Chabad Bot: New page: Chernobyl Hasidic dynasty (history, branch courts linked, Israeli/US/UK registers, Beitar Illit settlement note)

2026-10-27T08:38:44Z

New page: Chernobyl Hasidic dynasty (history, branch courts linked, Israeli/US/UK registers, Beitar Illit settlement note)

New page

{{short description|'''Hasidic dynasty founded in Chernobyl, Ukraine, by Menachem Nachum Twersky; parent of the Twersky family of courts and now led from Bnei Brak'''}}
{{Hasidic sidebar}}
{{Infobox religious group
| name = Chernobyl
| type = [[Hasidic dynasties|Hasidic dynasty]]
| founder = [[Menachem Nachum of Chernobyl]] (1730?–1797)
| founded_place = [[Chernobyl]], Ukraine
| headquarters = [[Bnei Brak]]
| leader_title = Rebbe (Bnei Brak)
| leader_name = [[Menachem Nachum Twersky (Chernobyl)|Menachem Nachum Twersky]]
| notes = Also spelt Chernobil, Tchernobyl and Tshernobil. Its founder's son [[Mordechai Twersky|Mordechai (Motele)]] took the surname Twersky, and the dynasty is also called the Twersky dynasty.<ref name="YIVOChernobyl" /><ref name="Ami2019" />
}}
'''Chernobyl''' (also '''Chernobil''' or '''Tchernobyl''') is a [[Hasidic dynasties|Hasidic dynasty]], one of the leading Hasidic communities of 19th-century Ukraine. It was founded by [[Menachem Nachum of Chernobyl]] (1730?–1797), a student of the [[Baal Shem Tov]] and of [[Dov Ber of Mezeritch|the Maggid of Mezritsh]], who served as preacher (''maggid'') of the town of [[Chernobyl]].<ref name="YIVOChernobyl" /> His son [[Mordechai Twersky|Mordechai (Motele)]] took the surname Twersky, and Motele's eight sons founded courts in different Ukrainian towns. Several of these became dynasties of their own, including [[Skver (Hasidic dynasty)|Skver]], [[Rachmastrivka (Hasidic dynasty)|Rachmastrivka]], [[Talne (Hasidic dynasty)|Talne]] and [[Trisk (Hasidic dynasty)|Trisk]].<ref name="YIVOChernobyl" /><ref name="Ami2019" /> This page covers the dynasty as a whole and the court that still bears the Chernobyl name, which is led from [[Bnei Brak]]; the branch dynasties have their own pages.

''Ami'' magazine wrote in 2019 that the rebbes of [[Belz (Hasidic dynasty)|Belz]], [[Bobov (Hasidic dynasty)|Bobov]], [[Satmar (Hasidic dynasty)|Satmar]], [[Karlin-Stolin (Hasidic dynasty)|Stolin]] and [[Vizhnitz (Hasidic dynasty)|Vizhnitz]] are all descendants of the first Chernobyl rebbe, and that nine rebbes named Twersky then lived in Israel, seven in the United States, two in England and one in Canada.<ref name="Ami2019" /> Associations bearing the Chernobyl name are registered in Israel, including in the West Bank settlement of [[Beitar Illit]], and in New York State, and a London charity's name refers to Chernobyl institutions.

== History ==
=== Founder ===
According to the ''YIVO Encyclopedia'', Menachem Nachum apparently travelled around Ukraine as well as serving as ''maggid'' of Chernobyl, "mediating, advising, and spreading his teachings".<ref name="YIVOChernobyl" /> ''Ami'' says his book ''Me'or Einayim'', first published in [[Slavuta]] in 1798, was one of the first works of Hasidic thought, and that he had two sons and a daughter. The elder son, Moshe, did not found a dynasty; the younger, Mordechai (1770–1837), took over his father's position in Chernobyl.<ref name="Ami2019" />

