Mezhirichi

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Mezhirichi (Ukrainian: Meжірічі) is a village in the Koretskyi Raion of the Rivne Oblast, Ukraine. It is located in western Ukraine, 13 miles W of Korets, 27 miles E of Rivne.

[edit] Names

Mezhirichi is also known as Polish: Międzyrzec Korecki, Yiddish: מעזריטש Mezritsh, Hebrew: מעזריטש גדול‎.

[edit] Jewish life in Mezhirichi

Undoubtedly the most significant event in the Jewish community of Mezhirichi was the arrival there of the Magid, Rabbi Dov Ber. After the death of the founder of Hasidism, the Baal Shem Tov, in 1761, Rabbi Dov Ber became the next leader of the movement. He moved to Rivne, and later to Mezhrichi, where he remained for the rest of his life. Mezhrichi rapidly became a magnet and place of pilgrimage for the chasidim. The location of Mezhrichi, nearer to Poland and White Russia than the Baal Shem Tov's seat in Medzhybizh, acted as a spur to the fledgling chasidic movement.

Coordinates: 50°39′N, 26°52′E