Biala (Hasidic dynasty)
Hasidic dynasty of the Peshischa line, founded in Biała Podlaska, Poland; its Bnei Brak Rebbe has urged followers to buy homes in a West Bank settlement
| Biala | |
|---|---|
| Founded | Biała Podlaska, Poland |
| Founder | Yaakov Yitzchak Rabinowicz (1847–1905) |
| Leader | Rebbe |
| Headquarters | Bnei Brak, Israel |
| Type | Hasidic dynasty (Peshischa line) |
| Notes | |
Biala (Yiddish: Byale) is a Hasidic dynasty founded in the town of Biała Podlaska in eastern Poland by Yaakov Yitzchak Rabinowicz (1847–1905). It is a branch of Peshischa (Przysucha) Hasidism.[2][1] After the Holocaust the dynasty was continued in Jerusalem, and later rebbes of the family have led communities in Israel and London. A US charity in Lakewood, New Jersey, raises money for a Biala yeshiva.[2][1][3][4]
In 2017 a Biala Rebbe in Bnei Brak urged his followers to buy homes in Maale Amos, an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.[5]
History
Poland
The Peshischa school of Hasidism was founded by Yaakov Yitzchak Rabinowicz, known as the Holy Jew (1766–1814). According to the YIVO Encyclopedia, its approach was continued in the courts of Kotsk, Ger, Vurke, Aleksander, Izhbits and Byale (Biala).[1]
The Holy Jew's son Yerachmiel Tzvi (1784–1839) and grandson Natan David of Szydłowiec (1814–1865) led Hasidic courts. Natan David's son, Yaakov Yitzchak (1847–1905), founded the Biala court and reintroduced Peshischa practices.[1] According to the Biała Podlaska yizkor book, he inherited his position from his father-in-law, Rabbi Yehoshua of Lentchna (Ostrowa), who had no sons. He probably settled in Biała because the town had a railway station. His court stood at the end of Mezricher Street, and thousands of Hasidim came to it from across Poland. He wrote the books Divrei Binah and Yishrei Lev. He died in Warsaw in Adar 1905 and was buried near his father-in-law.[6][2]
Four of his sons became rebbes in different towns:[6]
- Natan David, in Partchev (Parczew);
- Meir Shlomo Yehuda, in Mezeritch (Międzyrzec Podlaski);
- Avraham, in Lublin;
- Hershele, in Shedlitz (Siedlce), who died a year before his father.
His daughters married the Radzymin and Skierniewice rebbes.[6]
After the Holocaust
According to YIVO, the founder's son Yerachmiel Tzvi (1878–1905) was a Talmudist, violinist and artist who died young. His son Yechiel Yehoshua (1901–1982) escaped from Poland through Siberia and Kurdistan and reached the Land of Israel in 1947. All four of his sons became rabbis.[1] The Pinkas Hakehillot says Yechiel Yehoshua continued the dynasty in Jerusalem, and that three of his sons were known as "Admor of Biala".[2]
Rebbes and succession
| Name | Dates | Base | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yaakov Yitzchak Rabinowicz, "the Holy Jew" | 1766–1814 | Peshischa (Przysucha) | Founder of the Peshischa school.[1] |
| Yerachmiel Tzvi Rabinowicz | 1784–1839 | – | Son of the Holy Jew.[1] |
| Natan David Rabinowicz | 1814–1865 | Szydłowiec | Son of Yerachmiel Tzvi.[1] |
| Yaakov Yitzchak Rabinowicz | 1847–1905 | Biała Podlaska | Founder of the Biala court.[1][6] |
| Yerachmiel Tzvi Rabinowicz | 1878–1905 | – | Son of the founder; Talmudist, violinist and artist.[1] |
| Yechiel Yehoshua Rabinowicz | 1901–1982 | Jerusalem | Reached the Land of Israel in 1947.[1][2] |
| Nathan David Rabinowicz | born 1900 | London (from 1927) | Grandson of the founder; the "Biala Rabbi" of London.[3] |
Institutions
Israel
In 2017 Israel National News described Bnei Brak as the base of the Biala Rebbe who wrote to his followers about Maale Amos (see below).[5]
Occupied East Jerusalem and West Bank
See Settlements.
