Simcha Bunim Bonhardt of Peshischa (, ; – 4 September 1827) also known as the Rebbe Reb Bunim was the second Grand Rabbi of Peshischa (Przysucha, Poland) as well as one of the key leaders of Hasidic Judaism in Poland. The main disciple of Yaakov Yitzchak Rabinowicz ("the Yid Ha-Kadosh"), from 1813 to 1827, he led the Peshischa movement of Hasidic thought, in which he revolutionized 19th-century Hasidic philosophy by juxtaposing the rationalistic pietism of German-Jewry with the spiritual nature of God defined by the Hasidic movement.

Bunim was instrumental in challenging the Hasidic status quo, in which he paired enlightenment philosophy with traditional Orthodox Judaism while controversially emphasizing the importance of the individual in regard to one's personal relationship with God. He outwardly challenged the dynastic and autocratic nature of Hasidic rebbes and encouraged the democratization of Judaism, which led to several unsuccessful attempts by the Hasidic leadership to excommunicate him. Above all else, he believed that authenticity and self-honesty were the foundation of true piety and that the pursuance of authenticity should always usurp the status quo. His teachings are foundational for Kotzk, Ger, Amshinov, Zychlin Hasidism, Aleksander, Vurka, Sochatchov, Radzymin, Lublin, Strikov, Lelov, Kuzmir Hasidism and Izhbitza-Radzin Hasidism. Because of his widespread influence on Polish Hasidism, many consider Simcha Bunim to be one of the most important Jewish philosophers of the Napoleonic era.

Early life

Early life and family Simcha Bunim Bonhardt was born in Wodzisław, Poland in either 1765 or 1767, to a non-Hasidic German-Jewish family. His father, Tsvi Hirsh Bonhardt, was a German-born rabbi who became a leading maggid (preacher) in Poland. His collected sermons, Eretz Tzvi received widespread recognition in Poland, even bearing an approbation from the famous Yechezkel Landau. Tzvi was known to have been very familiar with medieval Jewish philosophy and would often emphasize a clear intellectual and textual understanding of rabbinic literature (peshat). Thus, many of Simcha Bunim's rationalistic ideals were greatly influenced by his father, who could be considered traditional rational pietist. Simcha Bunim's mother, Sarah Rachel was the scion of a distinguished Ukrainian rabbinic family. Her father, Betzalel HaLevi of Zhovkva was a renowned Ukrainian rabbi known for his progressive halachic views. Through her father, Sarah Rachel was a descendant of the liberal halakhist, Joel Sirkis and through her mother, she was a descendant of Moses ben Isaac Bonems, the son-in-law of Shmuel Eidels and the great-grandson of the eminent posek Moses Isserles, who in part was a descendant of the medieval Tosafist, Rashi. Hasidic literature recalls that Simcha Bunim had a sister who was physically disabled, who was later healed by Dovid Biderman.

Simcha Bunim's childhood was defined by traditional Jewish values juxtaposed with the secular German cultural orbit. His father moved to Poland for financial reasons, yet he was known to have fervently held on to his German identity, often giving his sermons in German and dressing in modern German clothing. This ultimately had a significant effect on Simcha Bunim and was later used by his opponents, who portrayed him as an outsider because of his Germanic upbringing. Despite this, Simcha Bunim's father, though not Hasidic, was friends with many early Hasidic masters, such as Yisroel Hopstein and David of Lelov. He once received six rubles from Yaakov Yitzchak of Lublin after he gave his insights on a verse in the Book of Isaiah in Yaakov Yitzchak's court in Lublin.

Hasidic literature describes an intimate and loving relationship between Simcha Bunim and his father, partially motivated by the fact that Simcha Bunim was considered to have been an Illui (child prodigy). At age five, he reportedly expounded on the laws of hachnasat orchim (hospitality) before several of his father's guests. When he was ten, he began studying at his local cheder, where he ultimately got into an altercation with the melamed who forced Simcha Bunim to leave the cheder. Following this, Simcha Bunim began privately learning Bava Kamma under a certain "Abba", who was a teacher in the Wodzisław beth midrash. At age fourteen, his father sent him to Mattersburg, Austria, to learn at the yeshiva of Jeremiah Mattersdorf, who had been his father's teacher several years before. In Mattersburg, Simcha Bunim learned alongside Aaron Chorin, who later pioneered Reform Judaism. After spending some nine years in Mattersburg, Simcha Bunim briefly lived in Nikolsburg, now in the Czech Republic, where he learned under Mordecai Benet. After his studies, he returned to Poland, where he married Rebeccah Auvergir-Kogov (1776–1858), the daughter of the wealthy merchant, Moshe Auvergir-Kogov in 1791 in Będzin. Over a year or so, Simcha Bunim stayed in the home of his father-in-law, where he began to privately study Hasidic philosophy with Moshe Leib of Sassov, and Yisroel of Kozhnitz.

