Kiryat Mattersdorf

Western entrance to Kiryat Mattersdorf.

Kiryat Mattersdorf is a Haredi neighborbood in Jerusalem, Israel. It is located on the northern edge of the mountain plateau on which central Jerusalem lies. It is named after Mattersburg (formerly Mattersdorf), a town in Austria with a long Jewish history. It borders Unsdorf and Romema. The main thoroughfare is Panim Meirot Street.

A lesser known name for the neighborhood is Kiryat Sheva Kehillos,^[1] in memory of the Siebengemeinden (Seven Communities) of Burgenland which were destroyed in the Holocaust, Mattersdorf being one of them.^[2]

History

The main thoroughfare, Panim Meirot Street.

Kiryat Mattersdorf was founded in 1959 by the Mattersdorfer Rav, Rabbi Shmuel Ehrenfeld, whose ancestors had served as Rav of the Austrian town of Mattersdorf for centuries, starting with his great-great-grandfather, the Chasam Sofer, in 1798.^[3] When the community was evicted from Austria by the Nazis in 1938, the Mattersdorfer Rav re-established his yeshiva in New York. In 1959, he sent one of his sons, Rabbi Akiva Ehrenfeld, to supervise the construction and selling of apartments in the new neighborhood of Mattersdorf.^[3] Today Rabbi Akiva's son, Rabbi Yitzchok Yechiel Ehrenfeld, holds the position of Rav of Kiryat Mattersdorf.

Neveh Simcha nursing home.

The main synagogue, Heichal Shmuel, was named after Rabbi Shmuel Ehrenfeld's grandfather. The outermost street of the neighborhood, Maaneh Simcha, was named after Rabbi Shmuel's father, Rabbi Simcha Bunim Ehrenfeld, as was Neveh Simcha, the nursing home serving the Haredi public of northern Jerusalem.^[4]

The first apartments were ready for occupancy in May 1965.^[5] The first occupants included Rabbi Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg and his wife Bessie; his son Rabbi Simcha Scheinberg and his family; his daughter Rebbetzin Fruma Rochel Altusky and her family; and more than 20 students from Rabbi Chaim Scheinberg's yeshiva, Torah Ore.^[5] Rabbi Akiva Ehrenfeld was the one who encouraged Rabbi Scheinberg to relocate his yeshiva to Jerusalem from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, offering attractive terms for apartments and land for the yeshiva.^[6]

Resident profile

Today, most of the inhabitants of Kiryat Mattersdorf identify with the Litvish style of Haredi Judaism.^[2] Many are olim from the United States and United Kingdom.

Notable rabbis who live in Kiryat Mattersdorf include Shlomo Lorincz, Zelig Pliskin, Moshe Sacks,^[2] Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, Yaakov Eliezer Schwartzman, Menachem Mendel Taub, Mendel Weinbach, Chaim Brovender, and Uri Zohar. Rabbi Simcha Wasserman was a long-time resident.^[7]

The neighborhood enjoys a continuing relationship with the government of Austria, which has provided financial support for a kindergarten and the Neve Simcha nursing home.^[8]

Schools

The Torah Ore Yeshiva headed by Rabbi Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg and the Chasan Sofer network of schools and yeshivas headed by Rabbi Akiva Ehrenfeld are the major institutions for boys and young men in the neighborhood. Girls' schools include Beis Yaakov of Mattersdorf and Vizhnitz School for Girls.

References

1. ^ Google Maps, see "Mattersdorf, Jerusalem".
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Mattersdorf neighborhood". Eiferman Properties. http://www.eifermanrealty.com/ShowNb.aspx?id=54. Retrieved 8 November 2010. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Cohen, Yitzchok. The Mattersdorfer Rav. Hamodia Magazine, 28 May 2009, pp. 6-8.
4. ^ "Neveh Simcha homepage". http://www.neveh-simcha.co.il/index.html#p. Retrieved 8 November 2010. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Shain, Ruchoma (2001). All For the Boss. Feldheim Publishers. http://books.google.com/books?id=QdxHnvnHdtMC&pg=PA407&lpg=PA407&dq=akiva+ehrenfeld&source=bl&ots=QU06beVf_l&sig=TvWMdk9y4xfNutoml2shVZ_P7Cg&hl=en&ei=PsaSS_cLyO3iBv-_tKIN&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CA4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=akiva%20ehrenfeld&f=false. Retrieved 2010-03-06. 
6. ^ Shulman, Eliezer (2008-04-16). "Rav Scheinberg's Living Legacy". Mishpacha Magazine. http://www.mishpacha.com/getPdf/1/205/22/0/. Retrieved 2010-03-06. 
7. ^ Tatz, Akiva (1995). "Reb Simcha Speaks (chapter 3)". Ohr Somayach International. http://google.com/search?q=cache:7BzC-euiNnYJ:ohr.edu/special/books/os-rss.htm+mattersdorf+jerusalem+shopping&cd=13&hl=en&ct=clnk. Retrieved 8 November 2010. 
8. ^ Engel, Reinhard (1995-02-05). "Jerusalem rabbi visits Austria 'to create a bridge' to Vienna". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-2318570.html. Retrieved 2010-03-06. 

Coordinates: 31°47′44.94″N 35°12′6.73″E / 31.7958167°N 35.2018694°E / 31.7958167; 35.2018694