Gedaliah Aharon Koenig (1921–1980), a respected Breslover Hasid in Jerusalem, Israel, was the driving force behind the establishment of the Breslover community in Safed, which is now led by his son, Rabbi Elazar Mordechai Koenig.
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Born in the Old City of Jerusalem, Rabbi Koenig became a Chabad hasid during his teens. He was drawn to Breslov by Rabbi Abraham Sternhartz, a key figure in the chain of transmission of Breslover teachings from the early generations of the movement to the later ones. Sternhartz was the great-grandson of Reb Noson Sternhartz, who was the leading disciple of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. He immigrated from Uman, Ukraine to Jerusalem in 1936 and taught many students, producing Breslover leaders for coming generations. Rabbi Koenig became one of Sternhartz's leading disciples.
At age 18, Rabbi Koenig married Esther Yehudit, the daughter of Rabbi Dovid Moshe Ehrentrau of Jerusalem. His mentor, Rabbi Sternhartz, performed the wedding ceremony.
When the Jews of the Old City were expelled by Jordanian forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Koenig followed Sternhartz to the neighborhood of Katamon. He eventually made his home in Meah Shearim.
It was Sternhartz who entrusted Koenig with the mission of establishing a Breslover community in Safed. Koenig gave his life for this cause, raising funds and working to establish this Torah center, beginning in 1967.
In addition to his work on behalf of the Breslover community in Safed, Koenig was renowned for his encyclopedic knowledge of Breslover Hasidut and Kabbalah.
Koenig's one-room home in Meah Shearim was always open. He was known for his ability to connect with any Jew, no matter his age or background, and gave practical advice to all who sought it.
Koenig died in Manchester, England on 23 Tammuz 1980, while working on behalf of the Breslover community in Safed. (This also is the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Moses ben Jacob Cordovero of Safed, with whom he felt a life-long affinity.) His widow, Esther Yehudit, died on Shavuot day, 9 June 2008.
He wrote Chayei Nefesh, a book explaining the meaning of binding oneself to the tzaddik (in response to Nefesh HaChaim by Rabbi Chaim Volozhin), and left many unpublished manuscripts filled with his chiddushim (new Torah thoughts) on Likutey Moharan, Rebbe Nachman's major work.