Yisroel Jacobson (or Israel Jacobson) (1895-1975) was a Chabad

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 ...

rabbi and the representative of the sixth Chabad rebbe, Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, to the United States during the 1920s and 1930s. He was one of the first Lubavitcher activists to arrive in to the United States. He was born in Russia and migrated to the United States in 1925.

Biography

Jacobson was born in Zurowitz, Belarus, on 20 November 1895 and died on 27 May 1975 at the age of 79.

Before World War Two

Jacobson moved from Poland to New York in 1925 to help Chabad Hasidim emigrate to the United States. He became a rabbi and teacher and became active in fundraising activities, sending the funds to Schneersohn in Eastern Europe, supporting Chabad activities and enabling Schneersohn to leave Russia.Rigg, Bryan Mark. ''Rescued from the Reich: How One of Hitler's Soldiers Saved the Lubavitcher Rebbe''. Yale University Press. 2008. Pages 32-34, 97. Jacobson was the rabbi in the Anshei Bobroisk synagogue in Brownsville, Brooklyn. He founded Yeshivas Achei T’mimim in New York in 1932 for young men.

During World War Two

After the start of World War II, Jacobson arranged for Schneersohn and his family to leave Poland. After Schneersohn's secured passage from Nazi-occupied Poland 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 Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

, Jacobson interceded unsuccessfully with the American consul in Berlin to secure Schneersohn's library of books and manuscripts in Otwock, Poland. Subsequent attempts to secure the library were made after the war.

After World War Two

Following the death of Schneersohn in 1950, Jacobson became an early supporter of Menachem Mendel Schneerson (who was not yet leader of Chabad) backing him over his brother-in-law

Shemaryahu Gurary Shemaryahu Gurary, also known by his Hebrew initials as Rashag, (1897-1989) was a rabbi following the Chabad-Lubavitch dynasty of Hasidism. His father was Menachem Mendel Gurary. He was a son-in-law of Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, the sixth Chabad- ...

. Jacobson served on the faculty of the central Lubavitch yeshiva at 770 Eastern Parkway. He also helped found the Yeshiva

Hadar Hatorah Hadar Hatorah (full name: Yeshiva Kol Yaakov Yehuda Hadar Hatorah Rabbinical Seminary) is a Chabad men's yeshiva in Brooklyn, New York. It is the world's first yeshiva for ''baalei teshuva''. History The yeshiva, located at 824 Eastern Parkwa ...

for baalei teshuvah ("returnees" to Judaism) where he served as dean. He was also the dean of the

Beth Rivkah Beth Rivkah ( he, בית רבקה, ''Bais Rivkah'', lit. "House of Rebecca"), formally known as Associated Beth Rivkah Schools, is a private girls' school system affiliated with the Chabad Lubavitch Hasidic movement. It was established in 19 ...

school for girls.

Influence

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, founder of the Jewish Renewal movement, described Jacobson as "my '' mashpia''" (spiritual mentor) and cites his teachings in his memoir.Schachter-Shalomi, Zalman. ''My Life in Jewish Renewal: A Memoir''. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. 2012. Page 59.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobson, Yisroel 1895 births 1975 deaths American Hasidic rabbis Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidim Hasidic rabbis in Europe Russian emigrants to the United States