Premishlan (Hasidic dynasty)
Hasidic dynasty founded in Przemyślany in Galicia in the 18th century, now led by a rebbe in Bnei Brak
| Premishlan | |
|---|---|
| Founded | Przemyślany, Galicia (now Peremyshliany, Ukraine) |
| Founder | Meir bar Yaakov of Przemyślany (1711–1781) |
| Leader | Rebbe Meir Rosenbaum |
| Headquarters | Bnei Brak |
| Type | Hasidic dynasty |
| Notes | |
Premishlan is a Hasidic dynasty named after the town of Przemyślany (Yiddish Premishlan; now Peremyshliany in western Ukraine). Its founder, Meir bar Yaakov (1711–1781), known as "the Great" or "the First", was a follower of the Baal Shem Tov.[2] His grandson, Meir of Peremyshlyany (died 1850), became the best-known rebbe of the line; the Encyclopaedia Judaica says he "gained popularity as a tsaddik and had many followers".[1]
The present court is in Bnei Brak, Israel, led by Rabbi Meir Rosenbaum.[3][4] Associations and congregations bearing the Premishlan name are registered in Israel and New York State, and a charity with the name is registered in London.
History
Origins in Przemyślany
The Pinkas Hakehillot entry for the town says that Przemyślany "became known for its rabbis" in the 18th and 19th centuries. Meir bar Yaakov was a founder of the Premishlan dynasty. His son, Aharon-Aryeh (died 1813), studied under the preacher Yechiel Michel of Zolochiv and Elimelech of Lizhensk. Aharon-Aryeh's son Meir (1781–1850) took his father's place on his death in 1813.[2]
Meir of Peremyshlyany
According to the Encyclopaedia Judaica, Meir of Peremyshlyany was a disciple of Mordecai of Kremenets. He became rabbi and leader of the Hasidim in Przemyślany in 1813. After a slander against him he had to leave for Lipkany in Bessarabia, an episode recorded in an Austrian government document of 1827. He later returned, and in 1843 moved to Nikolayev, where he lived for the last seven years of his life.[1]
The Austrian authorities investigated him twice. In 1826 Joseph Perl applied to reprint Sefer Vikku'ah, which ended with a list of Hasidic leaders including a "Meir Shebseir". The censorship wrongly identified this name with Meir of Peremyshlyany and ordered an inquiry into whether he and the other rabbis opposed the government and encouraged their followers to disobey the law; the results were negative. In 1839 the Lemberg (Lviv) police brought an indictment against "miracle-workers" that included his name; the result of the investigation that followed is not known.[1]
He was on friendly terms with Israel of Ruzhin, whom he helped across the border when Israel was being persecuted by the authorities, and with Solomon Kluger of Brody, who gave his eulogy. Perl mocked his healing of the sick and of childless women in Megalleh Temirin. He was known for spending his money freely among the poor and for strange behaviour, which his followers saw as only outward and his opponents as insanity. He made no original contribution to Hasidic doctrine and wrote no halakhic or homiletical works; his followers' collections of his teachings were published as Divrei Me'ir (1909), Or ha-Me'ir (1926) and Margenita de-Rabbi Meir (1926).[1]
Later rabbis and the Holocaust
Later rabbis of Przemyślany included Zvi bar Meir (from 1860), Yisrael-Aryeh Frankel (1830–1891), his son Elimelech (died 1915) and, last, Yisrael-Aryeh Margaliot (1887–1965).[2]
German forces occupied Przemyślany on 1 July 1941 and burned its synagogues on 15 July 1941. In November 1941 about 450 Jewish men were marched to the Kroscienko forest and murdered. Hundreds more were deported to Bełżec in the Aktionen of July, September and November 1942, and about 3,000 on 5 December 1942. The ghetto was destroyed in an Aktion that began on 22 May 1943.[2]
Bnei Brak
In 2013 Ynet described Rabbi Meir Rosenbaum as head of the Hasidic group in Bnei Brak and "among the prominent figures in the Haredi world". It said his community was not especially large, but that he was highly regarded, chiefly for the blessings and advice he gave to visitors, among them many secular people such as Avigdor Liberman.[3] Kikar HaShabbat has reported on the rebbe's study hall in Bnei Brak, where he held the search for chametz in April 2025,[4] and on a Tu BiShvat tish held in February 2026 in the court's hall at the centre of the Hasidic group in Bnei Brak.[5]
| Leader | Dates | Base | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meir bar Yaakov | 1711–1781 | Przemyślany | Founder; "the Great" or "the First"[2] |
| Aharon-Aryeh | died 1813 | Przemyślany | Son of Meir bar Yaakov[2] |
| Meir of Peremyshlyany | 1780?–1850 | Przemyślany, Lipkany, Nikolayev | Grandson of Meir bar Yaakov; leader from 1813[1] |
| Meir Rosenbaum | Bnei Brak | Rebbe in Bnei Brak (reported 2013–2026)[3][5] |
Views
