Rabbi Simchah Bunim Alter (1898–1992), also universally revered after his death as the Lev Simchah, was the sixth Grand Rabbi of the Ger Chassidic dynasty (Gur). He led the movement from 1977 until his passing in 1992, steering it through a critical period of post-Holocaust growth, demographic shifts, and political consolidation in Israel.

Named after the legendary early Chassidic master, Rabbi Simcha Bunim of Peshischa, he was highly unique among modern Chassidic leaders for his sharp practical intellect, background in global business, and radical reforms aimed at protecting his community from financial hardship.

Early Life and the Escape from Europe

• Lineage: Born in Góra Kalwaria (Ger), Poland, he was the son of the third Gerrer Rebbe, Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter (the Imrei Emes), and a great-grandson of the dynasty's founder, the Chiddushei HaRim.

  
  

• Move to Israel: Long before the outbreak of World War II, he visited and lived in Mandatory Palestine during the 1920s and 1930s. He returned to Europe temporarily but successfully emigrated to Palestine permanently in 1934, establishing a highly successful real estate business.

  
  

• Saving His Father: When WWII erupted, his business acumen and citizenship status proved vital. He played a key role in orchestrating the complex, miraculous escape of his father, the Imrei Emes, out of Nazi-occupied Poland to Palestine in 1940.

  
  

• Stepping Into the Shadows: After the war, when his older brother, Rabbi Yisrael Alter (the Beis Yisrael), became the fifth Rebbe and began rebuilding the decimated dynasty, Rabbi Simchah Bunim preferred to stay out of the limelight. He spent several years living quietly in Paris and Antwerp before returning to Israel.

  
  

Leadership and Radical Social Reforms

Following his brother’s passing in 1977, Rabbi Simchah Bunim reluctantly assumed leadership at the age of 79. Though Chassidim initially expected a quiet, understated tenure, he shocked the community by immediately implementing bold, sweeping social and economic regulations:

• Combating Conspicuous Consumption: Recognizing that the rising costs of weddings and housing were putting a crushing financial strain on young families, he capped wedding expenses and banned lavish, expensive celebrations. He enforced strict limitations on apartment sizes and prices that families could buy for newlyweds.

  
  

• The Periphery Movement: To solve the housing crisis in crowded centers like Jerusalem and Bnei Brak, he mandated that hundreds of Gerrer families move to peripheral towns like Arad and Ashdod, establishing vibrant, affordable new Chassidic enclaves.

  
  

• Health Reforms: He was deeply concerned with physical well-being and took the highly progressive step of aggressively campaigning against smoking within his Chassidic court, banning it in the main study halls.

  
  

Torah Innovation: Yerushalmi Yomi

In 1980, during the Knessia Gedolah (great conference) of Agudat Yisrael, Rabbi Simchah Bunim instituted Yerushalmi Yomi—the daily study of a page of the Jerusalem Talmud.

This mirrored the widely successful Daf Yomi program for the Babylonian Talmud (which had been introduced decades earlier by his father’s student, Rabbi Meir Shapiro). His goal was to popularize the study of the often-neglected Jerusalem Talmud and revive the Torah of the Land of Israel.

Political and Public Influence

As the head of Ger—the largest and most politically organized Chassidic group in Israel—the Lev Simchahwielded immense political influence as the head of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah (Council of Torah Sages). He was a chief architect of the policies of the Agudat Yisrael political party, fighting fiercely for Orthodox religious retention, religious education systems (Chinuch Atzmai), and stricter public Shabbat laws in Israel.

Passing and Succession

Rabbi Simchah Bunim Alter passed away on the 7th of Tammuz, 1992 (5752), at the age of 94. His funeral in Jerusalem drew an estimated 100,000 mourners. He was interred in the famed "Cave of the Gerrer Rebbes" on the Mount of Olives, right next to his father.

He was succeeded first by his younger half-brother, Rabbi Pinchas Menachem Alter (the Pnei Menachem), and subsequently by his own son, Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter, who serves as the current Grand Rabbi of Ger today.