Bnei Brak (or Bene Beraq) (Hebrew: בְּנֵי בְּרַק, Bəne Bəraq) is a city in Israel, on the central coastal strip, just east of Tel Aviv, and part of the metropolis known as Gush Dan, the Tel Aviv District. Its population comprises predominantly religiously observant Jews. Image File history File links Information_icon. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... Cities in Israel, by district: // Northern District See also North District, Israel. ... Map of the districts of Israel There are six main administrative districts of Israel, known in Hebrew as mehozot (מחוזות; singular: mahoz) and fifteen sub-districts known as nafot (נפות; singular: nafa). ... The Tel-Aviv District, highlighted. ... A dunam or dönüm, dunum, donum is a unit of area. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... Tel-Aviv was founded on empty dunes north of the existing city of Jaffa. ... Gush Dan (Hebrew: גּוּשׁ דָּן, Standard Hebrew GuÅ¡ Dan) is the name of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area including areas from both the Tel Aviv District and the Central District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast. ... The Tel-Aviv District, highlighted. ...

Bnei Brak's jurisdiction is 7,088 dunams. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), as of September 2006, the city's population stood at 147,100, growing at an annual rate of 2.0%. In law, jurisdiction (from the Latin ius, iuris meaning law and dicere meaning to speak) is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area... A dunam or dönüm, dunum, donum is a unit of area. ... Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (הלשכה המרכזית לסטטיסטיקה) is a state organization for the creation and maintenance of numeric data related to populations vis-à-vis the ethnic makeup of Israel and its cities. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

Population

The city has a population of about 144,800 (as of December 30, 2005) residents, the majority of whom are Haredi Jews. It also has the largest population density of any city in Israel, with 20,076 persons per sq. km. Haredi or Charedi Judaism (alternatively Hareidi or Chareidi - this spelling being usually preferred by Haredim themselves) is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism. ...

It is a very large center for Orthodox Jews.^[2] In the 2006 Israeli legislative elections, 89% of the voters chose Haredi parties, and another 7% voted for other religious parties. While the city does not have an official 'religious' status, the migration and development of the population has led to two distinct sections: The northern part of the city as well as the extremities have a significant non-religious minority population while the core of the city is almost entirely religious. While this religious population used to be mainly Religious Zionist, it is now primarily Haredi. A large part of this religious part of the city is completely closed off to vehicular traffic during the Shabbat (from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday). Virtually all stores in the city are under some form of rabbinical supervision, many having multiple supervisory organizations, and not a single store is open during the Shabbat. The Elections for the 17th Knesset were held in Israel on 28 March 2006, following an agreement between the Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, and the new Leader of the Israel Labour Party, Amir Peretz. ... The Religious Zionist Movement, or Religious Zionism is an ideology combining Zionism and Judaism, which offers Zionism based on the principles of Jewish religion and heritage. ... This article or section cites very few or no references or sources. ...

Modern history

Bnei Brak was founded in 1924 by Rabbi Yitzchok Gerstenkorn and a group of Polish chasidim, and gained official recognition in 1950. Its first rov was Rabbi Arye Mordechai Rabinowicz, a descendant of the Yid Hakodosh and formerly the rov of Kurów in Poland. 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Hasidic Judaism (also Chasidic, etc. ... Kurów is a village in South-Eastern Poland, located between PuÅ‚awy and Lublin, on the Kurówka River. ...

The town was set up as a religious settlement from the outset, as is evident from this description of the pioneers:

Their souls were revived by the fact that they merited what their predecessors had not. What particularly revived their weary souls in the mornings and toward evening, when they would gather in the beis medrash situated in a special shack which was built immediately upon the arrival of the very first settlers, for tefilla betzibbur three times a day, for the daf yomi shiur, and a gemora shiur and an additional one in Mishnayos and the Shulchan Oruch.^[3]

