Boston (Hasidic dynasty)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Horowitz of Boston at the Western Wall in Jerusalem

Boston is a Hasidic sect, named after Boston, Massachusetts. The senior of the Bostoner Rebbes is currently Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Horowitz. His community is headquartered in the city of Brookline and has their central synagogue, Beis Pinchas, on Beacon Street. He spends several months a year in the Har Nof section of Jerusalem, Israel.

[edit] Origins

Grand Rabbi Pinchas David Horowitz, the first Bostoner Rebbe, a scion of the Nikolsburg and Lelov dynasties, first arrived in Boston in 1915 from Palestine via Europe. Shortly after his arrival, Rabbi Pinchas David was coronated Rebbe by the residents of Boston. In 1939, the Bostoner Rebbe moved to Brooklyn, and opened the Bostoner Bais Medrash of Williamsburg. After his death in 1941, his son Rav Moshe succeeded him. In 1943, Rav Levi Yitzchok became another Bostoner Rebbe and built the New England Chassidic Center.

The Bostoner Rebbe of Borough Park, Rav Moshe, was instrumental in the early development of Yeshiva Torah Vodath, active in the leadership of Agudath Israel of America, and in Vaad Hatzolah. He later founded the Bostoner Bais Medrash of Crown Heights and the Bostoner Bais Medrash of Borough Park. In 1981, upon the passing of Reb Moshe, his son Reb Avrohom Horowitz succeeded his father as the Bostoner Rebbe of Borough Park. In 2006 the Bostoner Rebbe of Borough Park moved to Beit Shemesh in Israel to lead his sizeable community in that growing city. Reb Avrohom's younger brother, Reb Pinchas Dovid, founded Yeshiva Darchei Noam and brought Bostoner Chassidus to his new Bais Medrash in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn.

The Bostoner Rebbe of Brookline (Boston), MA and Har Nof, Jerusalem, Israel, Grand Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Horowitz, became very popular and because of his seniority is more commonly considered "The Bostoner Rebbe"

There are also Bostoner communities in the Borough Park and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn, Lawrence, Monsey, Highland Park and Beitar Illit in Israel, the thriving and highly respected congregation of the Rebbe's eldest grandson, Rabbi Moshe Shimon Horowitz.

The Bostoner Rebbe preparing to pray in the Boston synagogue in Beitar Illit

[edit] Outline of Bostoner Lineage

• Grand Rabbi Pinchos Dovid Horowitz (1876-1941) first Bostoner Rebbe
  • Grand Rabbi Moshe Horowitz (d. 1985) Bostoner Rebbe of New York and son of Rabbi Pinchas David Horowitz.
    • Grand Rabbi Chaim Avrohom Horowitz, Present Bostoner Rebbe of Borough Park and Ramat Beit Shemesh, son of Rabbi Moshe
    • Grand Rabbi Pinchas Dovid Horowitz, Present Bostoner Rebbe of Flatbush, son of Rabbi Moshe
  • Grand Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Horowitz, the Bostoner Rebbe in Brookline and Yerushalayim and son of Rabbi Pinchas David

[edit] ROFEH-Reaching Out Furnishing Emergency Healthcare

One of the most exceptional of the Rebbe's achievements is Project ROFEH, the New England Chassidic Center's organization dedicated to providing Medical Referral and Support Services to those in need of help. Boston is home to some of the world's finest medical facilities that are sought out by people throughout the world. ROFEH assists the sick and their families with referrals to expert physicians, hospitality and a furnished apartment if a hospital stay is required. More than the physical though, ROFEH provides a shoulder to lean on for people in time of need. Skillfully managed by the Rebbe's son Rabbi Naftali Horowitz, ROFEH epitomizes the devotion of the Rebbe and his son to others.