Klausenburg, also known as Sanz-Klausenburg, is a

Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism ( Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of conte ...

dynasty that originated in the

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...

n city of

Cluj-Napoca ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status , subdivision_name2 ...

(german: Klausenburg, hu, Kolozsvár), today in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. At the behest of Rabbi

Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam (January 10, 1905 – June 18, 1994) was an Orthodox rabbi and the founding rebbe of the Sanz-Klausenburg Hasidic dynasty. Halberstam was one of the youngest rebbes in Europe, leading thousands of followers in the ...

, Klausenburger

Rebbe A Rebbe ( yi, רבי, translit=rebe) or Admor ( he, אדמו״ר) is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties.Heilman, Samuel"The Rebbe and the Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism."''Religion and Spiritu ...

from 1927–1994, the movement was split into two separate movements after his death, headed by his two sons. The Sanz-Klausenburger Hasidim are located in Borough Park,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, while the Sanzer Hasidim are based in Kiryat Sanz,

Netanya Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. There are also followings in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

;

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

;

Stamford Hill Stamford Hill is an area in Inner London, England, about 5.5 miles north-east of Charing Cross. The neighbourhood is a sub-district of Hackney, the major component of the London Borough of Hackney, and is known for its Hasidic community, the ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

;

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

; and

Sanz-Klausenburg rabbinical lineage

The Klausenburger Rebbes are descended from Rabbi Chaim Halberstam of Sanz, who was a disciple of Rabbi Naftoli Tzvi of Ropshitz. Rabbi Naftoli was a disciple of Rebbe

Elimelech of Lizhensk Elimelech Weisblum of Lizhensk (1717–March 11, 1787) was a rabbi and one of the great founding Rebbes of the Hasidic movement. He was known after his hometown, Leżajsk ( yi, ליזשענסק, translit=Lizhensk) near Rzeszów in Poland. He was ...

author of ''Noam Elimelech''. Rebbe Elimelech was a disciple of Rebbe Dovber, the ''Maggid'' (Preacher) of Mezritch, the primary disciple of the

Baal Shem Tov Israel ben Eliezer (1698 – 22 May 1760), known as the Baal Shem Tov ( he, בעל שם טוב, ) or as the Besht, was a Jewish mystic and healer who is regarded as the founder of Hasidic Judaism. "Besht" is the acronym for Baal Shem Tov, which ...

, the founder of Hasidism.

History

The Klausenburger dynasty was founded by Rabbi Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam in 1927, when he assumed the position of Rav of

Klausenburg ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Status , subdivision_name2 = County seat , settlement_type = City , le ...

, the capital city of

in western Romania. Halberstam was the great-grandson of Rabbi Chaim of Sanz, founder of the Sanz Hasidic dynasty. Rabbi Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam grew up in Rudnik,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, and was known as a child prodigy and an excellent scholar. In the town of Klausenburg, which he led until the outbreak of World War II, he attracted many followers, and a great number of Sanz Hasidim began to follow the young Rebbe. As a result of the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

, almost the entire community was destroyed. Approximately 15% survived the Holocaust, including the Rebbe, who lost his wife and eleven children. He emerged as a leader in the displaced persons camps in Europe as he created a communal survivors organization called She'aris Hapleitah ("the surviving remnant"), which operated religious schools for boys and girls and

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy a ...

s for young men in 19 different DP camps, as well as a host of religious services. In 1947, he emigrated to America and established his court in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, where he began a widescale movement to increase Jewish observance. He founded many

Jewish day school A Jewish day school is a modern Jewish educational institution that is designed to provide children of Jewish parents with both a Jewish and a secular education in one school on a full-time basis. The term " day school" is used to differentiate ...

s and institutions of higher learning. He launched revolutionary programs for comprehensive study of the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

. He created a program called Mifal HaShas, in which students would master thirty folios of the Talmud in one month. His influence permeated areas as far as

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

, and Israel. In 1957, he established the Kiryat Sanz neighborhood in the beachside city of

