Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam (Hebrew: בן ציון אריה לייבוש הלברשטאם, born 1955) is the current Rebbe of the Bobov Hasidic dynasty. Appointed in 2005, Halberstam has a direct lineage to the founder of the Bobov dynasty.
Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam was born to the third Bobover rebbe Shlomo Halberstam and his second wife.[2] His father had lost his first wife and most of their children in the Holocaust,[3] but a son, Naftali, survived.[1] Naftali was later reunited with the family in Borough Park, Brooklyn.[1]
Right after his father's passing in 2000, Naftali was appointed as fourth Bobover Rebbe at age 69,[1] while Halberstam was appointed as Rav Hatza'ir (assistant rabbi). Naftali died right before the Purim holiday in 2005,[4] which led to a succession crisis over who should be the Grand Rebbe of the many Bobov Hasidim worldwide.[1] When a vote failed to solve the matter the battle of succession was brought before a beth din (religious court) in 2007, which ultimately ruled that Halberstam would be declared the fifth Rebbe of Bobov (אדמו"ר מבאבוב) with its headquarters on 48th Street in Borough Park,[5] while Unger can choose the title Rebbe of Bobov-45 (אדמו"ר מבאבוב-45), located on 45th Street.[5][6][7][8]
In 2014, Halberstam launched Kinyan Torah, a program to encourage laymen to learn Talmud. Those enrolled in the program were able to take the monthly test and those who scored an 80 or above earned a stipend. The program was expanded to include young children in 2023.[9] At times over a thousand test takers were recorded.
In 2021 he launched a $125 million campaign to build new schools for the elementary boys and girl school.[10]
As of 2024, Bobov has satellite communities in Monsey; Toronto;[11] Lakewood NJ;[12] Linden NJ;[13] London;[14] Montreal;[15] Antwerp;[16] and Williamsburg NY;[17] in addition to over half a dozen locations in Israel.
