Rabbi Simcha Bunim Bonhart of Peshischa

Przysucha

Przysucha is a town in Poland. Located in the Masovian Voivodeship, about 100 km southwest of Warsaw, it is the capital of Przysucha County. It has 6,762 inhabitants . Its name in Yiddish is פשיסחא or פשיסכא . It was home to a number of prominent Hasidic Rabbis, such as The Holy Jew and...

(Przysucha, in Poland) (1765–1827) was one of the main leaders of Hasidic Judaism

Hasidic Judaism

Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...

 in Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

. After studying Torah

Torah study

Torah study is the study by Jewish people of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts...

 at yeshiva

Yeshiva

Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...

s in Mattersdorf

Mattersburg

Mattersburg is a town in Burgenland, Austria. It is the administrative center of the District of Mattersburg and home to a Bundesliga football team, SV Mattersburg.- Location :...

 and Nikolsburg

Mikulov

Mikulov is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic with a population of 7,608 . It is located directly on the border with Lower Austria. Mikulov is located at the edge of a hilly area and the three Nové Mlýny reservoirs...

, he was introduced to the world of Hasidism by his father-in-law, and became a chasid (follower) of Rabbi Yisroel Hopsztajn (Magid of Kozhnitz), and then Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak of Lublin

Yaakov Yitzchak of Lublin

Yaakov Yitzchak of Lublin, also Jacob Isaac of Lublin, or Y. Y. Horowitz , known as "The Chozeh of Lublin" , or simply as the "Chozeh", was a Hasidic rebbe from Poland....

 (Chozeh), and the Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Rabinowitz (Yid Hakodosh), the Hasidic leaders of the day. After the death of the Yid Hakodosh, most of the chasidim followed Rabbi Simcha Bunim as their rebbe

Rebbe

Rebbe , which means master, teacher, or mentor, is a Yiddish word derived from the Hebrew word Rabbi. It often refers to the leader of a Hasidic Jewish movement...

.

Not wanting to take up a rabbinical position, he supported himself by practising pharmacy

Pharmacy

Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...

. At a later stage he became an agent for Temerl Bergson, a wealthy businesswoman who supported many of the chasidic leaders of her time.

Among his followers were Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk

Menachem Mendel of Kotzk

Menachem Mendel Morgensztern of Kotzk, better known as the Kotzker Rebbe was a Hasidic rabbi and leader.-Life:Born to a non-Hasidic family in Goraj near Lublin, Poland, he became attracted to Hasidim in his youth. He was known for having acquired impressive Talmudic and Kabbalistic knowledge at a...

 (Kotsker Rebbe), the Vurker Rebbe Israel Yitzhak Kalish

Israel Yitzhak Kalish

Israel Yitzhak Kalish of Warka was the first hasidic rebbe of Warka.In 1829 he was moved to Przysucha, where his master tzadik Simcha Bunim of Peshischa was teaching. Eventually he was settled in Warka...

, Rabbi Yitschok Myer Alter of Ger

Ger (Hasidic dynasty)

Ger, or Gur is a Hasidic dynasty originating from Ger, the Yiddish name of Góra Kalwaria, a small town in Poland....

  (Chidushei Harim), Rabbi Mordechai Yosef Leiner

Mordechai Yosef Leiner

Mordechai Yosef Leiner of Izbica was a rabbinic Hasidic thinker and founder of the Izhbitza-Radzyn dynasty of Hasidic Judaism.Rabbi Mordechai Yosef was born in Tomashov in 1801 to his father Reb Yaakov the son of Reb Mordechai of Sekul, a descendant of Rabbi Shoul Wahl. At the age two he became...

 of Izhbitz

Izbica

Izbica is a village in Krasnystaw County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Izbica. It lies approximately south of Krasnystaw and south-east of the regional capital Lublin...

 (Mei HaShiloach), Rabbi Yaakov Arye of Radzymin

Radzymin

Radzymin is a town in Poland and is one of the distant suburbs of the city of Warsaw. It is located in the powiat of Wołomin of the Masovian Voivodeship. The town has 8,818 inhabitants .Radzymin was located by Bolesław IV of Warsaw in 1440...

 and Rav Chanoch Heynekh of Alexander

Chanokh Heynekh HaKohen Levin

Chanokh Heynekh HaKohen Levin of Aleksander served as the rebbe of a community of thousands of Hasidim during the "interregnum" between the Chidushei HaRim of Ger and the Sfas Emes.- Biography :...

.

Writings

He wrote no works of his own, but many of his teachings were transmitted orally, some of which have been collected in Kol Simcha. Others are cited in later works.

One of the more famous oral teachings attributed to Rabbi Simcha Bunim of Peschischa goes as follows:

Everyone must have two pockets, with a note in each pocket, so that he or she can reach into the one or the other, depending on the need. When feeling lowly and depressed, discouraged or disconsolate, one should reach into the right pocket, and, there, find the words: "For my sake was the world created."

But when feeling high and mighty one should reach into the left pocket, and find the words: "I am but dust and ashes."

External links

• the Rebbe Reb Bunim On Bereishit