?anokh of Aleksandrow
?ANOKH OF ALEKSANDROW
?ANOKH OF ALEKSANDROW (1798–1870), ?asidic ?addik and leader; son of Phinehas ha-Kohen of Lutomirsk. He became a disciple of *Sim?ah Bunim of Przysucha (Pshiskhah) and Menahem Mendel of *Kotsk, and served as rabbi in *Aleksandrow near Lodz, and later in Nowy Dwor, and in Pressnitz. ?anokh spent most of his life in the circles of the ?asidim of Przysucha and their successors in Kotsk and Gur, and in 1866 ?anokh succeeded Isaac Meir *Alter as leader of Gur ?asidism (see *Gora Kalwaria). He settled in Aleksandrow which had become a center for Kotsk-Gur ?asidism. ?anokh continued the Kotsk trend in a mystical religious interpretation. He emphasized the value of Torah study which he termed "internal worship." ?anokh taught that every mitzvah must be performed from within and not merely externally. Man should dedicate his entire being to the performance of a mitzvah and in turn shall receive the strength of his being from the mitzvah he performs. His devotion effects a transformation in the world order and causes a divine emanation. ?anokh taught that while a man should occupy himself with the entire Torah and all the mitzvot, he should select one mitzvah for his particular attention. Of himself ?anokh states: "I have chosen the quality of humility."
?anokh believed that everyone could follow the path of ?asidism by his own efforts, and that the ?addik was merely a guide. However, a compelling attachment exists between the ?addik and his community: "The true leader successfully serves God with the aid of the ?asidim who gather round him." ?anokh emphasized joy and happiness in life, but his joviality concealed a serious thinker. His teachings are distinguished by brevity and acuity. Only a few of his writings – responsa on halakhic questions, letters and sermons, poems and riddles – have survived in manuscript. Most of his teachings were recorded by his disciples and are published in ?ashavah le-Tovah (1929); his stories and sayings are collected in Si'a? Sarfei Kodesh (1923).
bibliography:
P.Z. Gliksman, Tiferet Adam (1923), 56–58; L. Grossman, Shem u-She'erit (1943), 12; A.Y. Bromberg, Mi-Gedolei ha-Torah ve-ha-?asidut, 14 (1958); L.I. Newman, Hasidic Anthology (1963), index; M. Buber, Tales of the Hasidim, 2 (19663), 312–8.
[Esther (Zweig) Liebes]