Grand Rabbi Baruch Yehoshua Yerachmiel Rabinovich,, was born into a distinguished chassidic dynasty, and succeeded to the title Munkacser Rebbe.
Background
According to his sole surviving sibling, Boruch Yehoshua Yerachmiel was born in Russia in 1914 to his parents, Rabbi Nosson Dovid Rabinowicz (1868–1930), the Partzever Rebbe, and Yitta Spira. His father was the eldest son of Rabbi Yitzchak Yaakov of Biala (1847–1905). His mother was the daughter of Rabbi Moshe Leib Spira of Stryzow (1850–1916), of the Munkacs dynasty.
When he was 13, his father-in-law-to-be, Rabbi Chaim Elazar Spira of Munkacs, took him on a visit to the Holy Land.
In 1933 Rabbi Boruch married Frima Chaya Rivka, the only daughter of his mother"s first cousin, Rabbi Chaim Elazar Spira (1872–1937), Munkacser Rebbe and Chief, also known as the "Minchas Elazar". This union set him on course to succeed his father-in-law as rabbi and "Admor" of Munkacs.
Education
His wedding – attended by some 20-30,000 guests - was one of the grandest and most celebrated chassidic weddings of 1933 and film footage of the wedding, shot by news teams who were there to record the event, was seen widely across the world.
Career
He was engaged to his intended bride at the age of 11. Rabbi Boruch"s elevation to the position as rav and rebbe of Munkacs in 1937 following the death of his father-in-law was rudely disrupted by the beginning of World World War II, when he was unceremoniously deported to Poland. He was miraculously released soon afterwards and he promptly moved with his family from Munkacs to Budapest, where he managed to obtain visas and escape to Palestine.
In 1946, Rabbi Boruch tried to become the Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, but retired from the race, not wanting to compete against the other contenders.
Rabbi Boruch returned to Israel in 1963 to become Chief Rabbi of Holon. He later moved to Petah Tikva where he headed a small Beis Hamedrash until his death in 1997.
Rabbi Boruch was known as a great scholar of Talmud and halacha and his encyclopedic knowledge of traditional Jewish sources was widely reputed. In addition to this, he was also a gifted orator, although his relative obscurity and personal desire to remain out of the limelight meant that he rarely spoke outside of his own immediate vicinity.
