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Chortkov (also ''Chortkov'', ''Tshortkov'', ''Czortkow'') is a
Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...
dynasty that originated in Chortkiv ( pl, Czortków), present-day Ukraine. The town was part of the
Tarnopol Voivodeship Tarnopol Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo tarnopolskie) was an administrative region of interwar Poland (1918–1939), created on 23 December 1920, with an area of 16,500 km² and provincial capital in Tarnopol (now ''Ternopil'', Ukraine). The voi ...
of the
Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...
until September 1939. The town itself was founded in 1522 by Polish King
Sigismund I the Old Sigismund I the Old ( pl, Zygmunt I Stary, lt, Žygimantas II Senasis; 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until his death in 1548. Sigismund I was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the ...
. The dynasty had a large following before the Second World War, but most of its adherents were murdered in the Holocaust. Chortkov is one of the branches of the Ruzhiner dynasty, together with the Bohush, Boyan, Husiatyn,
Sadigura Sadhora ( uk, Садгора; german: Sadagora; pl, Sadagóra; ro, Sadagura; yi, סאדיגורא Sadigora, also Sadagura and Sadiger) is a settlement in Ukraine, now a Sadhirskyi District of Chernivtsi city, which is located 6 km from the ...
, Kapishnitz, Vasloi, and Shtefanesht dynasties.


Chortkov dynasty history


Rav Duvid Moshe Friedman

The first Rebbe of Chortkov was Rabbi Duvid Moshe Friedman (1828–1903), son of Rabbi Yisroel Friedman of Ruzhyn. He was born in 1828 on the festival of Shavuos. His first wife was the daughter of Rabbi Aaron Twerski of Chernobyl. His second wife was his first cousin, a daughter of his brother Rabbi Shalom Yosef Friedman of
Sadigura Sadhora ( uk, Садгора; german: Sadagora; pl, Sadagóra; ro, Sadagura; yi, סאדיגורא Sadigora, also Sadagura and Sadiger) is a settlement in Ukraine, now a Sadhirskyi District of Chernivtsi city, which is located 6 km from the ...
. In 1865, 14 years after his father's death, he settled in Chortkov forming his own community there. His followers were one of the largest Hasidic groups in
Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...
, numbering in the thousands. He led an ascetic life, secluding and preoccupying himself with study and prayer day and night. Although he preferred to detach himself from world affairs and distance himself from communal disputes, he was nevertheless considered a major leader of Central European Jewry. To this instance, he agreed to meet with Theodor Herzl who had sent him a personal letter hoping to garner his support for the Zionist Movement, although the meeting never materialised. His oldest son, Reb Nuchem Mordechai, died aged 21 in 1880. He died on
Hoshana Rabbah Hoshana Rabbah ( arc, הוֹשַׁעְנָא רַבָּא, , Great Hoshana/Supplication) is the seventh day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, the 21st day of the month of Tishrei. This day is marked by a special synagogue service, the Hoshana R ...
, 1903, and was succeeded by his second son, Reb Yisroel. His teachings have been published in ''Divrei Dovid'', ''Beis Yisroel'' and ''Knesset Yisroel''.


Rav Yisroel Friedman

Rabbi Dovid Moshe's son was Rabbi Yisroel Friedman. Rabbi Yisroel ran his Chasidic court with the concept of ''
Hod Hod or HOD may refer to: * Brick hod, a long-handled box for carrying bricks or mortar * Coal scuttle, bucket-like container for carrying coal * Hawk (plasterer's tool), used to hold plaster * a container used to hold clams when clam digging * ...
ShebaTiferes'' ("Majesty in Glory"; in kabalistic terms). He died in 1934. After Rabbi Yisroel, his sons, Rabbi Nochum Mordechai Friedman and Rabbi Dov Ber Friedman, served as Rebbes. Rabbi Dov Ber died in 1936. Rabbi Nochum fled to the British Mandate of Palestine in 1939, and died in Jerusalem in 1946. His son Rabbi Shlomo Friedman led the Chortkover Hasidim until his death in Tel Aviv in 1959.


Chortkov today

Among the current leaders of the Chortkover Hasidim are Rabbi Yisroel Friedman of Manchester, England, and Rabbi Dov Ber Friedman of
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
, Belgium. Both are grandsons of the Chortkover Rebbe Dov Ber, but have refused the title of Chortkover Rebbe. In addition to the Chortkover communities in Manchester and Antwerp, there is also one in Jerusalem, and one in Safed (Tzefas).The Chasidic Group of Czortków
/ref> The Chortkov Manchester UK community are building a new synagogue to be completed in 2020 which will be a new world centre for Chortkov. The building has unique beauty, and replicates the original Chortkov dynasty synagogue, originally designed and built by the first Rebbe Dovid Moishe of Chortkov in 1876. There is a difference in size between the two as the original one seated 12,000 people The building will stand as a memory to the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, and to reinstate one of the thousands of synagogues and yeshivas destroyed by the Nazis in World War II.


Lineage of the Chortkov dynasty


Historic photographs of Synagogue

Image:Chortkov ceiling.gif, A portion of the ornately carved ceiling of the Hassidic Synagogue Image:Chotkov kloiz.jpg, The Holy Ark of the Hassidic Synagogue


See also

*
History of the Jews in Poland The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...
* History of the Jews in Galicia (Central Europe) * History of the Jews in Ukraine


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chortkov (Hasidic Dynasty) Hasidic dynasties Jewish Galician (Eastern Europe) history Judaism in Antwerp Ruzhin (Hasidic dynasty)