UK
Nathan David Rabinowicz, a grandson of the founder, was born in Ozarov in 1900 and came to London on 18 December 1927. He set up a shtiebel (small prayer house) at 6 Osborn Place, Chicksand Street, off Brick Lane, in the East End. In 1931 he moved to 10 St Marks Road, Dalston. He fell ill in 1947, and his ethical will was published in London by the Narodiczky Press. His son was the writer Rabbi Dr Harry Rabinowicz.[3]
The Biala Synagogue Trust is based at 32 Leadale Road, London N16 6DA, and operates in Hackney and Haringey. Its chair is Rabbi Leone Rabinowitz.[7]
United States
American Friends of Biala Yeshiva Inc is a charity at Lakewood, New Jersey (see Finances and charities).[4]
Settlements
In October 2017 Israel National News reported that the Biala Rebbe of Bnei Brak, whom it named as Avraham Yerachmiel Rabinowicz, had written to his followers urging those looking to buy a home to buy in Maale Amos, in south-eastern Gush Etzion. Citing the Haredi website Behadrei Haredim, INN quoted the letter as saying that "at this time there is no other place better to purchase apartments than Maale Amos", given rising housing costs. The Rebbe also recommended Maale Amos to investors, writing that "it is clear that the investors there will earn a lot". Yoel Silver, deputy head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, welcomed "this important community".[5]
Yeshiva World News named the Rebbe who wrote the letter as "Rabbi Tzvi Rabinowicz, the leader of the central rabbinic council of Agudas Yisroel". It reported that he recommended the town "especially for young newlywed couples" and promised to set up Biala institutions there.[8] Matzav.com named him as "Rav Ben Tzion Rabinowitcz".[9]
Maale Amos lies about 20 km south-east of Jerusalem.[8] It was founded in 1981.[9] INN said the Haredi community "now makes up a third of all residents" of Judea and Samaria, the Israeli government's term for the West Bank. It named Beitar Illit and Modiin Illit as the main Haredi towns there, along with Tel Tzion, Emmanuel and Givat Zeev Hahadasha.[5] Matzav said Haredi towns hold a third of the West Bank's Jewish population.[9]
Maale Amos, Beitar Illit, Modiin Illit, Tel Tzion, Emmanuel and Givat Zeev Hahadasha are Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. In 2024 the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that Israel's settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem "have been established and are being maintained in violation of international law".[10]
Politics
Yeshiva World News described the Biala Rebbe named in its 2017 report as "the leader of the central rabbinic council of Agudas Yisroel" (Agudat Yisrael).[8]
Finances and charities
| Charity | Registration | Address | Latest year | Income | Spending | Trustees or directors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friends of Biala Limited | Charity 271377; company 00803733; registered 3 June 1976 | 74 Whitehall Road, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear NE8 4ET | Year to 31 March 2026 | £119,188 | £80,712 | Yechezkel Michael Halberstadt (chair), Michael De Jong, Moshe Thomas Glausiusz[11] |
| Biala Synagogue Trust | Charity 1071797; registered 1 October 1998 | 32 Leadale Road, London N16 6DA | Year to 31 March 2025 | £1,904,440 | £892,376 | Leone Rabinowitz (chair), Miriam Rabinowitz, Maurice Freund[7] |
| American Friends of Biala Yeshiva Inc | EIN 11-2966678; tax-exempt since October 1990 | Lakewood, New Jersey | Year to December 2024 | $2,877,641 | $2,635,598 | Jeffrey Rabinovich, Jeffrey Rabinowitz[4] |
Friends of Biala Limited is a grant-making charity that operates throughout England and in Israel.[11] Most of the Biala Synagogue Trust's income in 2024–25 came from donations (£1.71 million), with £189,760 from investments.[7] In 2023 American Friends of Biala Yeshiva had revenue of $2,072,148 and expenses of $2,025,792; its net assets at the end of 2024 were $472,953.[4]
See also
- Hasidic dynasties
- Ger (Hasidic dynasty)
- Friends of Biala Limited
- Biala Synagogue Trust
- American Friends Of Biala Yeshiva Inc
- Biala Yeshiva Or Kedoshim
- Biala Yeshiva
- Biala Institutions
- Biala Synagogue
- Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School
- Torah Temimoh Primary School
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 Glenn Dynner, Pshiskhe Hasidic Dynasty YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, accessed 26 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 JewishGen, Biala Podlaska Pinkas Hakehillot Polin, vol. 7 (JewishGen translation), accessed 26 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Jeffrey Maynard, The Will of the Biala Rabbi, London, 1948 Jewish Miscellanies, 19 January 2020, accessed 26 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 ProPublica, American Friends of Biala Yeshiva Inc Nonprofit Explorer, accessed 26 October 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Tzvi Lev, Hassidic Rebbe instructs followers to live in Judean town Israel National News, 26 October 2017, accessed 26 October 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Asher Hoffer, The Rebbe's Court Biała Podlaska yizkor book, pp. 264–274, translated by Gloria Berkenstat Freund (JewishGen), accessed 26 October 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Charity Commission for England and Wales, Biala Synagogue Trust, charity 1071797: full print register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk, accessed 26 October 2026.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Yeshiva World News, Biala Rebbe Sends Followers to Live in Gush Etzion The Yeshiva World, 29 October 2017, accessed 26 October 2026.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Matzav.com, Biale Rebbe Urges Move To West Bank Matzav.com, 18 November 2017, accessed 26 October 2026.
- ↑ International Court of Justice, Summary of the Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024 icj-cij.org, 19 July 2024, accessed 26 October 2026.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Charity Commission for England and Wales, Friends of Biala Limited, charity 271377: full print register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk, accessed 26 October 2026.