=== Mordechai (Motele) and the Twersky name ===
YIVO says that Mordechai (Motele; 1770?–1837) adopted the surname Twersky and, "in keeping with the roles of Hasidic leaders of his era, transformed the faction into a mass movement". Whereas Nachum had lived modestly and in poverty, Hasidic anecdotes relate that Motele requisitioned money and valuables from his followers. His visits around Ukraine were increasingly to supervise his growing communities of followers and to add to their number.<ref name="YIVOChernobyl" /> ''Ami'' describes his court as one "of great opulence and magnificence", and says the family tradition is that the name Twersky comes from [[Tiberias]] (''Teveria'').<ref name="Ami2019" />

=== The eight sons ===
By the 1840s seven of Motele's eight sons were Hasidic leaders. Motele's eldest son, Aharon, succeeded him in Chernobyl, while the others moved to other Ukrainian towns. YIVO links the dynasty's rise in popularity to the flight in 1842 of its chief rival, [[Yisroel Friedman of Ruzhin|Yisrael Friedman of Ruzhin]], the father-in-law of Motele's son Yitzchak. It calls Avraham, David and Yitzchak the leading ''tzaddikim'' of the family, and says David of Talne was "arguably the best-known rebbe of his generation in Ukraine".<ref name="YIVOChernobyl" />

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Sons of Mordechai of Chernobyl
! Son !! Dates !! Town !! Notes !! Branch page
|-
| [[Aharon Twersky of Chernobyl|Aharon]] || 1787–1871 || [[Chernobyl]] || Eldest son; succeeded his father in Chernobyl<ref name="YIVOChernobyl" /> || This page
|-
| [[Moshe Twersky of Korostyshev|Moshe]] || 1789–1866 || [[Korostyshiv|Korostyshev]] || YIVO says he "probably did not lead his own court"<ref name="YIVOChernobyl" /> || –
|-
| [[Yaakov Yisrael Twersky of Cherkassy|Yaakov Yisrael]] || 1794–1876 || [[Hornostaipil|Hornostaipol]], then [[Cherkasy|Cherkassy]] || Competed with his eldest brother<ref name="YIVOChernobyl" /> || [[Hornosteipel (Hasidic dynasty)]]; [[Cherkassy (Hasidic dynasty)]]
|-
| [[Nachum Twersky of Makarov|Nachum]] || 1804–1851 || [[Makariv|Makarov]] || <ref name="YIVOChernobyl" /> || [[Makarov (Hasidic dynasty)]]
|-
| [[Avraham Twersky of Trisk|Avraham]], the Trisker Maggid || 1806–1889 || [[Turiisk|Turiysk]] (Trisk) || Attracted thousands of followers<ref name="YIVOChernobyl" /> || [[Trisk (Hasidic dynasty)]]
|-
| [[David Twersky of Talne|David]] (Duvidl) || 1808–1882 || [[Vasylkiv|Vasilkov]], then [[Talne|Tal'noye]] from 1852 || <ref name="YIVOChernobyl" /> || [[Talne (Hasidic dynasty)]]
|-
| [[Yitzchak Twersky of Skver|Yitzchak]] || 1812–1885 || [[Skvyra|Skvira]] || Encouraged his followers to read rabbinic rather than Hasidic works<ref name="YIVOChernobyl" /> || [[Skver (Hasidic dynasty)]]
|-
| [[Yochanan Twersky of Rachmastrivka|Yochanan]] || 1816–1895 || [[Rotmistrivka]] || <ref name="YIVOChernobyl" /> || [[Rachmastrivka (Hasidic dynasty)]]
|}

''Ami'' lists the eight courts as Chernobyl, Korostichev (Korshev), Cherkasy, Makarov, Trisk, Tolna, Skvira and Rachmastrivka, and says each son became a rebbe in his father's lifetime.<ref name="Ami2019" />

