Chaim Elazar Spira

Chaim Elazar Spira
Munkacser Rebbe
Rabbi Spira meets President Edvard Beneš, 1936.
Term	1913–1937
Full name	Chaim Elazar Spira
Main work	Minchas Elozor
Born	December 17, 1868 Strzyżów, Austria-Hungary
Buried	Mukachevo, Czechoslovakia, May 12, 1937
Dynasty	Munkacz
Predecessor	Tzvi Hirsch Spira
Successor	Baruch Yehoshua Yerachmiel Rabinovich
Father	Tzvi Hirsch Spira of Munkacz
Mother	Esther, daughter of Rabbi Chanina Horowitz of Ulanów
Wife	Rochel Perl, daughter of Yakov Moshe Safrin of Komarno
Children	Frime Chaye Rifka Spira

Chaim Elazar Spira (December 17, 1868 – May 13, 1937) was one of the rebbes of the Hasidic movement Munkacz (pronounced Munkatsh).

Spira was born in Strzyżów, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary, now part of Poland, where his grandfather, Shlomo Spira served as Rabbi. Chaim Elazar's father, Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Spira was a scion of the illustrious Spira family which had held rabbinical positions in Munkács dating back to the founder of the Munkács hasidic dynasty, Rabbi Tzvi Elimelech Spira who served as Chief Rabbi between the years 1828 and 1832. Rabbi Chaim Elazar assumed the position as Chief Justice of the Rabbinical Court in Munkács in the year 1903, where he served alongside his father until Rabbi Tzvi Hersh's passing in 1913. Rabbi Chaim Elazar then succeeded his father as Chief Rabbi of Munkács and the surrounding communities.

Over the course of his life, Rabbi Chaim Elazar wrote and published over twenty books on the Jewish Law, Torah, Hasidism, and religious philosophy and customs. His most notable work was the scholarly work Minchas Elazar which contains six volumes. He was a great opponent of both political Zionism and the Agudat Yisrael

In 1930, Spira visited Palestine for a thirteen-day period. The purpose of the trip was to visit the elderly kaballist and sage Rabbi Shlomo Eliezer Elfandri and visit with his followers in Palestine. He was escorted by a respected group of Rabbis and community leaders. During the visit, Spira met with Elfandri for long hours behind closed doors over the span of a week. During Spira's time in Jerusalem, the elderly Rabbi Elfandri died at the age of 120. Many believe that Spira had discussed with Elfandri ways to hasten the Redemption through the coming of the Messiah. Details of the trip were recorded in a book written by a disciple of Spira's, Rabbi Moshe Goldstein who was one of those accompanying the Rebbe on his trip. The book was reprinted several times in Hebrew and Yiddish and was translated to English in 2009 by Artscroll Publications.

One of the most memorable events in Munkács was the wedding of Rabbi Chaim Elazar's only daughter Frima to Baruch Rabinovich which took place on March 15, 1933. Over 20,000 guests attended the wedding, coming from all over Europe and even from the U.S.. According to the daily newspaper Rudý večerník, "The wedding lasted for seven days". Hungary, Poland, and Czechoslovakia opened their borders and no visa was necessary for people who wished to attend the wedding. Special triumph arches were erected throughout the city in celebration of the joyous event. International filming companies came to Munkács from all over Europe and America to document the historic event.