Hasidic dynasties

The various Hasidic groups may be categorized along several parameters, including their geographical origin, their proclivity for certain teachings, and their political stance. These attributes are quite often, but by no means always, correlated, and there are many instances when a "court" espouses a unique combination.Dynner, pp. 29–30. Thus, while most dynasties from the former Greater Hungary and Galicia are inclined to extreme conservatism and anti-Zionism, Rebbe Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam led the Sanz-Klausenburg sect in a more open and mild direction;Benjamin Brown, היהדות החרדית והמדינה, in: כשיהדות פוגשת מדינה, Israeli Democracy Institute, 2015. pp. 234–236. and though Hasidim from Lithuania and Belarus are popularly perceived as prone to intellectualism, David Assaf noted this notion is derived more from their Litvak surroundings than their actual philosophies.David Assaf, חסידות פולין" או "החסידות בפולין": לבעיית הגיאוגרפיה החסידית', in: גלעד: מאסף לתולדות יהדות פולין.
Apart from those, each "court" often possesses its unique customs, including style of prayer, melodies, particular items of clothing, and the like.
==History==
===Hasidim and Mitnagdim===
Mitnagdim
===Orientation towards Zionism===
On the political scale, "courts" are mainly divided on their relations to Zionism. The right-wing, identified with Satmar, are hostile to the State of Israel, and refuse to participate in the elections there or receive any state funding. They are mainly affiliated with the Edah HaChareidis and the Central Rabbinical Congress. The great majority belong to Agudas Israel, represented in Israel by the United Torah Judaism party. Its Council of Torah Sages now includes a dozen Rebbes. In the past, there were Religious Zionist Rebbes, mainly of the Ruzhin line, but there are virtually none today.Brown, היהדות החרדית והמדינה. pp. 1–14, etc.
In 2016, a study conducted by Prof. Marcin Wodziński, drawing from the courts' own internal phone-books and other resources, located 129,211 Hasidic households worldwide, about 5% of the estimated total Jewish population. Of those, 62,062 resided in Israel and 53,485 in the United States, 5,519 in Britain and 3,392 in Canada. In Israel, the largest Hasidic concentrations are in the Haredi neighbourhoods of Jerusalem – including Ramot Alon, Batei Ungarin, et cetera – in the cities of Bnei Brak and El'ad, and in the West Bank settlements of Modi'in Illit and Beitar Illit. There is considerable presence in other specifically Orthodox municipalities or enclaves, like Kiryat Sanz, Netanya. In the United States, most Hasidim reside in New York, though there are small communities across the entire country. Brooklyn, particularly the neighborhoods of Borough Park, Williamsburg, and Crown Heights, has an especially large population. So does the hamlet of Monsey in upstate New York. In the same region, New Square and Kiryas Joel are rapidly growing all-Hasidic enclaves, one founded by the Skver dynasty and the other by Satmar. In Britain, Stamford Hill is home to the largest Hasidic community in the country, and there are others in London and Prestwich in Manchester. In Canada, Kiryas Tosh is a settlement populated entirely by Tosh Hasidim, and there are more adherents of other sects in and around Montreal.All numbers are from: Marcin Wodziński, Historical Atlas of Hasidism, Princeton University Press, 2018. pp. 192–205.
====Beyond the green line====
:“Settlement across the Green Line became increasingly attractive, not for ideological but for economic reasons. Barukh Meir Shohet, the Rebbe of Karlin-Stolin, who emigrated from the United States in 1991, was the first to settle beyond the 1967 border when he founded a community in Givat Ze’ev just to the north of Jerusalem. Hasidim moved into new ultra-Orthodox towns in the West Bank: Immanuel (1983), Beitar Illit (1988), Modi’in Illit (1990), Elad (1994), and others. Naturally, much of the natural growth over the Green Line occurred in Orthodox (haredi) populations, amounting according to a 2015 survey to 40 percent of the total. Almost all the growth took place in two West Bank locales: Betar Illit and Modi’in Illit.