=== Conflict with other Hasidic groups ===
YIVO says that competition among Hasidic groups in Ukraine had grown by the 1860s. The Chernobyl rebbes were not hostile to one another, with the exception of Yaakov Yisrael of Cherkassy, but their Hasidim "reacted with violence against rebbes of other dynasties". In the first half of the 1860s riots against the [[Breslov (Hasidic dynasty)|Bratslav]] Hasidim by David's followers and others were common. In 1864 David's followers tried by force to unseat the rebbe of [[Rzhyshchiv|Rezhishtshev]]. The attempt failed, but the scandal drew the attention of the Russian government, which placed the Twersky rebbes under house arrest. This decree, known as ''gzeyres tzadikov'', stopped the rebbes from travelling to their followers and collecting money, and reduced their influence; David, and probably Avraham, then turned their homes and synagogues into pilgrimage courts.<ref name="YIVOChernobyl" />

=== Decline and emigration ===
According to YIVO, pogroms in the 1880s brought economic ruin to Ukrainian Jews and their rebbes, and by the 1890s all of Motele's sons had died "without leaving strong successors". Rabbi Shelomoh Bentsiyon of Chernobyl led his Hasidim in [[Kyiv|Kiev]] until his death in 1939. Three of David's great-grandsons went to the United States before the First World War to serve as rebbes in [[New York City|New York]], [[Philadelphia]] and [[Boston]], and Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of Skvira later founded [[New Square, New York|New Square]].<ref name="YIVOChernobyl" />

=== Bnei Brak ===
''Matzav'' says that [[Meshulam Zushe Twersky]] (1917–1987), the Chernobyl rebbe of Bnei Brak, was a direct descendant of Menachem Nachum in the eighth generation. He was born in [[Mazyr|Mozyr]], Belarus, and lived and studied with his maternal grandfather, Rabbi [[Yeshaya Halberstam of Tchechoiv]]. He moved his court to Bnei Brak in 1959 and was succeeded by his son, Menachem Nachum.<ref name="Matzav17Cheshvan" /> ''Community Magazine'' says he escaped from Russia to the [[Land of Israel]], and later from [[Galicia (Eastern Europe)|Galicia]] shortly before the Second World War, and that his first initiative there was a ''kollel'' called Zichron Kedoshim, in memory of his father and grandfather. It says that on his death in 5748 (1987) leadership in Bnei Brak passed to his eldest son, [[Menachem Nachum Twersky (Chernobyl)|Menachem Nachum Twersky]].<ref name="Community2021" />

The same magazine wrote in 2021 that the Bnei Brak community numbered "many hundreds of families", with smaller groups around Chernobyl study halls in [[Beit Shemesh]] and [[Elad]]. It said the rebbe made a yearly trip to France to visit the Sephardi community there, and was due to visit [[Deal, New Jersey|Deal]], New Jersey, in August 2021.<ref name="Community2021" />

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Selected leaders
! Leader !! Dates !! Base !! Notes
|-
| [[Menachem Nachum of Chernobyl]] || 1730?–1797 || [[Chernobyl]] || Founder; author of ''Me'or Einayim''<ref name="YIVOChernobyl" /><ref name="Ami2019" />
|-
| [[Mordechai Twersky|Mordechai (Motele) Twersky]] || 1770?–1837 || Chernobyl || Son of Menachem Nachum<ref name="YIVOChernobyl" />
|-
| [[Aharon Twersky of Chernobyl|Aharon Twersky]] || 1787–1871 || Chernobyl || Eldest son of Mordechai<ref name="YIVOChernobyl" />
|-
| Shelomoh Bentsiyon of Chernobyl || died 1939 || [[Kyiv|Kiev]] || <ref name="YIVOChernobyl" />
|-
| [[Meshulam Zushe Twersky]] || 1917–1987 || [[Bnei Brak]] || Moved his court to Bnei Brak in 1959<ref name="Matzav17Cheshvan" />
|-
| [[Menachem Nachum Twersky (Chernobyl)|Menachem Nachum Twersky]] || || Bnei Brak || Eldest son of Meshulam Zushe; rebbe from 1987<ref name="Community2021" /><ref name="Matzav17Cheshvan" />
|}

