Novominsk (Hasidic dynasty)
Hasidic dynasty from Mińsk Mazowiecki in Poland, based in Borough Park, Brooklyn, whose last rebbe led Agudath Israel of America
| Novominsk | |
|---|---|
| Founded | Mińsk Mazowiecki (Novominsk), Poland |
| Founder | Jacob Perlow (1847–1902) |
| Leader | Rebbes Yehoshua Heschel Perlow and Yisroel Perlow (named jointly in 2020) |
| Headquarters | Borough Park, Brooklyn, New York |
| Type | Hasidic dynasty |
| Notes | |
Novominsk is a Hasidic dynasty named after Mińsk Mazowiecki (Novominsk), east of Warsaw, where its founder, Jacob Perlow, settled in 1873. Perlow was a grandson of Shlomoh Hayyim of Koidanov, founder of the Koidanov dynasty.[1] The dynasty moved its centre to Warsaw in 1916 and, after the Holocaust, to Brooklyn.[2][3] Its rebbe from 1976 to 2020, Yaakov Perlow, was president of Agudath Israel of America from 1998 until his death.[4][5] His sons Yehoshua Perlow and Yisroel Perlow were named jointly as his successors.[6]
History
Jacob Perlow
According to The Encyclopedia of Hasidism, Jacob Perlow (1847 – 23 Adar 1902) was the son of Shimon of Zawichost, who died young. He was brought up by his grandfather, Shlomoh Hayyim of Koidanov. He served as rabbi of Starosselje and, on the advice of Yitzhak of Neshkhiz, settled in Mińsk Mazowiecki in 1873.[1] With the help of a wealthy follower, Shlomoh Fulman, he founded "the first hasidic yeshivah in Poland" in 1896. The Encyclopedia records that Abraham Isaac Kook described him as "unique in his generation".[1] David Biale and his co-authors write that the Mińsk Mazowiecki yeshiva had about 200 students at its peak.[7]
Alter Yisrael Shimon Perlow
His son, Alter Yisrael Shimon Perlow (1875 – 6 Tevet 1933), had a twin sister, Reizel, who became the mother of Abraham Joshua Heschel. He married Feige Dinah, the daughter of Barukh Meir Twersky of Azarnitz, in 1893 and became rebbe in 1902. In 1916 he left Novominsk for Warsaw, where his home at 10 Franciszkańska Street "became one of the thriving centers of Hasidism". He took part in Agudat Israel conventions in Warsaw, supported the Aguda daily Yiddisher Togblatt and was active in the Council of Torah Sages.[2] He was buried in Warsaw. His wife, his daughter Malkah and his son Jacob were murdered at Majdanek in 1943. One of his daughters, Nehamah, married Joel Teitelbaum of Satmar.[8] The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) described the Agudath Israel movement in Poland as having been co-founded by the grandfather of the later rebbe Yaakov Perlow.[4]
Joseph Perlow
His youngest son, Joseph Perlow (1916–1945), succeeded him in 1933. He married the daughter of Jacob Taub of Wolomin-Kuzmir. He was deported to Auschwitz and then to Bergen-Belsen. There, according to survivors quoted in the Encyclopedia, he comforted the sick and gave away his food. He died after the camp was liberated in April 1945.[8][3]
Brooklyn
Another son of Jacob Perlow, Yehudah Aryeh Leib Perlow (1888 – 10 Elul 1961), was rabbi in Włodawa before settling in New York. The Encyclopedia dates his arrival to 1924 and says his study house on South Ninth Street in Williamsburg was "one of the first outposts of Hasidism in the New World".[9] Biale and his co-authors date his arrival to 1922. They write that he founded Agudat ha-Admorim (Union of Rebbes) to give credentials to newcomers who claimed to be rebbes. It required members to wear beards and had more than eighty members.[10]
Nahum Mordecai Perlow (1897 – 9 Elul 1976), a son of Alter Yisrael Shimon, was born in Mińsk Mazowiecki and married Beila Rehuma, the daughter of Yitzhak Zelig Morgenstern of Sokolov, in 1916. In 1927 he emigrated to the United States. He lived first in East New York, then in Crown Heights and, for the last six years of his life, in Borough Park. He was a member of the Council of Torah Sages and of the presidium of the Aguda, and was active in Hinukh Atzmai.[3]
Yaakov Perlow
His son Yaakov Perlow was born in New York in 1930. He studied at Mesivta Rabbi Chaim Berlin under Yitzchok Hutner and in 1956 married Yehudit, the eldest daughter of Abraham Eichenstein, the Zidichov rebbe in Chicago. From 1962 he taught at the Bet HaMidrash LeTorah in Chicago. From 1970 he spent eleven years as head of the Yeshiva Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch in Washington Heights.[1] He became rebbe on his father's death in 1976. The Encyclopedia lists him as a member of the executive of Agudath Israel of America and of the rabbinical board of Torah Umesorah, an officer of Hinukh Atzmai, and treasurer of the Russian Immigrant Aid Fund. It names his study house in Borough Park as Bet HaMidrash Adat Yaakov.[1]
