ger in Israel from 1992 to 1996. Ger originated in Poland (Góra Kalwaria) and is probably the single largest Hasidic group in Israel.

Rabbi Pinchas Menachem Alter in middle-age

Pinchos Menachem was born in Falenice, Poland in 1926. His barmitzva took place near Ludmir (now Ukraine) not long before the outbreak of World War II. After the War he married his cousin, Feyge Muntshe Biderman. In the 1950s Rabbi Pinchos Menachem was appointed rosh yeshiva (dean) of Sfath Emeth, the flagship yeshiva of Ger.

Rabbi Pinchas Menachem Alter succeeded his half-brother Rabbi Simchah Bunim Alter to become rebbe in 1992. Rabbi Pinchas Menachem Alter was also a half-brother of the fourth rebbe of Ger Yisrael Alter and a son of the third rebbe of Ger Avraham Mordechai Alter. He continued the policies of his brothers by supporting the political work of the Agudat Israel of Israel party promoting the interests of Haredi Judaism in the Israeli Knesset (parliament). He reached a rapprochement with his non-Hasidic Ashkenazi Haredi fellow-rabbis, in particular with Rabbi Elazar Shach, leader of the rival Degel HaTorah party and creating the United Torah Judaism (Yahadut HaTorah) party in order not to lose residual votes in the Israeli proportional representation system and thereby potentially obtain an extra seat for the newly united party in Knesset elections.

Rabbi Pinchos Menachem was succeeded as rosh yeshiva of Sfath Emeth by his son Rabbi Shaul Alter.

Rabbi Pinchas Menachem Alter died in 1996 after less than four years at the helm of the Ger Hasidim and was succeeded by his nephew Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter, son of Rabbi Simchah Bunim Alter.