== Institutions in Israel ==
Associations (''amutot'') and a public benefit company with Chernobyl (in various spellings) in their names on the Israeli Registrar of Associations include the following.<ref name="AmutotChern1" /><ref name="AmutotChern2" /><ref name="AmutotChern3" />

{| class="wikitable"
! Association !! Number !! Registered !! Address !! Income (latest report)
|-
| Mosdot Tchernobyl (מוסדות טשערנאביל) || 580019891 || 24 February 1984 || 10 HaRavad Street, [[Bnei Brak]] || ₪1,545,004 (2024)
|-
| Geon Tzvi – Tchernobyl (גאון צבי - טשערנאביל) || 580197937 || 26 November 1991 || 10 HaRavad Street, Bnei Brak || ₪19,886,387 (2024)
|-
| Me'orei Chernobyl (מאורי צ'רנוביל) || 580370146 || 15 January 2001 || 17 Bar Giora Street, [[Jerusalem]] || ₪12,052,499 (2024)
|-
| Mosdot Chasidut Tchernobyl Ltd (מוסדות חסידות טשרנוביל בע"מ), public benefit company || 513817213 || || 29 Havakuk Street, Bnei Brak || ₪1,904,040 (2024)
|-
| Yismach Lev, of Kehal Chasidei Tchernobyl (עמותת ישמח לב שע"י קהל חסידי טשערנאביל) || 580472942 || 30 January 2007 || 31 HaShlosha Street, Bnei Brak || ₪7,631,042 (2024)
|-
| Ezer VaChesed – Tchernobyl (עזר וחסד - טשערנאביל) || 580589083 || 8 April 2014 || 106 Sanhedria HaMurhevet, Jerusalem || ₪305,615 (2024)
|-
| Merkaz DeChasidei Tchernobyl (מרכז דחסידי טשערנאביל) || 580600922 || 11 January 2015 || 10 Kfar Etzion Boulevard, Bnei Brak || ₪2,059,637 (2024)
|-
| Mosdot LeTorah Chinuch VaChesed Chernobyl – Elad (מוסדות לתורה חינוך וחסד צ'רנוביל - אלעד) || 580611812 || 12 July 2015 || 3 HaRavad Street, [[Elad]] || ₪1,216,208 (2024)
|-
| Ish LeRe'ehu Tchernobyl (איש לרעהו טשערנאביל) || 580672152 || 18 November 2018 || 18 HaRav Shach Street, Bnei Brak || ₪229,909 (2023)
|-
| Tchernobyl Tzfat (טשערנאביל צפת) || 580693067 || 5 December 2019 || 11 Tzahal Street, [[Safed]] || –
|-
| Me'irat Einayim, of the Tchernobyl yeshiva (מאירת עיניים שע"י ישיבת טשערנאביל) || 580711109 || 8 November 2020 || 10 HaRavad Street, Bnei Brak || ₪993,676 (2025)
|-
| Merkaz HaTorah VeHaChesed Tchernobyl (מרכז התורה והחסד טשערנאביל) || 580721405 || 23 April 2021 || 13 Chaggai Street, Bnei Brak || ₪243,380 (2024)
|-
| Menorat Aharon Tchernobyl Beitar (מנורת אהרן טשערנאביל ביתר) || 580727337 || 29 August 2021 || 101 Kedushat Levi Street, [[Beitar Illit]] || ₪298,836
|-
| Yeshivat Tiferet Yitzchak Tchernobyl Beit Shemesh (ישיבת תפארת יצחק טשערנאביל בית שמש) || 580755841 || 27 November 2022 || 43 HaRav Herzog Street, [[Beit Shemesh]] || ₪1,464,158 (2024)
|-
| Kehillat Tchernobyl Rama D Beit Shemesh (קהילת טשערנאביל רמה ד' בית שמש) || 580775088 || 21 September 2023 || 10 Rav Chanan Street, Beit Shemesh || ₪1,365,271 (2024)
|-
| Beit HaMidrash Tchernobyl Yerushalayim (בית המדרש טשערנאביל ירושלים) || 580800019 || 12 September 2024 || 3 Minchat Yitzchak Street, Jerusalem || ₪985,574 (2025)
|-
| Mosdot Tchernobyl Beit Shemesh (מוסדות טשערנאביל ב"ש) || 580849875 || 25 October 2026 || 13 HaAdmor MiBelz Street, Beit Shemesh || –
|}

