He was born in 1847 and named Yehudah Leib; he was known to family and friends as Leybl. His father, Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter, died when Yehudah Leib was only eight years old, and his mother Mrs. Esther Alter died before that. Orphaned of both parents, he was brought up by his grandparents, Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter and his wife. When he was about ten years old, his grandfather took him to visit the Kotzker Rebbe, which left a lifelong impression on him. He married Yocheved Rivka, daughter of Yehuda Leib Kaminer. In order not to have the same name as his father-in-law, his own name was changed to Yehudah Aryeh Leib. He is said to have been attached to the name Yehudah, and was upset at not being able to use it as his name any longer.
Leadership
When his grandfather, Rabbi Yitzchak Meir, died in 1866, many of the Gerrer Hasidim sought to bestow the mantle of leadership upon eighteen-year-old Yehudah Aryeh Leib. He refused that position, and leadership went to Rabbi Chanokh Heynekh HaKohen Levin of Aleksandrów Łódzki. However, after the death of the latter in 1870, the Hasidim succeeded in gaining Yehudah Aryeh Leib's assent to become their Rebbe.
"When news of the Admor's petirah spread, so many people rushed to Ger yesterday morning that although the railway dispatched extra trains there was hardly any space in the cars and thousands of people were still left without means to travel...
"One car with seating for 44 people held over 200, not even leaving any standing room, and in another car some people fainted as a result of the overcrowded conditions...
"When the time for tefillas Mincha arrived, all of the funeral-goers, 20,000 in number, stood in a field and davened Minchah together...
"The brief words spoken by the Rav of Sochachov made a powerful impression."
Succession
He was succeeded as Gerrer Rebbe by his son, Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter. Most of Gerrer hasidim followed Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter, but some chasidim followed the brother-in-law of Rabbi Yehuda Aryeh Leib Alter - Rabbi Pinchas Menachem Justman of Piltz.
Lasting influence
Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib was one of the greatest Torah scholars of his generation, teaching students such as Rabbi Nachman Shlomo Greenspan and many others. His output was prodigious, and his works deal with the Talmud, the ethics of the Midrash, and mysticism of the Zohar. His Torah homilies as delivered to his hasidim, and arranged according to the weekly parashah and the festivals, were the first to be published posthumously under the name Sfas Emes. The title was taken from the closing words of the final piece he wrote. His chiddushim on many Talmudic tractates, and on Yoreh De'ah, have been published under the same name. The Sochatchover Rebbe, Rabbi Avrohom Bornsztain, a leading Torah scholar and posek in his own right, is said to have maintained two bookcases — one for Rishonim and another for Acharonim. The volumes of the Sfas Emes, written in the late 1800s, were to be found in his bookcase containing the Rishonim. To study some portions of the Talmud without the Sfas Emes is unthinkable to the modern-day scholar. The Sfas Emes Yeshiva in Jerusalem is named after him and includes his teachings in the curriculum.
His sayings
One of the greatest religious problems is that people fear having a relationship with God and consequently distance themselves from Him. Just as angels serve God without fear despite their lower status in comparison to God, so too human beings should take their model and not be afraid of developing a relationship with God and serving Him. This represents a wholeness that we as human beings are capable of only if we think of ourselves as walking amongst angels.
