Hasidic sects and the question "Who will lead?" | Samuel Heilman

Video link to this episode: https://youtu.be/Bt0V4N9lGfc

Hasidic groups are led by Rebbes. I come from the Satmar sect, and our rebbe was Moses Teitelbaum. What happened when he passed? The community erupted in a fight over who would take over, and Satmar split in two. There are now two Rebbes, Reb Aaron and Reb Zalmen Leib.

Satmar is just one sect. There are other huge sects with intense succession stories. In this episode, I speak to the scholar Samuel Heilman who spent 50 years studying Orthodox Jews. He wrote the book "Who Will Lead Us?: The Story of Five Hasidic Dynasties in America" and in this interview, he shares some of these succession stories. We especially talk about Bobov and Munkatch.

Books by Samuel Heilman:

Who Will Lead Us?: The Story of Five Hasidic Dynasties in America

https://amzn.to/4wKeJRW

The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson

https://amzn.to/4zz0SAL

Hasidism: A New History

https://amzn.to/4qvPAsJ

Defenders of the Faith: Inside the World of Orthodox Jewry

https://amzn.to/4gShQSf