, Israel. Over the next few years, he raised money for the establishment of girls' and boys' schools and yeshivas, an orphanage, an old-age home, and a

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergen ...

to serve this community. He moved to Kiryat Sanz in 1960. In 1968, he founded yet another Sanz community in

Union City, New Jersey Union City is a city in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. According to the 2020 United States Census the city had a total population of 68,589,Zvi Elimelech Halberstam Zvi Elimelech Halberstam (born 1952) is the present Sanz Rebbe of Netanya, Israel. He is also known as the Sanzer Rebbe. He is the eldest son of Rabbi Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam, the first Sanz-Klausenberger Rebbe, who in his will divided the lead ...

, became the Sanz-Klausenburger Rebbe (also called Sanzer Rebbe) of Netanya, and Shmuel Dovid Halberstam became the Sanz-Klausenburger Rebbe of Brooklyn.

Sanz-Klausenburg today

* Grand Rabbi Tzvi Elimelech Halberstam is the Sanz-Klausenburger Rebbe in (Kiryat Sanz, Netanya,) Israel ** Rabbi Yechezkel Shraga Boruch Halberstam, son of Rabbi Zvi Elimelech, is ''Rav haTso'ir'' * Grand Rabbi Shmuel Dovid Halberstam, is the Sanz-Klausenburger Rebbe in Borough Park, The Rebbe's sons-in-law are: * The Late Grand Rabbi Shlomo Goldman, the Zhviller Rebbe, of Union City, NJ * Rabbi Berel Weiss, Rav of

Kiryat Sanz, Jerusalem Kiryat Sanz ( he, קריית צאנז) is a Haredi Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem. It is located in the northwestern part of Jerusalem. The neighborhood was established in 1965 by Jewish immigrants from Sanz in Galicia, largely as a center for t ...

* Rabbi Fishel Mutzen, Rav of Kiryat Baal Shem Tov in

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Jews of the Old Yishuv, and became a permanent set ...

* Rabbi Shaul Yehuda Prizant, Rav of the Sanz-Klausenburg community in Union City, New Jersey; and rosh mesivta Yeshivat Shaar Efraim Monsey * Rabbi Eliezer Duvid Shapiro, Rav of the Sanz community in

Bnei Brak Bnei Brak or Bene Beraq ( he, בְּנֵי בְּרַק ) is a city located on the central Mediterranean coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an area of 709 hectares (1752 acres, or 2.7 ...

In contrast to the custom among many Rebbes, the Klausenburger Rebbe did not take sons-in-law exclusively from rabbinic families; rather, he chose the best students of his yeshiva to marry his daughters. The only exception was Rabbi Shlomo Goldman, an accomplished Torah scholar even in his youth, who is the son of the previous Zhviller Rebbe in Israel. Other prominent figures in Sanz-Klausenburg are: * Rabbi Fishel Hershkowitz, the Holeiner Rov, is the Sanz-Klausenburger Dayan in Williamsburg * Rabbi Aaron Weider, the Linzer Rav (d. 2010), was a long-standing dayan of the Sanz-Klausenburger rabbinical court in America. His daughter Tzipora married Grand Rabbi Shmuel Dovid Halberstam * Rabbi Paskez, a long-time Rebbi in Yeshiva Torah Vodaas who was the Segan (assistant) of Rabbi Aaron Wieder, is the current Dayan in Boro Park. * Rabbi Eliyahu Shmuel Schmerler, rosh yeshiva of the Sanz yeshiva in Kiryat Sanz, Netanya

References

External links

The website for Sanz Klausenburg Chasidimperforming a Mitzvah Tantz, a ritual dance
(Windows Media Audio/Video file)
The Klausenburger Rebbe of America and his Hasidim celebrating the holiday of Purim
(Windows Media Audio/Video file)
Klausenburg of E. Israel websiteA collection of videos on 'Tzofar Mashtap' website from the Rebbes of Sanz-Klausenburg
''Hebrew'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Klausenburg (Hasidic Dynasty) Cluj-Napoca Sanz (Hasidic dynasty) Hasidic Judaism in Romania