Yisroel Avrohom Portugal
Encyclopedia
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
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...
and his first wife, Sheina Rachel, is the 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...
(Grand Rabbi) of Skulen
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...
in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, 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...
.
In his youth, he studied in Vizhnitz
Vyzhnytsia
Vyzhnytsia is a town located on the Cheremosh River in the Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Vyzhnytsia Raion.-Notable People from Vyzhnytsia:* Gerard Ciołek, architect* Menachem Mendel Hager, first Vizhnitser Rebbe...
under 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....
Rebbe, Rabbi Eliezer Hager.
Currently, Rabbi Portugal lives primarily in the Boro Park section of Brooklyn but spends some time including about half of the Jewish holiday
Jewish holiday
Jewish holidays are days observed by Jews as holy or secular commemorations of important events in Jewish history. In Hebrew, Jewish holidays and festivals, depending on their nature, may be called yom tov or chag or ta'anit...
s in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
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 ...
where his father lived. He is widely sought after for his blessings and advice. He is known for lacking involvement in bodily pleasures (due to his lack of sleep and eating no more than a meal a day) and for his humble nature. He is also known for his constant battle against practices he does not approve of for Jews, such as possessing a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
or a computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
with internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
service, and even the growing of their hair
Hair
Hair is a filamentous biomaterial, that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Found exclusively in mammals, hair is one of the defining characteristics of the mammalian class....
(except for boys under three and unmarried girls, as in Hasidic tradition
Upsherin
Upsherin or Upsherinish is a Jewish haircutting ceremony, kabbalistic in origin, held when a Jewish boy is three years old...
).
Following his father, he is a habituated composer of Hasidic songs
Nigun
A nigun or niggun is a form of Jewish religious song or tune sung by groups. It is vocal music, often with repetitive sounds such as "bim-bim-bam" or "ai-ai-ai!" instead of formal lyrics. Sometimes, Bible verses or quotes from other classical Jewish texts are sung repetitively to form a nigun...
. He always (except on Shabbat
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...
and Jewish Holidays) carries with him a small tape recorder
Tape recorder
An audio tape recorder, tape deck, reel-to-reel tape deck, cassette deck or tape machine is an audio storage device that records and plays back sounds, including articulated voices, usually using magnetic tape, either wound on a reel or in a cassette, for storage...
to record any new tune that would come to his mind. He has already composed thousands of songs. Most are forgotten after they are recorded, but many of them are sung at his tish
Tish (Hasidic celebration)
A tish , also spelled tisch, is a gathering of Hasidim around their Rebbe. It may consist of speeches on Torah subjects, singing of melodies known as niggunim and zemirot , with refreshments being served. Hasidim see it as a moment of great holiness...
en, and a handful of them have become classics in the Hasidic community.
Rabbi Portugal has close ties with many Hasidic 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...
s. He heads the Chesed L'Avraham charity
Tzedakah
Tzedakah or Ṣ'daqah in Classical Hebrew is a Hebrew word commonly translated as charity, though it is based on the Hebrew word meaning righteousness, fairness or justice...
organization in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
founded by his father, and is actively involved - traveling worldwide - in fundraising for it.
Since the death of his wife, Reizel (daughter of Rabbi Menachem Ze'ev Stern of Oberwischau
Viseu de Sus
Vişeu de Sus is a town in Maramureş County, northern Romania, located at the confluence of the Vişeu and the Vaser. It has an area of 443 km² and administers one village, Vişeu de Mijloc.-Population:Its population is under 17,000...
), in 2005, he changed some of his practices, including traveling less and wearing his peyos hanging down rather than tied around his ears.
Rabbi Abba Hiah Tauber, a very influential Hasidic Rabbi from Monsey, New York
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...
is a Skulener Hasid.
Daughters
- RebbetzinRebbetzinRebbitzin or Rabbanit is the title used for the wife of a rabbi, typically from the Orthodox, or Haredi, and Hasidic Jewish groups...
Leah Libba – oldest child of Rabbi Yisroel Avrohom Portugal. Wife of Rabbi Chayyim Dov Stern of Bnei Brak, son of Rabbi Yitzhak Yehuda Stern of BielitzBielsko-Biała-Economy and Industry:Nowadays Bielsko-Biała is one of the best-developed parts of Poland. It was ranked 2nd best city for business in that country by Forbes. About 5% of people are unemployed . Bielsko-Biała is famous for its textile, machine-building, and especially automotive industry...
. - Rebbetzin Chaya Sarah – second daughter of Rabbi Yisroel Avrohom Portugal. Wife of Rabbi Shimon Yoel Weinberger, Skulener Dayan of WilliamsburgWilliamsburg, BrooklynWilliamsburg 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 ...
, son of Rabbi Moshe Dov Weinberger. - Rebbetzin Nechamah – youngest daughter of Rabbi Yisroel Avrohom Portugal. Wife of Rabbi David Leib Klughaupt, head of Skulener KollelKollelA kollel is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim and learning sedarim ; unlike a yeshiva, the student body of a kollel are all married men...
of Boro Park, son of Rabbi Ya'akov Shlomo Klughaupt, son of Rabbi Levi Yitzhak Klughaupt.
Sons
- Rabbi Yeshaya Yaakov Portugal of MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
– oldest son of Rabbi Yisroel Avrohom Portugal. Has many followers of his own right. - Rabbi Meir Portugal – second son of Rabbi Yisroel Avrohom Portugal. Rav of Skulen Avreichim _ klil Tiferess in boro park
- Rabbi Ephraim Chayyim Yehuda Portugal, Skulener RavRavRav is the Hebrew word for rabbi. For a more nuanced discussion see semicha. The term is also frequently used by Orthodox Jews to refer to one's own rabbi....
of Spring Valley, New YorkSpring Valley, New YorkSpring Valley, incorporated on July 9, 1902 is a village spanning the Town of Ramapo and Town of Clarkstown in Rockland County, New York, United States located north of Nanuet; east of Airmont and Monsey; south of Hillcrest and west of West Nyack...
– third son of Rabbi Yisroel Avrohom Portugal. - Rabbi Zvi Noach Portugal, Rav of Skulener shtiebelShtiebelA shtiebel is a place used for communal Jewish prayer. In contrast to a formal synagogue, a shtiebel is far smaller and approached more casually. It is typically as small as a room in a private home or a place of business which is set aside for the express purpose of prayer, or it may be as large...
of LakewoodLakewood Township, New Jersey-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 60,352 people, 19,876 households, and 13,356 families residing in the township. The population density was 2,431.8 people per square mile . There were 21,214 housing units at an average density of 854.8 per square mile...
, New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
– fourth son of Rabbi Yisroel Avrohom Portugal. - Rabbi Shmuel Mordechai Portugal – youngest child of Rabbi Yisroel Avrohom Portugal. Rabbi Shmuel Mordechai married his niece Sheina Rachel Stern (daughter of Rebbetzin Leah Libba, and oldest grandchild of Rabbi Yisroel Avrohom Portugal) in 1990 (an acceptable type of marriage according to JudaismJewish view of marriageIn Judaism, marriage is viewed as a contractual bond commanded by God in which a man and a woman come together to create a relationship in which God is directly involved. Though procreation is not the sole purpose, a Jewish marriage is also expected to fulfill the commandment to have children. The...
).