Simcha Bunim of Peshischa


Admor Simcha Bunim Bonhart of Peshischa also known as the Rebbe Reb Bunim was the First Grand Rabbi of Peshischa as well as one of the key leaders of Hasidic Judaism in Poland. From 1813 to 1827, he led the Peshischa movement of Hasidic thought, in which he revolutionized 19th-century Hasidic philosophy by juxtaposing the rationalistic thought of the German-Jewish Misnagdim with the intimate nature of God defined by the Hasidic movement. His teachings are the foundation for Kotzk Hasidism, Ger Hasidism, Amshinov Hasidism, Zychlin Hasidism, Aleksander Hasidism, Warka Hasidism and Izhbitza-Radzin Hasidism. He was instrumental in challenging the Hasidic status quo, in which he paired secular European sciences and enlightenment philosophy with traditional Orthodox Judaism while controversially emphasizing the importance of the individual in regards to one's personal relationship with God. Because his followers were among the most influential figures in Hasidism, some consider Simcha Bunim to be the father of modern Hasidism, commonly calling him "the Rebbe of Rebbes".

Early Life

Born in Vodislav, Poland in either 1765 or 1767 to a wealthy German-Jewish non-Hasidic Orthodox Jewish family. His father Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Bonhart was a well-known maggid and intellectual who authored several works and studied medieval Jewish philosophy. Thus many of Simcha Bunim's rationalistic ideals were greatly influenced by his father, who could be considered a rational pietist. Simcha Bunim's mother, Sarah Rachel Sirkin, was the scion of a distinguished Polish rabbinic family, being the daughter of Betzalel HaLevi of Zhovkva, who was the paternal great-great-grandson of Rabbi Joel Sirkis, a descendent of Rashi through the Jaffe family and thus an alleged member of the Davidic line. Simcha Bunim's childhood was defined by traditional Jewish values juxtaposed with the secular german cultural orbit. In his teenage years, Simcha Bunim was sent to Hungary, to learn at the Yeshiva of Rabbi Jeremiah Rosenbaum, who was a friend of his father, later moving to Nikolsburg, Czechia, where he learnt under Rabbi Mordecai Benet.
After his studies, Simcha Bunim amassed notable wealth working as an agent for Temerl Bergson, who hired Simcha Bunim to represent her several times at the annual trading fair in Danzig. Simcha Bunim later moved to Leipzig, Germany, where he spent several years studying pharmacology, European languages, enlightenment philosophy and natural science. Eventually moving back to Poland, where he married Rebeccah Auvergir-Kogov in Będzin. Following this, he briefly worked as a bookkeeper, finally settling down in Przysucha around 1793. In Przysucha he opened up an apothecary shop, and become a devout follower of the Holy Jew of Peshischa and his newly formed school of Hasidic thought. The Holy Jew was a follower of the Seer of Lublin, who in part was a follower of Rabbi Elimelech of Lyzhansk, who was a follower of the Dov Ber of Mezeritch, who was a follower of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidic Judaism. Before his death, the Holy Jew appointed Simcha Bunim to succeeded him as the Peshischa Rebbe, which he did after the Holy Jews' death in 1813.

