Rabbi Yakov Yosef Twersky (June 23, 1899 – March 31, 1968) was the Grand Rabbi and spiritual leader of the village of New Square, New York, and of Skverer

Hasidism Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Judaism, Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory ...

worldwide.

Biography

Born in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, Twersky was a

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

survivor. In 1950, he arrived in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and lived in

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. As of the 2020 United ...

. In 1956, Twersky founded the first

shtetl A shtetl or shtetel (; yi, שטעטל, translit=shtetl (singular); שטעטלעך, romanized: ''shtetlekh'' (plural)) is a Yiddish term for the small towns with predominantly Ashkenazi Jewish populations which existed in Eastern Europe before ...

in the United States, the village of

New Square New Square ( yi, שיכון סקווירא, Shikun Skvir) is an all-Hasidic village in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Hillcrest, east of Viola, south of New Hempstead, and west of New Cit ...

Rockland County Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of t ...

, New York.

Family

Lineage from Ba'al Shem Tov

Ba'al Shem Tov Israel ben Eliezer (1698 – 22 May 1760), known as the Baal Shem Tov ( he, בעל שם טוב, ) or as the Besht, was a Jewish mystic and healer who is regarded as the founder of Hasidic Judaism. "Besht" is the acronym for Baal Shem Tov, which ...

** Rabbi Tzvi *** Rabbi Aaron of Tituv **** Rabbi Tzvi of Tituv (Hershele Skverer) ***** Chana Sima (married Rabbi Yitzchak Twerski of Skvira) ****** Rabbi David Twersky of Skvira ******* Rabbi Yakov Yosef Twersky

Lineage from Rabbi Menachem Nachum Twerski of Chernobyl

* Rabbi Menachem Nachum Twerski of Chernobyl ** Rabbi

Mordechai Twersky Mordechai Twersky (1770–1837), known as the ''Maggid'' of Chernobyl, was a Ukrainian rabbi. He was the son of Rabbi Menachem Nachum Twersky of Chornobyl and the second rebbe of the Chernobyl Hasidic dynasty. (The family surname originally come ...

of Chernobyl *** Rabbi Yitzchak Twersky of Skvira **** Rabbi David Twersky of Skvira ***** Rabbi Yakov Yosef Twersky After his passing, his son Rabbi David Twersky succeeded him as the grand rabbi of the Skverer

Hasidim Ḥasīd ( he, חסיד, "pious", "saintly", "godly man"; plural "Hasidim") is a Jewish honorific, frequently used as a term of exceptional respect in the Talmudic and early medieval periods. It denotes a person who is scrupulous in his observ ...

Bibliography

* ''Bikdusha Shel Ma'la'', Biography of Rabbi Yakov Yosef (Twerski) of Skver, by Mechon Mishkenos Yakov, 2005

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Twersky, Yakov Yosef Skver (Hasidic dynasty) People from New Square, New York American Hasidic rabbis Descendants of the Baal Shem Tov Rabbis from New York (state) People from Williamsburg, Brooklyn 1899 births 1968 deaths Rebbes of Skver he:יעקב יוסף טברסקי