When I promised my husband that I would provide a steady supply of “Kitchen Gold” I think he was expecting something completely different than what he found in the freezer, refrigerator and sometimes balcony.

“…Be as scrupulous in performing a ‘minor’ mitzvah as a ‘major’ one, for you do not know the reward given for the respective mitzvot. Calculate the…reward of a sin against its cost” (Ethics of the Fathers 2:1). While we do not know the full reward and punishment for each mitzvah in the Torah, there are some actions that are so severe that God Himself informs us that they are punishable by the dreaded Kareit.

Kareit, often defined as excision, is extremely hard to comprehend. In fact, the sages of the Talmud even debate what this punishment is. Many sages and rabbinic leaders have also noted that kareit may have a different effect on people today than it did in the days of the Holy Temple.

Kareit is often translated as being cut-off. It is believed that, in times when our connection to the spiritual realm was more tangible, kareit was actual death. (Not instant death, but rather death at a young age–under 60–accompanied by a lack of further offspring.) But, kareit is also understood as a spiritual excommunication, in which one’s soul is cut off from God.

There are 36 crimes for which one might receive kareit, but only if one purposefully committed the transgression and did not repent for the act. Some offenses for which one is punished by kareit are: incest, eating blood, and consulting ghosts or spirits.

Almost all of the sins for which kareit is a punishment are prohibitions. However, there are two positive commandments for which kareit is the punishment when they are not fulfilled. These are (1) to have oneself circumcised (if not done when a man was a baby) and (2) to offer the Paschal lamb (when one is not in a category allowing for exemption).

Copyright © 2010 National Jewish Outreach Program. All rights reserved.

While the Holocaust destroyed numerous chassidic communities, some of the surviving sects maintained their significance and impact after the war. Such was the case of the Ger Chassidim.

The first rebbe of Ger (aka Gur) was the Chiddushei Ha’rim* (Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter – Poland, 1799-1866), a disciple and brother-in-law of the Kotzker Rebbe, (Rabbi Menachem Mendel Morgenstern – 1787-1859). When the Kotzker Rebbe died, in 1859, his followers asked the Chiddushei Ha’rim to become their new spiritual leader. Shortly after accepting the position of Rebbe, the Chiddushei Ha’rim was appointed the Rav and Av Beit Din (head of the religious court) of the town of Góra Kalwaria (known in Yiddish as Ger).

Ger chassidut is known for its focus on Torah learning and self-development. This exceptional scholarliness is reflected in the succession of Rebbes of the Ger Rabbinic dynasty. Each Rebbe in the Alter family is considered an intellectual giant.

The Chiddushei Ha’rim was succeeded by his grandson, the Sfas Emes (Rabbi Yehuda Leib Alter, 1847 – 1905). He was succeeded by the Imrei Emes (Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter, 1866 – 1948), who opened a Yeshiva (named Sfas Emes after his father) in Jerusalem in 1926. The presence of this school turned out to be fortuitous, for the Ger yeshivot in Israel helped to revive the community after it was decimated in the Holocaust. (The Imrei Emes survived.)

The Imrei Emes was succeeded by : (1) the Beis Yisrael (Rabbi Yisrael Alter 1895 – 1977), (2) Lev Simcha (Rabbi Simcha Bunim Alter 1898 – 1992), (3) Pnei Menachem (Rabbi Pinchas Menachem Alter, 1926 – 1996), and (4) the current Rebbe, Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter (born 1939).

Through their many schools and yeshivot, the Ger Chassidim have not only succeeded in revitalizing their community, but gained a reputation for excellence in Torah learning.

*The Rebbes are referred to by the names by which they were best known, which was usually by the name of their most popular published works.

Copyright © 2010 National Jewish Outreach Program. All rights reserved.