Rabbinical position

Rabbi Simcha Bunim was an atypical Chasidic master, after succeeding the Holy Jew, Simcha Bunim brought Peshischa to its highest point and he kickstarted a counter-revolutionary movement which challenged the Hasidic norm. While under the Holy Jew, Peshischa was closer to a philosophy whereas, under Simcha Bunim it was transformed into a religious movement. Under Simcha Bunim's leadership, centers were created across Poland that held ideologically alliance to Peshischa. These centers preached Simcha Bunim's ideals of rationalism, radical personhood, independence and the constant quest for Authenticity, which challenged contemporary Hasidic leadership. Simcha Bunim was adamantly against the autocratic nature which had defined Hasidic leadership of his time and he encouraged his students, to think critically and to be independent from him. He believed the role of the Rabbi was that of a teacher and not of an enforcer or impetus of God. The role of the Rabbi was to help the disciple develop his own sense of autonomy. Those students who are unable to accept responsibility for themselves were considered unfit to be part of Peshischa. This sentiment spread throughout Poland, leading to several attempts by Hasidic leadership of his time to excommunicate Simcha Bunim. In 1822, at a wedding in Ustyluh, Ukraine, an attempt was made by the majority of the Hasidic leaders of Poland and Galicia to excommunicate Simcha Bunim. The main dignitary at the wedding was Avraham Yehoshua Heshel, and during the course of the festivities, a public debate was held in which protagonists appealed to him to decide whether to outlaw Peshischa or not. Several Rabbi's spoke of Peshischa, describing it as a movement of radical intellectual pietists, and non-conformists who endangered the Hasidic establishment. Ultimately, no negative came out of this event, but the opposite accrued, following the intense debates at the wedding, hundreds of young Hasids flocked to Peshischa, after hearing of the enlightened and unconventional approach of Simcha Bunim, seeing it as reminiscent of the unique ideals of the Baal Shem Tov.
Another aspect of Simcha Bunim's life which challenged Hasidic leadership was his tolerance of assimilated Western Jewry. Unlike many of the Hasidic leaders of his time, who fully disregarded non-religious and even religious non-Hasidic western Jewry as heathens. Simcha Bunim made an active effort to connect with Western Jews who had gone "off the derech". He would often attend secular plays on Jewish holidays in hopes of convincing secular Jews to join him for religious festivities. As well as attending regular secular events in hopes of connecting with assimilated Jews. Simcha Bunim believed that the service of God demanded both passion and analytical study. During his time, there was little to no study of Kabbalah and the emphasis was not on trying to understand God, but on trying to understand the human being. Simcha Bunim also encouraged his students to study the secular sciences and the writings of the Rambam, which unprecedented for a Hasidic community. It was clear to him that one could not stand with any sense of integrity before God unless one first had some clarity of who one really was. Contemporary Hasidic leaders saw his emphasis on individualism as a form of Hedonism, while Simcha Bunim insisted that, for one to fulfill the Mitzvot, they must first work on themselves, and that by working to better one's self, one fulfills a major mitzvah, in his own right. Simcha Bunim believed that Religion was not simply an act of adopting a system of beliefs and certain modes of conduct. But that test and trial were needed, and one had to ascertain through introspection whether one's beliefs were genuine or not and whether one acted out the truth or lived a life of pretense. He encouraged questioning and reflection and was he was not afraid of doubts of deliberations that might lead one astray. To him, simplicity could be dishonesty in disguise.
Simcha Bunim's ultimate goal, beyond anything else, was the pursuance of authenticity and self–honesty. Simcha Bunim believed that the source of authenticity lies within the heart, and that which leads one to personal authenticity is of holy nature. Simcha Bunim believed that a person must not search for the truth by imitating another, however pious, but rather by going inside his inner being. He believed that those whose piety was motivated by what others think or say, was unable to develop a real connection to God. But it was those who first were able to recognize their weakness and frailty that were able to embark on the quest to be authentic. He believed that equanimity, is the foundation for the pursuance of authenticity and it can be expressed both positively and negatively. The positive manifestation meaning "I know who I am irrespective of how I am perceived by others" while the negative manifestation means, "I am antagonistic to the whole apparatus which doesn't judge a person for what he really is."

Core principles of Simcha Bunim

According to Rabbi Micheal Rosen, Simcha Bunim's core principles could be summered into thirteen axioms:
  1. Learning Torah and the embrace of intellectualism are crucial values.
  2. Personal analysis and self–honesty are integral for enlightenment.
  3. Performing a mitzvah for the sake of personal interest or for the sake of conformity, results in the mitzvah having less weight, and being less meaningful.
  4. Only those who have developed an understanding of themselves can begin to pursue personal authenticity.
  5. All actions have to be done with sincerity in a state of personal truthfulness.
  6. The seat of truth is inside one's heart, which is allied to nature and Torah. It is not found in any book or person, beside one's own self.
  7. To be true to oneself requires not only an awareness of one's true essence but primarily as a sense of Divine presence, aware that this sense might be a delusion without some degree of self-analysis. The vehicle for this awareness is prayer, which should always be prioritized, even if it defies halakic restrictions of time.
  8. Emotional and physical preparation for prayer is crucial for one to be able to fulfill the mitzvoth authentically.
  9. The ultimate purpose of the Torah and the mitzvoth is to draw a person close to God. This approach can only be achieved with humility and joy.
  10. No Rabbi can usurp the role of the individual.
  11. Each individual is personally responsible for pursuing a connection to God, and no Rabbi can do it for them.
  12. One must never be static or in a state of routine, instead one should live in a continual state of renewal, and constantly strive for authenticity.
  13. The pursuance of authenticity should usurp the status quo

