Eliezer Zusia Portugal
Encyclopedia
Eliezer Zusia Portugal the first Skulener
Rebbe
, was revered by his followers in Russia
, Romania
, Israel
, and the United States
for his personal warmth and his care for hundreds of Jewish youth and war orphan
s. He established the Skulener dynasty in America in the 1960s. His only son, Rabbi Yisroel Avrohom Portugal
, succeeded him as Rebbe.
Rebbe until he was well into his sixties. His first public position was as Rabbi of the Bessarabia
n town of Sculeni
(Yiddish
: Skulen), his birthplace. He was appointed to this position at the age of 17 after the death of his father, Rabbi Yisroel Avrohom, who was the town's rabbi.
Portugal was successful in his dealings with both young and old community members in Skulen (present-day Moldova
) due to his unusual warmth and compassion for others. He was especially effective in reaching Jewish youth, who were rapidly assimilating
and throwing off mitzvah
observance. Rather than give up on them, he engaged them with love and intellectual discussions about the deeper meaning and importance of Judaism, which convinced many to re-embrace their heritage.
When the Sadigerer
Rebbe, Mordechai Sholom Yosef Friedman, visited Skulen and saw Portugal's achievements, he urged him to move to the much larger city of Czernowitz, Bukovina
. Although Czernowitz's Jewish population numbered approximately 21,500 Jews out of a total population of 68,400, this city too was suffering rampant assimilation. Together with the nearby Chassidic courts of Sadigura
, Vizhnitz
and Boyan
, the religious Jews of Czernowitz appointed Portugal as their chief rabbi to help preserve what they could.
During World War II, Portugal resided in Czernowitz. As part of Northern Bukovina, Czernowitz was annexed by the Soviet Union
in 1940, then occupied by German
and Romania
n forces during World War II until the liberation by the Soviet army in April 1944.
, Romania, he smuggled his "family" in with him and proceeded to adopt even more children, establishing an orphanage
for their care. Years later, he wrote in his will that his "children" should show their appreciation to him by remaining loyal to Judaism
and studying Torah
at every possible moment.
In 1959, Portugal was accused by the Communist
government of Romania of spying for Israel and the United States. He was imprisoned together with his only son, Rabbi Yisroel Avrohom Portugal. The Rebbes of Sadigura, Kapischnitz and Boyan led an international effort to free the Skulener Rebbe and his son. Eventually, through the intervention of United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld
, the two were freed in the spring of 1960 and immediately immigrated to the United States. The Rebbe later said that he chose the United States over Israel so he could better help those who remained in Romania.
The Rebbe settled in Crown Heights
and continued his efforts helping the underprivileged.
As the Jewish population in Crown Heights began to diminish, his followers left to Boro Park and Williamsburg
. However, the Skulener Rebbe remained in Crown Heights in deference to the Lubavitcher Rebbe
's requests of the Jewish population to stay. Due to his long schedule of prayer
, and the absence of Skulener followers in his proximity, a daily minyan
was formed for him in his house with Lubavitcher
students. Later on, he moved to Williamsburg.
When others urged him to open a yeshiva
, he responded, "What would my yeshiva add to all the others? A person who wants to do a mitzvah
must ask how he can give the most pleasure to God." Instead he inaugurated a network of schools called Chesed L'Avrohom. In Israel, his schools competed with those of the secular leftists for the children of immigrants to that country.
In 1961, Portugal visited Israel for the first time. He took a side trip to a leftist kibbutz
to forgive a Romanian socialist
who had been one of his fiercest opponents years before. (That man's descendants became observant Jews.)
Portugal authored Noam Eliezer and Kedushas Eliezer, as well as composed many popular Hasidic tunes. He died on 18 August 1982 and was buried in the Vizhnitzer
Cemetery in Monsey
, New York.
Skulen (Hasidic dynasty)
The Skulen Hasidic dynasty was founded by Rav Eliezer Zusia Portugal. It is now headed by his son, Rav Yisroel Avrohom Portugal...
Rebbe
Rebbe
Rebbe , which means master, teacher, or mentor, is a Yiddish word derived from the Hebrew word Rabbi. It often refers to the leader of a Hasidic Jewish movement...
, was revered by his followers in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for his personal warmth and his care for hundreds of Jewish youth and war orphan
Orphan
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
s. He established the Skulener dynasty in America in the 1960s. His only son, Rabbi Yisroel Avrohom Portugal
Yisroel Avrohom Portugal
Yisroel Avrohom Portugal son of Rabbi Eliezer Zusia Portugal and his first wife, Sheina Rachel, is the Rebbe of Skulen in Brooklyn, New York....
, succeeded him as Rebbe.
Rabbi at age 17
Portugal did not become a HasidicHasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
Rebbe until he was well into his sixties. His first public position was as Rabbi of the Bessarabia
Bessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
n town of Sculeni
Sculeni
Sculeni is a commune in Ungheni district, Moldova. It is composed of four villages: Sculeni, Blindeşti, Floreni and Gherman.It is also a border checkpoint to Romania.-Notable people from Sculeni:* Andrei Eşanu, historian* Eliezer Zusia Portugal, rabbi...
(Yiddish
Yiddish language
Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...
: Skulen), his birthplace. He was appointed to this position at the age of 17 after the death of his father, Rabbi Yisroel Avrohom, who was the town's rabbi.
Portugal was successful in his dealings with both young and old community members in Skulen (present-day Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
) due to his unusual warmth and compassion for others. He was especially effective in reaching Jewish youth, who were rapidly assimilating
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...
and throwing off mitzvah
Mitzvah
The primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
observance. Rather than give up on them, he engaged them with love and intellectual discussions about the deeper meaning and importance of Judaism, which convinced many to re-embrace their heritage.
