Pshevorsk (Hasidic dynasty)

The Rebbe at a recent wedding

Pshevorsk is a small Hasidic movement based in Antwerp, Belgium, led by the Leiser rabbinical dynasty, originating in the Polish town of Przeworsk.

History

The town of Przeworsk in Poland.

The first Rebbe, Moshe Yitzchak, was a son of Rabbi Naftoli Elimelech, son of Rabbi Avrohom of Gorlice, who was a great grandson of the Rebbe Reb Mylekh of Lizhensk. After his marriage he settled in Przeworsk, Poland. He survived the Holocaust and moved to Paris. In 1956 he settled in Antwerp, where he lived until he died on Yom Kippur in 1976 (year 5737 in the Hebrew calendar). His son-in-law Rebbe Yaakov Leiser succeeded him. Rebbe Yaakov served as Pshevorsker Rebbe until 1998, when he died and was succeeded by his son Leibish Leiser, the current Rebbe of Pshevorsk.

Reb Yankele and Reb Yitzchak are buried in Putte, Netherlands because a Belgian law makes it possible to reuse or build on top of gravesites. As such, the Jews of Antwerp have traditionally been buried in Putte, where the sanctity of gravesites is assured.

Activities

On Jewish holidays, such as Rosh Hashanah ("new year"), hundreds of Pshevorsker Hasidim and also other Hasidim such as Viznitz and Satmar come to Antwerp to pray at the Pshevorsker prayer gatherings, which are usually held in a large wedding hall. The Pshevorsker's headquarters is the beis midrash (or, "study hall") known as Beis Yitzchok at Mercatorstraat 56 in Antwerp.

There are organized groups of Pshevorsk Hasidim in London and also in Manchester, and groups in the United States and Israel. In London a beautiful shul was built, where the Rebbes son serves as the Rav.

Ideology

Ideologically, Pshevorsk is a combination of four different offshoots of Tsanz. R' Itzik'l was a close student of the Satmer Rebbe (R' Yoel Zt"l). The current Rebbe continues the close ties with Satmer, and agrees with their anti Zionist views.

Lineage

See also

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