The Skulen Hasidic dynasty

Hasidic dynasty

A Hasidic dynasty is a dynasty of Hasidic spiritual leaders known as rebbes, and usually has some or all of the following characteristics:#Each member of the dynasty is a spiritual leader, often known as an ADMOR or simply as Rebbe and at times called the...

 was founded by Rav Eliezer Zusia Portugal

Eliezer Zusia Portugal

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 orphans. He established the Skulener dynasty in America in the 1960s...

. It is now headed by his son, Rav 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....

. Name is originated from 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: סקולען Skulen), a town in 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....

 where Rabbi Eliezer Zusye was born and served as rabbi.

Rabbi Eliezer Zusia succeeded his father as rabbi of Skulen at the age of 17 upon his father's death in 1915. Thereupon he became a disciple of the rebbe of Bohush (Buhusi

Buhusi

Buhuşi is a town in Bacău County, Romania with a population of about 18,980. It was first mentioned in the 15th century when it was named "Bodeşti" and was a property of an important family of Boyars named "Buhuş". Lucian Predescu Buhuşi is a town in Bacău County, Romania with a population of...

, Romania), a scion of the Ruzhiner

Ruzhin (Hasidic dynasty)

The Ruzhin Hasidic dynasty was founded by Rabbi Yisroel Friedman of Ruzhyn, . Today, Ruzhyn is an urban-type settlement in Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine. Rav Yisroel's father was the Rebbe Sholom Shachne of Prhobisht, who was a son of Rabbi Avrohom "HaMalach"...

 dynasty. Before the outbreak of World War II, the rebbe moved to Chernowitz. He survived the war and moved to Bucharest

Bucharest

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....

, the capital of Romania, where he opened an orphanage for the orphans left after the Holocaust. When the Communists took over Romania it became dangerous for him to continue to educate the children in the ways of Judaism, yet the Rebbe continued unabashed. In 1959 the Communists arrested the rebbe and his son, the present rebbe, for teaching religion and for supporting and educating orphans. The Rebbes of Sadigura, Kopishnietz and Boyan lead an international effort to free the Skulener Rebbe and his son, and 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 Rebbe and his son were freed and immediately immigrated to the United States in 1960. Upon moving to America the rebbe continued his works helping the underprivileged and began an international charity organization known as Chesed L'Avraham. The Rebbe authored Noam Eliezer and Kedushas Eliezer, and composed many popular Hasidic tunes. He died in 1982 and was buried in the Viznitzer Cemetery in Monsey, NY. He was succeeded by his son, the present Skulener Rebbe. The Skulener Rebbe continues his father's holy work by running the Chesed L'Avraham organization to help the needy in the Holy Land and around the world, and continues to write new Hasidic tunes on a regular basis. His synagogue is located on 54th street in the Boro Park section of Brooklyn, NY, near 13th avenue.

Spiritual legacy

• Rebbe Yisrael Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760) - the founder of Hasidism.
  • Rebbe Yechiel Michel - the Maggid (Preacher) of Zlotshov
    Zlotshov (Hasidic dynasty)
    Zlotshov is the name of a Hasidic dynasty founded by Rebbe Yechiel Michel . Zlotshov is the Yiddish name of Zolochiv, a town in present-day Ukraine...
    
     (d. 1786) - disciple of the Baal Shem Tov.
    • Rebbe Mordecai of Kremnitz
      Kremenets
      Kremenets is a city in the Ternopil Oblast of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Kremenets Raion , and rests 18 km north-east of the great Pochayiv Monastery...
      
       - son of the Maggid of Zlotshov.
      • Rebbe Yeshayah Shor of Yas
        Iasi
        Iași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life...
        
         - author of K'lil Tiferes - disciple of Rebbe Mordecai of Kremnitz.

• Rebbe Yisrael Avraham Portugal (d. 1915) of Skulen - author of Shem uSh'aris Yisrael - disciple of the K'lil Tiferes.
  • Rebbe Eliezer Zusia of Skulen (1898-1982) - author of Noam Eliezer - son of the Shem uSh'aris Yisrael, disciple of Rabbi Yisrael Shalom Yosef Friedman (1863-1923), of Bohush and Rabbi Mordechai Shalom Yosef Friedman (1886-1979), of Sadigura.
    • Rebbe 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....
      
      of Skulen - present Skulener Rebbe - son of the Noam Eliezer.

External links

• Video clips of the Skulener Rebbe, shlit"a