The Yeshiva World says he founded the Novominsk yeshiva in Borough Park in 1981, at 16th Avenue and 48th Street. It adds that he became head of Agudath Israel of America in 1998, a few months after the death of Moshe Sherer.[5] The JTA reported that he was president of Agudath Israel of America from 1998, headed its Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah (Council of Torah Sages), and founded the Yeshivas Novominsk Kol Yehuda in Borough Park. He died of COVID-19 at his home in Borough Park on 7 April 2020, aged 89.[4] Agudath Israel of America reported that his sons Yehoshua Perlow and Yisroel Perlow were named together as his successors.[6]
At the 2014 Agudah convention Perlow condemned bloggers who, he said, "engage in cynicism and zilzul talmidei chochomim [disrespect for Torah scholars] and downright chutzpah", calling blogs a "curse of technology".[11]
Rebbes
| # | Rebbe | Dates | Rebbe from |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob Perlow | 1847 – 23 Adar 1902 | 1873 (Mińsk Mazowiecki) |
| 2 | Alter Yisrael Shimon Perlow | 1875 – 6 Tevet 1933 | 1902 |
| 3 | Joseph Perlow (Poland) | 1916 – 1945 | 1933 |
| 3 | Nahum Mordecai Perlow (New York) | 1897 – 9 Elul 1976 | |
| 4 | Yaakov Perlow | 1930 – 7 April 2020 | 1976 |
| 5 | Yehoshua Perlow and Yisroel Perlow | 2020 |
Legal cases
No criminal conviction or civil judgment involving the Novominsk rebbes or the dynasty's registered institutions was found in the court records and press reports consulted.
Convictions
None found.
Civil cases
None found.
Allegations and controversies
At the 88th national convention of Agudath Israel of America in November 2010, Yaakov Perlow, as its head, said that "the possibility that a child could be molested in our own community is a crack that threatens the very integrity of the structure".[12]
In May 2012 the Forward reported the policy of Agudath Israel of America, which Perlow then headed, on reporting child sexual abuse. The organisation's executive vice-president, David Zwiebel, said an Orthodox parent whose child reported abuse should not go to the police without first getting permission from a specially trained rabbi. He said this applied to Orthodox mandated reporters as well. Zwiebel also said Agudath Israel had dropped plans for a register of such rabbis, partly because the Brooklyn District Attorney, Charles Hynes, had warned that rabbis who stopped families from going to the police could be arrested.[13]
In 2017 activists campaigning for New York's Child Victims Act held three protests in Brooklyn, including one outside the Novominsk yeshiva in Borough Park and one in July outside the Novominsk synagogue. They targeted Perlow and Zwiebel as opponents of the bill and defenders of the statute of limitations on abuse claims. The organiser, Asher Lovy, led chants such as "Protect victims, not rapists!" Agudath Israel's spokesman, Avi Shafran, declined to comment on the chants. He pointed to a 2011 Agudah statement that objected to legislation that "could literally destroy schools and houses of worship" by exposing them to old claims.[14]
Charities and trustees
United Kingdom
Searches of the Charity Commission for England and Wales register and of Companies House for "Novominsk" return no charity or company linked to the dynasty.[15][16]
Canada
Canadian Friends of Yeshivas Novominsk (business number 890000664RR0001) is a registered charity. Its address is 128 Dell Park Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M6B 2V1. In its return for 2024 it described its programme as "to provide scholarship and assistance to deserving students at Yeshiva Novominsk". Its directors and officers that year were Jacob Abramczyk (president), Hershel Shechter (vice-president), Baruch Lichtenstein (officer) and Lipa Brennan (secretary).[17]
The charity's T3010 returns, as compiled by Charity Breakdown, show the following figures:[18]
| Year | Revenue | Spending | Net assets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | C$101K | C$82K | C$46K |
| 2022 | C$114K | C$52 | C$160K |
| 2023 | C$66K | C$206K | C$21K |
| 2024 | C$1,815 | C$51 | C$68K |
In 2024 four other Canadian charities reported gifts to it totalling C$8,336. The largest was C$6,000 from The Chaim Moshe Friedman Memorial Fund, and the others were Shmilu and Sari Rosenberg Foundation (C$1,300), Heitner Charitable Foundation (C$1,000) and My Charity Fund (C$36).[18][17]
United States
| Organisation | EIN | Address (register) | IRS ruling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yeshivas Novominsk | 13-3071539 | 1690 60th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11204 | August 1981 |
ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer holds no Form 990 returns for Yeshivas Novominsk, so no officers are listed. It holds only federal single-audit reports for the years ending August 2020 and August 2021.[19][20]
Israel
Searches of the Israeli Registrar of Associations for "נאוואמינסק", "נאוומינסק" and "נובומינסק" (Novominsk) return one association. Navaminsk Jerusalem (נאוואמינסק ירושלים, 580834562) was registered on 26 January 2026 at Kaufman Yechezkel Street 3, Jerusalem. Its objects are to set up and run a study house, a kollel and Torah classes, community activity and support for the needy.[21]
See also
- Agudath Israel of America
- Koidanov (Hasidic dynasty)
- Karlin-Stolin (Hasidic dynasty)
- Slonim (Hasidic dynasty)
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Tzvi M. Rabinowicz (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Hasidism, Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1996, ISBN 1-56821-123-6, p. 364.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Tzvi M. Rabinowicz (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Hasidism, Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1996, ISBN 1-56821-123-6, p. 362.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Tzvi M. Rabinowicz (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Hasidism, Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1996, ISBN 1-56821-123-6, p. 365.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Josefin Dolsten, Yaakov Perlow, leader of Novominsker Hasidim and a top haredi Orthodox rabbi, dies of coronavirus at 89 Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 7 April 2020, accessed 29 October 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Yair Hoffman, The Novaminsker Rebbe's 4th Yahrtzeit The Yeshiva World, 21 April 2024, accessed 29 October 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Esther Evans, Maspidim Remember Klal Yisroel’s Rebbe, The Novominsker Rebbe Agudath Israel of America, 29 April 2020, accessed 29 October 2026.
- ↑ David Biale, David Assaf, Benjamin Brown, Uriel Gellman, Samuel C. Heilman, Moshe Rosman, Gadi Sagiv and Marcin Wodziński, Hasidism: A New History, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2018, p. 550.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Tzvi M. Rabinowicz (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Hasidism, Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1996, ISBN 1-56821-123-6, p. 363.
- ↑ Tzvi M. Rabinowicz (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Hasidism, Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1996, ISBN 1-56821-123-6, p. 367.
- ↑ David Biale, David Assaf, Benjamin Brown, Uriel Gellman, Samuel C. Heilman, Moshe Rosman, Gadi Sagiv and Marcin Wodziński, Hasidism: A New History, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2018, p. 643.
- ↑ Woodcliff Lake, NJ – Novominsker Rebbe Highlights Well Known Brooklyn Figure Mendel Weiss In Criticism On Bloggers VINnews, 16 November 2014, accessed 29 October 2026.
- ↑ Yossi Schneider, Novominsker Rebbe: Child Molestation Threatens Integrity of the Community Matzav, 6 December 2010, accessed 29 October 2026.
- ↑ Paul Berger, Agudath Israel: Abuse Claims Go to Rabbis The Forward, 23 May 2012, accessed 29 October 2026.
- ↑ Barbara Finkelstein, Activists to Novominsk Rebbe: Support Victims, Not Predators The Forward, 19 October 2017, accessed 29 October 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission, Register of Charities search results for "Novominsk" Charity Commission for England and Wales, accessed 29 October 2026.
- ↑ Companies House, Search results for "Novominsk" Find and update company information, accessed 29 October 2026.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Canada Revenue Agency, 2024 List of charities (identification, directors/officers, charitable programmes and qualified donees files), business number 890000664RR0001, Open Government Portal, accessed 29 October 2026.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Canadian Friends of Yeshivas Novominsk Charity Breakdown (compiled from CRA T3010 returns), accessed 29 October 2026.
- ↑ ProPublica, Yeshivas Novominsk Nonprofit Explorer (IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File data), EIN 13-3071539, accessed 29 October 2026.
- ↑ ProPublica, Search results for "Novominsk" Nonprofit Explorer, accessed 29 October 2026.
- ↑ Registrar of Associations, Israeli Ministry of Justice, Register of associations and public benefit companies: search "נאוומינסק" data.gov.il, accessed 29 October 2026.