The famous 20th Century rabbi, Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz (known as the Chazon Ish) settled in the village (at the time), and many owe the town's rapid increase in numbers due to his presence. Many see the efforts of Rabbi Yaakov Landau, who served as the chief rabbi of Bnei Brak for 40 years (1936-1986), as instrumental in the fact that Bnei Brak developed into an important religious city. Other famous rabbis who have lived there include Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler, Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky ("the Steipler"), Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman (Ponevezher Rov) and Rabbi Elazar Menachem Mann Shach. Currently famous rabbis who reside in Bnei Brak are Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman, Rabbi Nissim Karelitz, Rabbi Shmuel Vozner, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky and Rabbi Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz. Rabbi Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz, The Chazon Ish Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz (also Yishayahu, Yeshayah, Yeshayah, Yishaya - in English Abraham Isaiah Karelitz) (1878-1953) known by his pen name as the Chazon Ish (in Hebrew: Vision [of] Man), was a Lithuanian born Orthodox rabbi who became leader of Haredi Judaism in Israel. ... Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler ([ [ 1892]]-[[30 diciembre ] ] [ [ 1953 ] ]) era un influyente [ [ juda�smo ortodoxo|Jud�o ortodoxo ] ] [ [ rabbi ] ], [ [ erudito de Talmud]]ic, y fil�sofo jud�o del vig�simo siglo. ... Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky, known as the Steipler Gaon (1899–1985), was a world-renowned Posek and Talmudic scholar. ... Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman (1886-1969), was a Haredi Judaism rabbi and Rosh yeshiva of the Ponevezh yeshiva. ... Ponevezh yeshiva (ישיבת פוניבז) (or Pononvezh) is one of the most famous Haredi Talmudical yeshivas with roots among the Lithuanian Jews. ... Rabbi Shach Elazar Menachem Man Shach (אלעזר מנחם מן שך) (or Rav Leizer Shach, at times his name is written as Eliezer Schach in English publications) (January 22, 1898 - November 2, 2001), was a leading Haredi rabbi in modern Israel. ... Rabbi Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman (also: Shtainman) (אהרון יהודה לייב שטיינמן) (b. ... Rabbi Nissim Karelitz is the av beis din (head of the rabbinical court) of the beis din tzedek (rabbinical court) of Bnei Brak. ... Rabbi Shmuel (HaLevi) Wosner (שמואל ואזנר) is a prominent Haredi rabbi and posek (decisor of Jewish law) living in Bnei Brak, Israel. ... Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky is a Haredi rabbi and posek (decisor of Jewish law) living in Bnei Brak, Israel. ... Rabbi Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz is a Haredi leader living in Bnei Brak, Israel. ...

Vizhnitz Chasidim in Bnei Brak

Bnei Brak is also a major hasidic center. Already in the early 1950s, the Vizhnitzer Rebbe, Rabbi Chaim Meir Hager, founded a large neighborhood in Bnei Brak, which contin ues to serve as the center for the chasidus under his son, Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager (the present Vizhnitzer Rebbe). Beginning in the 1960s, the rebbes of the Ruzhin dynasty (Sadigura, Husiatin, Bohush), who had formely lived in Tel Aviv, moved to Bnei Brak. In the 1990s they were followed by the Rebbe of Modzhitz. Unlike the former four Gerrer rebbes who lived in Jerusalem, its present rebbe (since 1996) is a Bnei Brak resident. Numerous other rebbes live in the city, among them the Rebbes of Alexander, Biala-Bnei-Brak, Kaliv, Koydanov, Machnovke, Nadvorne, Narol, Premishlan, Radzin, Shomer-Emunim. Slonim-Schwarze, Strykov, Tchernobil, Trisk-Bnei-Brak, Zutshke — to name only some of them. Hasidic Judaism (Hebrew: Chasidut חסידות) is a Haredi Jewish religious movement. ... Vizhnitz Simchas Beis HaShoeivah in Bnei Brak in 2006 Viznitz or Viznitzer Hasidim are a Haredi group of Hasidic Jews. ... Grand Rabbi Abraham Jacob Friedman - present Sadigurer Rebbe Grand Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Friedman of Sadigura (1887-1972) Grand Rabbi Abraham Jacob Friedman of Sadigura (1884-1961) Grand Rabbi A. Friedman of Sadigura Grand Rabbi Mordecai Friedman of Sadigura (1897-1979) Sadigura is a Hasidic dynasty, a scion of the Ruzhiner... Modzitz or Modzhitz within Orthodox Judaism is the name of a Hasidic Judaism group that derives its name from Modzice, one of the boroughs of the town of DÄ™blin, Poland, located on the Vistula River. ... Ger, or Gur (or Gerrer when used as an adjective) is a large Hasidic dynasty originating from Gur, the Yiddish name of Góra Kalwaria, a small town in Poland. ... Rabbi Yitzchak Menachem Dancyger (1879-1943) Now nearly extinct, the Aleksander chasidim (also written as Alexander) were the second largest chasidic group in pre-holocaust Poland. ... Grand Rabbi Yechiel Yehoshua Rabinowicz of Biala, author of Chelkas Yehoshua and Seder Hayom Grand Rabbi David Matisyahu Rabinowicz of Biala - Bnei Brak, ztl Grand Rabbi David Matisyahu Rabinowicz of Biala, previous Biala Rebbe of Bnei Brak, author of Lehavas David, with his son-in-law Rabbi Wolf Kornreich... Grand Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heshl Twersky of Machnovka Grand Rabbi Joshua Rokeach, present Machnovker Rebbe The chasidic dynasty of Machnovka (various spellings) is a part of the Chernobyl dynastic group of families. ... Grand Rabbi Issamar Rosenbaum, The Elder Nadvorna Rebbe The Tombstone of Rebbe Issamar of Nadvorna on the Mt. ... Narol is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. ... Slonim is a Hasidic dynasty originating in the town of Slonim now in Belarus. ...

