ABSTRACT
Rabbi Roth was a native of the Hungarian town of Satmar (Satu Mare in today's Romania). He was a son of a pious Jewish greengrocer, rather than a descendant of a Hasidic dynasty, but he became the founder of three prominent Hasidic dynasties: Shomer Emunim (‘Guardian of Fidelity’), Toldos Aharon (‘Generations of Aharon’) and Toldos Avraham Yitzhok (‘Generations of Avraham Yitzhok’). Rabbi Roth was very critical of the lifestyles of some Hasidic rabbis and communities – including Satmar Hasidim and Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum – and rejected all compromises with modern views and ways of life. He called for repentance, and demanded complete adherence to simple faith and an ecstatic mode of praying. He also expected his Hasidim to support themselves by their own labour. Today his followers reside in the Meah Shearim and Batei Ungarin neighbourhoods in Jerusalem, and they are staunchly anti-modern and anti-Zionist. During his life Rabbi Roth wrote several important books: Shomer Emunim (‘Guardian of Fidelity’), Taharat Ha-Kodesh (‘Holy Purity’) and Shulchan ha-Tahor (‘Clean Table’), among others.
