Abba Avraham Shmuel Twersky (1872–1947),
known as Shmuel Abba Twersky, was a
Rebbe of the
Makarover 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. He succeeded his father as Makarover Rebbe of
Berdichev, Ukraine, in 1920, and presided as Makarover Rebbe of
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, from 1927 to 1947.
Early life and family
Shmuel Abba Twersky was born to Grand Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Twersky (1844–1920),
a direct descendant of the
Chernobyl Hasidic dynasty, who was the Makarover Rebbe of
Berdichev and
Kiev
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
. His mother Chavah was a daughter of
Yehoshua Rokeach, the second
Belzer Belzer ( or ), or Beltzer , is a Yiddish surname. It derives from the adjectival form of ''Belz
Belz ( uk, Белз; pl, Bełz; yi, בעלז ') is a small city in Lviv Oblast of Western Ukraine, near the border with Poland, located between the ...
Rebbe. Shmuel Abba married his first cousin, Rickel Twersky, the daughter of his father's brother, David Twersky of Kiev.
[ They had one son and one daughter.][ As a young married man, he was known for his proficiency in Torah study.][
Upon his father's death in 1920, he and his brother Tzvi Aryeh ( 1938) became Makarover Rebbes in Berdichev.][ Later he briefly moved his court to Mezerich.][ In the wake of pogroms during the 1917–1921 Ukrainian War of Independence, he and his family fled to ]Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
, Latvia.[
]
Canada
The Makarover Hasidic community in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, included numerous members who had immigrated there due to the Ukrainian pogroms. They invited Twersky to be their leader. Twersky's move was stalled by two years of bureaucratic red tape
Red tape is an idiom referring to regulations or conformity to formal rules or standards which are claimed to be excessive, rigid or redundant, or to bureaucracy claimed to hinder or prevent action or decision-making. It is usually applied to g ...
.[ Finally he was cleared for immigration and departed by ship from ]Cherbourg
Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...
, France, in December 1927.[ According to an article in the local Yiddish newspaper, he was greeted at the Winnipeg train station by "several hundred Hasidim".][
His community bought him a house on Flora Avenue, where a large number of Jewish immigrants resided.][ Later he moved to Boyd Avenue, where he opened a ]beth midrash
A ''beth midrash'' ( he, בית מדרש, or ''beis medrash'', ''beit midrash'', pl. ''batei midrash'' "House of Learning") is a hall dedicated for Torah study, often translated as a "study hall." It is distinct from a synagogue (''beth kness ...
in his house.[
Twersky was a prominent leader of the Winnipeg Jewish community. However, he distanced himself from community discord and in-fighting.
On June 12th 2022 a group of belz Hasidim organized an overnight stay in Winnipeg with the help of Rabbi Altein of chabad Winnipeg in order to pray for the Holy Spirit of the tzadik Rabbi Shmiel aba twersky after many decades that people have not been to his holy grave and to say kadish for the Rabbi in form of a minyan.,
May the holy tzadik Rest In Peace and be mashpia and makir tov to them and to all of yisroel.
]
Personal life
Twersky's wife and two children joined him over two years after his arrival in Winnipeg.[ His wife died suddenly in February 1930 at the age of 54.][ Twersky's son Yitzchak Yaakov became principal of a Talmud Torah in Halifax, Nova Scotia; Twersky also had a daughter, Tzipporah.
Twersky died on 2 June 1947 (14 ]Sivan
''Sivan'' (Hebrew: סִיוָן, Standard ''Sīvan'', Tiberian ''Sīwān''; from Akkadian ''simānu'', meaning "Season; time") is the ninth month of the civil year and the third month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a mo ...
5707).[ Many people came to pray at his ohel in the years after his death.][
]
Notes
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Twersky, Shmuel Abba
1872 births
1947 deaths
Hasidic rebbes
Canadian Orthodox rabbis
20th-century Russian rabbis
Canadian people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
People from Berdychiv
People from Winnipeg
20th-century Canadian rabbis