Until the 1970s, the Bnei Brak municipality was headed by Religious Zionist mayors.^{[citation needed]} After Mayor Gottlieb of the National Religious Party was defeated, the Haredi parties rose to power, and since then they have governed the city. As the Haredi population grew, the demanded for public religious observance increased and more residents requested the closure of their neighborhoods to vehicular traffic on the Shabbat. When they demanded to close a main street (HaShomer St. now Kahaneman St.), the non-religious residents protested but the religious won the battle^{[citation needed]}, and since then, their dominance in the city was has been strengthened. Mafdal party logo The National Religious Party (Hebrew: Mafdal, מפדל) is an Israeli political party representing the religious Zionist movement. ...

In a rapid process, most of Bnei Brak's secular and Religious Zionist residents migrated elsewhere, and the city has become almost homogeneously Haredi. Names of streets that had had a Zionist connotation were changed and named after prominent haredi figures, the most recent and final change being the renaming of Herzl St. to HaRav Shach St. The Israeli flag is barely seen in Bnei Brak around the time of Israel's annual Independence Day celebrations^{[citation needed]}, since the State of Israel is seen as a secular entity; however, it is certain to be seen flying atop the Ponevezh yeshiva, as the practice was originally instituted by Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman. Bnei Brak is one of the two poorest cities in Israel. It strengthened its position as one of the great Torah centers and the highest standards of kosher supervision on food. Theodor Herzl, in his middle age. ... Elazar Menachem Man Shach (אלעזר מנחם מן שך) (or Rav Leizer Shach, at times his name is written as Eliezer Schach in English publications) (January 22, 1898 - November 2, 2001), was a leading Haredi rabbi in modern Israel. ... Ponevezh yeshiva (ישיבת פוניבז) (or Pononvezh) is one of the most famous Haredi Talmudical yeshivas with roots among the Lithuanian Jews. ... Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman (1886-1969), was a Haredi Judaism rabbi and Rosh yeshiva of the Ponevezh yeshiva. ... The circled U indicates that this can of tuna is certified kosher by the Union of Orthodox Congregations. ...

The current chief rabbi of Bnei Brak, Moshe Landau is renowned as an expert specialist in kosher supervision and Jewish law. Rabbi Moshe Landau took office after the death of his father, Chief Rabbi Yaakov Landau in 1986.

In keeping with its religious status, Bnei Brak boasts Israel's first women-only department store.^[4]

Mayors of Bnei Brak

Mayors of Bnei Brak include: Yitzchok Gerstenkorn, Moshe Begno, Reuven Aharonovich, Shimon Soroka, Yitzchok Meir, Shmuel Weinberg, Moshe Irenstein, Yerachmiel Boyer, Mordechai Karelitz, Yissochor Frankenthal.

Industry

One of the landmarks of Bnei Brak is the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Kahaneman St. It is owned the Central Bottling Company (CBC), which has held the Israel franchise for Coca-Cola products since 1968. It is among Coca-Cola’s ten largest single-plant bottling facilities worldwide. According to Dun's 100, "CBC’s dedication to excellence and innovative technologies in all areas of its operations has won it prizes from the US-based Coca-Cola Company, as well as recognition and accolades from various public institutions for its environmental-friendly operation and ongoing community service"^[5]. The wave shape (known as the dynamic ribbon device) present on all Coca-Cola cans throughout the world derives from the contour of the original Coca-Cola bottles. ...

Two major factories which dominated the centre of Bnei Brak for many years were the Dubek cigarette factory and the Osem food factory. However as the town grew they found themselves in the middle of a residential area, and they are both closed now. Osem logo Osem (Hebrew: ) is one of the largest food corporations in Israel. ...

Historical References

The city is named after a city of the same name in the Tanakh located in a different location than the modern city. Tanakh (Hebrew: ‎) (also Tanach, IPA: or , or Tenak, is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ...

References

1. ^ CBS end of September 2006 population figures.
2. ^ Israel's religious city
3. ^ Bnei Brak at 75: City of Torah and Chassidus
4. ^ Israeli shop opens only to women
5. ^ [1]

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