The registered objects of Mosdot Tchernobyl are to support young and older Torah students; the registrar gives its Ottoman-law name as Yeshivat Tchernobyl "Zichron Kedoshim".<ref name="AmutotChern2" /> Ezer VaChesed – Tchernobyl in Jerusalem was set up to work for the Tchernobyl Hasidic community through a free-loan fund and welfare support.<ref name="AmutotChern2" />

Menorat Aharon Tchernobyl Beitar, which runs a study hall and ''kollel'' and supports needy members of the community, is registered in [[Beitar Illit]].<ref name="AmutotChern2" /> The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ) says Beitar Illit was set up in 1985 on Palestinian-owned land from the villages of [[Husan]] (3,430 dunums), [[Nahhalin]] (688 dunums) and [[Wadi Fukin]] (567 dunums).<ref name="POICA2010" /> In its advisory opinion of 19 July 2024 the [[International Court of Justice]] found that Israel's transfer of settlers to the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and its maintenance of their presence there, is contrary to the sixth paragraph of article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.<ref name="ICJ2024" />

== United States ==
The IRS Business Master File for New York lists these tax-exempt organisations with Chernobyl (in various spellings) in their names. Organisations whose names refer to the 1986 nuclear disaster, and those that only have an address on Chernobyl Court in [[Monroe, New York|Monroe]], are left out.<ref name="IRSBMF" />

{| class="wikitable"
! Organisation !! EIN !! Address on IRS file !! IRS ruling !! Notes
|-
| [[Kloiz Chernobil of Tzefas]] || 13-3262203 || 27A North Roosevelt Avenue, New Square, NY 10977 || May 1985 || Church<ref name="IRSBMF" />
|-
| [[Congregation Chernobil]] Inc || 11-2927523 || 4023 12th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11218 || August 1988 || Church<ref name="IRSBMF" />
|-
| [[Mosdos Chernobel]] Inc || 11-2955846 || 4403 15th Avenue 345, Brooklyn, NY 11219 || May 1989 || Church<ref name="IRSBMF" />
|-
| [[Yeshivas Chernobil Ateres Meshulem Zusia]] Inc || 11-3284904 || 4023 12th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11218 || January 1997 || Church<ref name="IRSBMF" />
|-
| [[Yeshiva Mesivta Chernobil]] || 11-3407931 || 4114 12th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11219 || January 1998 || Church; also listed as "DBA Chernobil Building Fund"<ref name="IRSBMF" />
|}

No organisation with a Chernobyl-dynasty name appears on the IRS automatic revocation list.<ref name="IRSRevoc" />

== United Kingdom ==
[[British Friends of Mosdos Tchernobel]] (registered charity 1070877, registered 5 August 1998) is based at 160 Holmleigh Road, London N16 5PY. Its name means "Chernobyl institutions"; the register lists its objects as the advancement of the Orthodox Jewish religion and of Orthodox Jewish religious education, and the relief of poverty, with Israel as its area of benefit. It works mainly by making grants to organisations. Its trustees are [[Abraham Schechter]] (from 7 March 2013), [[Nathan Ollech]] (from 25 November 2025) and Rabbi [[Nathan Benjamin Bindiger]]. In the year to 31 March 2025 its income was £1,073,613 and its spending £1,148,049.<ref name="CCTchernobel" /> No source read for this page says which Chernobyl institutions it funds.