    Legacy

After Simcha Bunim's death in 1827, Peshischa split into two factions, those who supported Menachem Mendel of Kotzk as Simcha Bunim's successor and those who supported the succession of Simcha Bunim's son Rabbi Avraham Moshe Bonhart. However, after Avraham Moshe's death a year later in 1828, the community almost unanimously followed Menachem Mendel, who gradually incorporated most of the community into Kotzk. After his death in 1859, Peshischa ceased to exist as a separate movement, yet its ideals still exist as the foundation for a large percentage of modern Hasidic groups. Amongst Simcha Bunim's devout followers were:
Besides his son Avraham Moshe, Simcha Bunim had three daughters. His first daughter's name is unknown, she married Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Dancyger the son of Shraga Fayvel Dancyger who was a student of Simcha Bunim and the founder of Aleksander Hasidism. Simcha Bunim was extremely proud of this son-in-law, and once stated that he "was filled with the holiness of a descendent of our forefather Avraham". The couple had no children. Lastly, Simcha Bunim had a pair of twins, Liba and Beyla, born around 1804. Liba married Rav Yaakov Dyzengez and Beyla married Rav Melech Austricher.

Family tree

During his life, Simcha Bunim wrote no works of his own, but many of his teachings were transmitted orally and published, much later on after his death. The following are collections of Simcha Bunim's oral teachings:
Simcha Bunim is particularly known for one of his Yiddish Niguns known as simply as "The Peshischa Nigun " which was sung in response to a verse in tractate Pesachim, which sates that the reason for the Jewish diaspora is to gain converts to Judaism. To this Simcha Bunim replies in the form of a Nigun, which is as follows:
YiddishYiddish TransliterationEnglish Translation
ס׳דא א נוסחא
פון רבי בונם פון פשיסחא
ווי ער טענהט מיט'ן נורא עלילה
זיי צופרידן
לייז אונז אלס יידן
איידער אלס גויים חלילה		s'dua a niskha
fun Rebbe Bunim fun Pshiskha
vi er tenht mit'n noyrua elilh
zey tsufridn
leyz aunz als eydn
eyder als goyim khlilh		there is a Nusach
from Rabbi Bunim of Peshischa
who argued with the almighty one
be happy
for at least we are Jews
lest we all become heathens

In recent years, the Nigun has been adapted into a Yiddish pop song by Yoeli Klein and Natan Fuchs which has amassed over two hundred thousand views on Youtube.

Stories and oral teachings

One of the more famous oral teachings attributed to Simcha Bunim is:
Everyone must have two pockets, with a note in each pocket, so that he 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."
A famous story is attributed to Simcha Bunim is:
A man once complained to Simcha Bunim, saying "The sages of the Talmud say that, 'One who runs away from greatness, greatness pursues him.' Well, I've been running away from greatness all my life, yet greatness has not pursued me!" Simcha Bunim replied: "I'm sure that greatness is indeed pursuing you, as our sages promise. The problem is that when you turn around to check if it is running after you, you frighten it away."
Another story about Simcha Bunim and his followers is as follows:
During the period when Israel Yitzhak Kalish was a disciple of Simcha Bunim, he once set out on a journey in oder to meet with Mordechai Twersky of Chernobyl. On his return to Przysucha, his colleague Menachem Mendel of Kotzk asked him: "Well, what did you see over there in Chernobyl?"
"Why, I saw the Baal Shem Tov's table" said Rabbi Kalish.
"You saw a table that is about a hundred years old," countered his friend, "while our Rebbe Simcha Bunim, constantly shows us things that are six thousand years old: he shows us the creation of heaven and earth."
Lastly Simcha Bunim is also known for a story recalling his travels:
Hearing that Rabbi Simcha Bunim was about to visit a certain town, his Hasidim at once arranged for him to be the guest of a family who lived in an impressive stone mansion. On his arrival he sat on a bench in the lobby while his belongings were being unloaded from his carriage. Then quite unexpectedly he asked his attendant to accompany him: he was going to leave this house. Taken quite by surprise the Hasidim did the best they could, and all they could find for their rebbe at this stage was a lean room in the home of the local butcher. To make things worse, it was midsummer and it was unpleasant to stay in the confines of that crowded room. When Simcha Bunim returned to his home in Przysucha he realized that the Hasidim had assumed that he left the first house because he had seen something unsavoury. Not wishing them to remain with this mistaken impression, he decided to explain to them what had happened. "I left the mansion" he said, "in order not to transgress the prohibition against coveting. And it is to precisely such a case that the commandment chiefly refers. For it is inconceivable that a person should out right covet his neighbour's house. As far as lodgings are concerned, though, this could be a practical question for since the accommodation, is only temporary, one needs to be especially on one's guard.