Zychlin (
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: זיכלין) is a
Hasidic dynasty
A Hasidic dynasty is a dynasty led by Hasidic Jewish spiritual leaders known as rebbes, and usually has some or all of the following characteristics:
* Each leader of the dynasty is often known as an ''ADMOR'' (abbreviation for '' ADoneinu MOreinu ...
originating from the town of
Żychlin
Żychlin (other rarely used names include ''Zechlin'' and ''Zichlin'') is a town in Kutno County, Łódź Voivodeship, Poland, about 50 north of Łódź and west of Warsaw. It has 7,964 inhabitants (2020).
History
The village of Żychlin ex ...
,
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 ...
, where it was founded by Shmuel Abba Zychlinski (1809–1879). Zychlin is a branch of
Peshischa Hasidism, as Shmuel Abba Zychlinski was a leading disciple of
Simcha Bunim of Peshischa (1765-1827).
Origins and ideology
The first
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 ...
of Zychlin, Rabbi Shmuel Abba, taught that one needs to not only
repent
Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better.
In modern times, it is generally seen as involving a co ...
but repent through the learning of
Jewish holy subjects.
Reb Zelig was a relative of the Sabba Kadisha of Strikov, Reb Fishel, going to visit him and taking his young son Shmuel Abba with him. Rabbi Shmuel Abba was known as the
Ilui ("genius") of Luvitch and many scholars praised his depth and understanding. When Rabbi Shmuel Abba was older he learned at the Peshischa yeshiva which was led at that time by Rabbi Simcha Bunim of Peshischa. He considered himself one of Rabbi Simcha Bunim's disciples.
Rabbi Shmuel Abba had a small following of Hasidim and lived at his father-in-law's house, but when he moved to Zychlin for monetary reasons he acquired a larger following. Shmuel Abba was known as a
miracle worker
Thaumaturgy is the purported capability of a magician to work magic or other paranormal events or a saint to perform miracles. It is sometimes translated into English as wonderworking.
A practitioner of thaumaturgy is a "thaumaturge", "thauma ...
. Shmuel Abba spent time in jail because his detractors were upset that he practiced
practical Kabbalah
Practical Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה מַעֲשִׂית ''Kabbalah Ma'asit'') in historical Judaism, is a branch of the Jewish mystical tradition that concerns the use of magic. It was considered permitted white magic by its practitioners, ...
.
Ninety-five percent of Zychliner Hasidim perished during
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 Europ ...
, the last Rebbes dying at the hands of the
Nazis
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 N ...
.
Dynastic line
*Grand Rabbi Shmuel Abba Zychlinski of Zichlin (1809–1879), also known as the Alter Rebbe of Zychlin
**Grand Rabbi Moshe Natanel Zychlinski (d. 1912), son of Rabbi Shmuel Abba
***Grand Rabbi Saadyia Hanoch Zychlinski of Zychlin-Strikov (1875-?), son of Rabbi Moshe Natanel. Murdered by the Nazi regime.
****Rabbi Efraim Meir Gad Zychlinski, author of Lehav Eish. Murdered by the Nazi regime.
****Grand Rabbi Moshe Natanel Zychlinski of Zychlin-Strikov-Lodz. Murdered by the Nazi regime.
***Grand Rabbi Menachem Yedidah Zychlinski of Zychlin (1872-1940), son of Rabbi Moshe Natanel. Murdered by the Nazi regime.
****Grand Rabbi Shmuel Avraham Abba Zychlinski of Zychlin (d. 1942), son of Rabbi Menachem Yedidah. Murdered by the Nazi regime.
Pictures of 3rd Generation Rebbes
See also
*
History of the Jews in Poland
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the l ...
References
External links
Lehav Eish
Hasidic dynasties of Poland
Orthodox Judaism in Poland
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