When the Sadigerer
Sadigura (Hasidic dynasty)
Sadigura is a Hasidic dynasty, one of the branches of the Ruzhiner dynasty.The dynasty began with Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov Friedman of Sadigura now located in Ukraine, who was a son of Rabbi Israel Friedman of Ruzhin, the founder of the Ruzhiner dynasty....
Rebbe, Mordechai Sholom Yosef Friedman, visited Skulen and saw Portugal's achievements, he urged him to move to the much larger city of Czernowitz, Bukovina
Bukovina
Bukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.-Name:The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became...
. Although Czernowitz's Jewish population numbered approximately 21,500 Jews out of a total population of 68,400, this city too was suffering rampant assimilation. Together with the nearby Chassidic courts of Sadigura
Sadigura (Hasidic dynasty)
Sadigura is a Hasidic dynasty, one of the branches of the Ruzhiner dynasty.The dynasty began with Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov Friedman of Sadigura now located in Ukraine, who was a son of Rabbi Israel Friedman of Ruzhin, the founder of the Ruzhiner dynasty....
, Vizhnitz
Vizhnitz (Hasidic dynasty)
Vizhnitz is the name of a Hasidic dynasty founded by Rebbe Menachem Mendel Hager. Vizhnitz is the Yiddish name of Vyzhnytsia, a village in present-day Ukraine.Followers of the rebbes of Vizhnitz are called Vizhnitzer chasidim....
and Boyan
Boyan (Hasidic dynasty)
Boyan is a Hasidic dynasty named after the town of Boiany in the Ukraine. The Hasidut is presently headquartered in Jerusalem, Israel, with communities in Beitar Ilit, Bnei Brak, London, Antwerp, Brooklyn, and Monsey, New York.-First Boyaner Rebbe:...
, the religious Jews of Czernowitz appointed Portugal as their chief rabbi to help preserve what they could.
During World War II, Portugal resided in Czernowitz. As part of Northern Bukovina, Czernowitz was annexed by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1940, then occupied by German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n forces during World War II until the liberation by the Soviet army in April 1944.
Father of orphans
Beginning in 1945, Portugal began adopting dozens of war orphans and caring for hundreds of others. When he was able to move to BucharestBucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, Romania, he smuggled his "family" in with him and proceeded to adopt even more children, establishing an orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
for their care. Years later, he wrote in his will that his "children" should show their appreciation to him by remaining loyal to Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
and studying Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
at every possible moment.
In 1959, Portugal was accused by the Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
government of Romania of spying for Israel and the United States. He was imprisoned together with his only son, Rabbi Yisroel Avrohom Portugal. The Rebbes of Sadigura, Kapischnitz and Boyan led an international effort to free the Skulener Rebbe and his son. Eventually, through the intervention of United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld
Dag Hammarskjöld
Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld was a Swedish diplomat, economist, and author. An early Secretary-General of the United Nations, he served from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 1961. He is the only person to have been awarded a posthumous Nobel Peace Prize. Hammarskjöld...
, the two were freed in the spring of 1960 and immediately immigrated to the United States. The Rebbe later said that he chose the United States over Israel so he could better help those who remained in Romania.
The Rebbe settled in Crown Heights
Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The main thoroughfare through this neighborhood is Eastern Parkway, a tree-lined boulevard designed by Frederick Law Olmsted extending two miles east-west.Originally, the area was known as Crow Hill....
and continued his efforts helping the underprivileged.
As the Jewish population in Crown Heights began to diminish, his followers left to Boro Park and Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...
. However, the Skulener Rebbe remained in Crown Heights in deference to the Lubavitcher Rebbe
Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson , known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or just the Rebbe among his followers, was a prominent Hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. He was fifth in a direct paternal line to the third Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Menachem Mendel...
's requests of the Jewish population to stay. Due to his long schedule of prayer
Jewish services
Jewish prayer are the prayer recitations that form part of the observance of Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book....
, and the absence of Skulener followers in his proximity, a daily minyan
Minyan
A minyan in Judaism refers to the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. According to many non-Orthodox streams of Judaism adult females count in the minyan....
was formed for him in his house with Lubavitcher
Chabad
Chabad or Chabad-Lubavitch is a major branch of Hasidic Judaism.Chabad may also refer to:*Chabad-Strashelye, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism*Chabad-Kapust or Kapust, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism...
students. Later on, he moved to Williamsburg.
When others urged him to open a yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
, he responded, "What would my yeshiva add to all the others? A person who wants to do a mitzvah
Mitzvah
The primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
must ask how he can give the most pleasure to God." Instead he inaugurated a network of schools called Chesed L'Avrohom. In Israel, his schools competed with those of the secular leftists for the children of immigrants to that country.
In 1961, Portugal visited Israel for the first time. He took a side trip to a leftist kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
to forgive a Romanian socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
who had been one of his fiercest opponents years before. (That man's descendants became observant Jews.)
Portugal authored Noam Eliezer and Kedushas Eliezer, as well as composed many popular Hasidic tunes. He died on 18 August 1982 and was buried in the Vizhnitzer
Vizhnitz (Hasidic dynasty)
Vizhnitz is the name of a Hasidic dynasty founded by Rebbe Menachem Mendel Hager. Vizhnitz is the Yiddish name of Vyzhnytsia, a village in present-day Ukraine.Followers of the rebbes of Vizhnitz are called Vizhnitzer chasidim....
Cemetery in Monsey
Monsey, New York
Monsey is a hamlet , in the Town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of the state of New Jersey; east of Suffern; south of Airmont and west of Nanuet...
, New York.