Court of the Seer After staying with his father-in-law for a year or so, Simcha Bunim and his wife left Będzin and moved in with a certain Kalman, who managed the Kosher Meat Tax in Siedlce. Simcha Bunim worked as his bookkeeper, and during his time in Siedlce, Simcha Bunim often engaged in Kiruv, attempting to connect with assimilated Jews. After working in Siedlce for about a year, David of Lelov, convinced Simcha Bunim that he should travel to Lublin to learn under Yaakov Yitzchak Horowitz ("the Seer of Lublin"). When Simcha Bunim arrived in Lublin, he was soon taken under the wing of Yaakov Yitzchak Rabinowicz ("the Yid Ha-Kadosh"), who the Seer delegated to take in new young students in Lublin. Simcha Bunim later admitted to his followers that when he first met the Seer of Lublin, he could not understand him or his ideology. In the eyes of the Seer, the role of the tzadik was limited to a select few individuals who were metaphysically different from the rest of humanity. The Seer believed that because the tzadik was metaphysically different, he thus had the right to exercise enormous control and autocracy over his followers, as they would seemingly not be able to connect with God unless they put their faith entirely in the tzadik. The Yid Ha-Kadosh, the Seer's principal disciple, was of an altogether different school of thought, which exceedingly came into conflict with the Seer as the Yid Ha-Kadosh took on more followers. This conflict erupted around 1793 when the Yid Ha-Kadosh officially left the court of the Seer alongside his disciples to establish his own Hasidic movement in Przysucha. The Yid Ha-Kadosh, unlike the Seer, believed that the role of the tzadik was not that of the impetus of God but rather as a teacher who was never to usurp the individuality of his students. It was this fundamental basis from which the Peshischa movement was based and which later put it into direct conflict with the Hasidic establishment.

Pharmacy in Przysucha When Simcha Bunim arrived in Przysucha with the Yid Ha-Kadosh, he was employed by the wealthy businesswoman Temerl Bergson, who he had met through Yisroel of Kozhnitz. She would often send Simcha Bunim to represent her timber firm at the annual trading fairs in Danzig, Leipzig, and Frankfurt an der Oder. When in these places, Simcha Bunim would often engage in Kiruv with assimilated German Jews, famously attending the theatre and playing games of chess in order to connect with assimilated Jews, hundreds of whom he reportedly brought back into Orthodoxy. After working for Temerl Bergson for several years, Simcha Bunim became increasingly bothered with the amount of long-distance travelling his job required of him and instead chose to establish himself in Przysucha long-term so that he could have more time to personally learn under the Yid Ha-Kadosh. Simcha Bunim taught himself pharmacology and natural science and he eventually received his apothecary diploma after passing an exam before a board of doctors in Lviv. During the Napoleonic Wars, he garnered attention for his pharmaceutical excellence and personally served as an apothecary to several distinguished army commanders and Polish nobles. After the Yid Ha-Kadosh's death in 1813, Simcha Bunim became his successor rather than his son, Yerachmiel Rabinowicz. Simcha Bunim at first was hesitant about taking up such a stressful position of leadership, but after much pressure from the Hasidim of Peshischa, he succeeded the Yid Ha-Kadosh.

Rabbinical position Simcha Bunim was an atypical Hasidic leader, after succeeding the Yid Ha-Kadosh, Simcha Bunim brought Peshischa to its highest point and kickstarted a counter-revolutionary movement which challenged the Hasidic norm. While under the Yid Ha-Kadosh, Peshischa was closer to a philosophy whereas, under Simcha Bunim it was transformed into a religious movement. Under Simcha Bunim's leadership, centres were created across Poland that held an ideological alliance with Peshischa. These centres preached Simcha Bunim's ideals of rationalism, radical personhood, independence and the constant quest for authenticity.

Torah The Hasidic movement believed that one's connection to God derived from their heart and soul, while the Misnagdim believed that one needed to engage in intensive intellectual study of Rabbinic literature in order to connect to God. Simcha Bunim, though Hasidic favoured the latter approach, and outwardly criticized the mystical, ascetic miracle-centric nature of Hasidism, and instead encouraged disciples to learn Gemara, Tosafot, and the works of the Rambam and the Maharal of Prague. He believed that his disciples should be erudite in rabbinic literature in order to compete for rabbinic posts. Yet despite this value of learning, Simcha Bunim believed that learning Torah on its own was inadequate and that Torah learning was an intermediary which had to be juxtaposed to personal introspection in order to truly connect with God and that one had to connect on a personal level to the Torah. While Kabbalah and contemporary Hasidism attempted to only understand the Divine, Simcha Bunim believed that all individuals must develop a sense of being and personhood in the presence of the Divine. The emphasis was not on trying to understand God, but on trying to understand the human being. Simcha Bunim saw that the ultimate purpose of the Torah and the mitzvoth is to draw a person close to God, through an approach that can only be achieved with humility and joy, and that a critical and intellectual interpretation of the Torah is crucial for enlightenment. He thus concluded that the service of God demanded both passion and analytical study.

Authenticity Simcha Bunim held that self-authenticity was a foundational principle of spiritual success. He adamantly believed that one could not stand with any sense of integrity before God unless one first had some clarity of who one really was. Contemporary Hasidic leaders saw his emphasis on individualism as a form of Hedonism, while Simcha Bunim insisted that, for one to fulfil the Mitzvot, they must first work on themselves, and that by working to better one's self, one fulfils a major mitzvah, in his own right. He believed that the pursuance of authenticity should usurp the status quo, and only those who have developed an understanding of themselves can begin to pursue personal authenticity. He taught that all actions have to be done with sincerity in a state of personal truthfulness and that performing a mitzvah for the sake of personal interest or for the sake of conformity, results in the mitzvah having less weight. He believed that emotional and physical preparation for prayer is crucial for one to be able to fulfil the mitzvoth authentically and that personal analysis and self-honesty are integral for this process, which should be prioritized over halakhic restrictions of time.

Nature