David Twersky | |
|---|---|
 Skverer Rebbe dancing with Torah (2005) | |
| Title | Skverer Rebbe of New Square |
| Personal | |
| Born | David Twersky October 28, 1940 Iaşi, Romania |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Nationality | Romanian American |
| Children | 7 |
| Jewish leader | |
| Predecessor | Rabbi Yakov Yosef Twersky |
| Began | April 1968 |
| Ended | present |
| Dynasty | Skver |
Rabbi David Twersky (born October 28, 1940 [1] ), originally spelled Twerski, is the Grand Rabbi and spiritual leader of the village of New Square, New York, and of Skverer Hasidism worldwide.
Twersky was born in Iaşi, Romania, in 1940. In 1945, at the end of World War II, his family moved to Bucharest. In 1947, they emigrated to the United States, where they settled in Borough Park, Brooklyn, and later in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Twersky's father, Rabbi Yakov Yosef Twersky, established the all-Hasidic village of New Square in Rockland County in 1954.
At the age of 18, Twersky married the late Chaya Chana Hager, the elder daughter of the Vizhnitzer Rebbe of Bnei Brak, Israel, Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager. The couple had four sons and three daughters. Twersky's wife Chaya Chana died in 2024, and was predeceased by her daughter Tziporah Goldman, who died in 2022.
In April 1968, following his father's death, Twersky assumed the leadership of New Square, and of Skverer Hasidim worldwide. [2] According to The Jewish Daily Forward , most New Square residents "revere their rebbe as a Saint, and look to him for guidance on all issues", showing their devotion, singing and praying at his weekly "tish". [3] The Forward also reports that Twersky lights his Hanukkah candles on a large sterling silver menorah that a wealthy follower bought him. [4] He exerts authority through a body of about 15 persons appointed by him, known as "the Kehilla". [3]
As in many Hasidic communities, the community in New Square tends to exercise its voting power as a bloc, under the guidance of the Grand Rabbi. He usually supports incumbents or those likely to win, putting the community in a good position to receive government support.
In 1992, New Square voted 822 for President George Bush, to 93 for Bill Clinton. In 1996, voters supported President Clinton over Bob Dole, 1,110 to 31. In 1994, voters backed Mario Cuomo against George Pataki, 907 to 63, and in 1998, voters backed Governor Pataki over Democrat Peter Vallone, 1,132 to 8. In November 2000, vice president Al Gore received more votes than George W. Bush, 1,388 to 25, after Mr. Gore visited Twersky in February of the year. During the 2000 Senate campaign, First Lady Hillary Clinton visited Rabbi Twersky and his wife in New Square, while running for the U.S. Senate, and received nearly 100 percent of the local vote. Twersky was invited to the White House in December 2000 (Hanukkah 5761), [6] and secured commutations for the criminal sentences of four Skver Hasidim, who had been convicted of defrauding the government of more than 30 million dollars to benefit the educational institutions of New Square. [7]
Rabbi Twersky has been accused by multiple members of his community of dismissing allegations of sexual abuse of children by other community members and even assisting accused offenders of evading prosecution. [8]
New Square 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 City. As of the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 9,679. Its inhabitants are predominantly members of the Skverer Hasidic movement who seek to maintain a Hasidic lifestyle disconnected from the secular world. It is the poorest town in New York, and the eighth poorest in the United States. It also has the highest poverty rate, at 64.4%.
Rachmastrivka is a Hasidic dynasty named after the town of Rotmistrivka, Ukraine. It is an offshoot of the Chernobyl dynasty dating back to the 19th century.
Skver is a Chasidic dynasty founded by Rebbe Yitzchok Twersky in the city of Skver, or Skvyra, in present-day Ukraine during the mid-19th century. Adherents of the rebbes of Skver are known as Skverer Hasidim.
Chernobyl is a Hasidic dynasty that was founded by Grand Rabbi Menachem Nachum Twersky, known by the name of his work as the Meor Einayim. The dynasty is named after the northern Ukrainian town of Chernobyl, where Rabbi Nachum served as the maggid. The lineage has continued to exist to this day, although not always with the name Chernobyl. Today there are several rebbes named Chernobyl. The central court is in Bnei Brak, headed by Rabbi Menachem Nachum Twersky.
