Mezhirichi (; ) is a village in western

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, in the

Rivne Raion Rivne Raion () is a raion in Rivne Oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Rivne Rivne ( ; , ) is a city in western Ukraine. The city is the administrative center of Rivne Oblast (province), as well as the Rivn ...

Rivne Oblast Rivne Oblast (), also referred to as Rivnenshchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is Rivne. The surface area of the region is . Its population is: Before its annexation by the ...

, but was formerly administered within the

Korets Raion Korets Raion () was a raion in Rivne Oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center was the town of Korets. The raion was abolished and its territory was merged into Rivne Raion on 18 July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine ...

. It is located west of

Korets Korets (, ; ; ; ''Koritz'') is a city in Rivne Oblast, Ukraine. The city is located on the Korchyk river, 66 kilometers to the east of Rivne. It was the administrative center of Korets Raion until the raion was abolished in 2020. Population: ...

and east of

Rivne Rivne ( ; , ) is a city in western Ukraine. The city is the administrative center of Rivne Oblast (province), as well as the Rivne Raion (district) within the oblast.

. Local government is administered by Velykomezhyritska village council.

Names

Mezhirichi is also known as , , .

Jewish life in Mezhirichi

Undoubtedly the most significant event in the Jewish community of Mezhirichi was the arrival there of the

Maggid A maggid (), also spelled as magid, is a traditional Jewish religious itinerant preacher, skilled as a narrator of Torah and religious stories. A chaplain of the more scholarly sort is called a ''Darshan (Judaism), darshan'' (). The title of ''m ...

, Rabbi Dov Ber. After the death of the founder of

Hasidism Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a Spirituality, spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most ...

, the

Baal Shem Tov Israel ben Eliezer (According to a forged document from the "Kherson Geniza", accepted only by Chabad, he was born in October 1698. Some Hasidic traditions place his birth as early as 1690, while Simon Dubnow and other modern scholars argue f ...

, in 1761, Rabbi Dov Ber became the next leader of the movement. He moved to

Rivne Rivne ( ; , ) is a city in western Ukraine. The city is the administrative center of Rivne Oblast (province), as well as the Rivne Raion (district) within the oblast.

, and later to Mezhrichi, where he remained for the rest of his life. Mezhrichi rapidly became a magnet and place of pilgrimage for the chasidim. The location of Mezhrichi, nearer to Poland and White Russia than the Baal Shem Tov's seat in

Medzhybizh Medzhybizh (; ; ; ), formerly Mezhybozhe, is a Populated places in Ukraine#Rural settlements, rural settlement in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, western Ukraine. It is located in Khmelnytskyi Raion, 25 kilometres from Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine, Khmelnytskyi o ...

, acted as a spur to the fledgling chasidic movement. There is a Yizkor book memorializing the Jewish community that lived in the town prior to

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

History and attractions

The first written record of the village dates from 1544. However, archaeologists found in the area a settlement of

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

and the

Roman coins Roman currency for most of Roman history consisted of gold, silver, bronze, orichalcum#Numismatics, orichalcum and copper coinage. From its introduction during the Roman Republic, Republic, in the third century BC, through Roman Empire, Imperial ...

of II century AD.
The

Magdeburg rights Magdeburg rights (, , ; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages gr ...

were provided for the village Mezhyrichi by the

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa (, ; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden from 1592 to 1599. He was the first Polish sovereign from the House of Vasa. Re ...

in 1605. And in 1702 the owner of the village, Jerzy Lubomirski, started to build a stone church of St. Anthony in the village, which took 25 years to erect. The church was built on the place of an old wooden church, which had been erected by means of by Konstantine Ostrogski and which burned down in 1601.
Monuments of architecture national importance in the Rivne region is the stone church of St. Anthony (N - 1503 0) and Peter and Paul Church (wooden) (N – 1505 0) in the village Velyki Mezhyrichi. Пам'ятки архітектури національного значення Рівненської області

Gallery

File:Церква свв. Петра і Павла.jpg, Peter and Paul Church (wooden) in the village Velyki Mezhyrichi. File:Velyki-Mezhyrichi.jpg, Church of St.Anthony in the village Velyki Mezhyrichi.

Notable people from Mezhirichi

Dov Ber of Mezeritch Dov Ber ben Avraham of Mezeritch (; died December 4, 1772 Old Style, O.S.), also known as the ''Maggid of Velyki Mezhyrichi, Mezeritch'' or ''Mezeritcher Maggid'', was a disciple of Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer (the Baal Shem Tov), the founder of Has ...

, rabbi *Isaak Ozer Löwenstein, rabbi whose daughter Lina married Edward Eliasz Luxenburg and gave birth to Polish revolutionary socialist Róża Luksemburg. *

Sholom Shachne of Prohobisht Rabbi Sholom Shachne of Prohobisht (), also known as Rabbi Sholom the Great () (1769 – 1802) was a Ukrainian rabbi and father of Rabbi Yisroel Friedman of Ruzhin. Biography Sholom was born in Velyki Mezhyrichi to Rabbi Avraham HaMalach, so ...

(birthplace)

References

External links

Великі Межерічі

weather.in.ua/Velyki Mezhyrichi (Rivne region)

Velykomezhyritska village council

Село Великі Межирічі: карта вулиць

Jews in Eastern Europe/Mezhyrichi
Villages in Rivne Raion Jewish Ukrainian history {{Rivne-geo-stub