Skver (Hasidic dynasty)
Hasidic dynasty of the Chernobyl (Twersky) family, named after Skvira in Ukraine and based in the village of New Square, New York
| Skver | |
|---|---|
| Founded | Skvira, Kiev province, now Ukraine |
| Founder | Yitzchak Twersky of Skvira (1812–1885) |
| Leader | Rebbe David Twersky (since 1968) |
| Headquarters | New Square, Town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States |
| Type | Hasidic dynasty (Chernobyl / Twersky family) |
| Notes | |
Skver, named after the town of Skvira in Ukraine, is a Hasidic dynasty descended from the Chernobyl dynasty of the Twersky family. Its centre is the village of New Square in Rockland County, New York, which its followers founded in 1954 and which the Rebbe, David Twersky, has led since 1968.[2][1]
The Forward described New Square in 2014 as "an especially insular enclave", where the Rebbe exercises close control over residents' personal decisions and almost two-thirds of residents live below the US federal poverty line.[1] Skver's leaders have endorsed candidates in New York state and city elections as a voting bloc.[3][4]
History
The Chernobyl dynasty was founded by Menachem Nachum of Chernobyl (1730?–1797), a student of the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid of Mezeritch. His son Mordechai (Motele, 1770?–1837) adopted the surname Twersky. By the 1840s seven of Motele's eight sons had set up as Hasidic leaders in different Ukrainian towns. His seventh son, Yitzchak (1812–1885), moved to Skvira. According to the YIVO Encyclopedia, Yitzchak "was known for his wisdom, rationality, and for encouraging his followers to read rabbinic rather than Hasidic works".[2]
Yaakov Yosef Twersky of Skvira fled Ukraine after the Bolshevik Revolution. He spent the interwar years in Bessarabia and survived the Second World War in Bucharest. He then settled in Spring Valley, New York, where he and his followers created New Square.[2]
Rebbes and succession
| Rebbe | Dates | Base | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yitzchak Twersky | 1812–1885 | Skvira | Seventh son of Mordechai Twersky of Chernobyl.[2] |
| Yaakov Yosef Twersky | d. 1968 | Skvira; Bessarabia; Bucharest; New Square | Founded New Square in 1954.[2][1] |
| David Twersky | Rebbe since 1968 | New Square | Romanian-born son of Yaakov Yosef; aged 74 in 2014. His son Chaim Meyer Twersky is one of his aides.[1] |
Institutions
United States
New Square is a small, densely populated village in the Town of Ramapo, Rockland County. It had more than 7,000 residents in 2014.[1] The Forward reported in 2014 that:[1]
- men and women are required to walk on opposite sides of the street;
- televisions, internet connections and newspapers are banned;
- public prayer on the Sabbath outside the Rebbe's minyan is not allowed under the village's unwritten religious by-laws (takkanas);
- former members said residents needed the Rebbe's permission to get a driving licence, move house or change jobs.
The village has a boys' yeshiva, inside which the local magistrate's court sits, and the Refuah Health Center.[1]
The Rebbe also leads Skverer Hasidim in Brooklyn, Europe and Israel. A Skver school operates in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn.[1]
Politics
In a 2013 opinion column, Frimet Goldberger wrote in the Forward that "the Hasidic community – especially Satmar and the less-populous Skver group – is veering ever more towards extremism". She cited bans on the internet, smartphones, concerts and some fruits. She contrasted these groups with Chabad, which she said other Hasidic groups shun "as a separate, modernized entity".[5]
The Forward reported in 2014 that New Square's bloc vote had kept the local magistrate, Stuart Salles, in office for 40 years. He runs unopposed in the judicial elections.[1]
| Year | Election | Endorsed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | New York governor | Kathy Hochul (Democrat) | Skver joined Satmar's Aronim faction in backing Hochul against the Republican Lee Zeldin. Yeshiva World News called the two groups "the only two voting blocs" in New York's Orthodox community to back Hochul.[3] |
| 2022 | US House of Representatives | Sean Patrick Maloney (Democrat) | Maloney was in a close race with the Republican Mike Lawler. Yeshiva World News expected many Skverers and Satmar Aronim to vote Republican despite the endorsements.[3] |
