Yaakov Meir Shechter

Rabbi Yaakov Meir Shechter (b. 1932) is a leading figure in the Breslov Hasidic movement in Israel. He is a well-known kabbalist and a rosh yeshiva of both the main Breslov Yeshiva in Meah Shearim, Jerusalem, and the Shaar Hashamayim Yeshiva in Mekor Baruch.cite web
url = http://www.breslov.com/vaad/
title = Information on the World Committee of Breslov Chassidim
accessdate = 2007-09-18
last = Pilant
first = Benyamin
publisher = "Friends of Breslov" of Boston]

Early life

Shechter was born in the Old City of Jerusalem to a prominent Breslover family headed by his father, Rabbi Dovid Shechter. During his youth in the Old City, Shechter learned from Breslov elders of the previous generation — especially Rabbi Abraham Sternhartz, who had immigrated to Israel from Uman, Ukraine in 1936.

The Shechter family was expelled from the Old City together with the rest of the Jewish population by the Jordanian army during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. They resettled in the Katamon neighborhood, where a Breslov yeshiva was founded. Later, the family moved again to the Meah Shearim neighborhood near the main Breslov yeshiva, which was founded in 1953.

Breslov leader

Shechter currently heads the main Breslov yeshiva in Meah Shearim. He is also one of the rosh yeshivas of the famed yeshiva of Kabbalah, Shaar Hashamayim Yeshiva, founded by Rabbi Chaim Yehuda Leib Auerbach in 1906.

Shechter heads the faction of Breslov which is connected to the larger Ashkenazi Hasidic community, centered in Meah Shearim. This faction is anti-Zionist and affiliated with the Edah HaChareidis. [HaEdah, parashas Vayechi 5768, page 9]

Hundreds of people of all backgrounds flock to him for guidance on all matters. He is also knowledgeable in palmreading.Fact|date=June 2008

A selection of Shechter's talks from "Leket Amarim" (A Collection of Talks) was translated into English as "In All Your Ways: A Guide to Avodas Hashem" (Moznaim Publishers). This work incorporates Shechter's broad knowledge of Talmud, Midrash, Mussar, Breslov Hasidut, and Kabbalah into an inspirational guide for the spiritual seeker. [http://www.eichlers.com/Product/Books/Self_Improvment/In_All_Your_Ways_MOZ515-0.html]

References

External links

* [http://www.nachalnovea.com/breslovcenter/articles/article_point1.html Chapter 9 from "In All Your Ways: A Guide to Avodas Hashem" by Rabbi Yaakov Meir Shechter]
* [http://www.kosherculture.org/rabgallery.html Hasidic rabbis photo gallery]