== See also ==
* [[Skver (Hasidic dynasty)]]
* [[Rachmastrivka (Hasidic dynasty)]]
* [[Breslov (Hasidic dynasty)]]
* [[British Friends of Mosdos Tchernobel]]

== Notes ==
<references>
<ref name="YIVOChernobyl">Paul Radensky, [https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Twersky_Family Chernobil Hasidic Dynasty] ''YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe'', accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
<ref name="Ami2019">Rabbi Yitzchok Frankfurter, [https://amimagazine.org/2019/06/05/from-the-idyllic-songs-to-the-y-chromosome-of-the-rabbinical-dynasty-of-chernobyl/ From the Idyllic Songs to the Y-Chromosome of the Rabbinical Dynasty of Chernobyl // A fascinating exploration of all things Chernobyl with the author and foremost expert on Chernobyl, Rabbi Yitzchok Meyer Twersky] ''Ami Magazine'', 5 June 2019, accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
<ref name="Matzav17Cheshvan">Anshe.org/Matzav.com Newscenter, [https://matzav.com/todays-yahrtzeits-history-17-cheshvan/ Today's Yahrtzeits & History – 17 Cheshvan] ''Matzav.com'', 4 November 2009, accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
<ref name="Community2021">Community Magazine, [https://communitym.com/2021/07/26/chernobyl/ Chernobyl] ''Community Magazine'', July 2021, accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
<ref name="AmutotChern1">Registrar of Associations, Israeli Ministry of Justice, [https://data.gov.il/api/3/action/datastore_search?resource_id=be5b7935-3922-45d4-9638-08871b17ec95&q=%D7%98%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%91%D7%99%D7%9C&limit=100 Register of associations and public benefit companies: search "טשרנוביל"] ''data.gov.il'', accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
<ref name="AmutotChern2">Registrar of Associations, Israeli Ministry of Justice, [https://data.gov.il/api/3/action/datastore_search?resource_id=be5b7935-3922-45d4-9638-08871b17ec95&q=%D7%98%D7%A9%D7%A2%D7%A8%D7%A0%D7%90%D7%91%D7%99%D7%9C&limit=100 Register of associations and public benefit companies: search "טשערנאביל"] ''data.gov.il'', accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
<ref name="AmutotChern3">Registrar of Associations, Israeli Ministry of Justice, [https://data.gov.il/api/3/action/datastore_search?resource_id=be5b7935-3922-45d4-9638-08871b17ec95&q=%D7%A6%27%D7%A8%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%91%D7%99%D7%9C&limit=100 Register of associations and public benefit companies: search "צ'רנוביל"] ''data.gov.il'', accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
<ref name="POICA2010">Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem, [https://poica.org/2010/03/expanding-the-settlement-of-betar-illit-warmly-welcoming-to-the-us-mideast-special-envoy-g-mitchell/ "Expanding the settlement of Betar Illit" Warmly welcoming to the US Mideast special envoy G. Mitchell] ''POICA'', 9 March 2010, accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
<ref name="ICJ2024">International Court of Justice, [https://www.icj-cij.org/node/204176 Summary of the Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024] ''icj-cij.org'', 19 July 2024, accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
<ref name="IRSBMF">Internal Revenue Service, [https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/eo_ny.csv Exempt Organizations Business Master File Extract: New York] ''irs.gov'', 13 October 2026, accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
<ref name="IRSRevoc">Internal Revenue Service, [https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/data-download-revocation.zip Automatic Revocation of Exemption List (data download)] ''irs.gov'', accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
<ref name="CCTchernobel">Charity Commission for England and Wales, [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/3953128/full-print British Friends of Mosdos Tchernobel (1070877): full print] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
</references>

[[Category:Hasidic dynasties]]
[[Category:Hasidism]]
[[Category:Hasidic Judaism in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Jewish charities in the United Kingdom]]

Chernobyl (Hasidic dynasty) - Revision history

Chabad Bot: New page: Chernobyl Hasidic dynasty (history, branch courts linked, Israeli/US/UK registers, Beitar Illit settlement note)