:Elad became a center for smaller branches of Hasidism, while Modi’in Illit managed to gain its own rebbe, Shlomo Rokeah of Yaroslav, a scion of the Belz dynasty, who broke off and formed a small court of his own, and Yeshaya Ruttenberg, the Rebbe of Ruzla, of the Koson dynasty. There are also Hasidim or quasi-Hasidim, especially associated with Chabad and Bratslav, in some of the illegal “hilltop” settlements in the West Bank. These youngsters are for the “most part of religious Zionist background and are not recognized as Hasidim by the mainstream Hasidic communities. In chapter 31 of this book, we will examine Yitshak Ginsburgh, who is loosely affiliated with Chabad but serves as a quasi-rebbe to certain elements in the settlement community. David Biale, David Assaf, Benjamin Brown, Uriel Gellman, Samuel Heilman, Moshe Rosman, Gadi Sagiv, Marcin Wodziński, Hasidism: a new history, Princeton University Press, 2018.
==Hasidic dynasties==
There are more than a dozen Hasidic dynasties with a large following, and over a hundred which have small or minuscule adherence, sometimes below twenty people, with the presumptive Rebbe holding the title more as a matter of prestige. Many "courts" became completely extinct during the Holocaust, like the Aleksander (Hasidic dynasty) from Aleksandrów Łódzki, which numbered tens of thousands in 1939, and barely exists today.Jacques Gutwirth, The Rebirth of Hasidism: From 1945 to the Present Day, Odile Jacob, 2004. pp. 106–108.
*The largest sect in the world, with some 26,000 member households, which constitute 20% of all Hasidim, is Satmar, founded in 1905 in the namesake city in Hungary and based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and Kiryas Joel. Satmar is known for its extreme conservatism and opposition to both Agudas Israel and Zionism, inspired by the legacy of Hungarian Haredi Judaism. The sect underwent a schism in 2006, and two competing factions emerged, led by rival brothers Aaron Teitelbaum and Zalman Teitelbaum. 
*The second-largest "court" worldwide, with some 11,600 households (or 9% of all Hasidism), is Ger, established in 1859 at Góra Kalwaria, near Warsaw. For decades, it was the dominant power in Agudas, and espoused a moderate line toward Zionism and modern culture. Its origins lay in the rationalist Przysucha School of Central Poland. The current Rebbe is Yaakov Aryeh Alter. 
*The third-largest dynasty is Vizhnitz, a charismatic sect founded in 1854 at Vyzhnytsia, Bukovina. A moderate group involved in Israeli politics, it is split into several branches, which maintain cordial relations. The main partition is between Vizhnitz-Israel and Vizhnitz-Monsey, headed respectively by Rebbes Israel Hager and the eight sons of the late Rebbe Mordecai Hager. In total, all Vizhnitz sub-"courts" constitute over 10,500 households. 
*The fourth major dynasty, with some 7,000 households, is Belz, established 1817 in namesake Belz, south of Lviv. An Eastern Galician dynasty drawing both from the Seer of Lublin's charismatic-populist style and "rabbinic" Hasidism, it espoused hard-line positions, but broke off from the Edah HaChareidis and joined Agudas in 1979. Belz is led by Rebbe Yissachar Dov Rokeach.
*The Bobover dynasty, founded 1881 in Bobowa, West Galicia, constitutes some 4,500 households in total, and has undergone a bitter succession strife since 2005, eventually forming the "Bobov" (3,000 households) and "Bobov-45" (1,500 households) sects. 
*Sanz-Klausenburg, divided into a New York and Israeli branches, presides over 3,800 households. 
*The Skver sect, established in 1848 in Skvyra, near Kyiv, constitutes 3,300. 
*The Shomer Emunim dynasties, originating in Jerusalem during the 1920s and known for their unique style of dressing imitating that of the Old Yishuv, have over 3,000 families, almost all in the larger "courts" of Toldos Aharon and Toldos Avraham Yitzchak. 
*Karlin Stolin, which rose already in the 1760s in a quarter of Pinsk, encompasses 2,200 families.