In February 2013, during the dispute over conscripting Haredi yeshiva students, Rabbi Rosenbaum defended the unequal burden of military service before his followers, arguing that those who do not study Torah are the cause of Israel's difficult security situation and should therefore serve in the army more than others. According to Ynet, which reported the talk from the Haredi daily HaMevaser, he said: "these security dangers are because of them, because they refrain from studying Torah". Ynet reported that the remarks were aimed at "famous public figures still far from the world of Torah".[3]
Institutions in Israel
Associations (amutot) with Premishlan in their names on the Israeli Registrar of Associations are all in Bnei Brak.[6]
| Association | Number | Registered | Status | Address | Income (latest report) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mosdot Premishlan in the Land of Israel (מוסדות פרמישלאן בארה"ק) | 580105641 | 25 June 1987 | Registered | 9 Abarbanel Street, Bnei Brak | Last financial report 2013 |
| Moreshet Premishlan (מורשת פרמישלאן) | 580572725 | 11 April 2013 | Registered | 9 Abarbanel Street, Bnei Brak | ₪6,113,970 (2024) |
| Kupat Kahal Adat Premishlan (קופת קהל עדת פרמישלאן) | 580679033 | 20 March 2019 | Registered | 14 Nidonei Bagdad Street, Bnei Brak | – |
| Hasadim Me'irim Premishlan (חסדים מאירים פרמישלאן) | 580707339 | 24 August 2020 | Struck off | 9 Abarbanel Street, Bnei Brak | – |
| Kehala Kadisha Premishlan (קהלא קדישא פרמישלאן) | 580735504 | 19 January 2022 | Registered | 10 Nidonei Bagdad Street, Bnei Brak | ₪1,118,795 (2024) |
Moreshet Premishlan's registered object is to found and run Torah education institutions: kindergartens, a school, and a junior and senior yeshiva. Kehala Kadisha Premishlan's objects include study halls, kollelim and synagogues, help for the needy, and publishing the books and manuscripts of "the Admor of Premishlan" and of the Premishlan, Kretshnif and Nadvorna dynasties.[6]
United States
The IRS Business Master File for New York lists these tax-exempt organisations with Premishlan in their names. No source read for this page links them to the Bnei Brak court.[7]
| Organisation | EIN | Address on IRS file | IRS ruling | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Congregation Kehal Premishlon | 11-2505552 | 510 Avenue M, Brooklyn, NY 11230 | November 1979 | Church[7] |
| Tehillim Olumi | 81-0902918 | 4509 14th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11219 | June 2016 | Sort name "R Meir of Premishlan"[7] |
| Congregation Beis Yisroel Premishlan | 92-2018702 | 1 Rose Garden Way, Unit 202, Monsey, NY 10952 | May 2023 | Church[7] |
| Keren Or Premishlan | 33-2075066 | 1506 51st Street, Brooklyn, NY 11219 | December 2024 | Private foundation[7] |
| Keren Ohr Premishlan | 47-2391792 | 1506 51st Street, Brooklyn, NY 11219 | June 2025 | Exemption revoked with effect from 15 May 2017 and reinstated from 15 April 2025[7][8] |
A further organisation, Premishlan Foundation (46-3883144, 143 Acres Road, Unit 301, Monroe, NY 10950), lost its exemption under the automatic revocation rules with effect from 15 May 2022.[8]
United Kingdom
Premishlaner Charitable Trust (registered charity 1046945, registered 5 June 1995, working name "P C T") is at 186 Lordship Road, London N16 5ES. Its trustees are Charles Mark Margulies and C Freuden Berger. Its objects are to advance Orthodox Jewish education and religion and to relieve poverty, which it does by "making donations to appropriate organisations and causes". In the year to 30 June 2025 its income was £76,346 and its spending £16,886.[9] No source read for this page links the trust to the Bnei Brak court.
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Zeev Gries, Peremyshlyany, Meir ben Aaron Leib of Encyclopaedia Judaica (via Encyclopedia.com), accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Amy Samin (translator), Przemyślany Pinkas Hakehillot Polin: Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities, Poland, vol. II, pp. 440–442 (Yad Vashem), JewishGen, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Kobi Nahshoni, אדמו"ר: המלחמות - בגלל החילונים. שהם יתגייסו (in Hebrew) Ynet, 13 February 2013, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chaim Rosenbaum, עם נר שעווה ונוצה: הרבי מפרמישלאן בדק בית מדרשו (in Hebrew) Kikar HaShabbat, 11 April 2025, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Kikar HaShabbat, בהיכל הטישים: טיש ט"ו בשבט של הרבי מפרמישלאן לכבוד ראש השנה לאילנות (in Hebrew) Kikar HaShabbat, 3 February 2026, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Registrar of Associations, Israeli Ministry of Justice, Register of associations and public benefit companies: search "פרמישלאן" data.gov.il, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Internal Revenue Service, Exempt Organizations Business Master File Extract: New York irs.gov, 13 October 2026, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Internal Revenue Service, Automatic Revocation of Exemption List (data download) irs.gov, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission for England and Wales, Premishlaner Charitable Trust (1046945): full print Register of Charities, accessed 27 October 2026.