Who founded the Chassidic movement?

Chassidus was founded by Rabbi Yisroel ben Eliezer, the Baal Shem Tov, who taught in Podolia from the 1730s until his passing on Shavuos 1760. His successor, the Maggid of Mezritch, trained a circle of great talmidim who spread the movement across Ukraine, Galicia, Poland, Lithuania and White Russia, and from them the later dynasties descend.

What are the largest Chassidic dynasties today?

Among the largest courts today are Satmar, Ger, Belz, Chabad-Lubavitch, Vizhnitz, Bobov and Skver, along with the many Chernobyl and Sanz branches. Sizes vary and are hard to measure precisely, but each of these numbers thousands of families, mainly in Eretz Yisroel and the New York area, with communities in Europe and Canada as well.

Why are Chassidic groups named after towns?

A Rebbe was usually known by the town where he lived and held court, such as Belz, Ger or Lubavitch. When his son or grandson succeeded him, the court kept that name even after it moved. After the Holocaust the surviving courts rebuilt in Eretz Yisroel and America but kept the names of their European towns as a living link to their roots.

What is the difference between Chabad and other Chassidic groups?

All Chassidic groups share the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid. Chabad, founded by the Baal HaTanya, places special emphasis on intellectual study of Chassidus as a path to love and awe of Hashem, and is known for its worldwide outreach. Other courts each have their own emphases, customs, niggunim and style of leadership.

Does Breslov have a Rebbe?

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov did not appoint a successor, and Breslover chassidim have never crowned a new Rebbe. Instead they connect directly to Rebbe Nachman through his seforim, his teachings on hisbodedus and joy, and visits to his kever in Uman. Respected Breslover rabbanim and teachers guide the community in each generation.

Chassidic Dynasties: From the Baal Shem Tov to Today

Chassidus began with one man in the forests and villages of Podolia, and within a few generations it had become home to a large share of Eastern European Jewry. The great courts that grew out of it, from Chabad and Chernobyl to Belz, Ger and Satmar, still shape Jewish life today. This overview traces how the movement spread, who founded the major dynasties, and how they rebuilt after the Churban.

The Baal Shem Tov

Rabbi Yisroel ben Eliezer, the Baal Shem Tov zy"a, revealed himself as a leader in the 1730s and made the town of Mezhibuzh in Podolia his home around 1740. He taught that Hashem's presence fills every place, that a simple Jew's sincere tefillah and joy are precious above, and that a person serves Hashem not only through learning but in every word and deed.

Around him gathered a circle of remarkable talmidim, among them Rav Yaakov Yosef of Polonne, Rav Menachem Nachum of Chernobyl and Rav Pinchas of Koritz. When the Baal Shem Tov passed away on Shavuos 1760, his teachings were still largely the inheritance of this small group.

The Maggid and His Talmidim

Leadership passed to Rav Dov Ber, the Maggid of Mezritch zy"a, a towering talmid chacham who had first come to the Baal Shem Tov around 1752. Unlike his rebbe, who travelled constantly, the Maggid stayed in Mezritch and trained a generation of leaders, then sent them out to spread Chassidus across Eastern Europe.

His court produced an astonishing array of tzaddikim: Rav Elimelech of Lizhensk and his brother Rav Zusha of Anipoli, Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, Rav Shneur Zalman of Liadi, Rav Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, Rav Aharon of Karlin, Rav Shmelke of Nikolsburg and many more. The Maggid passed away in Kislev 1772, but his talmidim carried his teachings into every corner of the Jewish world.

How Chassidus Spread

In Ukraine (Podolia and Volhynia), the heartland of the movement, Chassidus took deep root through the Baal Shem Tov's own family and talmidim. In Galicia, Rav Elimelech of Lizhensk built a court that became a training ground for future Rebbes, including the Chozeh of Lublin, the Maggid of Kozhnitz and Rav Mendel of Rimanov.

In central Poland, the Chozeh's talmidim developed a path of their own: the Yid HaKadosh of Peshischa, Rav Simcha Bunim of Peshischa and the Kotzker Rebbe, whose talmid founded the court of Ger. In Lithuania and White Russia, where opposition was strongest, Rav Aharon of Karlin and Rav Shneur Zalman of Liadi established Chassidus on firm ground. Hungary was reached through Galician talmidim, especially Rav Moshe Teitelbaum, the Yismach Moshe of Ujhel, while Rav Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk led a group of chassidim to Eretz Yisroel in 1777.

