Moshe Leib Rabinovich

Grand Rabbi Moshe Leib Rabinovich (born December 25, 1940 in Munkacs, Hungary) is the current rebbe of Munkacs.
Rabinovich was born as the third child to his parents Rabbi Baruch and Frima Rabinovich in Munkacs, Carpathian Ruthenia, Ukraine, the country itself having at the time just been created with a sizable piece of Hungary, which in turn received Munkacs from Czechoslovakia with the help of Nazi Germany in 1938.
His father, Rabbi Baruch Yehoshua Yerachmiel Rabinowicz served as Chief Rabbi of Munkacs following the death of his father-in-law Chief Rabbi Chaim Elazar Spira in 1937 until the Nazis occupied Munkacs in 1944.
During World War Two, Rabbi Baruch succeeded in escaping the clutches of the Nazi death machine and fled with his entire family to the land of Israel (then Palestine). Shortly after they arrived in Palestine, young Moshe Leib and his siblings were orphaned with the untimely passing of their mother, Chaya Frima Rivka Rabinovich. Moshe Leib, studied in Israel and later in the United States at the famous rabbinical academy of Telshe yeshiva in Cleveland, Ohio.Telshe yeshiva (Wikipedia article) At Telshe, young Moshe Leib won the respect and affection of the leading Rabbis and teachers of the yeshivah for his brilliant mind and intense studying. He became especially close to Rabbi Mordechai Gifter with whom he had a study partnership of several consecutive hours on a daily basis. Following five years of intense study at Telshe, Moshe Leib moved on to Beis Medrash Elyon, a yeshiva for advanced learning in Spring Valley, New York. He also maintained a close relationship with the Grand Rebbe of Satmar, Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum until his passing in 1979.
During the time when Moshe Leib was in Beis Medrosh Elyon, the elders of Munkacs met in Brooklyn. Led by the legendary Rabbi Chaim Ber Greenfeld and Rabbi Shlomo Goldstein, both gabbai's (secretaries) of the Munkacser Rebbe, Rabbi Chaim Elazar Spira, the participants agreed unanimously that the time had come for Munkacs Hasidism to be born again, in America, and that Rabbi Moshe Leib Rabinovich should be crowned as Munkacser Rebbe.
Rabbi Rabinovich married Nechama Perl, daughter of Rabbi Aron Bernstein of Jerusalem in 1962 and was immediately appointed as leader of the Munkacs community. At first, Moshe Leib settled in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York and later moved to the Boro Park section of Brooklyn. He immediately began to rebuild the community overcoming the ashes of Hitler's Holocaust, and established religious and educational bases in the United States, Canada, Israel, England and Australia.
Rabbi Rabinovich is a well-respected scholar and sage as well as a charismatic leader. His followers and petitioners flock from all over the world to seek his sagely advice on issues pertaining to all aspects of spiritual and non-spiritual issues. His counsel is frequently sought by government and elected officials for his blessings and support.http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/david_next_move_ZlajhrnkpbWKwQpf1oeGAO
Rabbi Rabinovich frequently visits his home town in Munkacs (now, Mukachevo, Ukraine),"Munkacher Rebbe Visits Western Ukraine" (Russian newspaper article, in English) to strengthen the remaining Jews and to help rebuild the Munkacs Jewish community. In August 2006, a Jewish community center and Synagogue were dedicated by Rabbi Rabinovich to serve the needs of the community.
Rabbi Rabinovich has authored numerous books on Torah and Halacha (Jewish Law), among them Sharei Orah and Olas Shabbos. He also serves as Honorary President of Kollel Munkatch and Ten Suburbs in Jerusalem, Israel.
He resides in Borough Park, Brooklyn, New York which is home to thousands of Jews of Munkacs descent and which is the international headquarters of worldwide Munkacs Jewry.
Rabbi and Rebetzin Rabinovich have three children, Rabbi Chaim Elazar, married to Gittel Beila Teitlebaum, Frima, married to Rabbi Yosef Horowitz and Rabbi Yerucham Fishel, married to Malka Teitelbaum.
==Notes==
==Related reading==
*Jewish Press "My Machberes" article regarding the Munkacser Rebbe
*New York Times article regarding wedding of Munkacser Rebbe's daughter
*Jewish Press "My Machberes" article describing the Munkacs sukkah
*Mishpacha magazine article on the Munkacser Rebbe
*Herman Wouk book on the Munkacser Rebbe
== External links ==
* Video clips featuring the Munkacser Rebbe
* Munkatcherseforim.org
Category:Beth Medrash Elyon alumni
Category:Hasidic rebbes
Category:Living people
Category:People from Mukachevo
Category:Hungarian rabbis
Category:1940 births
he:משה יהודה ליב רבינוביץ
yi:משה לייב ראבינאוויטש