Twersky, Twerski, or Tverski is the surname of a pedigree of rebbes in the Chernobyl Hasidic dynasty. It was begun by the Grand Rabbi Menachum Nachum Twerski. People with this name include:
Yissachar Dov Rokeach was the third Rebbe of the Belz Hasidic dynasty. He was the second son of Rabbi Yehoshua Rokeach, and served as the third Belzer Rebbe from his father's death in 1894 until his own death in 1926.
Machnovka is a Hasidic dynasty Chernobyl dynastic group of families.
Menachem Mendel Torem of Rimanov also known as Mendele Rimanover was a famous Hasidic Rebbe and one of the first five distributors of the Hasidic movement in Poland and Galicia together with Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak of Lublin, Rabbi Yisrael Hopstein, Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua Heshel of Apta, and Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Epstein.
Israel Friedman of Ruzhyn, also called Israel Ruzhin, was a Hasidic rebbe in 19th-century Ukraine and Austria. Known as Der Heiliger Ruzhiner, he conducted his court with regal pomp and splendor. Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, who was said to be jealous of the Rebbe's wealth and influence, had the Rebbe imprisoned for nearly two years on an unsubstantiated murder charge. After his release, the Rebbe fled to Austria, where he re-established his court in Sadigura, Bukovina, attracted thousands of Hasidim, provided for the Hasidic community in Israel, and inaugurated the construction of the Tiferet Yisrael Synagogue in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Mezhbizh is the name of the town of Medzhybizh in the present Ukraine which is significant as both the source of a Hasidic dynasty that bears its name and as a symbolic name for the roots of Hasidism.
Grand Rabbi Yehoshua Rokeach, the current Machnovka Rebbe of Bnei Brak, is a great-nephew of Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua Heshl of Machnovka, the third Machnovker Rebbe.
Hornosteipel is the name of a Hasidic dynasty founded by Rebbe Yaakov Yisroel Twerski. Hornosteipel is the Yiddish name of Hornostaypil, a town in present-day Ukraine.
Shpikov is a Hasidic dynasty originating in Shpykiv. The dynasty is derived from the Skver dynasty, which in turn is derived from the Chernobyl dynasty.
Koidanov is a Hasidic dynasty originating from the city of Dzyarzhynsk (Koidanov), Belarus, where it was founded by Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Perlow in 1833. Koidanov is a branch of both Lechovitch Hasidism and Karlin-Stolin Hasidism as Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Perlow was the paternal grandson of Rabbi Mordechai of Lechovitch and the maternal grandson of Rabbi Asher of Stolin. Koidanov was the smallest of the three Lithuanian Hasidic dynasties, with most of its Hasidim being murdered in the Holocaust. The dynasty was re-established after the war in Tel Aviv, then moved to Bnei Brak, where the majority of the dynasty is located, but there are Chassidim located around the world.
Mates Friesel was American Skver Hasidic politician and businessman. Friesel was a co-founder and the first, and only Mayor of New Square, New York, from the village's founding in 1961 until his death on August 1, 2015. He ran unopposed in each of New Square's mayoral elections since 1961, most recently winning re-election in November 2013 to a new two-year term. Friesel was one of the longest-serving Mayors in the United States.
Yisroel Hager, is one of the two Grand Rabbis of Vizhnitz in Bnei Brak and a member of Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudat Israel.
Abba Avraham Shmuel Twersky (1872–1947), known as Shmuel Abba Twersky, was a Rebbe of the Makarover Hasidic 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.
Mordechai Hager was the rebbe of the Hasidic sect of Vizhnitz for 46 years.
Rabbi Yakov Yosef Twersky was the Grand Rabbi and spiritual leader of the village of New Square, New York, and of Skverer Hasidism worldwide.
Rabbi David Leykes was a Hasidic Av Beit Din in the city of Bar and one of the disciples of Baal Shem Tov.
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