The early years brought sharp opposition from the misnagdim, who issued bans against the chassidim beginning in 1772. In time the conflict cooled, and by the mid-nineteenth century Chassidus had become the way of life of much of Polish, Galician, Ukrainian and Hungarian Jewry.

The Rise of Dynasties

In the first generations a Rebbe was usually chosen by his chassidim for his own greatness. Over the nineteenth century leadership increasingly passed from father to son or son-in-law, and each court became known by the town where its Rebbe lived. Large families branched into many courts, so that brothers and cousins often led neighboring communities, each with its own nusach, niggunim and customs.

At the heart of every court stood the Rebbe himself. Chassidim travelled to him for Shabbos and Yom Tov, sat at his tisch (festive table) to hear words of Torah, and brought him a kvittel (written request) asking for a brachah for health, children or parnassah. The bond between Rebbe and chassid, more than any formal structure, held each community together and gave it its distinct character. That is why even today chassidim describe themselves first by their court: a Belzer, a Gerer, a Vizhnitzer.

Major Families at a Glance

Chabad: founded by Rav Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the Baal HaTanya, in White Russia. Seven Rebbes led the movement, the later ones from the town of Lubavitch, and its center today is Crown Heights, Brooklyn, with emissaries around the world.

Chernobyl and the Twersky family: founded by Rav Menachem Nachum of Chernobyl, author of Meor Einayim. His son Rav Mordechai, the Maggid of Chernobyl, had eight sons who founded courts such as Skver, Rachmastrivka, Trisk, Makarov and Tolna.

Ruzhin: Rav Yisroel of Ruzhin, a great-grandson of the Maggid, led a court of royal splendor. His sons founded Sadigura, Boyan, Chortkov, Husiatyn and Shtefanesht, and the Vizhnitz line is closely related by marriage.

Belz: founded by Rav Sholom Rokeach, the Sar Shalom, in Galicia. Today Belz is centered in Yerushalayim.

Ger: founded by Rav Yitzchok Meir Alter, the Chiddushei HaRim, in Poland. It was the largest court in prewar Poland and today is centered in Yerushalayim.

Sanz and its branches: Rav Chaim Halberstam, the Divrei Chaim, made Sanz a great center of Torah and Chassidus. His descendants founded Bobov, Klausenburg (Sanz-Klausenburg), Gorlitz and other courts.

Vizhnitz: founded by Rav Menachem Mendel Hager, the Tzemach Tzaddik, in Bukovina, a branch of the Kosov family. Today it has major centers in Bnei Brak and Monsey.

Satmar: led by Rav Yoel Teitelbaum, a descendant of the Yismach Moshe and the Sighet dynasty. After the war he rebuilt in Williamsburg, and Satmar grew into one of the largest Chassidic communities in the world.

Breslov: Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, a great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov, appointed no successor. His chassidim continue without a living Rebbe, drawing on his seforim and the leadership of his talmid Reb Noson.

Destruction and Rebuilding

The Holocaust destroyed the world in which Chassidus had flourished. Hundreds of Rebbes perished together with their chassidim, and entire courts were wiped out. A small number of Rebbes survived, often after miraculous escapes, and many arrived in Eretz Yisroel or America having lost their families.

With extraordinary faith they began again. The Belzer Rebbe and the Gerer Rebbe rebuilt in Eretz Yisroel; the Satmar, Bobover and Klausenburger Rebbes, together with the Lubavitcher Rebbe, rebuilt in New York; and the Vizhnitzer Rebbe founded a Chassidic neighborhood in Bnei Brak. Courts that had seemed lost were revived by surviving descendants.

Chassidus Today

Today there are well over a hundred Chassidic courts, ranging from communities of tens of thousands of families to a single shtiebel. The largest centers are in Eretz Yisroel, especially Yerushalayim, Bnei Brak and Beit Shemesh, and in the United States, in Brooklyn, Monsey, Kiryas Joel and New Square, with flourishing communities in London, Antwerp and Montreal.

Each court carries the name of a town in Europe that most of its chassidim have never seen. Yet the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid remain at the heart of all of them: love of every Jew, joy in serving Hashem, and the conviction that a tzaddik can lift a whole generation.