There are two other populous Hasidic sub-groups, which do not function as classical Rebbe-headed "courts", but as de-centralized movements, retaining some of the characteristics of early Hasidism.Brown, היהדות החרדית והמדינה. p. 86. 
*Breslov rose under its charismatic leader Nachman of Breslov in the early 19th century. Critical of all other Rebbes, he forbade his followers to appoint a successor upon his death in 1810. His acolytes led small groups of adherents, persecuted by other Hasidim, and disseminated his teachings. The original philosophy of the sect elicited great interest among modern scholars, and that led many newcomers to Orthodox Judaism ("repentants") to join it. Numerous Breslov communities, each led by its own rabbis, now have thousands of full-fledged followers, and far more admirers and semi-committed supporters; Marcin Wodziński estimated that the fully committed population of Breslovers may be estimated at 7,000 households. 
*Chabad-Lubavitch, originating in the 1770s, did have hereditary leadership, but always stressed the importance of self-study, rather than reliance on the Righteous. Its seventh, and last, leader, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, converted it into a vehicle for Jewish outreach. By his death in 1994, it had many more semi-engaged supporters than Hasidim in the strict sense, and they are still hard to distinguish. Chabad's own internal phone-books list some 16,800 member households. None succeeded Schneerson, and the sect operates as a large network of communities with independent leaders.
===Dynasties with larger following===
Hasidic dynasties (arranged alphabetically) with a large following include:
Name 	Current (or last) Rebbe 	Founder 	Headquartered In 	City / Town of Origin 	Estimated number of households 	Zionism and Party political orientation
Belz 	Yissachar Dov Rokeach 	Sholom Rokeach (1781–1855) 	Jerusalem, Israel 	Belz, Galicia, Austria-Hungary / Poland (now in Ukraine) 	7,000 	Agudat Yisrael - leadership role. Rebbe supported Degel HaTorah on its formation in 1988.
Bobov
(Bobov-45)	Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam
Mordechai Dovid Unger (b. 1954) 	Shlomo Halberstam of Bobov (1847–1905) 	Borough Park, Brooklyn 	Bobowa and Sanz, Galicia, Austria-Hungary (now in Poland) 	4,500 - Some estimates: 100,000 Bobover Hasidim by 2000https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/bobov	Non-Zionist but 'non-confrontational' towards Zionism; no IDF service.
Breslov 	Sometimes referred to as the "Dead Hasidim", since they have never had another formal Rebbe since the death of their founder. 	Nachman of Breslov in the early 19th century - died 1810	Jerusalem 	Bratslav, also known as "Breslov" and "Bracław", in contemporary Ukraine 	Marcin Wodziński estimated that the fully committed population of Breslovers may be estimated at 7,000 households. 	Unknown
Chabad-Lubavitch	Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902–1994) 	Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1745–1812) 	Crown Heights, Brooklyn 	Lyubavichi, Russia 	>16,800 	Tend to view Agudat Yisrael as too conciliatory towards the Palestinians, much support for the far right parties apparent.
Ger 	Yaakov Aryeh Alter (b. 1939) 	Yitzchak Meir Alter (1799–1866) 	Jerusalem, Israel 	Góra Kalwaria, Russian Empire (now in Poland) 	11,600 	Agudat Yisrael - leadership role
Karlin-Stolin 	Baruch Meir Yaakov Shochet 	Aaron ben Jacob of Karlin (1736–1772) 	Givat Zeev, Jerusalem, Israel 	Karlin, Belarus 	2,200 	Unknown
Sanz-Klausenburg	Tzvi Elimelech Halberstam; Shmuel Dovid Halberstam 	Chaim Halberstam of Sanz (1796–1876) 	Kiryat Sanz, Netanya, Israel; Borough Park, Brooklyn 	Kolozsvár, Hungary (now Cluj Napoca, Romania), and Sanz, Galicia (now in Poland)	3,800 	Tacit support for Degel HaTorah on its formation.
