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Seret (Hasidic dynasty)
Encyclopedia
Hasidic 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...
Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
that existed in the town of Siret
Siret
Siret is a town in Romania, Suceava County, one of the oldest towns in, and a former capital of, the former principality of Moldavia. It is located 2 km from the border with Ukraine, being one of the main border passing points in the North of the country, having both a road border post and a...
(Seret) and the surrounding area in 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...
(currently split between 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...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
) during the late nineteenth century until World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
They were headed by their Rebbe ("Grand Rabbi") whose family name was Rubin and was a scion of the dynasties of the Kosov
Kosov (Hasidic dynasty)
Kosov is the name of a Hasidic dynasty founded by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Hager of Kosiv, a town in Galicia, presently in Ukraine.The present Rebbe is Grand Rabbi Shraga Hager, who lives in Borough Park, Brooklyn, where most of his Hasidim also live. There is also a Kosover synagogue in Tzfas ,...
, Ropshitz
Ropshitz (Hasidic dynasty)
Ropshitz is the name of a Hasidic dynasty, or rabbinical family and group who are descendants of Rabbi Naftali Zvi of Ropshitz . Ropshitz is the name of a town in southern Poland known in Polish as Ropczyce....
and Belz
Belz (Hasidic dynasty)
Belz is a Hasidic dynasty named for the town of Belz in Western Ukraine, near the Polish border. The town has existed since at least the 10th century, with the Jewish community being established during the 14th century. The town became home to Hasidic Judaism in the early 19th century...
Hasidic dynasties. In practice the Seret Hasidic group was a branch of the Kosov
Kosov (Hasidic dynasty)
Kosov is the name of a Hasidic dynasty founded by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Hager of Kosiv, a town in Galicia, presently in Ukraine.The present Rebbe is Grand Rabbi Shraga Hager, who lives in Borough Park, Brooklyn, where most of his Hasidim also live. There is also a Kosover synagogue in Tzfas ,...
dynasty.
History
The best known Rebbe of Kosov (forerunner of the VizhnitzVizhnitz (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....
Dynasty), Rabbi Chaim Hager died in 1854 in Kosov (at that time in East Galicia in Eastern Europe) and left three sons, each of whom had a great number of followers (Hasidim).
The followers of the Hager family, whose numbers in Bukovina were great and who were important, tried to persuade one of the brothers, the second oldest, Rabbi Yosef Alter Hager, to move his permanent residence to Radovitz (Radauti). They wanted thereby to increase the number of visitors to the town, because the followers of the rabbi were accustomed to come from near and far for all holidays and even at other times to make pilgrimages to him.
They were successful, and in 1856 he was received in Radovitz with great ceremony by the whole population.
Reb Yosef Alter was married to Leah, the granddaughter of Reb Moshe Tzvi of Savran
Savran (Hasidic dynasty)
Savran is the name of a Hasidic dynasty founded by Rebbe Moshe Zvi Giterman. Savran is a town in present-day Ukraine.- Lineage :* Rebbe Moshe Zvi Giterman of Savran** Rebbe Shlomo Giterman of Savran – son of Rebbe Moshe Zvi...
.
Reb Yosef Alter did a lot to stimulate the Jewish community and he worked hand in hand with the community's Rabbi Schapira to increase the spirituality of the well-to-do. It is true that he sometimes had conflicts regarding the observance of the Sabbath
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
, because as market day was Friday, some of them continued to work after the beginning of the Sabbath–something on Friday eve, that had much upset his father, Rabbi Chaim Hager, too.
Matters went so far that the rabbi temporarily moved his seat to Seret in protest at the defilement. His followers tried to get the culprits to reform in order to persuade the rabbi to return to Radovitz and their efforts were crowned with success. The rabbi came back.
All in all his stay in Radovitz was of considerable significance. The whole town, young and old, held him in great esteem and treated him with great respect for the whole of his twenty year presence here.
Whenever something good happened in the rabbi's family everyone rejoiced with him. On Saturdays and holidays the local population would join in prayers with Hasidim who had traveled here, and also partake of the rabbi's meals.
In the year 1876 Reb Yosef Alter decided to emigrate to the Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
in order to spend the last years of his life there. The pleas of his numerous friends and followers to give up this plan were to no avail. The rabbi stuck by his decision. But he did at least offer to leave his only son, Rabbi Moshe Hager in his place in Radovitz.
The departure of the old Rabbi turned into a great procession. An unbroken row of wagons extended from his home six kilometers to the train station in Hadikfalva. Many thousands of local and foreign Hasidim were very reluctant to say a final goodbye to their beloved Rabbi.