| 2025 | New York City mayor | Andrew Cuomo | According to Cuomo's campaign, he was endorsed by the Williamsburg Satmar community, led politically by Rabbi Niederman, with a coalition of congregations including Pupa, Viznitz, Vien, Tzelim, Nitra, Krasna, Skver and Klausenburg. The campaign described the coalition as "the largest Orthodox voting bloc in the city".[4] |
Finances and charities
The Forward traced the ownership of the Rebbe's lakeside holiday home in Nyack, New York, and of his car:[1]
| Date | Transaction | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| September 2006 | Nyack home sold by its previous owners to Menucha of Nyack LLC. The deed was signed by Jacob Fischel and Fred Schonfeld, members of the New Square kehillah board. | $2,250,000 |
| December 2009 | Menucha sold the home to Congregation of New Square. The price equalled the delinquent taxes Menucha owed to Nyack. In a deposition, Fischel said the aim was a property-tax exemption as a religious institution; Nyack rejected this. | $197,468 |
| April 2010 | Home transferred back to Menucha of Nyack LLC. | $0 |
| 2014 | The Rebbe's Cadillac XTS carried a government-type number plate and was registered to the village government of New Square. In answer to a Freedom of Information Law request, the village said it had "no record" of the information. | – |
According to the 2012 Census figures cited by the Forward, median household income in New Square was $24,075, and median family size was 5.5.[1]
Controversies
Criminal convictions
- Shaul Spitzer (2012): On 22 May 2011 Aron Rottenberg, a New Square resident who had prayed at a nearby nursing home rather than in the Rebbe's minyan, suffered third-degree burns over more than half his body. Spitzer, then 18 and one of a group of young men who lived with the Rebbe and served him, had tried to set fire to Rottenberg's house. In February 2012 he was sentenced to seven years in prison for first-degree assault. His lawyers said the Rebbe and his advisers never ordered him to attack anyone. The Rebbe's lawyer, Frank Snitow, denied that his client said or did anything to incite the attack.[1]
- Herschel Taubenfeld: He faced 30 misdemeanour charges of forcible touching, third-degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child. He pleaded guilty under a plea deal and received six years' probation, and he was required to register as a sex offender. Before his arrest, New Square religious leaders had sent him to teach at a yeshiva in Israel. News 12 later found him teaching young children at the New Square yeshiva in August 2013.[1]
Civil cases
- Rottenberg v. Twersky and Spitzer: Rottenberg sued the Rebbe and Spitzer for violating his civil rights. In April 2012 the case was settled for $2.3 million. The settlement is sealed. Snitow said he believed the Rebbe "did not pay that himself". Rottenberg's daughter said Spitzer signed for both defendants.[1]
Allegations
- Handling of abuse reports: In 2014 the Forward reported the accounts of three people who said they or their families had told the Rebbe about sexual abuse and he had refused to act:[1]
- the family of Laiby Stern (2006);
- Deb Tambor (2000), recorded in her diary;
- Abe Weiss.
- The Rebbe did not respond to the Forward's requests for comment.
- Moshe Menachem Taubenfeld: Laiby Stern accused him of abusing him for five years. In 2014 Taubenfeld was due to go on trial in Rockland County in January 2015 on a charge of second-degree course of sexual conduct. The outcome is not recorded in the source.[1]
- Abuse committee: New Square's internal vaad (committee) on sexual abuse was set up in 2008 with help from the agency Ohel. In 2010 its chairman, Isaac Breuer, did not say it would report child sex crimes to the police.[1]
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 Frimet Goldberger, Hasidic Enclave Keeps Its Secrets Amid Elusive Rebbe's Tight Control The Forward, 3 December 2014 (archived 16 April 2026), accessed 26 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Paul Radensky, Chernobil Hasidic Dynasty YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, accessed 26 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Yeshiva World News, OUTLIERS: Skver Joins Satmar in Endorsing Hochul, Also Backs Maloney The Yeshiva World, 2 November 2022, accessed 26 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Andrew Cuomo campaign, Cuomo Receives Major Endorsement of Satmar of Williamsburg, Led by Grand Rebbe Zalmen Teitelbaum, One of the Largest Orthodox Groups andrewcuomo.com, press release, 11 June 2025 (archived 8 December 2025), accessed 26 October 2026.
- ↑ Frimet Goldberger, Blurring Out Satmar History The Forward, 2 August 2013 (archived 12 October 2025), accessed 26 October 2026.