Satmar 	Aaron Teitelbaum (b. 1947); Zalman Leib Teitelbaum (b. 1952) 	Joel Teitelbaum (1887–1979) 	Kiryas Joel, New York;Williamsburg, Brooklyn 	Szatmárnémeti, Hungary (now Satu Mare, Romania) 	26,000 	conservative and anti-Zionist
Skver 	David Twersky (b. 1940) 	Yitzchak Twersky 	New Square, New York 	Skvira, Russian Empire (now in Ukraine) 	3,300 	Unknown
Vizhnitz 	Yisroel Hager;Menachem Mendel Hager;Yisroel Hager;Menachem Mendel Hager;Yitzchak Yohanan Hager;Eliezer Ze'ev Hager;David Hager;Aharon Hager;Baruch Shimshon Hager	Menachem Mendel Hager 	Bnei Brak, Israel;Bnei Brak, Israel;Kaser, New York;Kiamesha Lake, New York;Williamsburg, Brooklyn;Jerusalem;London;Montreal;Beit Shemesh	Vyzhnytsia, Bukovina, Austria-Hungary (now in Ukraine) 	10,500 	Agudat Yisrael - leadership role
===Smaller dynasties===
Hasidic dynasties (arranged alphabetically) with a small following include:
Name 	Current (or last) Rebbe 	Founder 	Headquartered In 	City / Town of Origin
Aleksander 	Yisroel Tzvi Yair Danziger
Yosef Yitzchak Meir Singer 	Yechiel Dancyger (1828–1894) 	Bnei Brak, Israel
Borough Park, Brooklyn 	Aleksandrów Łódzki, Poland
Amshinov 	Menachem Kalish; Osher Chaim Kalish;Yaakov Aryeh Milikowsky 	Yaakov Dovid Kalish of Amshinov (1814–1878) 	Borough Park, Brooklyn; Beit Shemesh, Israel; Jerusalem, Israel 	Mszczonów, Poland
Ashlag 	Simcha Avraham Ashlag 	Yehuda Leib Ha-Levi Ashlag (1885–1954) 	Bnei Brak, Israel 	Warsaw, Poland
Biala 	Avraham Yerachmiel Rabinowicz;Yaakov Menachem Rabinowicz;Aaron Rabinowicz 	Yitzchok Yaakov Rabinowicz (died 1905) 	Jerusalem, Israel;Bnei Brak, Israel;Borough Park, Brooklyn 	Beitar Illit
Boston 	Pinchas David Horowitz;Mayer Alter Horowitz;Naftali Yehuda Horowitz;Chaim Avrohom Horowitz 	Pinchas David Horowitz (1876–1941) 	Brookline, Massachusetts;Jerusalem, Israel 	Boston
Boyan 	Nachum Dov Brayer 	Yitzchok Friedman (1850–1917) 	Jerusalem, Israel 	Boiany, Bukovina (now in Ukraine)
Chernobyl 	several 	Menachem Nachum Twerski of Chernobyl (1730–1797) 	Bnei Brak, Israel;Ashdod, Israel;Borough Park, Brooklyn; Lawrence, NY	Chernobyl, Ukraine
Dushinsky 	Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky 	Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky (1867–1948) 	Jerusalem, Israel 	Jerusalem, Israel
Machnovka 	Yehoshua Rokeach 	Yosef Meir Twersky of Machnovka 	Bnei Brak, Israel 	Machnovka, Ukraine
Melitz 	Naftali Asher Yeshayahu Moscowitz 	Yaakov Horowitz of Melitz(son of Naftali Zvi of Ropshitz)	Ashdod, Israel 	Mielec, Galicia (now in Poland)
Modzitz 	Chaim Shaul Taub 	Yechezkel Taub of Kuzmir (1755–1856) 	Bnei Brak, Israel 	Dęblin, Poland
Munkacz 	Moshe Leib Rabinovich 	Shlomo Spira ("Shem Shlomo") of Munkacz 	Borough Park, Brooklyn 	Munkács, Hungary (now in Ukraine)
Nadvorna 	several 	Mordechai Leifer (1835–1894) 	Bnei Brak, Israel 	Nadvirna, Galicia (now in Ukraine)