After his departure, his only son, Rabbi Moshe Hager, took over his seat in Radovitz, while his elder son in law Rabbi Shmuel Schmelke Rubin (1840-1901), who was married to his daughter Chaya, began to lead a large group of Hasidim in nearby Seret (Siret).
Rabbi Schmelke's parents were Rabbi Yitzchok Rubin of Brody
Brody
Brody is a city in the Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Brody Raion , and is located in the valley of the upper Styr River, approximately 90 kilometres northeast of the oblast capital, Lviv...
(Brod), the grandson of Rabbi Naftali Tzvi of Ropczyce
Ropczyce
Ropczyce is a town in Subcarpathian Voivodeship in south-eastern Poland, situated in the Valley the Wielopolka River and is inhabited by 15,098 people . It is the seat of Ropczyce-Sędziszów County.-Geography:...
(Ropschitz) and Eidel, who was the daughter of Rabbi Sholom Rokeach of Belz
Belz
Belz , a small city in the Lviv Oblast of Western Ukraine, near the border with Poland, is located between the Solokiya river and the Rzeczyca stream....
.
As Reb Schmelke began leading his following in Seret, his name became renowned throughout Bukovina as a wondrous miracle worker and brilliant leader. In time, his followers increased and opened up "Sereter" synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
s in many towns of Bukovina such as; Gura Homuruliu, Suceava and Radovitz.
After Rabbi Schmelke's passing in 1901 the following shrank significantly. He was succeeded as Rebbe by his son Rabbi Pinchos Menachem Mendel Rubin (1870-1941). Rabbi Schmelke's son in law Rabbi Chaim Dachner served as the head of the rabbinic court
Beth din
A beth din, bet din, beit din or beis din is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel...
in Siret.
Rabbi Mendel's eldest son was Rabbi Moses Josef Rubin
Moses Josef Rubin
Rabbi Moses Josef Rubin was a Hasidic Jewish cleric in Romania and later in the United States , a scion of the Kosov-Seret dynasty.-Biography:...
of Câmpulung Moldovenesc
Câmpulung Moldovenesc
Câmpulung Moldovenesc is a city located in Suceava County, which is in the historical Bukovina region of Moldavia in North Eastern Romania...
(1892-1980) who was a prominent rabbi in pre-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
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...
and post-war New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The renowned Halchachic
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
authority Rabbi Meshulam Roth of Cernăuţi (1875-1962) was a son in law of Rabbi Mendel.
Rabbi Boruch Hager of the Vizhnitz Hasidic dynasty
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....
served as the official town rabbi in Seret during the years 1936-1941. After World War II he moved to Israel where he established a neighborhood called "Ramat Vizhnitz" in Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
and became known as the Seret-Vizhnitzer Rebbe. After his death he was succeeded by his son Rabbi Eliezer Hager.
Virtually all members of the original Seret movement perished in the Transnistria
Transnistria (World War II)
Transnistria Governorate was a Romanian administered territory, conquered by the Axis Powers from the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa, and occupied from 19 August 1941 to 29 January 1944...
concentration camps (see Romania during World War II
Romania during World War II
Following the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939, the Kingdom of Romania officially adopted a position of neutrality. However, the rapidly changing situation in Europe during 1940, as well as domestic political upheaval, undermined this stance. Fascist political forces such as the Iron...
).
Legacy
This dynasty ceased to exist during World War II. There are however, several Hasidic dynasties that descend from the Seret dynasty, including the: Muzhai, SulitzSulitz (Hasidic dynasty)
Sulitz is a Hasidic dynasty originating in Romania. The present Rebbe of Sulitz is Rabbi Shmuel Shmelka Rubin. His synagogue is in Far Rockaway, Queens, NY. He is the son of Rabbi Jacob Israel Veyeshurun Rubin, who was murdered in the Holocaust, and the son-in-law of Grand Rabbi Yissachar Ber...
, Sasregen
Sasregen (Hasidic dynasty)
Sasregen is a Hasidic dynasty from Reghin, Romania. Rabbi Mordechai Dovid Rubin is the present Sasregener Rebbe in the Midwood section of Brooklyn, New York...
and Ropshitz
Ropshitz (Hasidic dynasty)
Ropshitz is the name of a Hasidic dynasty, or rabbinical family and group who are descendants of Rabbi Naftali Zvi of Ropshitz . Ropshitz is the name of a town in southern Poland known in Polish as Ropczyce....
groups - all currently based in New York.