Pilzno is a Hasidic

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

named for the town of

Pilzno Pilzno is a town in Poland, in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in Dębica County. It has 4,943 inhabitants as of 2018. It is located at the junction of important roads – West-East European E40 Highway, and National Road 73 (''Droga Krajowa nr. 73 ...

in Southern Poland. It was founded by Rabbi Gershon Adler. Rabbi Joseph Singer, a grand son of Adler was the Pilzno Rav in America. He was a Polish refugee who was the spiritual leader of the

Stanton Street Synagogue Stanton Street Synagogue, also known as Stanton Street Shul and Congregation Bnai Jacob Anshei Brzezan ( yi, קאנגרעגיישאן בני יעקב אנשי ברזעזאן, "Congregation Sons of Jacob, People of Brzezan"), is a historic synagog ...

on the Lower East Side of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, New York, from 1964 to 2002. Rabbi Singer appointed his disciple, Rabbi Yehoshua Gerzi, to build and carry on the Chasidus. Gerzi was sent to open a branch of Pilzno Hasidut in Israel. Rabbi Singer has a great grandson Rabbi Mattisyahu Braver who will become the Pilzno Rav in New York.

Leadership

Rabbi Joseph Singer

Rabbi Joseph Singer (1915–1 October 2006), a native of Pilzno and an eighth-generation descendant of Rabbi Abraham Gershon of Kitov, the brother-in-law 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 ...

, founder of the Hasidic movement. Rabbi Singer's father, Rabbi David Singer, had served as Rav of Pilzno from 1898 to 1914. Singer fled

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

and Communist persecution in 1939, emigrating to New York's Lower East Side. He worked as a diamond cutter and as an employee of the United Jewish Council of the East Side while volunteering as an advocate for the poor elderly of the neighborhood. He was appointed as spiritual leader of the

in 1964 and served in this capacity until 2002, mostly without pay.

Rabbi Yehoshua Gerzi

Rabbi Gerzi is the Rav of Beis Dovid Pilzno in Ramat Shilo, a subdistrict of Ramat Bet Shemesh, Israel, and the founder and dean of the Pilzno Institute for Higher Learning in that city. He is also the rabbinic coordinator for the International Kosher Organization kosher certifying agency.

Philosophy

The four main pillars of the Pilzno philosophy, as developed by Rabbi Gerzi under the guidance of Rabbi Singer, are:''Kuntrus Arba Yisodot Pilzno'', p. 1. * Guidance – the importance of having one or several mentors to influence and guide one's growth and development (corresponding to the י in God's name, and our spiritual state) * Knowledge – the importance of creatively acquiring and applying knowledge (corresponding to the first ה in God's name, and one's mental and creative state) * Relationships – the importance of surrounding oneself with a supportive network of friends (corresponding to the ו in God's name, and one's social and emotional state) * Physical and financial health – the importance of expending the necessary effort to be physically healthy and financially responsible (corresponding to the final ה in God's name, and one's physical and financial state).

References

External links