Nikolsburg-Monsey 	Yosef Yechiel Mechel Lebovits 	Shmuel Shmelke HaLevi Horowitz of Nikolsburg (1726–1778) 	Monsey, New York 	Nikolsburg, Moravia
Novominsk 	Yoshua Perlow (Borough Park, Brooklyn) Yisroel Perlow (Lakewood) 	Yaakov Perlow I (1843–1902) 	Borough Park, Brooklyn 	Mińsk Mazowiecki, Poland
Pinsk-Karlin 	Aryeh Rosenfeld 	Aharon the Great of Karlin (1736–1772) 	Jerusalem, Israel 	Karlin, Belarus
Pupa 	Yaakov Yechezkia Greenwald II (b. 1948) 	Moshe Greenwald 	Williamsburg, Brooklyn 	Pápa, Hungary
Rachmastrivka 	Yitzchak Twerski;David Twerski 	Yochanan Twerski of Rachmastrivka 	Borough Park, Brooklyn;Jerusalem, Israel 	Rachmastrivka, Ukraine
Radzin or Izhbitza – Radzin 	Shlomo Yosef Englard 	Mordechai Yosef Leiner of Izhbitza 	Bnei Brak, Israel 	Izbica, Poland; Radzyń Podlaski, Poland
Sadigura 	Tzvi Yisrael Moshe Friedman Ztl August 2020
Yitzchak yehoushoua Heschel Friedman 	Avrohom Yaakov Friedman of Sadigura (1820–1883) 	Bnei Brak, Israel 	Sadagóra, Bukovina (now in Ukraine)
Slonim 	Shmuel Brozovosky;Avrohom Weinberg 	Avraham of Slonim 	Jerusalem, Israel;Bnei Brak, Israel 	Slonim, Belarus
Shomer EmunimToldos AharonToldos Avrohom Yitzchok	Avrohom Chaim Roth; Dovid Kohn; Shmuel Yaakov Kohn 	Aharon Roth ("Reb Ahrele") (1894–1947) 	Kiryat Shomrei Emunim, JerusalemMea Shearim, Jerusalem 	Jerusalem, Israel
Skolye 	Avrohom Moshe Rabinowitz 	 	Borough Park, Brooklyn 	Skole, Galicia, Ukraine
Skulen 	Yeshaya Yakov Portugal;Efraim Yehuda Portugal ; Meir Portugal;Zvi Noach Portugal; Shmiel Mordche Portugal 	Eliezer Zusia Portugal (1898–1982) 	Borough Park, Brooklyn; Williamsburg; Monsey; Lakewood; Jerusalem 	Sculeni, Bessarabia (now in Moldova)
Spinka 	Rabbi Yisrael Chaim Weiss - Rabbi Meir Eleazer Weiss Rabbi Mordecai Dovid Kahana Gedulas Mordechai (1932-2011), Rabbi Avraham Yitchak Kahana Shlit"a Rabbi Abraham Abish Horowitz Shlit"a - (A.K.A. Abish Spinka) Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac Horowitz (A.K.A. Isaac Spinka) - Nuta Horowitz	Joseph Meir Weiss (1838–1909) 	Williamsburg, Brooklyn;Jerusalem, Israel;Bnei Brak, Israel 	Szaplonca, Hungary (now Săpânţa, Romania)
Tosh 	Elimelech Segal-Lowy 	Meshulam Feish Segal-Lowy I 	Kiryas ToshBoisbriand, Quebec 	Nyírtass, Hungary
Zvhil 	Avraham Goldman;Shlomo Goldman;Yitzhak Aharon Korff (of Zvhil – Mezhbizh) 	Moshe of Zvhil (died 1831) 	Jerusalem, Israel;Union City, New Jersey;Boston, Massachusetts 	Zvyahel, Volhynia (now Zviahel, Ukraine)
==Resources==
*https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6475277/Victim-born-ultra-orthodox-Jewish-community-tells-finally-courage-flee.html
*https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/5195/leaving-the-hasidic-community
*https://keszendroi.github.io/BAproject/
*https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-religion-jerusalem-israel-29fa429e432e87bdb2f62f7a5a1d95d7
*https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1010&context=sjc
==Notes==