Burshtin is a
Hasidic dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...
headed by Grand Rabbi David Eichenstein, the Burshteiner
Rebbe
A Rebbe ( yi, רבי, translit=rebe) or Admor ( he, אדמו״ר) is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties.Heilman, Samuel"The Rebbe and the Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism."''Religion and Spiritua ...
. The main Burshteiner
synagogue is located in
Borough Park, Brooklyn
Borough Park (also spelled Boro Park) is a neighborhood in the southwestern part of the borough of Brooklyn, in New York City. The neighborhood is bordered by Bensonhurst to the south, Dyker Heights to the southwest, Sunset Park to the west, ...
.
The group originated in
Burshtyn
Burshtyn ( uk, Буршти́н, translit=Burshtyn) is a city located in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, in western Ukraine, to the north of Halych. It is accessible by rail. Burshtyn hosts the administration of Burshtyn urban hromada, one of the hromad ...
, now located 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 ...
, but was once part of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
. The Grand Rebbe is a scion of many great rabbinical dynasties, including
Zidichov and
Stretin. He has authored several books of Hasidic lore. He is a disciple of Grand Rabbi
Joel Teitelbaum
Joel Teitelbaum ( yi, יואל טייטלבוים, translit=Yoyl Teytlboym, ; 13 January 1887 – 19 August 1979) was the founder and first Grand Rebbe of the Satmar dynasty.
A major figure in the post-war renaissance of Hasidism, he espoused a ...
of
Satmar
Satmar (Yiddish: סאַטמאַר, Hebrew: סאטמר) is a Hasidic group founded in 1905 by Grand Rebbe Joel Teitelbaum, in the city of Szatmárnémeti, Hungary (now Satu Mare in Romania). The group is an offshoot of the Sighet Hasidic dynasty ...
. His brother, Grand Rabbi Isaac Menachem Eichenstein, is the Galanter Rebbe of
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 ...
. His son, Rabbi Zeideleh has, in recent years, been functioning as a "Rebbe in Waiting" offering auxiliary and complementing Rebbe services alongside the Grand Rebbe. The second son, Rabbi Luzer, leads the local chapter in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.
Name
The name 'Burshtin' is derived from Polish-Yiddish (''
bursztyn'') or Ukrainian (Бурштин) for ''
amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In ...
'' (German and Yiddish: ''
Bernstein'', ''Börnsteen'' „Brennstein“, lit. "burn
ngtone"; lat. ''electrum'' or ''glaesum'', ''ēlektron''
[Wilhelm Gemoll: ''Griechisch-Deutsches Schul- und Handwörterbuch.'' München/Wien 1965.]).
Burshtin dynasty
*Grand Rabbi Yitzchok Eichenstein of Ziditchov (1740-1800)
**Grand Rabbi Yissochor Berish Eichenstein of Ziditchov (d. 1832), son of Rabbi Yitzchok
***Grand Rabbi Yitzchok Eichenstein of Ziditchov (1805-1873), son of Rabbi Yissochor
****Grand Rabbi Shlomo Yaakov Eichenstein of Ziditchov (d. 1886), son of Rabbi Yitzchok
****Grand Rabbi Nochum of Burshtin
****Grand Rabbi Eliezer of Burshtin
*****Grand Rabbi Yitzchok Menachem Eichenstein of Burshtin-
Podheitz (1879-1943), son of Rabbi Shlomo Yaakov, son-in-law of Rabbi Nochum
******Grand Rabbi Shlomo Yaakov Zeide Eichenstein of Burshtin (1899-1963), son of Rabbi Yitzchok
*******Grand Rabbi Yitzchok Menachem Eichenshtein, current Galanter Rebbe, son of Rabbi Shlomo Yaakov
*******Grand Rabbi Dovid Eichenstein, current Burshtiner Rebbe, son of Rabbi Shlomo Yaakov
Recent activities
The new Burshtin headquarters is in its final stages of completion and is located at 12th Ave and 56th Street in Brooklyn, New York. Burshtin opened a new synagogue in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn serving the followers of Burshtin living in Williamsburg.
See also
*
History of the Jews in Poland
*
History of the Jews in Galicia (Eastern Europe)
Galician Jews or Galitzianers () are members of the subgroup of Ashkenazi Jews originating in the levant having developed in the diaspora of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, from contemporary western Ukraine ( Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and T ...
*
History of the Jews in Ukraine
The history of the Jews in Ukraine dates back over a thousand years; Jews, Jewish communities have existed in the territory of Ukraine from the time of the Kievan Rus' (late 9th to mid-13th century). Some of the most important Jewish religiou ...
References
{{Ukraine-hist-stub
Jews and Judaism in Brooklyn
Hasidic dynasties
Hasidic Judaism in New York City
Jewish Galician (Eastern Europe) history